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Loading ...Vatican trashes first UN declaration of LGBT human rights
12.02.2008 1:50pm EST
(Rome) International human rights groups are denouncing the Vatican for condemning a proposed United Nations declaration which would - for the first time – call for civil rights for gays, lesbians and the transgendered.
The proposed declaration condemns “discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” and will be presented at the General Assembly on Dec. 10 by France.The document has been signed by the member states of the European Union. It was drafted by France, which currently holds the rotating EU Presidency.
Dec. 10th was chosen to present it to the General Assembly because the date marks the 60th anniversary of the UN declaration of human rights.
More than 80 nations have laws denying or limiting LGBT civil rights. Some Moslem countries impose the death penalty on homosexuality while others have lengthy prison sentences.
The Vatican in a statement said the declaration would force countries to legalize same-sex marriage.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the UN, said in the statement that the declaration would discriminate against states which support traditional marriage.
“If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations … For example, states which do not recognize same-sex unions as ‘matrimony’ will be pilloried and made an object of pressure,” Migliore said.
Franco Grillini, founder of Italian LGBT rights group Arcigay, called the Vatican position “total idiocy and madness.”
“The French resolution, which is supported by all 27 members of the European Union, has nothing to do with gay marriage. It is about stopping jail and the death penalty for homosexuals,” Grillini told the Reuters news service.
The Vatican has long been an opponent of LGBT rights – especially marriage.
It fought hard against same-sex marriage rights in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Canada and South Africa, all of which went on to legalize gay unions. In the U.S., the Catholic Church was heavily involved in the fight against gay marriage in Massachusetts and Connecticut, both of which now allow gay marriage, and was instrumental in the passage of Proposition 8, which overturned the California Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage in that state.
In October, the Church said it was considering psychological testing for prospective priests to screen out candidates “with strong homosexual tendencies” and heterosexuals “unable to control their sexual urges.”
The might actually matter if the Vatican was a member state of the United Nations:
http://www.un.org/members/nonmembers.shtml
**correction**
The Vatican was only a “Permanent Observer State” until 2004. It is (now) a Non-Voting Member State, according to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_observers#Non-member_states )
I really, REALLY dislike spelling Muslim Moslem, it seems HIGHLY offensive to me, spell check thy articles, please?
Why don’t the vatican shut their no account bs opinions up and get with the program! Go screw yourselves, you d.a’s.!
We have to always always always be stressing the separation of religious marriage (called “Holy Matrimony” by the Catholics) and civil marriage – the legally binding contract affording rights and protections. If we can do that, we can be very clear with religions that they have every right to define to whom they will offer this “blessing” while we define this this as a “civil rights and protections under the law” discussion. I had to chuckle at the use of the work “pilloried” in the Vatican’s statement. Implied religious persecution… gimme a break.
One more thing – allowing the Vatican to have membership in the UN seems to define the Vatican as a government or “state.” No wonder the separation of church and state is blurred in this discussion.
The Vatican doesn’t participate as a UN member state largely by its own choice. Basically, the Pope wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants all the benefits of being a state, including the ability to have bilateral relations with foreign nations. But he doesn’t want to have to follow any international laws.
The Vatican (Holy See) is recognized as a state by most nations though. One notable exception is the Peoples’ Republic of China, which has never been terribly fond of western missionaries and the papacy. The Vatican state “rules” over the tiny Vatican City (110 acres). The population of Vatican City consists of around 600 priests – including the Pope – and various guardsman. Aside from being Europe’s last theocracy, the Vatican is also considered the continent’s last absolute monarchy. These distinctions actually fit the public persona of the Catholic Church quite well: tired, old, and utterly irrelevant in the modern world.
That was not all, yesterday the Vatican also voted against rights for the handicapped because it would have also allowed them rights for planned parenthood and rights to abortion.
If anyone wants to see a good picture of the pope, go to the homepage of http://www.mariomieli.org
It shows his real face.
I wish the old bastard Benedict would drop dead.
Moslem? Seriously?
Hey Bri, what’s actually more offensive in spelling Muslim as Moslem is when Muslim countries execute men and women for being gay.
Does anyone find this surprising? The Catholic Church in the rest of the world tends to be much more homophobic than the Catholic Church in the US. While Church money is definitely used for homophobic purposes in the US, at least lay Catholics and many wings of the American clergy aren’t too bad.
Ken: Vatican City’s sovereignty as a state is recognized by pretty much every country on the planet, including Italy. It was created back in the earlier half of the last century by a treaty with Mussolini.
The Vatican is a Non-member State Permanent Observer at the United Nations. This rarely-used designation gives it some of the privileges of a state, such as being able to speak and vote at UN conferences. No other religion is granted this elevated status.
If you want to sign a petition to change this status please go to http://www.seechange.org
Ciao. Elisabetta
The HolVatican is a Non-member State Permanent Observer at the United Nations. This rarely-used designation gives it some of the privileges of a state, such as being able to speak and vote at UN conferences. No other religion is granted this elevated status.
If you want to sign a petition to change this status, go please to http://www.seechange.org.
Ciao. Elisabetta
This shouldn’t be surprising given that the Catholic church has initially been on the wrong side of almost every civil rights issue throughout history, from women’s rights to slavery. It took the pope and the Vatican until the 1990s to apologize for their abominable treatment of women throughout the ages. The church is slow to change, particularly the Catholic church, and it always vehemently resists those things it doesn’t want to change. It’s a little like a cornered, chained dog; it tends to growl and bite until someone is able to overcome it with compassion and understanding. But, we must all remember that the Catholic church has little credibility on such issues due to its reputation with handling of pedophilia among priests, not to be confused with homosexuality among priests. The Catholic church has never fully owned up to its responsibility in those matters and, until it does, it will have little to no credibility on matters of morality or civil rights.