Elton John Slams Catholic Church for Gay Marriage ‘Hypocrisy’
Elton John has criticized the Catholic Church for its staunch stance against blessing homosexual marriages, while simultaneously profiting off of his biopic.
“How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they 'are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in Rocketman - a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?? #hypocrisy,” the iconic musician tweeted.
The Church recently confirmed its long held stance against same-sex unions, calling them a "choice” that involves “sexual activity outside of marriage.” As such, the Vatican views the unions as sinful, adding that God “does not and cannot bless sin.”
The statement has drawn the ire of John, one of the most vocal members of the LGBTQ community.
In his tweet, Sir Elton displayed a screenshot to a 2019 report from the Daily Beast which detailed some of the Vatican’s financial investments. Among them, $4.5 million towards the production of two films: Men in Black: International and Rocketman.
The John biopic took in nearly $200 million at the box office, earning Golden Globes and an Academy Award along the way. The R rated picture featured scenes of gay sex, which would seemingly be at odds with the Church’s conservative views.
“While investing in mainstream entertainment is hardly sinful, the great contradiction is that the Catholic Church preaches to the devout that homosexuality is a sin,” the Daily Beast report noted.
Further angering - and complicating - matters is the fact that the Vatican seemed to be slowly progressing in the stance on same-sex relationships. Last October, Pope Francis lent his support to civil unions, stating, "Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They're children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it.”
Church officials later declared that the Pope had been taken out of context. While the latest statement on the matter did not come from Pope Francis himself, the pontiff did approve the message.