Pope Benedict XVI Bashes Gay Marriage

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Janaury 10, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                Saying that gay marriage was one of many threats that undermine “the future of humanity itself,” Pope Benedict XVI weighed in on one of society’s most thorny issues:  Gay marriage.  With the Roman Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality unambiguous, the priesthood has become a magnet for homosexuality and sex abuse.  Countless numbers of priest sex abuse have been documented in recent years, costing the Papacy millions in legal settlements worldwide.  Weighing in so publicly on gay marriage leaves the Pope vulnerable to criticism on other fronts, especially the Church’s celibacy vow that arguably creates the kind of sexual aberrations leading to priest abuse.  Talking to a Catholic conference represented by 180 countries, the Pope commented on social and economic issues facing Catholics around the globe.  Benedict believes gay marriage is not a proper “setting” to raise children.

            Given the extent of broken marriages, out-of-wedlock births and single-parent families, blasting gays for trying to be responsible with marriage and family goes over the top.  With all the priest abuse cases and homosexuality in the Church, the Pope’s harsh comments about gay marriage demonstrates an outmoded understanding of how same sex relationships can actually stabilize children, who’d otherwise grow up in chaotic arrangements.  Researchers at the Vatican, briefing the Pope on gay marriage, know perfectly well that gay relationships don’t determine the sexual orientation of natural born or adopted children.  Vatican officials know that financially stable same-sex couples are perfectly suitable parents, loving their children every bit as much as their heterosexual counterparts.

            Gay marriage doesn’t, as the Pope suggest, undermine the family, it actually strengthens alternative families, to the extent the heterosexual marriages represent today’s norm.  Gay marriage laws in the U.S. and Europe attempt, as the Pope knows, to strengthen alternative family structures not weaken them.  “This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society.  Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself,” Benedict told delegates at the Vatican.  Gay marriage doesn’t undermine the family:  It reinforces same sex-relationships by requiring gays and lesbians to assume the same legal family commitments as heterosexual families.  Broken homes, poor family structures, poverty, unemployment, prejudice and outmoded thinking threaten the future of humanity, not gay marriage.

            California found out the hard way what happens when church groups spend millions of dollars attacking gay marriage.  California’s Prop 8, Defense of Marriage Act, won approval by 54% of voters Nov. 5, 2008, only to be sued in federal court as unconstitutional.  Gay marriage laws in Massachusetts, New York and Iowa all have the backings of State Supreme Courts, viewing gay marriage as a civil right.  High courts ruled consistently that domestic partnerships violate the 14th Amendment Equal Protect Clause, creating separate-but-equal class violating the 1954 landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education.  State legislatures, Supreme Courts and the public haven’t yet caught up to the reality that gay rights have now become civil rights in the United States.  Pope Benedict’s harsh remarks reflect poorly on the Vatican, buy making amends for years of inequality, injustice and priest abuse.

            Whether you’re liberal or conservative, failing to accept gay rights as today’s civil rights ignores today’s constitutional laws that ruled unambiguously that gays must be treated no differently than racial issues.  New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan fought hard to keep gay marriage off the books.  Signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo June 24, 2011, New York’s Marriage Equity Act permitted gay marriages and prevented discrimination based on sexual orientation.  Religious organizations, like the Catholic Church, must recognize that the state is not at liberty to discriminate the same way as tax- exempt churches.  Whether churches lose their tax-exempt status for discriminating against gay marriage is anyone’s guess.  So far, most churches continue to discriminate against gays, bisexuals, lesbians and transgenders without test cases challenging their tax-exempt status.

            Pope Benedict makes a big mistake airing his obsolete views about gay marriage in public.  Bashing gay marriage invites more criticism on the Church for insisting on celibacy, leading to a host of aberrant behaviors, including sex abuse of children, whether same-sex or not.  “The family unit is fundamental for the educational process and for the development both of individuals and states, hence there is a need for polices which promote the family and social cohesion and dialogue,” said Benedict.  Benedict knows that alternative families are a fact-of-life and only strengthen families and society.  No one disagrees that nuclear family—whether gay or straight—is the fundamental building block of society.  What the Pope doesn’t get is that responsible gay families are entitled to the same rights, privileges, civil rights and legal protections as any other law-abiding tax-paying citizen.

  John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.       

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