Good As You

this pope seems to make it his mission to rail against gays, atleast john paul the 2nd didn't have such an obsession with gays.

http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com

Call me dense if you must, but I see nothing anti-gay in the Pope's statement to the bishops.

Which statement, David?

The subject of the update:

"It is your task to proclaim boldly the arguments from faith and reason in favor of the institution of marriage, understood as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, open to the transmission of life."

The Pope wasn't discussing homosexuality at all here.

Are you kidding me, David? He is speaking of marriage as only a man/woman institution! He is encouraging the "faith-based" and "reasonable" arguments for keeping marriage as solely heterosexual. While he is presenting his plan for marriage in the context of positive light (so as to encourage love and to strengthen families), such is quite offensive to those of us who desperately want to marry our loves but are not free to do so. Especially when he has made anti-gay marriage campaigns a focal point during his tenure.

And by the way, we were tipped off to these latest comments by a group on your side of the "culture war," who was gloating about the pope's strong stand for gay-less marriage.

I kid you not, Jeremy.

Contrary to the claims of whatever group contacted you, the Pope's speech did not make any demands on the government or society at large.

The main thrust of the Pope's speech was how Catholics should fully live their faith: "Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? ... Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel."

With this in mind Benedict discusses how Catholics can influence cultural attitudes in a free society and concludes that a crucial role is that "of the lay faithful to act as a "leaven" in society."

Concerning himself with the duty of the lay faithful to fully live their Catholic faith he turns to how the decline in the institution of marriage is affecting the Church: "Divorce and infidelity have increased, and many young men and women are choosing to postpone marriage or to forego it altogether. To some young Catholics, the sacramental bond of marriage seems scarcely distinguishable from a civil bond, or even a purely informal and open-ended arrangement to live with another person." Benedict then mentions his concern for how this decline in marriage affects society at large: "In such circumstances, children are denied the secure environment that they need in order truly to flourish as human beings, and society is denied the stable building blocks which it requires if the cohesion and moral focus of the community are to be maintained."

It is with these two concerns, that Catholics should not consider their religion something they only do on Sundays, and that society should reap the benefits of marriage as a stable institution, that Benedict talks about the Church's understanding of marriage "as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, open to the transmission of life."

There is no mention of homosexuality in any of this. The topic simply doesn't come up. It takes a particularly cynical view to twist this into a pillorying of gays.

Yes, I know the Pope and the Church are opposed to any legal recognition of gay couples. That opposition, however, wasn't a part of the Pope's speech. The Church could even change its views on homosexuality and embrace the formal recognition of gay couples and still maintain its definition of marriage. So there is no anti-gay message intrinsic to that definition.

You need to stop looking at everything said about marriage through a 'gays are victims' lense. You would find yourself being offended less often.

By the way, what side in the culture war is mine anyway? Do you really think you know all about me from one web site objecting to late abortions?