Philippine Catholic Church’s Response to Manny Pacquiao’s Comments on Gay Marriage – Is the Church Irresponsible to Homosexuals for Not Telling Them the Truth?

The Philippine Catholic church has defended boxing hero Manny Pacquiao for his opposition to gay marriage, saying he was only quoting the Bible.

Said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs office of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP): “This is really in the Bible. There is this quote he (Pacquiao) uses from the Bible and we cannot change that”.

According to The Philippine Star, Secillano, nevertheless, added that Pacquiao should respect homosexuals and not “judge” and “condemn” them.

“The church says that if this is your lifestyle, if this is your orientation, then we respect that. We cannot condemn them,” said Secillano.

However, Secillano’s comments seem to reflect a willingness by the Philippine Catholic Church to withhold godly truths just to appease the gay community.

In particular, the bible clearly states that homosexuals – among other people who commit a variety of other sins – will not go to heaven:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; New American Standard Bible [with emphasis added])

In not confronting gay people with the plain truth, the Philippine Catholic church is being irresponsible, and gay people risk missing out on eternal life just because their spiritual leaders are man-pleasers rather than God-pleasers.