Pope’s former auxiliary bishop in Buenos Aires: Gay civil unions will ‘dechristianize’ society
Archbishop Héctor Aguer, the former Auxiliary Bishop of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, made the remarks in an essay for InfoCatolica.
Wed Oct 28, 2020 - 3:32 pm EST
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October 28, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In an essay published today at InfoCatolica, and translated and published with permission at LifeSiteNews, Archbishop Héctor Aguer, the former Auxiliary Bishop of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio when he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, has distanced himself from the Pope’s own comments about the need for homosexual civil unions.
Both Bergoglio and Aguer were appointed Auxiliary Bishops of Buenos Aires in 1992, and both were named archbishops of dioceses in 1998, Bergoglio to Buenos Aires and Aguer to La Plata a month later.
I wanted to share some reflections about just some of the crucially important points he raises in his article. Here’s the first that stood out:
In my opinion, ecclesiastical approval for “civil unions” will favor the dechristianization and dehumanization of society.
With all the respect and affection that I profess for the Vicar of Christ, I would venture to think that the expressions he has made on the topic covered in the film “Francis” are not part of the magisterium.
The same point was made today by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, who said that there are moments where Catholics “have to criticize many ideas and actions of individual Popes.”
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More from Archbishop Aguer:
I would compare it to conversations that the popes have with reporters in the aisles of airplanes during their trips; they may be interesting, but they lack the specificity that is proper to a magisterial act; although they are issued by a relevant person, they don’t pass beyond the status of a private opinion.
Papolatry is not healthy behavior for Catholics.
To learn more about the question of papolatry, watch this 2018 interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Archbishop Auger continues:
This has already resulted in a backlash, which raises concerns about an increase in divisions among the faithful, a deepening of the ecclesiastical “fissure,” which exists without a doubt.
His Excellency is spot on. We can clearly see a split in the Church over this issue, as Cardinals Burke, Müller and Archbishops Viganò and Schneider have sounded the alarm about the Pope’s latest remarks, while other clergy thought to be “conservatives” such as Cardinal Sean O’Malley have said there is nothing to see here.
What’s worse is that several of the new cardinals Pope Francis just appointed are totally supportive of homosexual civil unions, which, again, are contrary to Church teaching.
More from Archbishop Aguer:
In conclusion: It is very painful to contemplate the spiritual damage that would be experienced by those faithful who suffer from their disordered inclination if the Church were to endorse the recognition of civil unions, approved by the State as a right to have a family; this would place an obstacle to the possibility of healing described in the Catechism.
Chaste same-sex attracted Catholics, feeling betrayed by Pope Francis, are speaking out and urging him to repent.
Indeed, those who heroically reject homosexuality and chose day in and day out to live chaste lives are now offering poignant commentary on the harm inflicted by Pope Francis’s remarks. One wishes the Holy Father would only listen to them.
One last comment from Archbishop Aguer:
Because the mercy of truth is owed to these people, a scandal, to which is added the promotion of clergy who have a consistently bad reputation (‘if you know what I mean’) which is known with certainty by many people, they do not seem to be calumnies.
Just this week Pope Francis appointed 13 new cardinals, some of whom are pro-LGBT and support communion for adulterers. Bishop Aguer is right. It is a scandal of the highest rank! May God have mercy on us all.
Archbishop Aguer’s article is currently being translated from Spanish to English and will be posted below as soon as possible.
