MATATAG ang paninindigan ng Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sa tindig ng Simbahan sa usapin ng kasal at pamilya sa gitna ng mga kritisismo at kalituhang dala ng bagong pahayag ni Pope Francis hinggil sa isyu ng sibil na pagsasama ng parehong kasarian.

Sa isang documentary film na may pamagat na FRANCESCO na inilabas sa Italy nitong nakaraang linggo, binanggit ni Pope Francis sa isang lumang panayam na isinagawa sa Spanish: “Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it…What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”

Gayunman sinabi ni Caloocan Bishop Virgilio David, acting CBCP president, nitong Biyernes na hindi binago ng Santo Papa ang turo ng Simbahang Katolika sa isyu.

“Pope Francis has been consistent in defending natural marriage as a divinely willed institution between a man and woman, committed to live together for life, for the purpose of conception and rearing and education of children, for the good of society. Even as a Cardinal in Buenos Aires, he has spoken boldly in favor of natural marriage,” aniya.

Nabanggit din ni David ang isang artikulo kung saan sinabi ni noo’y Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, ang Archbishop ng Buenos Aires at Primate of Argentina, na kung papasa ang isang panukalang batas na nagbibigay sa mga same-sex couples ng oportunidad na ikasal at mag-ampon ng bata, “[it will] seriously damage the family.”

Ngunit dinipensahan niya na nauunawaan ng Simbahan ang mga tao na nagkakagusto sa parehong kasarian.

“As a good pastor and leader of the Catholic Church, we see Pope Francis calling for legal protection of “civil unions” between same sex attracted persons which we cannot deny exist,”aniya.

“While their union is in no way being endorsed as a marriage and a sacrament, the Pope is calling that rights that accrue to them as legal persons and children of God be given them and be covered by law,”paliwanag niya.

“To make an imperfect analogy, even offenders of the law have rights and those rights have to be covered and protected by law. Such protection is in no way an endorsement of criminal activity but simply an assurance that everybody has rights before the law.”

Ayon sa prelado, ang pahayag ng Santo Papa sa panawagan sa isang “law on civil union” ay nangyari sa konteksto ng isang kasuwal na panayam.

“Pope Francis was not speaking in a position of teaching as the supreme teacher of the faith. A Pope’s personal views on things and formal proclamations can have differences in nuances and interpretations,” dagdag pa.

“Personal interviews and casual conversations do not have the power to effect changes in doctrinal and pastoral programs of the Church. Neither do they have the doctrinal, canonical and pastoral weight of a formal encyclical or apostolic exhortation,” diin pa niya.

Ayon pa kay David, sumasangguni sila sa mga opisyal na dokumento tulad ng Encyclicals, Apostolic Exhortations at Letters, kung mayroon kuwestiyon sa “formally teaches” ng Papa.

“Let us continue to pray for the Holy Father and his solemn duty to sail the bark of Peter safely afloat amidst the confusion and challenges of the modern times,” pagtatapos ni David.