What has happened to the Vatican?
Over the weekend swarms of Catholics identifying as part of the LGBTQ community took to the Vatican on a pilgrimage as NBC News put it, “celebrating a new level of acceptance in the Catholic Church.”
The group came carrying a rainbow crucifix, in hopes of celebrating the Jubilee of the Catholic Church. As NBC News reported, Bishop Francesco Savino said in his homily to the crowd, “The Jubilee was the time to free the oppressed and restore dignity to those who had been denied it… Brothers and sisters, I say this with emotion: It is time to restore dignity to everyone, especially to those who have been denied it.”
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Fox News further reported that over a 1,000 of those celebrating considered the changes to be a sign of welcome for the LGBTQ community.
This may appear to the world as progress, but in reality, it is a dangerous distortion of the truth of God’s Word. Scripture makes it clear that sin cannot be celebrated or rebranded as righteousness. When the church begins to embrace what God has called sin, it ceases to be a light to the nations and instead becomes a stumbling block. No amount of cultural acceptance can change the eternal truth of God’s commands.
The Lord never intended for His people to carry their sin into His house as a banner of pride. Instead, He calls us to lay it down, to repent and to walk in the newness of life that Christ offers. True freedom is not found in affirming our brokenness, but in surrendering it at the foot of the cross. To follow Christ means to deny ourselves, take up our cross and leave behind anything that separates us from Him.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. What He has prepared for those who love Him is far greater than anything the world could promise in counterfeit celebrations. The Vatican may attempt to redefine holiness, but the Word of God cannot be rewritten.
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Now more than ever, we must cling to the truth of Scripture, guarding our hearts from deception and choosing to walk in the path of righteousness that leads to eternal life.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
