Part III of Archbishop Hepworth's Interview with LifeSiteNews.com

Here's an excerpt.  There's more from Patrick Craine's interview here.

“Homosexual sexuality played out in a same-sex relationship is, in fact, totally destructive of the heart of Christian teaching because it's destructive of God as Creator, it's destructive of God as Teacher, and it's destructive of God as Redeemer,” he said.

“There is no space in Christianity for brute force condemnation, hate, and all that,” he continued. But, he said, “there is space within Christianity for absolutely, clearly teaching what Christ teaches.  And if there's one thing the New Testament and the Old Testament are clear on, it's homosexuality.”

The archbishop spoke with LSN on Friday in Halifax, Nova Scotia before he addressed the local TAC parish, St. Aidan's, about the Vatican's recent offer to Anglicans for reunion with Rome.  He began a worldwide tour over four weeks ago in order to encourage members of the TAC to accept the offer.

Archbishop Hepworth praised the treatment of homosexuality in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is primarily dealt with in paragraphs 2357-2359.  “The Catechism of the Catholic Church is absolutely perfect,” he said.  “It teaches what the Church teaches, and it then goes on to teach us a pastoral approach.”

The Church has always taught that homosexuals “are blessed in other ways, are in fulfillment in other ways,” the Archbishop said.  “We've got to be game to teach that. … There are compensations that God gives for [disorder].”

“We just need to be much much more positive.  If we simply condemn [homosexuality], we won't win, and we're not winning,” he continued.  “But we've also been very reticent to teach exactly how God is present within marriage.  In fact, most couples think God has little to do with marriage.”

“I think we need to teach more deeply about that,” he added.

The archbishop described the union of husband and wife as “God's pathway for the world, in which the Creative God is closest to us.”  True marriage, he said, is “a relationship open to creation, open to love, which is the love of God, which is the Spirit.  This, in fact, is where God has chosen to dwell – within the family.”

He praised the pope for allowing Anglicans who reunite with the Church to continue ordaining married men because, he said, this “means there's a family at the heart of the parish, in all its frailty.”

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About Deborah Gyapong

Deborah Gyapong is a member of the Sodality of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (www.annunciationofthebvm.org) in Ottawa, a former parish of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (Traditional Anglican Communion) whose members were received individually and corporately into the Roman Catholic Church on April 15, 2012 by Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast at St. Patrick’s Basilica. Under the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, the community will celebrate an approved Anglican Use liturgy and hopes to soon join with other sodalities across Canada to form the Canadian Deanery of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter under Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, Ordinary. As we wait for our priest(s) to be ordained as Catholic priests, God willing, Archbishop Prendergast will provide priests to celebrate our Sunday Eucharist according to the Anglican Use. Deborah is a journalist who covers religion and politics in Canada’s national capital, writing primarily for Roman Catholic newspapers since 2004. Her novel The Defilers, published in 2006, was not a best seller, alas. She spent 17 years at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in news and current affairs, including 12 years as a television producer.

3 thoughts on “Part III of Archbishop Hepworth's Interview with LifeSiteNews.com

  1. "He praised the pope for allowing Anglicans who reunite with the Church to continue ordaining married men because, he said, this “means there’s a family at the heart of the parish, in all its frailty.”"

    I've read a lot of inquiries about Hepworth's position concerning the continuation of married priests. A lot of skeptical Anglicans seem to think he's delusional/purposely misleading TAC folk about clerical marriage. The Vatican document makes clear that clerical marriage is atypical in the Roman Rite. I get the impression, at least under Benedict, a lot of generosity will be given to future seminarians who may be married. Something is off though about this whole business. Is Hepworth not adequately expressing his belief in the Vatican's generosity or does he genuinely believe what is stated in the document is not how the Ordinate will operate.

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