Why doesn't he clean up the pedophile mess in his own
house first?
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Pope condemns gay marriages as fake and anarchic
By Philip PullellaMon Jun 6, 3:52 PM ET
Pope Benedict, in his first clear pronouncement on gay marriages since
his election, on Monday condemned same-sex unions as fake and
expressions of "anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the
family.
The Pope, who was elected in April, also condemned divorce, artificial
birth control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of
these practices were dangerous for the family.
"Today's various forms of dissolution of marriage, free unions, trial
marriages as well as the pseudo-matrimonies between people of the same
sex are instead expressions of anarchic freedom which falsely tries to
pass itself off as the true liberation of man," he said.
The Pope spoke to families at Rome's St. John's Cathedral on an issue
that has become highly controversial around the world, particularly in
Europe and the United States.
In April, parliament in traditionally Catholic Spain gave initial
approval to a law legalizing gay marriage. It is widely expected to be
approved by the Senate and to become law.
Gay marriages are already legal in several European countries.
However, just last week, California's Assembly killed off a bill that
would have allowed gay marriage in the most populous U.S. state. U.S.
President Bush favors a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
The Pope, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican's
doctrinal department for more than two decades, said "pseudo freedoms"
such as gay marriages were based on what he called the "banalisation of
the human body" and of man himself.
Aurelio Mancuso, president of Arcigay, Italy's largest gay rights group,
hit back at the Pope. "Ratzinger pretends not to understand that gay
unions are no threat to heterosexual marriages," he said in a statement.
FAMILY'S VITAL ROLE
The Pope, who read his 14-page speech in a steady, professorial manner
while seated at a writing table, spoke of the family's vital role for
the future of society.
"Matrimony and the family are not, in reality, a casual sociological
construction or the fruit of specific historic and economic situations,"
he said.
In a clear reference to contraception, the Pope said couples went
against the nature of love itself when they "systematically shut off"
the possibility of "the gift of life."
The 78-year-old Pope's wide-ranging speech, interrupted by applause
several times, touched on themes such as human sexuality and freedom. It
clearly showed his background as one of the Roman Catholic Church's
leading theologians.
"The greatest expression of freedom is not the search for pleasure," he
said, adding that society seemed to want to tear down the moral
goalposts he said were needed for its future.
"Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to (moral) education is the
overwhelming presence in our society and culture of a type of relativism
that recognizes nothing as definitive...," he said.
Ratzinger has already backed a controversial campaign by bishops who
have urged voters to boycott an emotionally-charged referendum in Italy
this weekend that would lift bans on embryo research.
The Pope's words on Monday were no surprise. In an address to fellow
cardinals before the start of the conclave that elected him in April, he
denounced what he called an "anything goes" mentality that marked modern
times.
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http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050606/wl_nm/pope_gays_dc_3
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John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
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