Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Our Newest Op Ed- By Michael M. Bates
Considering the legacy of Pope John Paul II
- By Michael M. Bates
With the Pope's passing last week, there's been enormous media coverage of his papacy and its impact. Pope John Paul II was widely admired as a principled leader, a compassionate teacher and a genuine moral force. Sadly, the reality is that his message has generally been ignored.
I'm not speaking here of the typical adversaries of the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines. We expect statements such as the one issued by the UK-based Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association:
"The Pope's opposition to gay relationships and gay rights has been relentless throughout his 26-year tenure of office, culminating in his book published this year in which same-sex marriage is described as part of an 'ideology of evil'. His catechism condemns gay relationships as 'intrinsically disordered' and a 'grave depravity'... No self-respecting, rational-thinking gay person can be expected to mourn the Pope's demise, or be at all optimistic that his successor will take a more sympathetic approach."
The president of a group called Catholics for a Free Choice was quoted by Reuters as saying about John Paul II:
"He will go down in history as a pope who didn't understand and who wasn't friendly to women. He couldn't have slammed the door shut more loudly on the question of the ordination of women. He will go down as a fifth-century pope in terms of who women are."...............
Click HERE To Read On
- By Michael M. Bates
With the Pope's passing last week, there's been enormous media coverage of his papacy and its impact. Pope John Paul II was widely admired as a principled leader, a compassionate teacher and a genuine moral force. Sadly, the reality is that his message has generally been ignored.
I'm not speaking here of the typical adversaries of the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines. We expect statements such as the one issued by the UK-based Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association:
"The Pope's opposition to gay relationships and gay rights has been relentless throughout his 26-year tenure of office, culminating in his book published this year in which same-sex marriage is described as part of an 'ideology of evil'. His catechism condemns gay relationships as 'intrinsically disordered' and a 'grave depravity'... No self-respecting, rational-thinking gay person can be expected to mourn the Pope's demise, or be at all optimistic that his successor will take a more sympathetic approach."
The president of a group called Catholics for a Free Choice was quoted by Reuters as saying about John Paul II:
"He will go down in history as a pope who didn't understand and who wasn't friendly to women. He couldn't have slammed the door shut more loudly on the question of the ordination of women. He will go down as a fifth-century pope in terms of who women are."...............
Click HERE To Read On
# posted by Publius @ 4/06/2005 12:58:00 AM 
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