Pope Benedict XVI: Merry Christmas, and Gays Cause Families To “Vanish”

Jim Burroway

December 21st, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI used the occasion of an address to the Curia to wish them Merry Christmas and gays!

“There is no denying the crisis that threatens it to its foundations – especially in the Western world,” the pope said, adding it had to be protected because it is “the authentic setting in which to hand on the blueprint of human existence”.

The 85-year-old pope, speaking in the frescoed Clementine Hall of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, said the family was being threatened by “a false understanding of freedom” and a repudiation of life-long commitment in heterosexual marriage.

“When such commitment is repudiated, the key figures of human existence likewise vanish: father, mother, child – essential elements of the experience of being human are lost,” the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholic said.

The pope approvingly cited a paper — Reuters calls it a “study” — by France’s chief rabbi Gilles Bernheim:

Bernheim, also a philosopher, argues that homosexual rights groups “will use gay marriage as a Trojan Horse” in a wider campaign to “deny sexual identity and erase sexual differences” and “undermine the heterosexual fundamentals of our society”.

His study, “Gay Marriage, Parenthood and Adoption: What We Often Forget To Say”, argues that plans to legalize gay marriage are being made for “the exclusive profit of a tiny minority” and are often supported because of political correctness.

Patrick

December 21st, 2012

The pope has made a life-long commitment to another man and has never been in a heterosexual marriage. In light of that, his comments seem rather hypocritical. And in other news, the earth still revolves around the sun.

Ben in Oakland

December 21st, 2012

When we say, “please stop hitting us over the heads with 2×4’s. it’s been going on for 2000 years and we’re running out of aspirin.” …

We really mean “destroy heterosexuality. Destroy families. Hate. Hate. Hate”. I know this because there’s a glossary in my copy of the gay agenda.

Priya Lynn

December 21st, 2012

“Bernheim, also a philosopher, argues that homosexual rights groups “will use gay marriage as a Trojan Horse” in a wider campaign to “deny sexual identity and erase sexual differences””.

This common talking point is really one of the dumbest things they could have come up with it. That its still so widely used demonstrates their desperation for something to make their case against marriage.

The idea that gays and lesbians want to make it so gender doesn’t matter and to erase sexual differences is obviously absurd to anyone that’s given it brief thought. Of couse gays and lesbians think gender matters and sexual differences are important to them. The vast majority of gays will never say “Gender and sexual differences don’t matter, give me a relationship with either a man or a woman, it makes no difference to me.” Similarly the vast majority of lesbians will tell you you can’t just swap a man into their relationships and have them think its just as good with a man as with a woman. Gender and sexual differences matter every bit as much to the vast majority of gays and lesbians as they do to heterosexuals. Only a few bisexuals will tell you that when it comes to relationships men and women are interchangeable.

Priya Lynn

December 21st, 2012

With so many problems in the world I’m baffled as to what the hell is wrong with these people that oppressing gays is the most important thing to them.

Victor

December 21st, 2012

Benny’s comments are in line with what one would expect from the head of the world’s biggest organized crime syndicate.

Kim

December 21st, 2012

Sooo…the head of the world’s largest mafia controlling the lives of millions of gullible Catholics says “the family was being threatened by ‘a false understanding of freedom’”?
As far as undermining the heterosexual fundimentals of society goes, that just means that people of all sexual identities would have a say in the shaping of our society. So, where’s the problem with that?

William

December 21st, 2012

Priya Lynn: You are so right. A similar argument (if one can call it that) to Bernheim’s was used some years ago by a Vatican official (I can’t now remember his name) and also by the Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria. These people’s problem is that they don’t actually understand what homosexuality is and therefore shouldn’t really be writing or speaking about it.

Priya Lynn

December 21st, 2012

William, I’m glad I’m not the only one that sees how dumb that “argument” is.

PLAINTOM

December 21st, 2012

I support marriage equality and all marriages. The people are the ones attacking marriage.

Richard Rush

December 21st, 2012

As the pope and so many other religious “leaders” demonstrate, one of the most dependable paths to power and/or wealth is the skillful exploitation of human gullibility. Sure, people are exploited through avenues other than religion. But religion is uniquely insidious in how it allows for clever people to invent preposterous stories, and claim they were divinely revealed.

Kevin F.

December 21st, 2012

Ironic that gays cause families to “vanish,” since the pope causes Catholic’s to “vanish.” Vanish from the pews that is.

It makes me sad. Here is a very intelligent, educated, and thoughtful man who is consumed with prejudice against lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgender people. I don’t know what personal demons are driving him and his campaign of hate (which predates his papacy), but I wish he would exercise those demons immediately.

Hunter

December 21st, 2012

The man’s a politician, first and foremost. You don’t get to be pope by being saintly. I suspect the increased illogic and general shrillness of his statements comes from the same source as the equivalent utterances from American conservative “Christians” — they’re losing, and they know it. And they’re all hampered by being locked into a world view that might have had some validity 4,000 years ago in the Middle East, but its relevance today is iffy, at best.

Ben In Oakland

December 21st, 2012

Kevin, he is very much exercising his demons– in fact, he’s giving them a hell of a workout.

What he needs is to exorcise them, but exercsing them is much easier.

Charles

December 21st, 2012

It sure seems to myself that a lot of heterosexual Catholics are practicing birth control that is not sanctioned by the Church.

Bill T.

December 21st, 2012

I was really looking forward to the Mayan apocalypse just so I wouldn’t have to hear something stupid from the usual homophobic publicity whores. Oh well, maybe next year.

Soren456

December 21st, 2012

@Kevin: I think that the one unfailing sign of a good education is an active and unconcealed awareness of how much one does not know, and a refusal ever to proclaim absolutes–especially about nature.

I don’t see this awareness or this refusal anywhere near this Pope or, frankly, anywhere near his clergy (indeed, most clergy) anywhere in the world.

A man who would not only make the statements that this Pope makes about life and nature and science, but would also insist that he has spoken indisputable truth, is an illiterate man. Illiterate because, aside from his own dogma, this man knows nothing. And he’s neither aware that he reveals himself, nor is he curious about it.

TomTallis

December 21st, 2012

Razi the Nazi strikes again…

codyj

December 21st, 2012

Wow, hes not like ‘supremely’ FKD-UP is he?. him and his hatred, and serving his ‘skygod’? sure am glad im agnostic

KZ

December 21st, 2012

Gay marriage has been on the Pope’s mind recently and frequently. I think he’s getting desperate. Uruguay leqalized same-sex marriage. France is ready to take up the issue. He has to know about the US election victories in Washington, Minnesota, Maine and Maryland. He’s desperately trying to breathe life into a dying, bigoted campaign against marriage equality.

I’d wish him luck (he’ll need it), but his logic is… is… Ok, I’m not seeing any logic in any of the statements he’s issued concerning same-sex marriage.

Mark F.

December 22nd, 2012

“Ironic that gays cause families to “vanish,” since the pope causes Catholic’s to “vanish.” Vanish from the pews that is.”

Church attendence is down at pro-gay liberal churches as well. The idea that conservative churches are losing members but liberal ones are not is false.

andom

December 22nd, 2012

If someone is interested:

http://www.grandrabbindefrance.com/mariage-homosexuel-homoparentalit%C3%A9-et-adoption-ce-que-l%E2%80%99-oublie-souvent-de-dire-essai-de-gilles-bern

Hunter

December 22nd, 2012

I’ve gotten to the point where I react to public statements by the pope the same way I do to public statements by Pat Robertson: When someone is obviously senile, have pity — don’t let them make fools of themselves in public.

Eric in Oakland

December 22nd, 2012

“the family was being threatened by ‘a false understanding of freedom’ and a repudiation of life-long commitment in heterosexual marriage.”

It sounds like he is blaming the gays for a problem caused by heterosexuals. “life-long commitment in heterosexual marriage” was on the decline long before gay marriage. Furthermore, the issue is not “freedom” but justice and equality. I guess it is easy for him to confuse the three since he doesn’t understand the principles behind them.

Eric in Oakland

December 22nd, 2012

Priya Lynn said, “With so many problems in the world I’m baffled as to what the hell is wrong with these people that oppressing gays is the most important thing to them.”

I think this is partly because some of the worst “problems in the world” are the fault of the Roman Church. They need a distraction and a scapegoat, and we are convenient targets. “Look over there! Gays!”

Maurice Lacunza

December 22nd, 2012

I’ll say it again: I think this man-pope is evil. Look at his eyes. Quit looking at gold and lace robes. Look at the lines on his face. They are hard lines.

Tell me you do not think that there is something very wrong with him.

EastsideJim

December 22nd, 2012

I wonder if Huckabee coordinated his “gays and abortionists are to blame for the school massacre” with the Pope to present a united front of religious bigots?

Hue-Man

December 22nd, 2012

The catholic cult has become as deranged as the TeaParty/GOP. The parallels are striking – insulated from rational thought and facts, extreme ideologues, purges of the impure, mostly old white men, successor leadership is even more deranged than existing leadership with a perpetual spiral into extreme right-wing policies, moral decline, popular decline (“old white men are dying off”), no source of renewal.

Now which of all the cranky old white men of the TP/GOP is most like Joe Rat.?

andom

December 23rd, 2012

I wonder why I do not hear any criticism of the Grand Rabbi of France?
What keeps you from doing so?

aski

December 23rd, 2012

Damned that Grand Rabbi of France!

Hunter

December 23rd, 2012

KZ — Your comment just registered. When you look at the countries where same-sex marriage has been legalized, and those in which it’s under consideration or which have managed a pro-tem accommodation, he has every right to panic: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Argentina, and likely or partially in effect in Brazil (3 states, with simple conversion from civil union to marriage in the others), Mexico (also three jurisdictions, recognized nationwide), Uruguay, France, and under discussion in Ireland. The Constitutional Court of Colombia has instructed the Congress to pass enabling legislation asap. All “Catholic” countries. (There are others, but these are the most “Catholic”.)

Add in the fact that the laity in places like the US pretty much ignores the bishops on issues like birth control, SSM, and the like, and figure he probably doesn’t like what he sees. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have the vaguest idea what to do about it.

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