Catholics bashing gays, again - Pope says they 'threaten the future of humanity'
By: Cahir O'Doherty | Published Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 10:00 AM | Updated Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 10:00 AM
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| Pope Benedict |
It turns out that two -- not one -- is really the smallest divisible unit.
Ask any longstanding loving couple, or ask America's social psychologists. Being in a relationship is good for your mental health, your emotional well being and your bank balance (even if they seem to do the opposite sometimes).
No wonder so many people feel the urge to find and foster longstanding relationships, through all the good times and bad. At heart we know they're profoundly valuable.
I bring all this up because, of course, there are many organizations and religions in the world who want to limit or even prevent many of us from ever knowing the joys of a longstanding partnership.
I wish I could say that the value of two adults forming a long and stable loving relationship is evident to everyone, but that's not the case is it?
On Monday I was startled, and that's not too strong a word, to read that Pope Benedict just told diplomats from nearly 180 countries that marriage equality for gays actually threatens the future of humanity.
“This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself,” he said.
Strong words from the leader of the largest religion on earth, those. In fact they're the strongest words a sitting Pope has ever uttered on same sex marriage to the 1.3 billion Catholics he leads.
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What are major threats to humanity after all? They're things like war, disease, famine, terrorism, natural disasters -- and now the gays.
Growing up in Ireland, I was not made aware that being gay was anything other than an embarrassing social gaffe. Most Irish people didn't see it as a sinister global threat, in fact the bullies I knew just saw it as a really helpful handicap that made it easier to target you.
Thanks to the Pope's clarifying statement on Monday, those days are now over. Now gay relationships constitute a clear danger to the world which is only matched by world war. Or so he says.
He knows a bit about the effects of war, Pope Benedict. As a boy he was forced to become a member of the Hitler Youth in Germany, where he had his first unforgettable glimpses of what a real threat to the future of humanity looked like.
I don't know how he has subsequently come to see same sex marriage as threatening humanity in a similar way, but I'll trust his sincerity, even if I obviously don't share it.
But in Canada, Spain, and indeed in New York state and elsewhere, we have full civil marriage for gay couples, and to date not one heterosexual marriage has been attacked or destroyed by the fact.
No bands of militant gay people are marauding about policing churches or city halls to tear up marriage certificates on unsuspecting heterosexuals. On the contrary, it's as if most people haven't even noticed.
That’s probably why the church is ratcheting up the rhetoric. They want to scare us all. Frightened people are easier to manipulate.
Here in New York the Pope just announced that our Archbishop Timothy Dolan will next month become a cardinal, doubtless in part due to approval of his non-stop attacks on the personhood and dignity of gay couples.
By not supporting a federal ban on same sex marriage, Dolan recently announced, President Obama could “precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous proportions.”
Oh the drama. A new civil war fought over gay people? I don't really see it happening.
But Dolan was rewarded for keeping the pressure on, wasn't he? And that pressure is still building because he’s unlikely to ever let it ease.
But might this level of operatic anti-gay rhetoric and frank intolerance pose the real threat, I wonder? Because gay people aren't a “threat” to humanity, they're an important part of humanity, even if the pope and archbishop Dolan spend the rest of their lives working to exclude them from the dignity of love and commitment.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.paddyo1942 | May 26, 2012, 10:17 PM EDT
I guess the 10 commandments are bashing sinners. As a gay activist, you should surely know the difference between bashing and preaching what the church believes.
eiriamach | Jan 16, 2012, 04:46 PM EST
The US Catholic bishops took a cue from the pope's opening gambit. Four of them signed "Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together," released Jan. 12 with 39 signatures. Same-sex unions, they claim, are changing the definition of marriage; as a result, their religious liberty is imperiled. Yes, we changed the definition of marriage when we outlawed polygamy and child marriages, legalized mixed-race marriages, and struck down divorce laws that discriminated against women. Humankind decides what marriage is, and fortunately we've redefined it often since my grandmother was married! The letter considers "forcing or pressuring both individuals and religious organizations— throughout their operations, well beyond religious ceremonies— to treat same-sex sexual conduct as the moral equivalent of marital sexual conduct" to be "the most urgent peril." Why, I ask, are religious organizations looking into the sexual conduct of anyone? Do they mean that these organizations will be required to treat same-sex partners as the equals of other married citizens? OK, where's the problem? "Operatic anti-gay rhetoric" it certainly is, with no reasoning. It's an ad populum move-- frightening people with dire predictions to get them to reject something without ever thinking about it. It looks like the endgame in the culture wars has begun, and if this is the best move the bishops have, they've already lost the match.
seanomelbourne | Jan 14, 2012, 05:46 PM EST
IrelandNorth states that enunciating moral theology is not gay bashing and then goes on to state that "homosexuality threatens humanity" an oxymoron if ever I've heard one.
eiriamach | Jan 13, 2012, 09:25 AM EST
Again, read the pope's speech, available on the Internet. He did not call the diplomats together to speak about **moral theology,** but to advocate laws against same-sex marriage. Quite a different thing, isn't it? The pope interfered again in the laws of nations rather than sticking to morality. The laws of my nation leave everyone free to practice his or her preferred form of sex with another consenting adult. The law encourages marriage to provide a basis of respect and equal treatment for couples' commitments to each other. And the law abhors discrimination-- excluding some from the benefits available to others. Believe whatever you will about the morality of same-sex unions, but when you support the pope's misguided politics on this issue, you support discrimination against same-sex partners and the resulting prejudice, with its horrific effects in our society: suicides of gay teens, breakdowns of family life, conflicts between hetero parents and their gay children, bullying, hate speech, and hate crimes against gays. The only moral issue at stake in this choice is how we choose to treat each other-- as equals or as moral superiors and inferiors. The pope's claim that same-sex marriage "threatens the future of humanity" is a transparent attempt to arouse the emotions of the mob in us. It keeps prejudice and its many harmful consequences alive. Where's your conscience? I know where the pope's conscience is: it died with his indifference to sexual-abuse victims.
IrelandNorth | Jan 13, 2012, 08:08 AM EST
All "relationships" aren't sexual, Cahir! All "partnerships" aren't marital, Mr. Doherty! Enunciating moral theology isn't "gay bashing" - Mr. Cahir O'Doherty. Gays aren't gay - they're homosexual. Homosexuality threatens humanity, since same sex liasons can't reproduce - a biological fact many seem intent on denying. Some relationships/partnership are abusive, & therefore not good for mental health. Ironically, Mother Church has spawned homosexuality with it's demonising heterosexuality in favour of clerical celibacy to protect its real estate portfolio. An unfashionable biological fact is that men and women were made for each other. Why expend so much energy in trying to reconstruct a paralell sexual universe?
stephen1553 | Jan 12, 2012, 06:34 PM EST
Thnaks to all who thank me for my comments . My Dad was Jewish. My parents never told me that he had 1st cousins in Belarus who were never found again after WWII It was so horrible I didnt find out till I reconnected with some older cousins. And btw a 1st cousin of mine (now deceased 10 years - cancer - his first child was a boy who was adopted. As an adult he was always depressed, never went to college (vitually all the kids of my genration did, and paid for it ourselves). He committed suicide at age 30 Clincher - he never, so I was told, wanted to date girls. I was reminded by a gay person I met at PFLAG a mos ago - Catholic, age about 25. He said "the church's words almost killed me" their claim of protecting life is so hypocrite - Words kill - real people - by the several thousand every year in the USA alone - kids or are terrified and bullied in their teens - at an age when social acceptance is job 1. You know what I think Thank you for the many nice comments made here.
seanomelbourne | Jan 12, 2012, 06:18 PM EST
Glad to read that you think the church is a farce.You can now belong to the noble order of atheists,we welcome you.Well done Ciara
helmet365 | Jan 12, 2012, 04:41 PM EST
Google"Two catholic clergy responsible for 26 suicides police say" Melbourne Australia. These men said Mass every day, heard confessions and acted like any other good priest and had a special connection with God as we are told. The Church and all priests should hang their heads in shame.
Collette2 | Jan 12, 2012, 01:09 PM EST
Stephen, your quite right in your first comment [04.43.am]. Decent clergy have been excommunicated by the millions over time for much less. The new Holocaust is the depravity, rape and coverup of our innocent children.
odonnell521 | Jan 12, 2012, 11:56 AM EST
The biggest threat to marriage in the U.S. is the divorce rate. Let's hear one of these "family value" politicians announce their support for outlawing divorce, and I'll agree to stop pointing out their hypocrisy when it comes to the the "sanctity" of civil marriage.
ciaradexy | Jan 12, 2012, 09:56 AM EST
Well said Stephen. The Church has the power and the wealth to end poverty but instead it rapes children,abuses women and tries to turn people against Gays?! What a farce!
stephen1553 | Jan 12, 2012, 04:51 AM EST
the cookier and more extreme the pope gets, the more we know we are winning the battle for our gay friends and neighbors.............. Keep up the pressure. Let him 'hang' himself........ Maybe the church will wake up and EXcomm him............But i doubt it............Another of his failings is he has filled the curia with people like himself. Its called Cronyism. Its btw actually what wrecked George W Bush's presidency - they were all like him (not so swift IMO ).............. Martin Luther nailed a German xlation on the churh door, so the people would know what they are praying. Took away control from the church and started somewhat of a reformation............. the printing press took away the control of books from the church. BTW the church banned list wasnt ended until 1964 (VATII?)..................... TV showed blacks all over America how whites lived and that sparked the civil rights battle ......... Now we have the internet - the world is seriously starting to realize what Rome is about - the lust for money and power - the root of all evil.
stephen1553 | Jan 12, 2012, 04:38 AM EST
I just realize with the help of another blogger - I know many priests are gay.................It was a safe space for them - they didnt have to explain why they didnt get married, they could help other people cope with suffering and death etc................Once they can get married, and given the churches attitudes toward them in general, the priesthood will collapse................. The end is in sight for the church of so many crimes against humanity over the ages.
stephen1553 | Jan 12, 2012, 04:33 AM EST
What would you expect from a church that gave us the hatred of Jews over a millenia . A hatred that resulted in the holocaust of 6 million Jews, Germany's gays, Gypsies etc................... By a man baptised catholic (1888) who grew up in very catholic Austrian, run by catholics......... And the pope btw was born in Germany in 1928........ the same pope who UNexcommunicated a Bishop Williamson, in 2009 williamson is a holocaust denier......................... the same church that gave the world the holy inquisition of torture and mass murder at the stake when people dared to challenge the church. It operated as late as the 1830s in spain................. the church of the endless HIDDEN Molestation of children all over the world............. its all about faith - beliefs in the supernatural. One little crack and eventually the whole edifice will collapse.................. Dear God - make it so. Where have you been since Constantine joined with the church about 390AD - and the reign of terror still continues.
FGreggMeagher | Jan 12, 2012, 02:23 AM EST
The only threat to the 'Pope's Humanity' is the surfacing of the True Nature and Structure of Being, which the 'church & vatican' have kept from human knowledge databases for centuries. At which time, the Good People, Catholics or not, will turn towards Life and leave the Holy Roman Empire to justifiably crash into Satan's (as written in the original scriptures and revealed in the full original text of the 3rd Secret of Fatima) bankruptcy.
Collette2 | Jan 12, 2012, 12:57 AM EST
As far as we Catholics are concerned, homosexual priest's will be known ony to their confessor and to each other, so forget the rhetoric. Like the poor; they will always be with us.
helmet365 | Jan 11, 2012, 10:58 PM EST
If the pope meant gay marriage was a threat to humanity,why not include nuns,'brides of christ'. They say they marry Christ and as we know do not propergate.It should also include priests who enter into a similar union with Christ,the also do not propergate and so become a threat to the future of humamity.Gay priests? Not sure where they stand.Underlyng all this the pope meant sin, something that does not exist but enables them and their flock to go through life with maximum guilt.
JOHNTOBIN | Jan 11, 2012, 07:56 PM EST
To Irish Central-get your facts right.The Pope did NOT say that Gays threaten the future of humanity.What he did say was that Gay Marriage threatens the future of humanity.There is a vast difference.It is amazing how a play of words in a headline can change the whole brunt of a report.
helmet365 | Jan 11, 2012, 07:39 PM EST
PiperMac52,on the contrary. God has not manifested himself or herself to any person or religious group on earth ever. Every religious person thinks they have an answer and direct line to this God. One day you may accept reality and find true peace.
seanomelbourne | Jan 11, 2012, 05:57 PM EST
The Catholic heirarchy seems to have a "don't ask don't tell" attitude to homosexuality in its ranks. Morality is within the human condition.Neither the pope or any other religious leader have no special rights on ethics and morality.Religions run a fear campaign to garner power over the populace.Just listen to the Evangelical christian dog ignorant preacher hypocrites spew their hate and fear.
PiperMac52 | Jan 11, 2012, 05:50 PM EST
Oh contraire, the Church must retain it's teachings handed down from Christ and his Apostles or it will die. There is a reason(scripturally based)as to why it has survived 2000 years. Because it has stood against the debasement and perversions of many cultures through history that abandoned God's teaching and became their own gods. The homosexual lifestyle, just as adultery, fornication is a sin and against God's natural law. It is especially debased as it goes against nature's Law. Just because a strong "Gay"lobby has pushed to make it "acceptable" in a moral relative society does not therefore negate God's law on which every society in history has been based.
helmet365 | Jan 11, 2012, 04:52 PM EST
Don't take it too serious. The Church must change or die. Celebrate the fact that you are witnessing the slow death of the Church in its present form.
pounder | Jan 11, 2012, 04:09 PM EST
Gay marriage is an abomination,no matter what the bromancers on this site wish for.
Boarderthom | Jan 11, 2012, 02:59 PM EST
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has written about these issues, from his latest book - "This is a matter of ordinary justice. We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about - our very skin. It is the same with sexual orientation. It is a given. I could not have fought against the discrimination of apartheid and not also fight against the discrimination that homosexuals endure, even in our churches and faith groups." (page 54) and - "Equally, I cannot keep quiet while people are being penalized for something about which they can do nothing - their sexuality. To discriminate against our sisters and brothers who are lesbian or gay on grounds of their sexual orientation for me is as totally unacceptable and unjust as apartheid ever was." (page 55) Strong words from a great man who has fought against apartheid.
EphraimKibbey | Jan 11, 2012, 02:42 PM EST
Why has the RCC had such difficulty interesting enough young men in the priesthood recently? I am sure there are many reasons, but could it be the roots of the RCC that the pope is worried about as gays achieve more and more acceptance in mainstream society?
PhlutiePhan | Jan 11, 2012, 01:56 PM EST
The Pope's (viva la popa) main role is as the "guardian of morality". Stalin asked "how many divisions does the pope have"? If he has no physical army since the Papal States were eradicated by Mussolini with the Lateran Treaty, then why are you so worried? Do you see angels dancing on your headboard as you go to sleep at night? The job of the Pope is to defend the innocent and to stop their seduction.
Searlit | Jan 11, 2012, 01:56 PM EST
What's dangerous to this world is the lust for power. It is this drive that causes all manner of human beings to lose their conscience. When you think of yourself as omnipotent, you become a danger to those you see as less than equal. Good comments, eiriamach and jamieLM.
Nicomax | Jan 11, 2012, 12:43 PM EST
There is value in having marriage contracts codified by a civic body to avoid legal chaos. There is no necessity for any religious role, unless those choosing to marry chose such. The Vatican should stick to what it's good at, and stay away as far as possible from the private lives of people, many of whom are not even Catholic.
eiriamach | Jan 11, 2012, 12:35 PM EST
Didn't we know this was coming? He delivered the same "teaching" against the civil and legal equality of LGBTs during his visit to the UK last September.
eiriamach | Jan 11, 2012, 12:26 PM EST
SeamusMor thinks "His Holiness, as the religious and moral authority ... must speak in absolute terms about both the benefits and hazards of our behavior choices." BUT he was not doing that! He was urging the 180 diplomats to take his message back home to their countries that they must use the law to discriminate against gays-- discrimination, not moral teaching, was his "behavior choice." Read his words, and perhaps the light bulb will turn on for you. Again I quote Gaudium et Spes, one of the reform documents of Second Vatican Council, church teaching that this pope exhorts the world to disobey: "True, all men are not alike.... Nevertheless, with respect to the fundamental rights of the person, every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent." What has happened to the moral law? The pope has replaced it with his greed for political power.
kilgara | Jan 11, 2012, 12:20 PM EST
If you claim to be a Roman Cathollic, you MUST believe what our bible states.If you choose not to believe what it says you are something other than a Roman Catholic. Our bible says that homosexual relationships {not tendencies} are a grave offense against God.Our beloved Pope maintains and promotes this profound truth as he is solemnly OBLIGED to do.End of story.
jamieLM | Jan 11, 2012, 12:18 PM EST
@rainbowbrew, Jesus is the Messenger with the Message and my role model, not the Pope or any of the RCC church hierarchy, who I see as flawed human beings, just like me. I leave it to others to choose their role model/s.
rainbowbrew | Jan 11, 2012, 12:02 PM EST
This is another good reason to stay clear of religion. They seem to spew forth hate and yes in the case of RCC war (remember the crusades). The Pope must be gay to be so against it verbally. he is probably trying to repress the urge. Too bad he can not be content with letting people be who they are and letting all live in peace. Oh wait that was the christmas message now we are on to other things like lving your neighbor - well I guess not. I sure hope that most catholics do not believe that this so called leader believes
jamieLM | Jan 11, 2012, 11:59 AM EST
@mishi69 - very good points made in your post. @2SeamusMor - don't lose any sleep. I don't know of any straight people "deciding" to be gay. Btw: not all heterosexuals choose to or are able to reproduce, regardless of being genetically predisposed to do so. Still, as long as eggs & sperm are available and with all the improving technology in reproduction, I think the human population will continue to grow, no matter who's doing the reproducing.
rugbyplayer | Jan 11, 2012, 11:46 AM EST
Thanks, Cahir O'Doherty for your insight words. I would not have been so kind towards this Pope and his partners in crime (the bishops).
Skibberrean | Jan 11, 2012, 11:45 AM EST
Why did our " PERFECT GOD " create gay human beings? I am sure in HIS Perfection he had a reason, as there is a reason for all of HIS creations on this earth!!! All the early Pope's did as they pleased and changed things as they pleased as far as Roman Catholic Doctrine. The Church needs to get over it. We are ALL here for GOD'S reason.
SeamusMor | Jan 11, 2012, 11:37 AM EST
mishi69: If we disagree, it's because of something you don't know. You are obviously a delusional misanthrope, with issues about your own sexuality.
rugbyplayer | Jan 11, 2012, 11:36 AM EST
The real threat to the future of humanity is this Pope and the yes men he and the late John Paul II appointed as bishops, like Dolan, Chaput, Antonelli, Bertone, etc., etc--all spewers of hatred and vitriol.
mishi69 | Jan 11, 2012, 11:25 AM EST
2SeamusMor: "If every person entered into a homosexual bond, the human race would be extinct in about 100 years." Stupid hypothetical, especially because plenty of LGBT folks reproduce, just not with a same-sex partner. If every man became celibate, same kind of problem. So maybe we should call the RC priesthood a threat to humanity? (Don't get me started.) Still I'm flattered by the notion that same-sex relationships are so danged attractive that the 90% of men who are totally straight by nature are constantly tempted to ignore their orientation and shack up with one another. Or does that just go for you?
Carroll09 | Jan 11, 2012, 11:03 AM EST
Headline is misleading for a start - he did not say that gays threaten the future of humanity. Every article on this subject here on IC always fails - deliberately, I assume, given the Church's clear and consistent teaching on the matter - to point out that there is a distinction between being homosexal and engaging in homosexual actions. It wouldn't fit the anti-Catholic agenda to point out what the Church actually teaches. And sure, if your argument is weak enough and all else fails, you can always fall back on the old Hitler Youth rubbish to attack the person of the Pope.
SeamusMor | Jan 11, 2012, 11:02 AM EST
Human beings are genetically predisposed, through their sexuality, to procreate children, and they morally responsible for the nourishment and education of their offspring. Lifestyle variations on these themes undermine humanity's central purpose; that of replicating itself. If every person entered into a homosexual bond, the human race would be extinct in about 100 years. His Holiness, as the religious and moral authority for over a billion people, must speak in absolute terms about both the benefits and hazards of our behavior choices.
SNAPspaner | Jan 11, 2012, 10:38 AM EST
This joke of a world moral leader is playing a game of Russian roulett. The loaded chamber is only a statement or so away at the rate of his utterances and pronouncements. I would like to prevent his self-destruction, but I fear he is too intent on gagging to death on his own foot.
eiriamach | Jan 11, 2012, 09:43 AM EST
Covering up the crime of pedophilia on a global scale endangers humanity. Teaching homophobes how to make self-righteous moralistic pronouncements endangers humanity. Welcoming SSPX anti-Semites back into the RCC endangers humanity. Electing this man pope endangered Roman Catholics worldwide. The Holy Spirit must have been guiding Enda Kenny's government to close the Irish embassy to the Vatican in time to avoid the humiliation of an Irish ambassador shepherding this flock of 180 diplomats in for the pope's hate speech.