Answering a Question Invalidly

It's not often I dip the toes of the druidical slingbacks into Catholic controversy. But just this once. With a hat-tip to Rorate Coeli (which probably knows the title of the blost is quoting Our Lord out of context....)

The response of Dom Cláudio Hummes (Brazilian cardinal apparently) to a simple question is revealing, or not. I think it's an invalid answer. Or maybe an invalid question.

The question was:

"If Jesus were alive today, would he be in favor of gay marriage?" 

The answer it received was:

"I don't know, I formulate no hypothesis on this. Who must answer this is the Church in its entirety. We must take care not to raise issues individually, because this ends up creating more difficulties for us to reach a valid conclusion. I think we must get together, listen to people, those who have an interest, the bishops. It is the Church that must indicate the ways, and there must be a way for all."

The correct answer, of course, should have been:

"What do you mean, "if"? Ask me a sensible question and we'll do some proper theology on the answer."


Here it is in the original Portugese.