Pope calls same sex-unions 'weak and deviant'

Italy debating recognizing relationships

Oct. 19, 2006. 03:49 PM
REUTERS

VERONA, Italy — Pope Benedict on Thursday urged Italian Catholics to defend the traditional family and in an apparent reference to gay marriage, said they should oppose any moves to legalise "weak and deviant" unions.

The Pope made his comments in a long, wide-ranging speech to a national convention of Italy's politically powerful Roman Catholic Church in the northern Italian city of Verona, famous as the setting for Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

While he did not specifically mention gay marriage, thousands of listeners at the fairgrounds in Verona's outskirts strongly applauded the two parts of his speech about the family and "other forms of unions".

He urged them to fight "with determination ... the risk of political and legislative decisions that contradict fundamental values and anthropological and ethical principles rooted in human nature".

The Pope said they had to defend "the family based on matrimony, opposing the introduction of laws on other forms of unions which would only destabilise it and obscure its special character and its social role, which has no substitute".

In another section of his speech, the Pope made another apparent reference to homosexual marriage, stating that the Church had to say "'no' to weak and deviant forms of love".

He said the Church wanted instead to say "'yes' to authentic love, to the reality of man as he was created by God".

Gayleft, an Italian homosexual rights group, said the Pope had "offended the dignity of millions of Italian men and women" and that too few leftist politicians had stood up to defend their rights after the Pope made his address.

Since his election in April 2005, Benedict has firmly backed the Roman Catholic Church's strong opposition to moves to legalise gay marriage or to legally recognise unwed heterosexual couples.
The centre-left coalition of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has promised some form of recognition for unmarried couples but has so far stopped short of openly supporting gay marriage.

But some leftist parties in the coalition, which ranges from Catholics to communists, back greater rights for homosexuals, including marriage.

Some in the centre left support a legal recognition similar to that in France, which in 1999 granted all couples the right to form civil unions. Civil unions entitle them to joint social security, limited inheritance rights and other benefits.

Italy's Catholic Church opposes this, saying it will weaken traditional marriage and the traditional family.

Prodi, a practicing Catholic, attended the Pope's mass for some 40,000 people at Verona stadium on Thursday afternoon and was heckled by some in the crowd as he entered and left.

In his address to the Catholic convention, the Pope was also applauded when he said the Church had to continue to defend "life in all its phases, from conception until natural death".

He said the Church did not want to be "a political agent" but wanted to help shape social policy.

The Pope backed the Italian Church's demands for more state funding for Catholic schools, saying that they were still subjected to "ancient prejudices" he said were unjustifiable.
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Toronto Star – 20 September 2006

Pope asks bishops to lobby our MPs

Ontario prelates given message by Benedict at audience in Rome. Canada `has had to endure the folly of redefinition of spouse'

Sep. 9, 2006. 01:00 AM
STUART LAIDLAW
FAITH AND ETHICS REPORTER

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday lectured Ontario bishops on a pilgrimage to Rome about gay marriage and abortion laws in this country, lamenting "the exclusion of God from the public sphere" and calling on the bishops to use their influence on Catholic politicians.

"In the name of tolerance, your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse and, in the name of `freedom of choice,' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children," he said.

The Pope said Canada's "well-earned reputation for a generous and practical commitment to justice and peace" has led to a "false dichotomy" in which rights have been extended too far.
"Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on this principle," he told the bishops before leaving on a trip to his native Germany.

" (In) your discussions with politicians and civic leaders I encourage you to demonstrate that our Christian faith, far from being an impediment to dialogue, is a bridge."

Bishop Richard Smith, who is leading the bishops on their visit to Rome, last month delivered a similar message, saying "a terrible mistake was made" last year when the Canadian government changed the definition of marriage to include homosexual relationships.

Smith told a gathering of the Catholic Women's League that a planned fall vote on whether to scrap that law presents "a rare second chance" to revisit the issue. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The Pope's intervention could add fuel to the debate in Canada over gay marriage, which the ruling Conservatives oppose.

Already, Catholic MPs, including former prime minister Paul Martin, have been admonished by the church for supporting gay marriage. This weekend, in a move largely spawned by the church rebuke of Catholic MPs, the New Democratic Party will debate setting up a faith caucus.

The Pope's lecture to Ontario bishops is the third such appeal to Canadian clergy in recent months. He delivered similar messages to Atlantic Canadian and Quebec bishops in May and is to meet western Canadian bishops next month.

With each meeting, his comments have become more pointed. The Ontario meeting is the first in which he called on bishops to use their influence with politicians by urging them to consider religious values when making decisions, not just public opinion polls and social trends.

"Democracy succeeds only to the extent that it is based on truth and a correct understanding of the human person," he said. "Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on this principle."

The Pope also commended Ontario's Catholic schools for helping to evangelize the province's children in the face of an "insidious" relativism in today's schools.

Donna Marie Kennedy, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, says students in the separate school system are taught Catholic values as part of the curriculum, but are not graded on their level of adherence to papal edicts.

"How can I judge someone else's faith journey?" she asked. "That's a personal relationship."

As a publicly funded system, she said, the schools also teach the same curriculum as public schools.

The Toronto Catholic school board was not available for comment.

A Ministry of Education statement noted "the government may not interfere with the denominational aspects" of Catholic schools.

Benedict also returned to a theme he stressed with the other Canadian bishops, calling for greater "evangelism" in the church to make religion a bigger part of everyday life in Canada and the culture of the country.

Catholic schools, in his view, were key to this effort.

"Within the context of the evangelization of culture, I wish to mention the fine network of Catholic schools at the heart of ecclesial life in your province," he said. "I thank and encourage those many lay men and women ... who strive to ensure that your young people become daily more appreciative of the gift of faith."

Kennedy said she doubted the Pope's comments would lead teachers to infuse more theology into their lessons.

"As a teacher, I don't dispense theological advice."
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Toronto Star — 9 September 2006