Vatican's shift from passive silence to active hostility
Andrew Sullivan writes in the New York Times: Losing a Church, Keeping the Faith
The current pope is obviously a deep and holy man; but that makes his hostility even more painful. He will send emissaries to terrorists, he will meet with a man who tried to assassinate him. But he has not and will not meet with openly gay Catholics. They are, to him, beneath dialogue. His message is unmistakable. Gay people are the last of the untouchables. We can exist in the church only by silence, by bearing false witness to who we are.Makes me glad I'm not Catholic. I can oppose the words and actions of this man and his cardinals without guilt.
This is the church that threatened to shut down the choir than allow two men to continue to sing in it. Their crime? They got married in Canada. One of them had sung with the choir for 32 years.
This is the church that claims condoms are ineffective in the prevention of AIDS.
The WHO has condemned the Vatican's views, saying: "These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million."
I'm glad I'm not religious. I glad I live in a country where religion holds little sway. My faith is that of reason.
