Vatican digs in after gay marriage advances

VATICAN CITY The Vatican is digging in after gay marriage initiatives scored big wins this week in the U.S. and Europe, vowing to never stop insisting that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

In a front-page article in Saturday's Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Holy See sought to frame itself as the lone voice of courage in opposing initiatives to give same-sex couples legal recognition. In a separate Vatican Radio editorial, the pope's spokesman asked sarcastically why gay marriage proponents don't now push for legal recognition for polygamous couples as well.

Catholic teaching holds that homosexuals should be respected and treated with dignity but that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered." The Vatican also opposes same-sex marriage, insisting on the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman as the foundation for society.

The Vatican's anti-gay marriage media blitz came after three U.S. states approved same-sex marriage by popular vote in the election that returned Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency, Spain upheld its gay marriage law, and France pushed ahead with legislation that could see gay marriage legalized early next year.

"One might say the church, at least on this front, has been defeated," L'Osservatore Romano wrote. "But that's not the case."

The article insisted that Catholics were putting up a valiant fight to uphold church teaching in the face of "politically correct ideologies invading every culture of the world" that are backed by institutions like the United Nations, which last year passed a non-binding resolution condemning anti-gay discrimination.

"The church is called to present itself as the lone critic of modernity, the only check ... to the breakup of the anthropological structures on which human society was founded," it said.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, for his part, said gays can have their rights protected by means other than through legal marital recognition. He stressed that children should have a right to say they have a father and a mother.

"If not, then why not contemplate freely chosen polygamy, and naturally so as to not discriminate, polyandry?" he asked sarcastically. Polyandry is when a woman has two or more husbands.

"As a result, don't expect the church to stop insisting that society recognizes a specific place for marriage between a man and woman," he said.

The U.S. election had been closely watched at the Vatican because of the strong divisions that erupted during the campaign between the Obama administration and U.S. bishops over gay marriage, which Obama endorsed in May. The administration and bishops clashed more vehemently over Obama's health care mandate requiring nearly all U.S. health insurance plans to cover contraception, which the church opposes.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the contraception mandate — which exempts houses of worship but applies to faith-affiliated employers — is a violation of religious freedom.

The Vatican's reaction to Obama's re-election was tinged with such lingering criticism, with Pope Benedict XVI congratulating Obama and praying that the ideals of freedom and justice continue to be upheld.

Lombardi went further urging the administration to respect essential values in "promoting a culture of life and religious freedom" — Vatican buzzwords referring to abortion, contraception and the insurance mandate.

It was a far cry from the Vatican's enthusiastic response to Obama's election in 2008. Then, the pope termed Obama's election an "historic occasion" in a personal note of congratulations sent right after he won, a break with traditional Vatican protocol that usually sees official telegrams of congratulations sent on inauguration day.

[mjlewis6]

Secular law and canon law are two diffeent entities, governed by different bodies, governmental versus religious, and lastly have different jurisdictions as well.

Jesus' kingdom is not of this earth, period.

Laws promoted by the church are for its members and are limiting of its members. Laws in the legislature and national goverment respect all religious beliefs and are limited in their application into the religious jurisdiction.

Don't kid yourself that the Church of Satan does not get recognition from the government, either. It is a legitimate opposition religious group out there that gets its members from those who have lost faith. So, by all means, do wake up about marriage, but the definitions are entirely different: the religious one is quite different from the secular economic one with equal rights. And about the time you do not recognize the difference and go battling to have your own way....please recognize you are stepping across boundaries that are there to protect your religious beliefs and you are imposing your beliefs on others. So go preach to the faithless and save some souls there and do not pretend government gives you the right to impose a religous marriage upon a secular defined one.

[Booleyman]

This just in, the vatican't is no longer relevant in the modern world!

[dramapsychic]

AMEN to that!!!

[AdrianaRose66]

I personally lost all faith in the Catholic Church when my mom told me that the church wouldn't marry my father and her, only because they were already living together. They are too old-fashioned for this new age.

And gay marriage? Whatever. Love is love. It's not like people can help it. One can't just wake up and say to oneself "Oh, I think I want to be gay today!" It makes no sense to keep them from being legally married of they already are married in every other sense.

And to Ricky Carter...YOU are the kind of person that make me want to just give up on society. Your bigotry is so shallow that I find it funny. Wake up and look around you. The world is changing. Either change with it or look like a fool when you open your mouth.

[Freepress1111]

I am a male who was raised Catholic. Catholics are generally good people and orgs like Catholic Charities do fantastic work. But, the Church itself is the ultimate 'good old boys' network. Wake up, Vatican, it's the 21st Century, not the 16th. Your position that women are somehow unfit to be priests, bishops, and popes is as unacceptable as slavery and is and always has been an insult to the Lord, who 'made them male and female'. Your position on contraception coverage is based on money, not theology. Your position that two humans can only love each other and be married if they are opposite sexes is just plain wrong. I know because I used to think like that until I was fortunate enough to have the Lord touch my heart and change my life. Jesus came to change hearts, and he defeated the Roman Empire with love, not swords. It's time for the Church to stand up for the truth. Love never fails, even when it's between two people of the same sex.

[dramapsychic]

wow, if more clergy and followers of JC spoke like you did in this post, i might not be an atheist now! My motto is "Jesus save me... from your followers". Most of whom are so damn obnoxious with their orthodox obession and the splinter in the eye of others, while they have a log in their own.

[xieksis]

WHY WHY WHY can not people live and let live without trying to force your views on others....
Get the hell out of my bedroom
It is only religion that has defined marriage as between a man and woman...
So many of our laws of society are based solely on religious views...
If my son wants to marry a man then who am I to say he is wrong...??
If my daughter wants to marry a woman then why not...???
If I want to have 2 wives and I can support them then why not...???
Who does this effect except the people directly involved...

Religion as I knew it as a child is beginning its long overdue decent into just another chapter in history...

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Rick_Carter1 replies: (Do the psychiatric associations not define homosexuality as a mental dysfunction?)
---
No. See for yourself @ psyche.org.
Your bigotry and homophobia, however, ARE mental disorders.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

"...the Holy See sought to frame itself as the lone voice of courage in opposing initiatives to give same-sex couples legal recognition."
---
Courage?
Promoting discrimination has nothing to do with courage. It's blatant bigotry.

[dramapsychic]

AMEN to that... they are sooo full of themselves.. so high and almighty..self proclaimed mind you...All along they LOVE feeling like they are persecuted...so that feeds into their martyrdom and self righteousness.

[Rick_Carter1]

While I do agree that homosexuality is clearly an aberration of the mind, I personally thankful that the Catholic church recognizes that it is not primarily a moral failing of the individual, nor a demon possession of the individual. Indeed, all evidence suggests that it is an early developmental defect of the brain, also known as a "miswiring" of the developing human brain. That said, what are the legitimate rights of these individuals balanced against the rights of society at large? Indeed, what are the obligations of secular government which is prevented from taking any religious stand on these social issues? Please note at the same time that this issue of granting marriage also has some direct bearing upon public health, since by definition marriage is always expected to consummate itself in a sexual way. It is my personal belief that it is this area of public health (all arbitrary religious beliefs aside) where secular government is basically failing to assert itself in a proper way, if only for the healthy guidance of society at large. We do indeed need to pause as an enlightened society and carefully review this fraught issue dispassionately, if we are to ever properly decide what kind of social union is legally appropriate for these developmentally handicapped (i.e., 'miswired') individuals, if only so that public health and safety is reasonably preserved and the essential moral and ethical values of society are not tragically undermined. In short, I do believe that secular government clearly has an obligation to try to guide our overall society in a normal and healthy way, while at the same time ensuring the legitimate rights of the individual (even handicapped individuals), are protected as much as possible. - RC

[Rick_Carter1]

(Do the psychiatric associations not define homosexuality as a mental dysfunction? Someone out there help me here, please!) - RC

[Rick_Carter1]

(If homosexuality is classified as a mental dysfunction, then these people are clearly handicapped mentally, right?) - RC

[joesapper]

To undermine the law of the Father Almighty is impossible !
Man is beyond foolish to think they are right and God is wrong !

It is one thing to sin , it is something totally different to write laws that are against the laws of God . I will call no man Father , but I do agree with the Church standing for the law of the Alpha & Omaga , Father Almighty .

Adam & Eve , not Adam & corruption .

[dramapsychic]

show the proof of your god's existence! otherwise ****. Keep it to yourself like your scripture says...."go and prayer in the privacy of your own room" Stop trying to cram your immorality down the throat of others!! Otherwise go live in a theocracy like in muslim nations. You are both of the same mentality!! Religious Terrorists!!

[Elbonian2u]

The real problem for the Vatican will come when anti-gay bias is added to various hate crime laws. As for polygamy and polyandry, multiple spouse relationships are already accepted in certain parts of the world (i.e., polygamy in certain Muslim nations). The more Christianity loses its stranglehold on the creation of laws, the less traditional Catholic beliefs will be reflected in the laws of such nations. Since Catholicism is rooted in the belief system of 2,000 years ago, we should see these developments as a good thing. Morality should reflect rational truth, not arbitrary rules from thousands of years ago, most of which we've already jettisoned (like taking your disobedient kid to the city gates to be stoned to death).