While reading an article on CNet.com, I saw the graphic to the right. No matter how much it goes on, I am still shocked by the anti-Christian bashing taking place on the Net these days. Being curious, I clicked on the image and the following article came up:
Fri Sep 8, 2006 8:58 AM ETFirst, I was surprised to see a fairly unbiased report -- though the tone is definitely pro-gay. in my opinion, Pope Benedict, makes very good points. When we endure the redefinition of spouse and the ongoing legacy of murdered unborn children, we are losing humanity -- as defined and mandated by our Creator. Mankind will answer for the 30 million aborted children. We will also answer for the 1%-3% of liberal activisits that have chosen the behavior of homosexuality to rule over the other 97%+ of us. The Church will certainly answer for not showing people, in love, the error of their ways and choices.
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Friday Catholic politicians could not be swayed by opinion polls and social trends into supporting practices such as abortion and the "folly" of gay marriage. The Pope repeated his opposition to abortion and gay marriage in a toughly worded address to visiting bishops from Canada.
"In the name of ‘tolerance' your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of ‘freedom of choice' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children," the Pope said."When the Creator's divine plan is ignored the truth of human nature is lost," he said.
Canada legalized gay marriage last year but its parliament will hold a vote later this year on whether to start the process of scrapping the law, which is opposed by conservatives. Since his election last year, the Pope has often condemned gay marriage and last June a Vatican document called it one sign of "the eclipse of God" in modern times. In his address to the bishops, the Pope also touched on the highly sensitive issue of whether Catholic politicians can back legislation allowing practices such as gay marriage and abortion even if they are personally opposed to them. The Pope condemned such behavior by politicians as "false dichotomies".
"They are particularly damaging when Christian civic leaders sacrifice the unity of faith and sanction the disintegration of reason and the principles of natural ethics, by yielding to ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls," he said. "Democracy succeeds only to the extent that it is based on truth and a correct understanding of the human person. Catholic involvement in political life cannot compromise on this principle...," he said.
The Church, particularly in developed countries such as the United States, has been divided over the issue of whether Catholic politicians who support abortion should be allowed to receive communion. The issue divided U.S. Catholics and their bishops during the 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry, a Democrat and a Catholic who supports abortion rights. Some Catholic politicians say they are personally opposed to abortion but, in pluralistic societies such as the United States, feel obliged to support a woman's right to choose.
Last June, a task force of the U.S. Catholic bishops conference left the decision of whether Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be denied communion with local bishops. President George W. Bush, a Protestant and a Republican, opposes abortion and gay marriage. Gay marriage is expected to be an issue in November elections when control of the Republican-led U.S. Congress will be at stake.
