I find it despicable that some anti-Catholic bigots are using the recent pastoral letter of Pope Francis granting priests the personal discernment when to give a couple a blessing, be they in an irregular relationship or even a same-sex marriage, as some Rosetta stone for showing he is the Anti-Christ or somehow an apostate and in so doing try to lure Catholics away from their faith and convert them to that anti-Catholic's denomination or cult.
First off, this letter is not an infallible, ex-Cathedra declaration, so not all Catholics are bound to agree to it. Second, the blessing is in no way an endorsement of anyone's personal lifestyle, just asking for help from God. Third, even if the Pope was to apostatize, the Catholic faith is more than just one man, more than just even the Pope. While the Holy Father is the Vicar of Christ and Earthly head of our Church, he is after all just a fallible human being and the humans that sit in the Papal office come and go. No matter how bad a Pope may be, God promised the gates of Hell would not destroy His Church, the living faith and legacy of Catholicism; its teachings, tradition, rituals, and legacy and history lives on. Whenever a Bishop or Pope says or does something that makes us Catholics look bad, I always take it as motivation to be a better Catholic, in other words, when our leaders in the Church fail, as every human will do at some point, we are not to leave the Church, but as the lay faithful we are to step up and lead by example. Do not let anyone, any one man or any group of humans, even in your own Church, lure you away from your faith.
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