Pope Welcomes Gay-Hating Anglicans to Catholicism

Pope Benedict sees opportunity in conflict, welcoming gay-hating Anglicans to his Church.

Reuters reports:

"Pope Benedict on Tuesday took a major step to make it easier for disaffected Anglicans who feel their Church has become too liberal to convert to Roman Catholicism. The move comes after years of discontent in some sectors of the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican community over the ordination of women priests and homosexual bishops...The Vatican said the Pope had approved a document known as an 'Apostolic Constitution' to accept Anglicans who want to join Catholicism, either individually or in groups, while maintaining some of their own traditions. It marks perhaps the clearest and boldest institutional step by the Vatican to welcome disaffected Anglicans into the fold since King Henry VIII broke with Rome and set himself up at the head of the new Church of England in 1534. The new structure allows for the appointment of leaders, usually bishops who will come from the ranks of unmarried former Anglican priests, to oversee communities of former Anglicans who become Catholics and recognize the pope as their leader."

And (fresh from his 700 Club appearance) one-man Catholic League President Bill Donohue, the Pope's biggest mouthpiece in America, penned a guest column for the Washington Post. Some excerpted gems:

— "Sexual libertines, from the Marquis de Sade to radical gay activists, have sought to pervert society by acting out on their own perversions. What motivates them most of all is a pathological hatred of Christianity. They know, deep down, that what they are doing is wrong, and they shudder at the dreaded words, "Thou Shalt Not." But they continue with their death-style anyway."

— "The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State harbor an agenda to smash the last vestiges of Christianity in America. Lying about their real motives, they say their fidelity is to the Constitution. But there is nothing in the Constitution that sanctions the censorship of religious speech. From banning nativity scenes to punishing little kids for painting a picture of Jesus, the zealots give Fidel a good run for his money. Catholics were once the mainstay of the Democratic Party; now the gay activists are in charge. Indeed, practicing Catholics are no longer welcome in leadership roles in the Party: the contempt that pro-life Catholics experience is palpable. The fact that Catholics for Choice, a notoriously anti-Catholic front group funded by the Ford Foundation, has a close relationship with the Democrats says it all."

— "The culture war is up for grabs. The good news is that religious conservatives continue to breed like rabbits, while secular saboteurs have shut down: they're too busy walking their dogs, going to bathhouses and aborting their kids. Time, it seems, is on the side of the angels."

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The Pope's Kindly Suggestions for a New World Order

Pope Benedict XVI is proposing a new world political body that would supersede the United Nations. Unlike most of Hollywood and perhaps unlike himself, he would want this organization to have "real teeth."

This body would give more aid to those in need, would enhance trade unions and would focus on an economy driven by the desire to do good as well as make money.

Of course, there is no place for birth control, abortion or marriage equality.

Fittingly, the Pope observed, "As society becomes ever more globalized, it makes us neighbors but does not make us brothers."

(Note: Post title changed because apparently some feared the Pope was actually attempting to rule the world himself.)

Wrestlemania: Obama Tells Catholic Media of His "Solicitude and Regard and Concern" for Gays

Hat tip to Queers United: In a 45-minute interview with reporters from the Roman Catholic media that happened before the holiday weekend, President Obama summed up his views on gay rights and his faith:

"For the gay and lesbian community in this country, I think it's clear that they feel victimized in fairly powerful ways and they're often hurt by not just certain teachings of the Catholic Church, but the Christian faith generally. And as a Christian, I'm constantly wrestling with my faith and my solicitude and regard and concern for gays and lesbians."

The "God & Country" blogger for U.S. News & World Report says:

"Religious folks, cultural conservatives included, will appreciate that Obama takes his faith seriously enough that he's struggling with how to reconcile it with his commitment to gays and lesbians. Social liberals and the LGBT community will appreciate that he's unequivocal about that commitment."

Okay, LGBT community: Hate or appreciate? I'm not sure this will be read as favorably as the blogger believes. As with most of the president's actions and words on gay issues, the glass can just as easily be judged half full of gay power as half empty of resolve.

President Obama will meet with the Pope at the Vatican this Friday.

NY Archbishop on Catholics: 'We're Not Anti-Gay, We're Pro...Marriage'

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan told the New York Post this week that same-sex marriage advocates are "asking for trouble" in their quest for equality.

Said Dolan: "We believe that human beings are hard-wired with a sense of right and wrong. It's sort of in our DNA. And there are certain things that deep down we just know, because nature, and nature's God has implanted that sense within us. That's what philosophers, not even Catholic ones, like Aristotle, call natural law. There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA...Hard-wired into us is a dictionary, and the dictionary defines marriage as between one man, one woman for life, please God, leading to the procreation of human life. And if we begin to tamper with the very definition of marriage, then we're going to be in big trouble. We're not anti-gay -- we're pro the most basic definition of marriage."

Watch the interview, in which Dolan says "we're not against gays" and "the Catholic church would defend the human dignity of gay people," AFTER THE JUMP...