Concerning Pope Francis, hockey, Pride night and putting ‘scare quotes’ around ‘beliefs’ — GetReligion
News consumers may recall this recent headline: “The AP Interview: Pope says homosexuality not a crime. This “crime” discussion created headlines, and lots of social-media buzz — which was totally valid, since this is an important topic in many parts of the world (including Africa, where Catholic churches are both growing and, in some nations, under hellish persecution).
However, here at GetReligion I noted (“That timely AP interview: What, precisely, did Pope Francis say about homosexual ‘sin’?”) that this wire-service report buried the most interesting part of the interview, if one is interested in Catholic doctrine.
Doctrine? You know, that whole “beliefs” thing. Here is the crucial doctrinal material from Pope Francis (#TriggerWarning: This contains a reference to “sin”):
Francis said there needed to be a distinction between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality.
“It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin,” he said. “Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
“It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another,” he added.
Catholic teaching holds that while gay people must be treated with respect, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis has not changed that teaching, but he has made reaching out to the LGBTQ community a hallmark of his papacy.
In that post, I added:
Once again, we see the press burying a distinction that is absolutely critical in traditional Christian doctrine — but one that ministers of the Sexual Revolution always dismiss with a vengeance. The pope affirmed the line between “homexuality,” in terms of sexual orientation, and “homosexual acts.”
That’s a bright-red doctrinal line that is worth pondering when reading the vague language used in the rest of the AP report.
What does this have to do with hockey? Here is now these stories connected, for me.
While the Reuters headline writer (referenced above) may have doubts about the reality of Christian teachings on subjects linked to the Sexual Revolution, it’s clear that these doctrines exist and they can be newsworthy.
Ah, but when are these beliefs worthy of “scare quotes” treatment? That’s an interesting journalism question to ponder.
My thoughts: Is the journalism problem that an athlete or entertainment has “beliefs” on these issues, while it is normal for, well, a pope to discuss the teachings/doctrines/beliefs of his faith? The problem, maybe, is when doctrines and beliefs squeeze out of that safe “religion” corner of the public square and into important subjects such as sports, entertainment or, yes, politics.
Meanwhile, the importance of the pope’s “sin” reference was underlined when LGBTQ-adjacent Catholics leap to clarify what he meant. See this Catholic News Agency headline: “Pope Francis clarifies comments on sin and homosexuality.”
The key was a letter to Father James Martin from Pope Francis, in response to questions from Outreach, a Catholic activist group. Here is that text, which was translated from Spanish:
Dear brother,
Thank you for your letter.
It is not the first time that I speak of homosexuality and of homosexual persons.
And I wanted to clarify that it is not a crime, in order to stress that criminalization is neither good nor just.
When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. Of course, one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault. As you can see, I was repeating something in general. I should have said “It is a sin, as is any sexual act outside of marriage.” This is to speak of “the matter” of sin, but we know well that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom and intention; and this, for every kind of sin.
And I would tell whoever wants to criminalize homosexuality that they are wrong.
In a televised interview, where we spoke with natural and conversational language, it is understandable that there would not be such precise definitions.
I pray for you and for your work. Please do the same for me.
May Jesus bless you and may the Holy Virgin protect you.
Fraternally,
Francisco
In this context, “moral teachings” is a reference to centuries of “beliefs” about the moral standing of “any sexual act outside of marriage.” This is clearly a newsworthy development linked to centuries of teachings”/doctrines/beliefs.
Now, back to hockey. It’s safe to assume that “beliefs” such as these were discussed in offices of the New York Rangers. It’s safe to say that team leaders would also discuss players participating in some kind of “Christian night” at the arena, with warm-up items containing clear references to Christian symbolism.
Now, what other kinds of “_____ night” would create controversies of this kind? In this day and age, there are many possibilities. Ah, but in which cases would the beliefs being discussed turn into scare-quote “beliefs”?
It appears that this takes place when religion beliefs affect important, “real” news.
FIRST IMAGE: Pride tape for hockey sticks, sold at SidelineSwap website.
