Amid the continuing sex scandals that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church for decades, arises yet another scandal: priests and Vatican staff have been caught red-handed using the homosexual dating app, Grindr.
And it's not just at Vatican City, but elsewhere: "St. Peter's Basilica, inside Vatican City government and Holy See's administration buildings, including those used by the Vatican's diplomatic staff, in residential buildings, and in the Vatican Gardens, both during daytime hours and overnight" (Durden, 2021).
What happened to the vow of celibacy and being holy?
In a breaking story from the New York Times, Liam (2021) states: "Mr. Flynn and Mr. Condon (who are the editors of The Pillar) said their work was motivated by a desire to expose a secretive culture of wrongdoing within the church."
Unfair judgment?
Are the editors of The Pillar being unfairly judgmental?
Not in the Biblical sense. God desires all believers to be holy. "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do" (1 Peter 1:15, NIV). We are called to be set apart from the world and its ungodliness. Sadly, the modern church has shifted away from its early roots, primarily because those who profess to believe have not become disciples and followed Jesus with all their hearts.
Matthew writes: "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:15-17, NIV).
Whether or not Flynn and Gordon pointed out the fault of those who solicited people on the app is doubtful. Is this acceptable? Yes. Why? The short answer is mercy. Neither of the men named names. They exposed the acts rather than the actors. The brought the darkness, which is from Satan, into light.
Church discipline
The early church leaders spoke often about sexual immorality. There are multiple passages (verses) about the topic. They were unafraid to enact church discipline.
"But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning" (1 Timothy 5:20, NIV).
Unfortunately, the contemporary church rarely practices church discipline, even where there are glaring instances of blatant sin. The unfortunate consequence is that the ministry of the church is undermined and the legitimacy of its message, the entirety of the gospel and its tenets, are cast into doubt.
Unbelievers, that is, those who have rejected the good news of the gospel, simply fortify their denial of God because of such sinful behavior. They do err and, like Pharaoh, further harden their hearts.
Even Mahatma Gandhi made this fatal and eternal error when he stated: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Unhappy
Pope Francis is livid, and rightly so. The last thing the Catholic Church needed was another sex scandal. It is true that many homosexuals have entered into the church. These men need to be excommunicated for their sins, as they are not worthy to teach nor preach.
The evangelical church, too!
I am a mere messenger of the news, and so I am not picking on the Catholic Church. The evangelical church is also guilty of sexual immorality among its leaders.
Hillsong Church founder "Frank Houston died in 2004 aged 82. He had confessed to having a sexual interest in young boys prior to his death, including abusing a boy, seven, in 1969 and 1970" (Stevens & Piotrowski, 2021).
Now his son Frank faces 5 years in the slammer for concealing his father's abuses. This is the classic sins of the father's passage, 24 of which are found in God's word:
"The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations" (Numbers 14:18, NASB).
Numerous other sexual sins have recently been exposed among leaders of Hillsong Church as well. Such behaviors are antithetical to biblical teaching. This is also true of numerous leaders of many other evangelical churches.
Revelation
To the church in Pergamum (modern İzmir, Turkey) it is written: "Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth" (Revelation 2:14-16, NIV).
Parting admonishments
As Christians, we dare not tolerant sexual immorality. Judgment and church discipline must take place among us. If we fail to repent and follow Jesus, we will face His judgment. Let us hope Pope Francis addresses the above issue in a stern manner and cast out idolaters and those who commit sexual immorality. In like manner, evangelical leaders should as well.
References
Durden, T. (2021). Catholic Church's Latest Scandal: Reports of Priests Using Grindr In US And In Vatican. Zero Hedge. Retrieved from https://www.zerohedge.com/political/catholic-churchs-latest-scandal-reports-priests-using-grindr-us-and-vatican
Location-based apps pose security risk for Holy See. (2021). The Pillar. Retrieved from https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/location-based-apps-pose-security
Stack, L. (2021). Catholic Officials on Edge After Reports of Priests Using Grindr. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/20/nyregion/pillar-grindr-catholic-church.html
Stevens, K & Piotrowski, . (2021). Hillsong founder Brian Houston says he's 'devastated' by allegations he concealed his dad's child sex abuse - as MP blasts 'ungrateful twat' for jetting to Mexico while a 12-year-old girl in his parish took her own life. Daily Mail Australia. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9874741/Hillsong-founder-Brian-Houston-responds-allegations-concealed-fathers-sexual-abuse-boy.html
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