This is rich. The Guardian reports that, on the eve of his first visit to the United Kingdom, Pope Ratzi is condemning various legislation in that nation that gives a fuller measure of equality to gay and lesbian citizens:
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned British equality legislation for running contrary to “natural law” as he confirmed his first visit to the UK later this year.
(…)
[H]e criticised UK legislation for creating “limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”. It is thought his comments relate to laws that came in last year preventing adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples and also Harriet Harman’s equality bill, currently going through parliament.
(…)
[Bishops and priests] told him sexual orientation legislation that came into effect on 1 January 2009 had forced the closure of half the Roman Catholic adoption agencies because the law making it illegal to discriminate against gay applicants went against their beliefs.
Yeah, first of all, just as in the United States, no Catholic adoption agency was “forced” to close. They simply decided to put anti-gay animus above serving children. You have to understand their reasoning, though. Adopting children to nice gay and lesbian couples could lower the chances that those kids would stay in the church, where the priests and bishops have full access to them.
Second of all, it’s been established that the phrase “natural law” when used by the pope is approximately as meaningless and unscientific as the phrase “macroevolution” when used by creationists.
Whatever, Ratzi.
UPDATE: The National Secular Society has a petition drive to ask that the Catholic Church, rather than British taxpayers, pay for the Pope’s visit. Go sign if you like that idea.
(h/t John Aravosis)
The pope looks like a demon dreamed up by Hollywood – how fitting.
For Europe and a few other nations round the world, many citizens are now post-Christian, except for the United States and many Latin American nations. The Pope is reacting to irrelevancy in all its contortions. Since he cannot control the European Union nor even Italy for that matter, this Pope is deeply concerned that the Church will no longer play a major role in the rule of the world where at one time, the papacy ruled the rulers and educated their future lines. As he cannot win by virtue of force or an army, he must resort to an assumption that people still believe in the myths and the terrors that a belief in then would instll into the faithful where they could be manipulated. It doesn’t work anymore in a post-Christian era. It’s over, even in Britain. Great blog! Keep it up! Love, Dom, R.N.
The problem though Dom, is that in Britain, even if weekly church attendance is about 7% now, we do not have a separation of church / state. And the Upper House of our Parliament is full of deeply religious Lords and 26 bishops (there, because they are regarded as superior moral guides, I suppose, though there is no evidence for this). We also have two main political parties that are just in love with faith (‘I’m not religious, but…’), especially the Tories, who plan to open lots of faith schools if they win the election. Harriet Harman has just caved in on the equality bill unfortunately.