Courage New Zealand chaplain Fr Peter Farrant said he would not take seriously the comments of Destiny Church Bishop Brian Tamaki linking the actions of gays, sinners and murderers with some earthquakes.
Bishop Tamaki made the comments on November 13, the day before the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the South Island.
“I think [Tamaki’s statement] lacks theological thought. The Church stays as best it can with
modern thinking . . . and modern psychiatry. It’s definitely not what Pope Francis thinks,” said Fr Farrant.
“I’m sure he [Pope Francis] wouldn’t agree with that kind of understanding of God and God’s
mercy.”
Fr Farrant said the Pope has called for compassion towards people with same-sex attraction.
“If I was to speak of the difficulty for a person, male or female, who feels his [or her] sexual orientation is different from [what] his [or her] body is saying, he [or she] certainly
deserves a lot of compassion and empathy. . .,” the priest said.
Courage is a Catholic apostolate that assists people with same-sex attraction to live chaste lives.
Fr Farrant said he does not believe in so-called marriage equality or same-sex marriages.
“I understand, but I’m not going to say it’s alright,” he said.
“I believe God is alive. He’s an emotional loving God and a father. I would never go as far as to say God’s anger is shown in the earthquakes in Christchurch and in Kaikoura,” he said.
Dear Fr Peter Farrant,
Do you have a ‘Courage’ group for men or women who have same-sex-attraction ? … to help them live chaste lives according to the teachings of the Catholic Church ? Beverley Bennett