By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--September 20, 2015
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Although it's being media-portrayed as the opposite, Pope Francis does not have to wait to meet gay and LGBT activists in the welcoming committee at the ceremony organized by the White House on Sept. 23.
Last May, the pontiff already installed at least one of them in his own most cherished cabal.
Why would anyone--most of all the Vatican--reel in pretend shock and horror that Gene Robinson--the first openly gay man to be made an Episcopal bishop--who initially divorced his faithful wife of some 14 years for a same sex partner, that he soon left in his dust, will be large as life at the pope's DC welcoming committee?"On May 16, 2015, Vatican Radio reported that Pope Francis had named Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP, whom The Boston Globe's Catholic website CRUX calls "a strong ally of Pope Francis," a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (Fellowship of Minds, Sept. 18, 2015) "Note: The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP) is a department of the Roman Curia--the administrative apparatus of the Holy See--dedicated to "action-oriented studies" for the international promotion of justice, peace, and human rights from the perspective of the Roman Catholic Church. Proposed by the Second Vatican Council "to stimulate the Catholic Community to foster progress in needy regions and social justice on the international scene," PCJP was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967. "The pope appoints roughly 40 members and consultors to the PCJP, according to their background and experience, who serve for five years, giving input to the planning for the Council. Vatican.va states that when the PCJP gathers for assemblies, it's for discernment of the "signs of the times"--whatever that means." The following bio of the 70-year-old Radcliffe comes directly from Vatican Radio:Pope Francis' appointment of Fr. Radcliffe has drawn criticism from many Catholics. but that hasn't stopped Fr. Radcliffe from being brought in as an insider. Naming Radcliffe to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, makes about as much sense as Nancy Pelosi saying "The pope's commitment to focusing on our climate crisis, is, I think, an act of worship." () It now seems that Obama and Pope Francis are trying to outdo each other on invitations to the outlandish to celebrate the new church in the so-called Brave New World. The time for the Catholic dissidents and LGBT with the pope will only be fleeting. The pope's encyclical, Laudato Si, which calls for the faithful and all people of good will to show respect for both nature and the most vulnerable people in our midst, will leave a much longer lasting impact on a mostly unwitting world. In putting a papal stamp on Obama's global warming charade as the biggest scourge on humanity, even more so than Islamic terrorism, Pope Francis has the potential to do real harm. The Creator created us as individuals and as much as the Marxists loathe the individual, it was as individuals and not as forced citizens of One World Government that our Creator created us."Ordained in 1971, Fr Timothy is a long-time friend and contributor to Vatican Radio's English Service. He is a well-known preacher and speaker, and author of several books including What is the point of being a Christian? He served as Master of the Dominican Order from 1992 until 2001 and is now resident at the Dominican Priory at Blackfriars, Oxford (U.K.). He has been a member of the Las Casas Advisory Board and Director of the Institute. He is an Honorary Doctor of Divinity at the University of Oxford.Las Casas is a "social justice" institute. "Vatican Radio, however, left out a great deal about Radcliffe that should be of concern to traditional, orthodox, conservative Catholics. "Lisa Bourne writes for LifeSiteNews, May 19, 2015, that Radcliffe is an outspoken proponent of homosexuality, as evidenced by the following:Radcliffe often celebrated Mass for the U.K. dissident group Soho Masses Pastoral Council (now renamed the LGBT Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council). He is also a supporter of the proposal of to allow communion for divorced and remarried Catholics."
- In 2005, as the Vatican deliberated the admission of men with homosexual tendencies to study for the priesthood in the wake of the Church sex abuse scandal, Radcliffe said homosexuality should not bar men from the priesthood and that those who oppose it should be banned. (Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, eventually ruled that men with homosexual tendencies are to be barred from being priests.)
- In a 2006 religious education lecture in Los Angeles, Radcliffe said, "We must accompany [gay people] as they discern what this means, letting our images be stretched open. This means watching 'Brokeback Mountain,' reading gay novels, living with our gay friends and listening with them as they listen to the Lord."
- As a contributor to the 2013 Anglican Pilling Report on human sexual ethics, Radcliffe said of homosexuality: "How does all of this bear on the question of gay sexuality? We cannot begin with the question of whether it is permitted or forbidden! We must ask what it means, and how far it is Eucharistic. Certainly it can be generous, vulnerable, tender, mutual and non-violent. So in many ways, I would think that it can be expressive of Christ's self-gift. We can also see how it can be expressive of mutual fidelity, a covenantal relationship in which two people bind themselves to each other for ever."
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