Monday, June 9, 2008

"Gay Pride" in Rome

Diogenes reports:

"Rome was the scene of another gay pride parade on Saturday. It was over-reported, as usual, the sympathies of journalists and editors having overmastered their professional objectivity. As usual, hatred and ridicule of the Church was a chief theme of the festivities, which the media treated with amused indulgence....

The upshot is that, while the image of Benedict as a reptilian horned Hitler may be dismaying to Catholics, it's an indication that the pope is doing his job and that the Church over which he presides is doing hers. It means the players are in position. Were it to happen that your local transgendered performance artist (and his spiritual director) ceased to hang the pope in effigy, then you'd have cause for concern."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live in Italy.
In north Italy civil weddings have passed religious wedding 51% to 49%, but most couples live together without marriage. At last election a list against abortion have only 124,000 votes, the 0,4 % of total votes.
And you see BXVI is a big hypocrite because here, very far from the US, he all the time gives communion to Italian politicians pro-choice.

Anonymous said...

To me, it's fine for the Church to impose it's standard on the faithful, but it does the Church no favor when it intervenes in the temporal world and tries to impose its standards on society at large.

Last week in Italy, a man who was recently paralyzed was denied a religious wedding with his fiancee. According to doctrine, marriage is for procreation, and this unfortunate man was no longer capable. Well that's Catholic doctrine, so it should be followed for Catholic faithful.

The couple got married in a civil ceremony in the hospital (thank God, with the parish priest present). Would the Church have wished to impose its standard in this case and denied the couple the ability to marry in a civil ceremony. Hopefully, not.

But it is a slippery slope, and if the Church wishes to exert its influence in political matters, it ought not pretend that reaction and response to political interference is an attack on their spirituality. If you play in politics, you should be willing to take your lumps - and not hide behind the cassock.