Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, March 13, 2013
Religion Guess Which Bigoted Fucks Love the New Pope?
Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 4:35 PM
Just guess.
Here's the press release:
National Organization for Marriage Welcomes Pope Francis, Stalwart Advocate of Natural Marriage and the Rights of Children
“Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio will follow in the steps of Pope Benedict XVI and provide a consistent and strong voice in support of marriage and children.”
– Brian Brown, NOM president –
Washington, D.C. – Today, Brian Brown, National Organization for Marriage president, released the following statement regarding the selection of Pope Francis:
“The Catholic church has a new Pope! Pope Francis is a humble man and a dedicated servant to the poor. He is also an outspoken advocate for God’s design for marriage as the union of one man and one woman. But don't take my word for it. Listen to what Pope Francis said when a bill to redefine marriage was proposed in Argentina:
"Let's not be naive, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."
Pope Francis has also said: "At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts."
Our prayers go out to Pope Francis as he leads the world's over 1 billion Catholics in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”
Brown went on to say: "Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio will follow in the steps of Pope Benedict XVI and provide a consistent and strong voice in support of marriage and children. Our prayers go out to Pope Francis as he leads the world's over 1 billion Catholics in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”
1
Brown speaks for the Pope like the Pope speaks for God. It's a daisy chain of fuckin' wack-a-doos.
2
I'll believe he's a "stalwart advocate" for children's rights the minute he starts throwing child raping priests out of the church and into police custody.
3
Meanwhile, American Catholics like Andrew Sullivan will bitch about what a backwards piece of shit this guy is while continuing to go to church and giving the Pope the cash to move the child rapists to a new country.
5
Please note that the key to being a happy homosexual is that you are not required to get outraged over all permutations of essentially the same news story.
7
<> Interesting. "Consistent" and "strong" aren't words one usually associates with the ex-pope's support for the children harmed by his church.
8
I think we have to be practical here. There was no possibility whatsoever that any Pope would be pro marriage equality or pro womens rights. The best we can hope for is a Pope that is willing to change his views. Let's look at the pros and cons:
Pros:
* He has a degree in chemistry and philosophy--so he probably won't revert the Catholic Church to the old anti-evolution and anti-science views
* He is a Jesuit and campaigned against Argentina's austerity programs because they hurt the poor
* He attacked clericalism and seems to be an anti-aristocrat
* There is no known sex scandal (as of yet)
Cons:
* Medieval views of LGBT and womens rights
* He may have assisted the military junta in Argentina. Even if he didn't, he never stood up to them
So, overall, relative to the old Pope, he seems to be a major improvement. I felt nothing but dread when Benedict XVI was elected. I have a little hope with Francis. Unlike Benedict, he has the potential to change.
Pros:
* He has a degree in chemistry and philosophy--so he probably won't revert the Catholic Church to the old anti-evolution and anti-science views
* He is a Jesuit and campaigned against Argentina's austerity programs because they hurt the poor
* He attacked clericalism and seems to be an anti-aristocrat
* There is no known sex scandal (as of yet)
Cons:
* Medieval views of LGBT and womens rights
* He may have assisted the military junta in Argentina. Even if he didn't, he never stood up to them
So, overall, relative to the old Pope, he seems to be a major improvement. I felt nothing but dread when Benedict XVI was elected. I have a little hope with Francis. Unlike Benedict, he has the potential to change.
9
@8
I don't know enough about him, but it sounds like he isn't among that huge number who were promoted under Benedict, so I would see that as a positive, too.
I don't know enough about him, but it sounds like he isn't among that huge number who were promoted under Benedict, so I would see that as a positive, too.
10
Why does anybody care about the pope at all?
For weeks now, every major media outlet has told me I should care who the new pope is going to be. Now, the media is trying to make me give a damn about who the new pope is.
Why? I'm not catholic. This man has no more authority over me than a used car salesman in a tacky suit. And if catholics are so worried that my open declaration of my sexuality is "shoving it in their face" (I love how religious people always have a parapraxis regarding oral sex), then why should they shove their new pope in my face?
This is just like people who want me to adore the British royal family. I'm not British. I've never been to Britain, except Heathrow airport. There is no American royal family (except maybe in euphemism). So why should I give a fuck about Chuck?
I care about the papacy only insomuch as it affects my life. I resent being told whom I may or may not sleep with or marry, particularly since I do not subscribe to that religion. I am angered by attempt to affect the political system in my country by the church, particularly since the separation of church and state is one of the core values of this nation. I find child abuse to be disgusting and horrible and am shocked that these people get away with it. They don't seem to respect our laws or our customs, so they should just go. If the catholic church cannot accept that in America there is a wall of separation, then they should pack up their cathedrals and get out. If I never see another black robed freak again, I'll be quite content.
But aside from that, I don't give a fuck about Frankie the First or his Funky Friends. And you can't make me.
For weeks now, every major media outlet has told me I should care who the new pope is going to be. Now, the media is trying to make me give a damn about who the new pope is.
Why? I'm not catholic. This man has no more authority over me than a used car salesman in a tacky suit. And if catholics are so worried that my open declaration of my sexuality is "shoving it in their face" (I love how religious people always have a parapraxis regarding oral sex), then why should they shove their new pope in my face?
This is just like people who want me to adore the British royal family. I'm not British. I've never been to Britain, except Heathrow airport. There is no American royal family (except maybe in euphemism). So why should I give a fuck about Chuck?
I care about the papacy only insomuch as it affects my life. I resent being told whom I may or may not sleep with or marry, particularly since I do not subscribe to that religion. I am angered by attempt to affect the political system in my country by the church, particularly since the separation of church and state is one of the core values of this nation. I find child abuse to be disgusting and horrible and am shocked that these people get away with it. They don't seem to respect our laws or our customs, so they should just go. If the catholic church cannot accept that in America there is a wall of separation, then they should pack up their cathedrals and get out. If I never see another black robed freak again, I'll be quite content.
But aside from that, I don't give a fuck about Frankie the First or his Funky Friends. And you can't make me.
11
i'm amazed that this is the first Pope Francis.
Ask a bunch of people to name all the saints they can think of, and I bet among 100 who have any answer at all, 90+ come up with Francis.
And I'll bet less than 10 come up with Clement or Leo, the names of 13 and 14 popes, respectively.
I guess saints that got there by being pope (as is the case with Clement and Leo, and 48 of the first 50 popes) holds more cachet for future popes than saints that got there by discarding all of their worldly possessions and dedicating their lives to the poor.
Ask a bunch of people to name all the saints they can think of, and I bet among 100 who have any answer at all, 90+ come up with Francis.
And I'll bet less than 10 come up with Clement or Leo, the names of 13 and 14 popes, respectively.
I guess saints that got there by being pope (as is the case with Clement and Leo, and 48 of the first 50 popes) holds more cachet for future popes than saints that got there by discarding all of their worldly possessions and dedicating their lives to the poor.
12
St. Francis was always my favorite. Go preach to the birds and the bees and the animals, leave the humans alone.
11- of course saints aren't popular with popes, they make them look bad.
11- of course saints aren't popular with popes, they make them look bad.
13
So they're not saying "traditional marriage" anymore, now they're saying "natural marriage". I guess they realized nobody gives a fuck about tradition. Still, the not-so-veiled implication that gay people are unnatural isn't going to help them persuade people that they aren't hateful bigots. Their rhetoric isn't the reason they're losing and changing it won't help them. Their cause is being rejected on the merits, and it's only a matter of time before they are relegated to the dustbin of history, their last diehard holdouts exiled to the irrelevant fringe.
14
@8, I'd be really surprised if he supports evolution instead of creationism/intelligent design (which are the same thing). Really surprised. You can study chemistry without touching on the biological foundations of evolutionary theory, and then you can use what you learned in philosophy to muddy the waters a lot. Plenty of Discovery Institute people studied fields other than biology. William Dembski, for instance, got his doctorate in mathematics, and so did David Berlinski. Michael Behe's is in biochemistry, Phillip Johnson (Darwin on Trial) is a lawyer. Jonathan Wells's two Ph.D's are in religion and (yes) developmental biology. In fact, in scanning the biographies of my 25-cent Friends of the Library used copy of their introductory compilation, the only contributors who did their post-grad in biology (in addition to Wells) are one Siegfried Scherer (biology, specializing in microbiology) and... a Jeffrey Schloss, whose Ph.D is in (drum roll!) ecology and evolutionary biology. Alas, his essay proposes that humans are inherently "designed" to seek and long after "goodness", not "evil" - very vague and philosophically laden terms - and, furthermore, that this inherent design can be tested. Thus, he's no better than Behe and his cellular "black box". Indeed, look at all these Ph.D's that the Discovery people prop front and center and you see a whole lot of philosophy degrees, with a couple chemistry or mathematics or astrophysics degrees, not a whole lot of biology, or barely any.
(FWIW the issue of altruism, the "goodness" Schloss talks about, has been explored by focusing on how group benefits support the population gene pool, without resorting to ideas of a supernatural designer whose existence is beyond the empirical reach of science.)
(FWIW the issue of altruism, the "goodness" Schloss talks about, has been explored by focusing on how group benefits support the population gene pool, without resorting to ideas of a supernatural designer whose existence is beyond the empirical reach of science.)
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
All You Motherfuckers Complaining That aPodments Are Too Small at 200 Square Feet by Dominic Holden
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
It's Spring! Who's Ready for Street Harassment? by Cienna Madrid
-
America's Epidemic of Toddler-on-Toddler Gun Violence Continues by Goldy
-
Dutch Artist Turns Dead Cat into Remote-Controlled Helicopter by Bethany Jean Clement
-
Slog Overnight by Dan Savage
-
New Gun Enthusiast... by Dan Savage
-
Saint Genet Re-Creates "Shoot" by Brendan Kiley
-
Slog Bible Study: Revelation 1:9 by Goldy
-
The City of Portland, Oregon Should Run for Washington Lieutenant Governor by Goldy
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (16) RSS