Pope hits hard at gay sex, activists react sharply

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Before he was appointed to the Vatican�s top religious position, Pope Benedict, who was seen as a hardliner, aggressive and doctrine-enforcing cardinal, had described gay sex beyond traditional heterosexual relations as �a destruction of God�s work�.

CJ: Dr. Lalit kishore

Wed, Dec 24, 2008 21:59:32 IST

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Gay News :

IN HIS end-of-year speech at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rain forest from destruction. “(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed,” he said. Furthermore, he defended the Church’s rightful duty to “speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected”.

Hitting out at Gay sex, the 82-year-old Pope told top priests that the failure to respect the union between a man and a woman was tantamount to “auto destruction of mankind”.

Before he was appointed to the Vatican’s top religious position, Pope Benedict, who was seen as a hardliner, aggressive and doctrine-enforcing cardinal, had described gay sex beyond traditional heterosexual relations as “a destruction of God’s work”.

Some of the common reactions of the gay right activists and humanists are as follows:

It’s breach of Biblical tradition of showing love and compassion for all.
He has homophobia.
He is encouraging attacks on gay people.
He has the intent of criminalising gays.
He is using the language of hatred and disrespect for sexual minority.
He is in the grip of doctrinal orthodoxy.
He is creating a dangerous climate of inciting hatred towards gays.

On the other hand, Rev Sharon Ferguson, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, described Pope’s remarks as “totally irresponsible and unacceptable in any shape or form”.

She said: “It is more the case that we need to be saved from his comments. It is comments like that that justify homophobic bullying that goes on in schools and it is comments like that that justify gay bashing.”

She added, “There are still so many instances of people being killed around the world, including in Western society, purely and simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.”

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