Christian Leaders Sounds Off After Pope Francis Gives Green Light to Bless 'What God Calls Sin'

Christian leaders are speaking out after Pope Francis granted the green light Monday for Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, posted a no-holds-barred criticism of the pope, warning that “blessings” on homosexual couples won’t “save you from the judgment of God.”

“Pope Francis has now approved Catholic priests’ blessing’ same-sex couples,” Graham wrote. “But none of us, including the pope, has the right to ‘bless’ what God calls sin. ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…’ (Isaiah 5:20).”

He continued, “The Good News is that, right now, God will forgive sin, but we have to come to Him His way, on His terms — by repenting of our sins and placing our faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, the Bible says, ‘The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed’ (Isaiah 1:28).”

Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start."

Graham’s comments came after the Vatican released a document called “Fiducia Supplicans,” which stated blessings can be bestowed upon same-sex couples as long as it’s not confused with the ritual of marriage. The document did note, however, that such blessings cannot be part of a civil union ceremony or include gestures clothing, or words associated with marriage.

Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, called the statement from Pope Francis “a disaster.”

“It’s a disaster, I think, on many fronts but, in particular, it’s a disaster because the impact of this in the larger culture is going to be to add momentum to the very forces that are tearing apart gender, tearing apart sexuality, tearing apart civilization, tearing apart marriage, tearing apart sexual morality, and all the rest,” he said on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, “The Briefing.”

Mohler went on to criticize Francis as “an agent of suggestion, subversion of the Christian order by suggestion,” arguing the pope is “charting a course for the Roman Catholic Church that appears to be designed to liberalize without being as obvious and upfront and perhaps even as honest as he should be about the liberalization.”

“I think this is an indefensible statement in terms of the history of the Christian tradition and even the history and tradition of the Roman Catholic Church and more importantly, according to Scripture,” he said. “The object here is to bless what I believe scripturally can’t be blessed and shouldn’t be blessed, and what even the Roman Catholic Church continues to teach is directly contrary to creation order and the expressed will of God.”

It should be noted the Vatican document does reaffirm the traditional Catholic teaching — and biblical command — that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It does state, though, that people seeking a blessing from God “should not be required to have moral perfection.”

“It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage,” Catholic Church leadership stated.

You can read more about the statement from Pope Francis here.

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