Caesar, Mammon, and Sodom Unite!

Is Pope Francis laying down breadcrumbs for LGBT groups to sue his church into compliance with same-sex unions? By JOHN ZMIRAK Published on June 11, 2021

John Zmirak

Last week, Jason Jones interviewed theologian John Gravino about the “Great Catholic Reset.” That’s a plan Gravino believes exists within church circles, and that Pope Francis favors. It’s relevant to all Christians because it entails entangling Church and State in ways we might think impossible. And threatens faithful believers worldwide. Gravino argues, in his book Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, that liberal Christians like Francis are preparing the way for pro-LGBT governments to meddle directly inside our sanctuaries.Jones was so alarmed by the case Gravino made that he took to the Alex Jones Show. He talked for an hour with the controversial host. The topic? Strong evidence that Francis is yoking the Church to pro-abortion globalist institutions, “progressive” proponents of Wokeness, and the Chinese Communist government.

I joined Gravino on the Jason Jones Show to question Gravino about his claims. What he had to say was so alarming that we talked for almost two hours. For those deeply interested in the Catholic church today, I suggest downloading the show and hunkering down.

Caesar Will Shove this “New Gospel” Down Our Throats

Let me give the gist for those who’d prefer just reading. LGBT activists are long past just asking for legal tolerance and acceptance. Now they demand “inclusion,” which means something quite specific. We as Christians must accept their unions as valid in God’s eyes, and their sex lives as virtuous instead of sinful. Our churches must remake their doctrines and practices to match the current culture, right down to its latest embrace of transgender madness.

And if we don’t, the government will force us to, wherever possible. The 6,000-year-plus Jewish and Christian tradition of sexual morality is the moral equivalent of racism. So the LGBT syndicate insists. The federal government already says that ending such “discrimination” is in the “public interest.” When Reagan was president, the Supreme court upheld the IRS’ refusal of tax-exempt status to Bob Jones University. (Back then it forbade as “unbiblical” interracial dating.) Now bans by churches on same-sex unions will face the same declaration by the State. That could imperil tax-exemptions, government contracts, and other government benefits.

So orthodox churches that cleave to biblical morals might be taxed like Nevada brothels, face zoning battles like strip clubs, and be banned from serving as government contractors. (While Planned Parenthood still does, for all the baby organs it’s still selling.)

Weaponizing Ambiguity and Infiltrating Church Leadership

But that’s not enough. Because you might still have churches resisting — both in court and in practice. So LGBT activists have burrowed into the churches themselves, taken over institutions, and risen in influence, with the goal of change from within. There’s a massive effort by these activists in countries like Germany and the US to demand that Catholic parishes publicly “bless” same-sex unions.

Pope Francis seems to favor such unions, rigging more than one Catholic synod of bishops, trying to loosen Catholic sexual morals in a gay-friendly direction. He hit more resistance than he expected inside the church itself. Recently his own deputy in charge of doctrine issued a document denying that the church could bless such unions. The document got published, but Francis seemed to distance himself from it.

Gravino believes that Francis has a plan. Namely create sufficient ambiguity about the Catholic church’s teachings that they won’t stand up in court. For this to make sense, we need to remember some history. Through the Vietnam War, Catholics had trouble claiming conscientious objector status. Why? Because their own church did not clearly object to fighting in wars. And US courts look to the official statements of a church to determine whether First Amendment claims are in fact legit. If the church itself disclaims a doctrine, the person who challenges the State citing that church won’t have a leg to stand on.

The Ninth Circuit Court Might Hammer the Last Nail In

And so, Gravino believes, Pope Francis intends to create ambiguity about the Catholic church’s stance on sexual morality. Just enough that helpful US judges can step in and demand that pastors and bishops “get with the program.” If the stance of the church itself on same-sex unions can be made ambiguous enough, rich LGBT groups can shop for a state with a liberal activist court. Then produce a nice, fresh-faced couple demanding a fabulous wedding at Our Lady of Consummate Good Taste parish in California.

Should the pastor refuse, and his bishop actually back him, they might both lose in court. This because the Vatican itself (the judge will rule) does not clearly forbid such ceremonies. Therefore the First Amendment doesn’t protect pastors who refuse them from discrimination claims.

First They Came for the Catholics

If this happens to Catholics (with tacit papal connivance) it will soon strike other churches. Will the leadership groups for Methodists, Southern Baptists, and other denominations have the fortitude to battle this out in court, as media label the orthodox “bigots” and “haters”? Few objected to the abortion-tainted COVID vaccines, or to the lockdown orders imposed by hostile blue-state governors.

So radical forces inside churches don’t have to “win” every internal fight. They just have to push hard enough to plant ambiguity in their churches’ official stances. Then a liberal activist judge, and massively funded LGBT legal groups, might very well do the rest. That would add the massive power of the US federal government to their efforts, and tap into the all-too-human cowardice and conformity which Christians have always had to battle. Even faithful church leaders will be goaded to surrender, with bankruptcy as the alternative. (Think of how that money could be spent helping the poor, as Judas once urged.)

Churches that succumb won’t die with a bang, but with a simper.

 https://stream.org/caesar-mammon-and-sodom-unite-in-the-great-reset-of-churches/

John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream, and author or co-author of ten books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism.