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

"We know they exist, we acknowledge them, but we believe homosexuality is wrong...

How can I teach my dc that homosexuality is wrong, when our priest is openly gay and so are half their teachers...?"

Had to leave earlier as a friend arrived,but I wanted to respond to this.
I was(many years ago)a believing child in a christian family going to an overtly christian school.I thought sex outside marriage was wrong and that homosexuality was wrong. (My church and family didn't bang on about this but I knew what the church believed)There were girls who were openly gay(actually they were flaunting it,I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise!)and my reaction was the "oh for goodness sake,do we need to know this" reaction which was exactly how I felt about straight girls bragging about their sex lives.I thought it was wrong,but lots of things were happening all the time in the world that weren't how the church taught that things should be.That was part of what church teaching was - out there you will see things happening that you don't agree with - hang on to what you believe.

I do see that having an officially openly gay priest would be difficult,(with regard to what you'd say to your children)as this would be the Church changing its teaching,but for everyone else,your children will come across all sorts of situations where what you say to them doesn't agree with what other people think,and they'll have to cope at some point with that.

You can teach your children what you believe but,IMO, you don't have the right to stop other people living their lives.

wanting people to join and brainwashing them into thinking the same way.

fortunately its only partially successful, as other Catholic posters on this thread have shown who are not bigots.

yes and what a great society we live in - one that perpetuates intolerance and downright meanness of spirit to our fellow (wo)man.

Oh DP

"Homosexuals are going against the fundamentals of nature aren't they"

This is categorically untrue. You've been told this time and time again. Homosexuality is present everywhere in nature, in mammals, in birds, in fish.

The difference between the natural world and you is the natural world does not impose a value judgement on a normal and natural behaviour.

You are wrong wrong wrong. You know you are wrong. You can observe you are wrong. you are just very, very silly.

What do you think about poofs working in hospitals? Cinemas? Restaurants?

What if your child had to be physically examined by a consultant that was a practising homosexual and the best consultant in the field? Would you allow it?

My flaber is truly gasted. Where to start? Fundamentals of nature, what exactly are these? Your Catholic and I respect your choice but if God made us all, which I hope you would agree with, and you just so happen to be born gay then surely that is with Gods will? As God in his infinite wisdom has chosen to place upon the Earth people whose sexuality differs from others then surely it is all part of his great work and why should we then doubt what is Gods will? If you do challenge this idea surely you are going against God?
Just a thought.

I am sorry but I would be still very very wary of a partially successful cult, other catholics on this thread are not bigots but they are following a leader who is a bigot. Thats the bit I don't understand, sorry I just don't - quite genuine confusion as to why ?

What do you think about poofs working in hospitals? Cinemas? Restaurants?

What if your child had to be physically examined by a consultant that was a practising homosexual and the best consultant in the field? Would you allow it?

The more we entertain DP the more she loves it!There are several news type threads which are interesting debate wise and which tick along nicely tbh but she can't help turning them this way with nasty remarks.I am shocked at all the homophobic racist anti disabled comments etc which go unchallenged and even when confronted with rl people living the lives she freely insults she continues to stick the knife in and never seems to reconsider her views in any way.SHe enjoys it it is obvious

...society works best when a man and a woman get married and have children together...

Proof,anyone?? And anyway the world is full of men and women who want to do just that,so even if it is true there is not much chance of it not happening and society falling apart,is there?....

"gays are basically sticking two fingers up to the moral world and saying "who cares what's best for society" "

That's a pretty unpleasant thing to say,daftpunk. It reminds me of my Dad ,telling me how all students were idle long haired non-conformist drug users,when the only students he knew were me and my mates(V.boring,industrious types!)

It isn't fair to make generalisations like that about people who are real and likely to be hurt be it.

Oh joy, the daftpunk "look how much of a bigot I am!" show is on again.

It must be very difficult being a reasonable Roman Catholic and seeing that kind of fear-fuelled bile being spouted in your name.

I am new to this site. Does DP do this a lot?

topher- oh yes indeed. Immigrants, gay people,has been disability in the past.... DP is a master of the art of bigotry.

Indeed. Usually when you see someone being as bigotted and close-minded as DP these days it's an obvious troll. What's scary is that I rather suspect DP actually thinks like that and simply can't understand all the faces.

IvyKaty, sorry but we are NOT following the Pope thank you very much!

There are many of us who agree with the principles of the catholic faith, with its foundations and beliefs that are intrinsically linked to the New Testament.

As catholics we do not get a choice in who is the head of the church. But he is only the head of the catholic organisation. You can either choose to follow him or not.

Just as many CofEs do not follow the Queen. They have their faith but they don't consider her the head of their faith.

My faith is catholic. I go to a catholic church because I believe in the Mass and the rituals associated with it. Because I like giving up one hour each week to devote to Jesus and remind myself of what is important in life.

I do not agree with the Pope or the catholic church on many issues, that does not mean I cannot be a member of it. On the contrary, the more members of the catholic church that speak out, the more pressure is put upon the Vatican to truly represent us.

Would you say that Gordon Brown is your leader? He is the head of your government but you may not agree with him or any of the MPs, he does not represent you or your views.

Same thing.

Is daft punk for real?

When I first joined MN I read a post of hers that said men who enjoy anal sex are closet gays and assumed she was a wind up.

In 2010 do people still think it's okay to say "I don't want homosexuals in my churches or schools?"

What vile bigotry, I actually feel a bit sick.

I think rhubarb is right you can be a member of the catholic church and not hold these sort of views.Society moves on and we learn as we go.I was brought up in northern ireland and many of my 'still practicing catholic' relations are not bigoted in any way that i can see.

"To answer your question, straight sex is what our bodies were designed for, in fact 'sex' between two people of the same gender is a physical impossibility. Oral/ anal sex are ways of coming as close as possible to it and they have significant health risks. "

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

Funniest. post. ever.

Do you define sex as a penis penetrating a vagina? In which case

A You must be a (somewhat limited in imagination) man or a very conservative, conventional woman

OR

B you are a 14 year old boy

AND

B you are missing out on an awful lot of fun in the sack.

Talk about reducing all the incredible things a couple can do together from caressing to kissing to multiple orgasms created every which way to "penis in vagina".

would you vote for a goverment that tells you gay people are sinners and do not have rights?

SkaterGrrrrl
I think missionary is all thats allowed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Must be boring though think of the whole smorgasboard of experience you miss out on if you are that repressed.

IvyKaty, I do not vote for the Pope. Do you understand that? We have no vote.

I did not vote for Blair either and he murdered thousands of Iraqi civilians in an illegal war.

What about when homosexuality was illegal in this country, would you have said that the whole of the country was therefore homophobic?

I would not vote for this Pope, but it was out of my hands unfortunately.

Whatever government you vote for, you can be sure they will be corrupt, greedy, lying bastards. Does that make you the same?

Your comparison does not hold up.

lol LG...not sure how I could give it to you straight....?

OK Rhubarb but if I were a member of the Labour Party and Gordon Brown moved to allow legal discrimination against homosexuals then I would firstly protest and try to get the party to reject the motion. If it didn't then I would quit.

I certainly wouldn't consider myself "Labour" any more.

If the acknowledged leader of my faith came out with statements that I genuinely disapproved of then there would have to be a time that I acknowledged that I could no longer be a member of that faith.

This genuinely isn't a flippant question or intended to be disrespectful, I'm sure that many non Catholics don't quite understand the relationship between "normal" Catholics and the Pope.

Putting my cards on the table I'm from a CofE background but firmly in the "faith is a problem when it becomes a religion" camp it comes to organised religion.

What do you think about poofs working in hospitals? Cinemas? Restaurants?

What if your child had to be physically examined by a consultant that was a practising homosexual and the best consultant in the field? Would you allow it?