The Pope is coming to UK to campaign against equality: Does this make him a respectable leader of faith or a bigot?

[Strix]

What do you think?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8492597.stm

How on Earth can anyone openly protest against equality?! Astounding. Interestingly, thinking about it, about 80% of the gay people I know are Catholic and went to Catholic school.

Is he just annoyed that the Royal family aren't allowed to marry Catholics (is that still the case, actually?)?

When religious belief systems are at oods with the law of the land though, things need to be changed.

Child sacrifice is not allowed, AFAIK, even amongst people who believe in it.

PLus they won't have to have gay priests (um???). Ok they won't have to have gay priests who are sexually active (erm.....).

It's the jobs in the office etc they will have to open up, in line with the law. I cannot believe that having a gay woman working in an office somewhere is going to cause the church to crumble...

Pope Benny can say what he likes I guess - doesn't mean anyone has to agree with him.

Unfortunately a lot of people do though......

Of course he's a bigot.

But can I just say his view do not represent those held by the majority of Catholics. Yes, he's the head of our Church but IMVHO, his views are far removed from my experience. Do we judge all Muslims by the words and actions or a few nutters who call themselves religious leaders or those saying their heinous crimes are the wishes of Allah?

My faith is about my faith and not those who try to run it for me.

In a way it;s quite a good thing that the catholic church has got an obvious fucking maniac at the helm. Because hopefully the more ghastly his pronouncements, the more people will look at him and go 'Know what? This is utter bullshit' and walk away from this unpleasant superstition.

I think he's entitled to hold whatever bizarre views he likes, but I object strongly to him attempting to influence the laws in this country. Hopefully everyone will ignore him.

Complete and utter bigot and total hypocrite. This makes me so furious. For a start, the catholic priesthood has been a home for gay men for centuries, he must know that. And yes it's the intervention of the state that saved catholics from the persecution they used to suffer. And if religions are allowed to override state equality laws, where the hell does that lead? You might as well say it's OK to stone women to death for being raped, since that's what some people believe.

I'd be willing to bet he's gay himself, that's what his obsessive homophobic attitude suggests.

Bigot

I was born and raised a Catholic, went to Catholic school, my Mum is a staunch practising Catholic

However I have not and will not have my children baptised into the church (my own rampant agnosticism notwithstanding) due to bullshit like this

I do understand that many, probably the majority, of Catholics do not countenance his views however I want no truck with a church that condones this sort of thing which is so utterly against what i believe myself

no equality for women - bollocks to you
no equality for gay people - bollocks to you
no contraception - bollocks to you ()
and don't get me started on the idea of original sin...

Hate to crash the catholic bashing party, but just wanted to say that alot of catholics agree with the pope.....

sorry....

I found a stonewall webpage recently that was set out like a tabloid request for information:

HAVE YOU SEEN EVIDENCE THAT POP BENEDICT IS GAY?
HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH POPE BENEDICT?
IF SO RING 015649843

It made me lol

lol at the Pope not being a 'real' Catholic

Well a number of popes throughout history have been exceedingly corrupt and not exactly adherent to catholic dogma. Illegitimate children aplenty. No surprise to me that it's possible for a pope to be a crap catholic!

He is acknowledged to be a theological conservative, even by Catholic standards.

I remember a thread on here at his inaugration where I was saying WHERE'S A TERRORIST WHEN YOU NEED ONE and getting told off and told to give the man a chance

PW;

I'm going to work on the assumption that you are hetrosexual..(I'm pretty sure you are)

so why do you care so much about homosexual rights within the catholic church...?

Thankfully, it sounds like his visit might do him more PR damage than good.

How on earth can camaigning against equality be a Cristian behaviour. And following on from silly widdicombe, how can a man with such uncristian beliefs and actions be qualified to lead the Catholic Church.

scutters over to the Anglicans and throws hat into ring for women bishops campaign

I'm straight... but I have gay friends/colleagues and family members like most people. Since when would being straight not make you care about equality for people who aren't?

I mind this because I think teaching that homosexuality is wrong is just purely immoral. I don't give a toss if it's religious belief - it's still immoral and harmful. We have state laws to prevent that harm and they have been hard fought for. I don't have any truck with any religion, whose dogmas are based on nothing, no evidence, no reality, just accumulated superstition, having any influence on state laws.

When did Jesus say it was (wo)man's job to punish the gay for being so?

This man is on his own campaign, and it is not as far as I can tell aligned with the intentions of God.

Daftpunk, it's possible to care about equality for other people - even if they are a different sexuality, gender, race and so on, you know.

Not exactly a difficult notion to grasp.

What makes you more equal than other animals?

"Do we judge all Muslims by the words and actions or a few nutters who call themselves religious leaders"

No but enshrined in Catholic beliefs is the belief that the pope is Gods messenger on earth, once again another reason I left the faith, so by stating you are a catholic it is a statement that either A) you believe this to be true or B) you aren't really a Roman Catholic then but instead have a Christian belief system. I've always said that most Irish people aren't Roman Catholics at all, we are in fact protestants because most people don't believe in transubstanciation (sp) and most don't believe the pope to be Gods messenger on earth which are probably the 2 major differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.
So i do think there's a fundamental difference between judging Muslims based on the actions of self-appointed nut-jobs and judging Catholics by one who holds an official position in their religous hierarchy and who for followers the belief in his position is a central tenant of that religion.

"so why do you care so much about homosexual rights within the catholic church...?"

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.

The issue of whether or not an organisation can be allowed to ignore certain aspects of the law of the land because they claim it is their faith is important.

This one peculiar fetish of going after people who just happen to like people of the same sex's bums doesn't affect me.

However if we don't draw a line and say "the law is the law" then maybe their next set of decisions and exemptions will.

Many "Christians" often seem strangely happy to conveniently forget christ's teachings about equality, tolerance, forgiveness and mercy. I often think that about the US gay-hating, fornication-dreading, dealth-penalty-loving "moral" majority.

So the leader of a religion with a morally dubious history (both him and the religion) says something offensive, closed-minded and stupid. Again.

This is news? The man's like Prince Phillip in a frock and silly hat. He obviously can't not say stupid and offensive things.

BP;

Homosexuality is not accepted within the Catholic church.

If we have to change for the sake of a few homosexuals, you might aswell say religion is dead.

That is not going to happen.