the rix mix

Pope John Paul II does not further the progress of human rights by writing that homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is "insidiously threatening society." Does he think gay Christians are Nazis? Stalinists? By engaging in such hyperbole, John Paul invites intolerance & even vigilantism by those who consider it their personal mission to stamp out evil ideologies (see your local right wing mullah or pastor). I've been blessed to have gay & lesbian friends & through them overcome my own early irrational views. Then, learning about the various gay Christian organizations & discovering that most of these kind people are actually traditionalists who recite the Apostles Creed & desire the prerogatives & comfort of traditional church participation; choirs, Sunday schools, Bible study, pot luck suppers, the opportunity for Christian charity & outreach. They want to be married because they are for committed relationships & for the stability & safety of Christian families. But I'm not a Catholic, I don't believe in the need for a special class of priests possessed of magic powers, & I do believe the Pope on his throne is a CEO at the top of institutional pyramid for organizing patriarchal power. What the Pope says matters to me only because he's so wrong-headed so often & his bullhorn is heard around the world.