Rev. Franklin Graham prays at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 (RNC video screenshot)
Evangelist Franklin Graham said Thursday that Pope Francis' endorsement of civil unions for same-sex couples is "unthinkable in light of the Word of God."
"For Pope Francis to attempt to normalize homosexuality is to say that Holy Scriptures are false, that our sins really don’t matter, and that we can continue living in them," Graham wrote in a Facebook post. "If that were true, then Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection wouldn’t have been needed. The cross would have been for nothing. No one has the right or the authority to trivialize Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf."
During an interview in a documentary that premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival the pope called for a "civil union law" and said: "Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God."
Graham, the son of Billy Graham and the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, said the Bible teaches "that when God created the human race, 'He created them male and female, and blessed them…' (Genesis 5:2)."
"The first family consisted of a male husband and a female wife, then their children, which is how God defines society’s most basic social unit, the family," he wrote. "The Bible makes it clear that God disapproved when 'women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another…' (Romans 1:26-27)."
Graham said "the Holy Scriptures are clear—the love of God is completely inclusive."
"He loves each and every person, whatever choices we have made that are contrary to His standard. 'All have sinned…' (Romans 3:23) and that includes me. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to save sinners by taking our sins on Himself to the cross where he bled and died, was buried, and God raised Him to life on the third day. In order for us to be saved, God requires that we repent of our sins—that means to turn away from those sins and to leave them—and put our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for sin."
He said God "makes it clear that He loves us and does want us to be part of His family, but He also tells us how that can happen."
"The Bible says, 'Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord' (Acts 3:19)," he wrote.
"I want everyone to know the truth and to find the peace that comes only from fully surrendering our lives to Him and His commands. The consequence of an unrepentant, unbelieving heart is also clear in the Word of God—eternal death. Unless we repent and receive His offer of forgiveness, surrendering our lives to Him, we will spend eternity as part of a different family when we leave this earth—the family of the condemned."
According to Catholic doctrine, homosexuals deserve dignity and respect but homosexual acts are "disordered."
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