Pope Receives Bishop Jacques
Gaillot–A French Bishop Who Blesses
Gay Couples
|
Bishop
Gaillot, who has the head of the northern French diocese of
Evreux until being demoted by Pope John Paul II, spoke
with Pope Francis about many marginalized groups. According to Agence France
Presse (AFP), he "defended the rights
of homosexuals, divorced people and migrants."
According to
the news report, Gaillot recounted his conversation with Pope Francis to the
AFP reporter :
"
'I don't want to ask anything of you, I told the pope, but a whole people of the
poor are happy that you are receiving me, and feel acknowledged too,' Gaillot
said.
"
'I spoke to him about... the sick, the divorced, gay people. These people are
counting on you.'
"The
79-year-old said he had told the pope how he had recently blessed a divorced
couple as well as a homosexual couple, saying 'he listened, he is open to all
those things. He said that to bless is to speak well of God to people.'
"
And Pope
Francis affirmed his ministry, according to the French
bishop:
"Gaillot
said he now devotes much of his time to helping and defending migrants and the
pope, he said, told him 'continue, what you do (for the downtrodden) is good.'
"
Since being
deposed as Bishop of Evreux, Gaillot has remained active by maintaining a
website, Partenia.org,
where he defended marginalized groups. Partenia is the name of a now defunct
ancient diocese which existed in the early centuries of Christianity in
Algeria . An Ouest-France news report (with
an English translation provided by a Bondings 2.0 reader)
noted:
"Trying
to convey something of the unprecedented nature of the situation and of pope
Francis' sense of humour Gaillot said, 'the pope told me with a smile: I speak
to the bishop of Partenia.' "
The same news
report also pointed out:
"The
meeting took place at Pope Francis' request, who left two messages on Gaillot's
answering machine during the Summer, before writing to formally invite him to
the Vatican ."
Perhaps the
most significant part of Gaillot's account of describing his blessing of gay
couples to Pope Francis:
"
'I am in civil cloth and I just bless them. This is not a marriage, it is a
blessing. We have the right to give the blessing of God, after all we also bless
houses! The pope listened, he seemed open to all that. At that particular
moment, he specifically said that to bless people also involves to speak well of
God to those people,' said the French prelate."
The Wikipedia.org article on Gaillot
described some of the actions which lead to his ouster over two decades ago,
including the blessing of a gay couple:
"In
1988, during a closed-door session of the assembly in
Lourdes , he advocated the ordination of married men to the
priesthood. After the proceedings had finished Gaillot spoke to the press about
the discussions held and also promoted his own viewpoints. By promoting a
revision of clerical celibacy and the use of condoms, he caused considerable
tension with the French bishops' conference, the situation being exacerbated by
the fact that in speaking to the media about the session, Gaillot had violated
convention regarding assembly conclaves. He later defended his previous actions,
remarking that 'I never broke the vow of celibacy ... I only questioned it. But
that's worse.' Also
that year, Gaillot took the unprecedented step for a Roman Catholic bishop of
blessing a homosexual union in a 'service of welcoming,' after the couple
requested it in view of their imminent death from
AIDS."
The Ouest-France news report
described the very ordinary, humble and human way Gaillot's visit with Pope
Francis occurred:
"Gaillot,
79, in a black suit but without any pectoral cross, said he was greatly
surprised by how informally Francis received him in the Vatican: 'I was in one
of the common room of St Martha's House (where the Pope resides), a door opened
and the pope simply came in. The meeting was carried out as if I was family,
without any protocol. He truly is a free man. At one point, he stood up and
said: Do you have a photographer? As I had none and there was none around who
was available, we took (a photo) with a cell phone....'
"
--Francis
DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
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