Vatican Condenms Gay Marriage, But Pedophilia is OK

I just came across this short AP blurb that the be all, end all of human decency - The Vatican - has "condemned" Canada for it's legalization of gay marriage: Here.

"The distortion of God's plan for the family continues," said L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican daily. Now, let me preface this by saying I'm a former Catholic. I consider myself an atheist after actually thinking about church teachings and the like during my life. Anyway, I'd love to hear the omnicient ones at the Vatican explain exactly why gay marriage is this major threat to the "institution" of marriage and to families around the world.

Last time I checked, "God's plan" didn't include a 50% divorce rate for heterosexual couples as being healthy for families. His "plan" also doesn't include the harboring of pedophiles, which we all know the church has done for decades and still does. This "plan" doesn't include the Church amassing BILLIONS of dollars in assets (check out the rare artwork the Vatican owns and the valuable real estate it owns around the globe) while people around the world starve to death. So, with these issues continuing and basically going unresolved by the church, how exactly is the union of happy, same-sex couples, who love each other, some sort of bogeyman threat?

Instead of promoting and condoning discrimination against millions of people, perhaps the church should acknowledge it's large population of repressed gay people - priests - and its backwards, anti-human ways. I've met a number of priests who are/were more effeminate than my mother. I've worked with and known enough gay people where my gaydar is pretty damn accurate. And it goes of anytime I'm in or near a church. Yet, because the church teachings do so much to repress people's feelings, primarily by making normal human behavior "sins," they've now created an institution full of super-repressed men which has spawned a nice, convenient platform in which tens of thousands of children have been molested by those to are supposedly dedicated to God. (I think many of thee became priests to get away from their homosexuality or pedophilia feelings) The church teaches against pre-marital sex, masturbation and basically anything sexual. Yet, human being are sexual creatures! You can't fight that!

The Catholic Church is all about control. The Ten Commandments, while a worthy set of things to live by, symbolize this all-controlling authority over human behavior.

Anytime the Vatican releases nonsense (or what it calls "news"), I laugh. These backwards-thinking men need to wake up with the times and embrace things that might actually be HEALTHY for people. Instead of bitch-slapping gay people, why not direct your efforts into cleaning up the environment? How about feeding those millions of people starving in Sudan? How about fighting for social and financial equality in the US and other countries? And do all that without trying to "mission" and brainwash weak people to grow your empire.

Sadly, the Vatican has turned into an institution seemingly run by the same mentality that dictates US politics. Wedge issues, which bring out a lot of polarizing emotions, seem to matter more than things we should really be worried about. Abortion? If you're against it, don't have one. Stem cell research? Again, a non-issue. Teri Schiavo? Not your fucking business.

Anyway, it's good to see the folks in Canada actually think for themselves and don't allow their policies to be dictated by rpressionist, puritanical religious freaks. Right on, eh!