Thursday, October 22, 2020

Radical shift: Pope backs same-sex civil unions. Inquirer Newsletter. October 23, 2020

JUST ENOUGH OPENING Fifteen out of 32 detainees were able to squeeze through a small hole in the wall and escape from the holding area of the Caloocan police near City Hall early Thursday. Five of them were recaptured later. At least two police officers in charge of guarding them are facing sanctions for negligence of duty. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

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PhilHealth ready to pay Red Cross

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) guaranteed on Thursday that it could pay the P930 million it owed the Philippine Red Cross for conducting coronavirus tests for the government. But the state-run health insurer said it was still awaiting a legal opinion from the Department of Justice and that it wanted to “move forward with this partnership with proper legal support.” —STORY BY DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN‍ AND TINA G. SANTOS

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Obama: Despite polls, don’t be complacent

PHILADELPHIA—Former US President Barack Obama excoriated President Donald Trump and warned on Wednesday against complacency despite favorable opinion polls during his first public rally in support of Democratic challenger Joe Biden ahead of the Nov. 3 election. At a drive-in rally in Philadelphia, Obama lashed out at Trump’s behavior and declared him “incapable of taking the job seriously.” —STORY BY AFP

Sports

Snell, Rays tie World Series

Blake Snell took charge from the mound and Brandon Lowe experienced a revival. The left-hander kept baseball’s best offense off-balance and Lowe hit two home runs to distance himself from recent struggles as the Rays earned a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series at Arlington, Texas. The Dodgers relied heavily on their bullpen as they did not have a fully rested starter. —STORY BY REUTERS

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Radical shift: Pope backs same-sex civil unions

ROME—Pope Francis on Wednesday voiced support for same-sex couples, calling them “children of God” and saying they should be allowed to have legally recognized civil unions in a radical shift from previous pontiffs.

The Pope, whose opposition to gay marriage remains unchanged, said in a documentary premiered at the Rome Film Festival: “These are children of God, they have the right to a family.”

“What we have to create is a law of civil union, they have the right to be legally protected. I have defended that,” he said in filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Francesco.”

‘Historic word’

According to biographer Austen Ivereigh, the future pope backed civil unions for gay couples while he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires and known as Jorge Bergoglio.

But while Francis has previously spoken about same-sex unions, he has always voiced opposition to gay marriage, saying marriage should only be between a man and woman.

“‘Marriage’ is a historic word,” he told French sociologist Dominique Wolton in a 2017 book of interviews.

“Always among human beings, and not only in the Church, it has been between a man and a woman. You can’t just change that like that.”

“Since the beginning of the pontificate, the pope has spoken of respect for homosexuals and has been against their discrimination,” Vatican expert Vania de Luca told RaiNews.

“The novelty today is that he defends as pope a law for civil unions.”

After becoming pope in 2013, Francis took an unprecedented welcoming tone toward LGBTQ individuals, launching his famous phrase, “Who am I to judge?” and welcoming gay couples to the Vatican on several occasions.

The two-hour documentary screened on Wednesday traces the seven years of his pontificate and his travels.

Among the most moving moments of the film is the Pope’s phone call to a gay couple, parents of three young children, in response to a letter they sent him saying how ashamed they were to bring their children to their parish.

Francis invites them to continue to go to church regardless of the judgments of others.

In the past, he has regularly said gay people should be accepted in their parishes and urged parents not to reject their children.

And on his first foreign trip as pope, to Brazil in 2013, he asked: “Who am I to judge?” about members of the LGBTQ community.

‘God made you gay’

He has since received many gay people for private audiences, infuriating the Church’s more conservative wing.

Chilean Juan Carlos Cruz, an activist against sexual abuse within the Church, accompanied the director to the film screening on Wednesday.

“When I met Pope Francis, he told me he was very sorry about what happened. ‘Juan, it is God who made you gay and he loves you anyway. God loves you and the Pope loves you, too,’” Cruz recalled in the film.

The Pope’s favorable stance on civil unions marks a step away from a 2003 document prepared by the Vatican’s dogma office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Legal recognition

At the time, the body opposed official recognition for gay individuals as it could “devalue the institution of marriage,” said Vatican expert Christopher Lamb of British Catholic newspaper The Tablet.

The assessment was prepared by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI.

By contrast, in 2014, the secretary general of an important synod (gathering of bishops) Bruno Forte called for gay couples to enjoy legal recognition.

In a paper, the clerics wrote: “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community. Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?” —AFP

Editorial

'Why would they retire here at 35?'

Why are Chinese nationals as young as 35 retiring in droves and choosing the Philippines as their retirement home? What would make them give up gainful work in the prime of their lives, and prematurely decamp to a country that is worlds away from the might and sophistication of their superpower nation? Those questions must be asked in light of a disturbing revelation by Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) General Manager Bienvenido Chy: that almost 28,000 young Chinese tourists have settled in the country as retirees, taking advantage of a PRA policy that approves the entry of foreign retirees as young as 35 as long as they have at least $50,000 (P2.5 million) cash on hand. Although the policy applies to other foreign nationals, PRA data show that about 40 percent of all foreign retirees are Chinese, at 27,678, followed by Koreans, at 14,200.

The influx of able-bodied Chinese pensioners into the country is, for Sen. Richard Gordon, a “national security concern.” Their number, he said, “is equal to 27 (Army) regiments; that’s dangerous. Why would they retire here at 35 ... which is a soldier’s age?” In his latest TV address, President Duterte once again vowed to be "unforgiving" toward corruption. Corruption can take many forms, and, clearly, throwing open the country's doors to state-owned companies and millions of nationals subject to Beijing—an authoritarian foreign power with no qualms undermining the Philippines—has not only corrupted swaths of the government bureaucracy up and down the line, but, worse, may be placing the country's national security at very real risk.

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