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Irish Vote: Triumph for Bergoglian Catholicism?

Claim: Irish voters didn't repudiate the Church, but affirmed Pope Francis's vision

You might have expected some blindly optimistic Catholics to spin the Irish vote approving same-sex marriage by a two-to-one margin as “only a flesh wound,” or something. But writing on Time’s website, Christopher J. Hale, says it’s not a defeat for the Catholic Church, but actually a triumph of Catholicism in the Pope Francis mode. Excerpt:

In fact, many who voted “yes” on gay marriage did so because of their faith, not in spite of it. One elderly Irish couple put it this way: “We are Catholics, and we are taught to believe in compassion and love and fairness and inclusion. Equality, that’s all we’re voting for.”

The idea of an inclusive Catholic Church may have seemed like a pipe dream not many years ago, but under the tenure of Francis the Troublemaker, it doesn’t seem that farfetched. Two summers ago the Pope tweeted, “Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.”

On the eve of Pentecost, it seems that Ireland has taken that message to heart and sent an unmistakable message to the Church and society at large: A community that excludes anyone is no community at all.

Huh. Pope Francis has spoken out multiple times against same-sex marriage (for example, here). On the other hand, he did just name an outspokenly pro-gay English Dominican as a top advisor to the Vatican on peace and justice issues.

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