Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines, often touted as the next Pope after Pope Francis was in England over the weekend at a Catholic youth conference.
Here’s a report from The Catholic Herald:
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, has lamented the “harsh words” that the Church used about gay and divorced people in the past, saying it left them feeling “branded”.
The cardinal, who had spoken at the Flame 2 Youth Congress, a gathering of 8,000 young Catholics at the SSE Wembley Arena, told the Telegraphthat a “growth in mercy” and a shift in sensibilities meant that “what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy, … now, given our contemporary mindset, may not be any more viewed as that”.
-snip-
The event included prayers incorporating dance and reflection, and ended with exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster
Cardinal Raymond Burke was also in England over the weekend, participating in a conference. Here’s a report from the Voice of the Family blog:
On Friday evening in Chester there was standing-room only as the Cardinal spoke on the theme “Remaining in the Truth of Christ on Holy Matrimony” [full text: Cardinal Burke Chester 20150306]. Bishop Mark Davies, Catholic bishop of Shrewsbury was present, as were many priests, journalists and families who had travelled from all over the UK. Cardinal Burke said: “Today, for example, we sadly find the need to speak about ‘traditional’ marriage, as if there were another kind of marriage. There is only one kind of marriage as God has given it to us from the Creation and as Christ has redeemed it by His saving Passion and Death.”
He continued: “Even within the Church, there are those who would obscure the truth of the indissolubility of marriage in the name of mercy, who condone the violation of the conjugal union by means of contraception in the name of pastoral understanding, and who, in the name of tolerance, remain silent about the attack on the very integrity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
The cardinal said that the faithful must be ready to suffer, as Christians have suffered down the ages, to defend the sanctity of Holy Matrimony.
Wow, what a contrast.
Interesting.
Foolishness to the world 
Deborah,
From your first quotation: The cardinal, who had spoken at the Flame 2 Youth Congress, a gathering of 8,000 young Catholics at the SSE Wembley Arena, told the Telegraphthat a “growth in mercy” and a shift in sensibilities meant that “what constituted in the past an acceptable way of showing mercy, … now, given our contemporary mindset, may not be any more viewed as that”.
Yes, we need a “shift in sensibilities” — but NOT one that abandons Truth.
A century ago, bastards were widely stigmatized — even excluded from sacred orders — even though they were not culpable for the fact that they were born out of wedlock. There is no justification whatsoever for stigmatizing anybody over any condition for which he or she is not personally culpable.
In the same way, we now know that homosexual orientation in males is typically formed at a very young age. In Western society, the typical pattern consists of (1) a father figure who is either abusive or absent, either physically or emotionally, coupled with (2) a mother figure whose well intended attempts to shield the toddler from the paternal abuse or neglect actually smother the toddler emotionally. The toddler clearly is not old enough to understand what is happening and lacks the means to change the situation in any case, and thus is not culpable.
Now, this does not mean that we can tolerate a lifestyle of homosexual acts. On the other hand, culpability for a specific act always depends upon the circumstances and the capacity of the individual to make a moral choice and to exercise control. The victim of rape is not culpable at all, and this comes in varying degrees from a situation in which the victim is overpowered and thus lacks the physical strength to stop the act to a situation in which the victim is drugged or numbed by alcohol or fatigue to the point of not comprehending what is happening — and these considerations can apply to culpability for heterosexual acts that occur out of wedlock as well. But in any case, we must assist those who have a homosexual orientation to find their way to a morally acceptable lifestyle.
Norm.
Deborah,
Oops, I also intended to address this.
From your second quotation: Burke said: “Today, for example, we sadly find the need to speak about ‘traditional’ marriage, as if there were another kind of marriage. There is only one kind of marriage as God has given it to us from the Creation and as Christ has redeemed it by His saving Passion and Death.”
Yes, the cardinal is absolutely right here. I actually prefer the term “real marriage” rather than “traditional marriage.”
Also from your second quotation: He continued: “Even within the Church, there are those who would obscure the truth of the indissolubility of marriage in the name of mercy, who condone the violation of the conjugal union by means of contraception in the name of pastoral understanding, and who, in the name of tolerance, remain silent about the attack on the very integrity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
Unfortunately, the failure of supposed marriages celebrated in the church does as much as anything to contribute to this. There is a widespread misconception that a decree of nullity by a Catholic tribunal is essentially a stamp of approval on a divorce, sometimes branded “divorce, Catholic style.” Of course, the real problem is that of inadequate discernment of marriage before the wedding….
Norm.