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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.”
When you add it up, it would seem “the church” is run by evil. Is that why the facial features of the Pope, compared to say the Dahli Lama, looks like a picture of hell next to a picture of happiness?
Eli , thanks for info on seechange.org…. kept site will follow.
Scary photo of the Pope — must be Halloween 24/7/365 at the Holy See
Even better than the petition, we must write to state tax authorities & demand the Catholic Church lose its tax-exempt status because they actively engage in political lobbying & are NO WAY non-partisan.
Consistent with its history, the Catholic Church is “out of step” with science, culture and civilization. The sad part about it is that it also acts contrary to the teachings of Christ :His Law of Love as explicated by the Beatitudes.These blatant contradictions have historicaly martyred and excommunicated many of its own followers and Saints who had the courage to challenge its hypocritical authority and behaviour . If Christ came back today, He would undoubetdly disassociate Himself with such an institution, or any other religous or secular institution that espouses and teaches hate, bigotry, and emotional and physical violence against any part of humanity: We Are ALL God’s Children!
Well, at least they’re showing their true colors. They wish the inquisition would come back into vogue so they could burn us at the stake again.
What can one expect from a cult such as this? It needs to clean up its own house before trashing ours, starting with the pedophilia scandal. Since Benedict the ugly now wants to weed out gays from the priesthood, what is his criterion for weeding out the straight pedophiles and philanderers? Does he really believe they don’t exist? Why is it not addressing that? Most catholic cult leaders actually believe that pedophilia is synonymous with being gay.
Now that he blasts the UN, this only proves that the RC cult believes in torture, execution and discrimination of gay people worldwide. Why didn’t he speak up in the case of the gay Iranian youths who were hanged in public? He and his cult followers are a disgrace to humanity and in no way “christian”.
From the same people who refused to condemn the Nazis.
When will the Vatican realize they don’t have the right to set secular policy in any country. No one is asking them to preform marriages in their churchs they don’t approve of. They think they can establish all civil policies for all people in all countries, that isn’t their domain or right!
Well obviously a business like the Catholic Church Inc doesn’t want to admit that they are wrong about anything (ask Gallileo), or that celibacy of priests and nuns has led to a culture in the church of pedophilia, and that they pick and choose the bits of the bible that suit their political agenda. I have been aware most of my life that when religion has political power then forget what they preach and watch what they do. e.g. Iran and the Vatican are preaching the same thing -do as we say or else we will kill you. Anyone who doubts that the vatican promotes vilification of gay and lesbian people should ask themselves why are people hated simply for being gay? Religions are causing this.
Would someone please put a pix of the pope next to a pix of hitler.
Then add hitlers mustache to the pope
The darken the pope’s hair to be black or dk brown like hitlers.
I wonder what the resemblance would be. Of course remember where / when the pope was born, and grew up.
And I’m also curious whether there is more then a historical accident that the nazi cross looks lots like the catholic cross, with the doglegs removed. But be careful with this one, cuz there are lots of good Christians, for whom the Cross represents God to them.