Children taught they can choose gender, pope tells Polish bishops

Ever since becoming pope three years ago, Francis has had a confusing relationship with the LGBT community.

In a separate report, Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s global broadcaster, noted that the Roman Catholic Church now bars women from most decision-making positions including priesthood and the diaconate. They can not hold mass but may preach, teach, baptise and conduct wakes and funeral services.

Scholars debate the precise role of female deacons in the early Church.

Catholic women in Acadiana say they’ve always felt they could serve the church. Now all Roman Catholic clergy is male.

The commission members include Marianne Schlosser, a professor of spiritual theology at the University of Vienna, and Phyllis Zagano, a religion professor in NY and author of the book “Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future”.

The pope’s commission includes a president and 12 academics – six men and six women.

Progressive members of the Church say that women play too minor a role in its hierarchy, despite there being more women in religious orders than men, and have long called for women to be allowed to be ordained as priests. “He is respectful of his colleagues and of his predecessors but he’s not shackled by them”. “Nobody chooses their gender identity, they discover it”, DeBenardo said.

The group called the commission “an important step for the Vatican in recognizing its own history of honoring women’s leadership”. Women could disseminate God’s message as skillfully as men and deserved equal and full participation and access in religion, Zed added.

Pope Francis blasted the idea of teaching young children about gender theory in school, saying that it is “terrible” while more Americans accept the idea of changing one’s gender as morally alright.

Pope Francis apparently expressed this concern during a closed-door meeting with bishops in Poland on Wednesday, Aug. 3, per CNN. “Because the books come from those people and institutions who give money”, he said.

Francis went on to blame “influential countries” for the “ideological colonizing” of children’s thoughts on the issue through textbooks.

The “colonisation” theme is one he has railed against before, including during an Asian pilgrimage in 2015.