Pope Poop

The Vatican is shooting itself in the jigglies.

I'm sure you've seen news articles like this one in your paper of choice. It's entirely possible television news has even given it a mention; I don't watch television. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I did turn on Public Access twice, a few months ago.) The Pope has issued a venomously-worded denunciation of gay marriage, calling upon Catholic lawmakers everywhere to rally round the banner and stamp out gay marriage whenever it might rear its head. You can read the whole thing on the Vatican website. I won't quote from it, because it's grotesquely offensive. I find most fecal the passages saying that, of course, the Church condemns discrimination against homosexual persons; the lady, as it were, protests too much, methinks, given that such sentiments are immediately followed with the most despicable condemnations of homosexual acts and relationships, claims that gay people cannot love each other, claims that letting gay couples adopt children does palpable damage to the innocent tykes. (This last is especially funny, coming from an organisation whose clergy raped and molested over 1,000 in the Boston area alone.)

That being said, I don't think this bilious text will hurt gay rights in the least in the developed world. I am of the opinion that it can only further reduce the Vatican's dwindling influence, because there are a heck of a lot of Catholic legislators out there who don't agree with these hateful sentiments, and aren't going to obey. The Catholic Church as an institution is pretty horrid in a lot of ways. Catholics are not.

Jean Chretien is Catholic, as is his inevitable successor, Paul Martin. Both support the coming legalisation of gay marriage in Canada. Both have already announced the Vatican's outburst will not influence them in the least.

Charles Kennedy, leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats, is, at least nominally, a Catholic. He also likes David Bowie. By all accounts he's a dreadfully nice person, and it would delight me to no end to see him Prime Minister. He has also vocally courted the gay vote, supports Britain's upcoming pseudo-marriage partnerships, and even specifically mentions the transgendered. Britain, embrace him!

For that matter, also Catholic is the Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith. He's also 1/8 Japanese, apparently.) Even he has supported the partnerships. He couldn't switch sides now without another Tory revolt. (Michael Portillo was raised Catholic, too, and no matter what he might say, I'm convinced he's not only a total butt pirate but quite possibly Chris Morris's secret former love slave. Have you read the Paxman/Portillo slash? Making Light linked to it ages ago. I once saw Michael Portillo walking through a parking lot roundabouts Westminster Palace. His briefcase looked gay.)

Even Andrew Sullivan is Catholic.

Basically, what I'm saying is that Catholic politicians are now in a situation where they are practically and morally incapable of following the Vatican's line. It'll erode away the Church's remaining power, until the Vatican realises that it's become toothless and senile, a great gilded corpse. Minus the hyperbole, it means the Vatican can say all it wants, but the more it says, the less likely it becomes that anyone will listen. Which I think is an end devoutly to be desired.

Times change, and if the Church won't change with them, it condemns itself to irrelevance.

Posted by aloysius at July 31, 2003 08:16 PM | TrackBack |