Pope Benedict Forgets The Spirit Of Christmas, Uses Holiday Address To Attack Gay Marriage
When it comes to the holiday address given by the Pope, one would expect to hear about the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. You’d be prepared to rejoice in the love God has for his children on earth. While I’m no longer a regular Mass attender, Christmas Mass was always my favorite, full of hope and happiness. Unfortunately, during his annual holiday address, Pope Benedict forgot all of that and decided to spew a little yuletide hatred and homophobia.
The Pope’s annual Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy is viewed as one of his most important speeches of the year. He dedicated this year’s address to “traditional family values,” refusing to consider the thousands of families with same-sex parents that he was demonizing for the holidays.
The speech focused mostly on the nature of man and how homosexuality was a result of human beings ignoring their God-given identities.
“People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to
them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.”
“The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man’s fundamental choice where he himself is concerned.”
The Pope called the promotion of same-sex marriage in many countries an “attack” on traditional families and denounced legislation expanding the rights of same-sex couples to adopt children.
The fact that these views are held by the Catholic Church is not a surprise. The Pope has made plenty of statements denouncing homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Each and every one of those statements is disappointing to hear, but they are not particularly shocking.
However, to use a Christmas address to promote hate for a large group of people is a little sickening. This is supposed to be the time of year when we come together in a spirit of giving and renewal. Especially in light of recent events, now is when the Pope could have struck a conciliatory tone. He could have shared a positive message to warm a lot
of grieving hearts. Instead, he attacked families around the world who are simply trying to love each other and raise healthy, happy children. Way to be a Grinch.
(Photo: Tony Mondello/All Pix/WENN)
