Fuck the Pope

So where is the Pope this week and what is he doing? Acting on the recent natural disasters in Burma and China that have killed more than 100,000 and 50,000 people, respectively, you ask? As the 'humanitarian' and 'world leader' that Catholics and others like to exalt him as, one might think so. But no, he's spent his energy on more pressing matters.

Speaking in a meeting organized for several European institutions the day after California's supreme court ruling that legalized gay marriage in California, Pope Benedict spoke out pointedly against gay marriage, saying, among other things, that the "good" of heterosexual marriage must not be "substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions." He also stated that the "non-traditional" families are not "the natural cradle of human life."

Now, I try to apply the tenants of tolerance in all directions; that is- not just to racial, sexual, and cultural minorities, but also to those that urban liberals themselves like to lambaste- to Republicans, to "hicks," to Christians. Even though I have major problems with The Church, for instance, I've tried to be fair about my criticisms, especially in the public sphere.

But a flash point occurs when your respect for a figure's title and reverence is surpassed by the damage you see rising from their power.

Pope Benedict is a decrepit, bigoted, Naziish (as in served in Germany's Nazi Party) piece of shit whose backwards thinking angers me. That the Catholics would elect him as their leader is, depressingly, not a surprise. This is the church, after all, that has been on the wrong side of human progress for 1,000 years, from discoveries in astronomy and chemistry back in the day, to medical gene therapy, AIDS in Africa, gay rights, and women's rights today.

What is distressing to me isn't that another old crazy in the Vatican thinks differently about marriage than I. It's the Vatican's venomous, ever-increasing reach into public policy. In California, for instance, I assume that at least a million voters are significantly impacted by such statements from the Pope. And with a statewide ballot slated for November aiming to again make gay marriage illegal, these speeches have a hugely negative impact. Not to mention their strengthening of general homophobia which manifests in prejudice and violence.

The timing of such statements in the wake of double catastrophic disasters in China and Burma make them all the more maddening. Even Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been in close touch with Chinese officials offering condolences and help in the wake of their country's devastating earthquake. Where the fuck were you, Pope Benedict?

Burma, in particular, would have been a place the Pope could have used his power for good. Other than a brief telegram, we heard nothing from the Vatican on this. Now we have scores dying from lack of life support. The Burmese leaders, tragically stubborn and distrustful of foreigners, are literally turning away food and aid while thousands die within. This is a critical time for institutions like the U.N., like the NGOs, like The Vatican to impel leaders to do the right thing; to let in aid.

I'll admit that such a plea probably wouldn't have changed anything, but the fact that there wasn't one at all reveals a startling mismatch of priorities by The Church.

Actually, to be fair, The Church did release one more major statement during this tragic week (in addition to the anti-gay rhetoric). What was it: Earthquakes or Hurricanes? Actually neither, but that it is now OK to believe in aliens. Yes, aliens as in extra-terrestrials...

It's crazy and it should be funnier than it is.