Francis gets it backwards

Pope Francis is totally confused about sex, which is no wonder considering the strange sexual rules of his faith. He can't get a handle on what's occurring in modern times so, like Fox News, he jumps in and spews nonsense.

Today's AP stream:

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has lamented that children, as he puts it, are being taught at school that gender can be a choice. Francis said: "Today, in schools they are teaching this to children -- to children! -- that everyone can choose their gender."

Of course, what's being "taught" -- largely through experience and media coverage in the US -- is that there is no choice regarding gender. You are what you are. And sometimes what you are is a person trapped in a body of the wrong sex. It's not surprising that this happens. Some people are physically intersex. They are born with both female and male sexual organs. It's not much of a stretch to think that sometimes the whole body is the wrong sex. The transgender person feels that he or she is in the wrong body. What a horrible fate that must be. But today they can have that little problem fixed.

Is this process about choosing whatever gender you want? In fact, the pope got it ass-backwards. It's about not being able to choose what gender you are. These people, young and old, can't choose a gender. They know what gender they are, even at a young age. And if that doesn't align with the physical gender of their body, they tell us: I'm not a man, I'm a woman. There is no choice, no mystery. It's simply something they know this as surely as they know their own names.

Sexual orientation and gender dysphoria aren't about choosing. They're about who you are. Choice plays no role. This is simply the reality of their bodies and minds. They are who god made them, including gay or transgender (if'n you want to think of it that way; there is no god, of course). 

The pope understands nothing about this. For this reason, he should stick to non-sexual topics when he speaks. Why share his ignorance?

Illusion of gay-friendly pope collapses

There's not much more to say. Today's news confirms the anti-gay outlook of Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis opened a divisive meeting of the world's bishops on family issues Sunday by forcefully asserting that marriage is an indissoluble bond between man and woman.

The Roman Catholic church will never say that gay marriage is okay. The reason? It might interfere with the Catholic view of women as being far less important than men. Women aren't exactly full-fledged people, in the Vatican's view. And men are commanded by Jesus to lord it over the wimmenfolk. That is the true purpose of marriage: it is the perch from which godly males look down on their inferior female partners, presumably gathering holiness all the while.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic church, two men (or two women) cannot be allowed to marry. It would literally be impossible for they would be equals, which thwarts the god-given misogynistic power structure of Holy Marriage. The Roman Catholic god doesn't like that. End of story -- for all time.

The allegedly gay-friendly remarks of Pope Francis were just smoke and mirrors. But then, that's what religion is.

The pope's BFF: Kim Bigot Davis

Really disgusting news from pope-land. I'll let Jerry Coyne say it for me. This is from his post, "Pope Met Secretly with Kim Davis":

I have yet to see a mainstream American venue, like the New York Times or the New Yorker, point out in an editorial the disparity between Francis’s words and his actions (or rather, his inaction in changing repressive Catholic dogma). Those who claim that Francis really is a liberal pope, committed to changing Church dogma, but moving very slowly because that’s the only way to do it, must explain this secret meeting with Davis as well as his encouragement of her actions. If he really wanted the Church to eventually deep-six its position on gays, the worst way to do it is to provide succor for those who want to deny gays their legal rights.

The Pope is not liberal: he still opposes women’s equality, abortion, and rights for gays. He won’t even mention population growth as a factor causing degradation of the environment. At best his values are those of a Reagan-era Republican. So let us not call the man “liberal”, for while he gives lip service to Enlightenment values, he secretly meets and encourages bigots like Kim Davis.

It really was disgusting. I have no other word for the pope's actions. And, in accordance with my longstanding suspicions, it turns out this was his anti-gay trip. He just did it "secretly". Ha. Secret my ass. He knew we'd learn all about it after he left the US. So it was not only disgusting, it was cowardly.

UPDATE: The gooey aftermath. I don't buy it. The pope knew who Davis was and what she stood for. He practically applauded her in his comments to reporters about conscientious objectors. I figure the pope was trying to send smoke signals to the conservative dingbat wing of the church, and got caught in the act. What do you think? 

Lest you think

In case you thought I was off the beam in my expectation that the pope would trounce gay marriage in Philadelphia, know that I'm not alone in this.

Read this article in the NYT. Conservatives expected Francis to denounce gay marriage and stand up for every pinhead principle that the American bishops have identified in their hateful, pogrom-like reign in the United States. And to be fair, Francis did give tiny shout-outs to these principles, but in oblique language. He just wasn't having it -- at least not on this trip.

On a stage set for a blockbuster papal endorsement of the American bishops' religious liberty battle, Pope Francis didn't deliver. He side-stepped the bishops' most burning religious freedom issue — marriage — and spent more time greeting immigrants.

It's not just me.

UPDATE: Also, see this.

Maureen Dowd can write

It's stylish among many liberals to make fun of Maureen Dowd. I understand this, given that her columns often include descriptions of reality that sound like they were written by someone still in junior high school. But she can knock out a great column now and then -- and the woman can write.

Dowd has a column in the NYT today. It's called "Francis, the Perfect 19th Century Pope". It's terrific. Here's a bit, but I suggest you read the whole thing:

Francis preaches against the elites while keeping the church an elite boys’ club.

As he arrived to say Mass on an altar designed by students outside the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the pope was surrounded by hundreds of white-robed male bishops, male priests and a sea of seminarians as he nonsensically canonized Father Juníipero Serra, a missionary agent for the Spanish empire in California, a man who flogged Native Americans who broke the rules of Catholic teachings.

And she notes a very strange thing about Francis (though admittedly she's quoting someone else):

As the noted religion writer Kenneth Briggs told me: “People here are ardently projecting a lot of things onto this pope, including a liberal new day for the church. But there hasn’t been any change in the moral teachings. It’s to Francis’ credit, I guess, that he gets credit for things he hasn’t done.”

Remind you of anyone, perhaps a certain president and his unearned Nobel Peace Prize? Francis still has work to do. But to be fair, I think he knows this. It's just that he works for a misogynistic church and he leans this way himself. This causes him to be unable to see women clearly -- and it also prevents him from confirming the rights of gays and transgender people. It's all about looking down on women, and on femaleness itself. Why would a man choose to be a woman?! Or even to be like one? Horrors. That's the official Catholic viewpoint, as far as I can tell. It verges on disgust toward all things female. But hey, that's just how I see it. Read the article and if you have the energy, drop a comment. How do you see this guy?

PS: Of course, the pope's intention of making this the Hate Gays Tour for the Ages was sidetracked by the migrant crisis. And more power to the pope for putting aside his personal bias and doing something by speaking up forcefully for kindness and for seeing the migrants as valuable, decent people who are simply avoiding danger -- just as any of us would. They are us.  

The pope is not a bad man. I just wish he'd work on the sexual issues. Straight men are not the only people on the planet -- and we are all equal and worthy. You'd think a guy like Francis would understand this simple concept...Oh, wait a minute. I just remembered that he works for an evil, misogynistic, death-worshipping cult. Okay, never mind. It's hopeless.

But I'm still glad he's speaking up for migrants and telling the world that it must address the threat of climate change. No one's perfect.

Another bad move by the pope

So you think Pope Francis is sweet, eh? Not to gays, as I keep telling you. I came across this today:

Pope Francis has become wildly popular in the United States for striking an unusually inclusive tone as pontiff, winning praise — and possibly converts — for encouraging his fellow Catholics to be less judgmental towards the poor, immigrants, and even LGBT people. But when the pope travels to Philadelphia next month to attend the World Meeting of Families, he’ll be rubbing elbows with people known for advocating a very different kind of conversion: Ex-gay therapy.

So now that "ex-gay therapy" has been rejected by most Americans, including medical professionals, the pope thinks it's a great time to go to a conference that says sexual orientation is a choice and it can be changed. No, it can't. There is no gay person on this planet who "became straight". Nuh-uh. Doesn't happen. They just turn into closet cases -- who go on to do what closet cases always do: they attack gays who are happy to be gay. In other words, they become our worst enemies. This is who Pope Francis is siding with.

And as I mentioned the other day, while the pope plans to lift the spirits of gay-haters everywhere by meeting with fictional "ex-gays", his minions continue to attack gay people:

By contrast, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput told reporters in June he had no intention of allowing LGBT groups to speak at the conference, saying, “We don’t want to provide a platform at the meeting for people to lobby for positions contrary to the life of the church.” 

Indeed. Chaput is one sick cookie. He's always lashing out at gays and the pope is openly siding with him. I think at this point we can assume that the Roman Catholic church hates gay people and apparently always will. But it is church leaders -- not typical American Catholics -- who feel this way. Polls show this to be the case.

Ex-gay therapy is also widely rejected by most Catholics. A 2011 poll from the Public Religion Research Institute found that an overwhelming majority of American Catholics (69 percent) don’t believe that sexual orientation can be changed, and the group is actually more supportive of same-sex marriage than any other American Christian denomination. Some parishes even march in gay pride parades.

So there you go. For no rational reason (they've never cited one that makes sense), the church under Pope Francis will continue its pogrom against gays.

Because god is good. Or something.

The pope's upcoming anti-gay US tour

As I've said all along, although there is a new pope, the Vatican has not altered its hateful attitude toward gay people. The Roman Catholic church's pogrom against gay, bi and transgender people will continue unabated. It's what this church does; the hate will never end. On JoeMyGod's new blog, I came across this headline:

Catholic church reneges on hosting LGBT groups during World Meeting of Families

From the article: (bolding is mine)

Equally Blessed [a Catholic group that pushes for GLBT inclusion in the church] had secured the use of St. John the Evangelist Church’s parish center at 12th and Ludlow Streets [in Philadelphia, where the pope is soon to visit] this spring, said Francis DeBernardo, head of the Maryland-based New Ways Ministry, one of the groups in the coalition. The apparent ejection from St. John’s is the latest evidence of the divide between church leaders and LGBT Catholic groups as the meeting and the visit by Pope Francis draw near. Organizers of the alternative events planned for St. John’s were told last week by its pastor that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia disapproved of their gender identity program and they would no longer be allowed to use space at St. John’s for any events that week, DeBernardo said.

So that's that. Nothing has changed. The Roman Catholic church is evil and it intends to remain evil, despite societal pressure. On this topic, the new pope is just like the former pope.

The confusion of Pope Francis

Will Pope Francis say something positive about gay and transgender people when he visits the United States this Fall? In a country newly accepting of gay marriage, a place where transgender people are finally getting just a bit of respect, will the Pope applaud these changes? Will he call for an end to the firing of gay teachers at Catholic schools, and the denial of communion to married gays? The world wants to know.

At the NYT today, as the writers try to read the tea leaves, they note that despite the general media impression that this pope is less hateful toward gays than his predecessors, Pope Francis' remarks on sex and gender have been all over the lot.

But he has shown no indication that he intends to lead the church toward changing its teaching that gay people are “called to chastity” and marriage is only for a man and a woman.

On a visit to the Philippines in January, Pope Francis said in a speech that “the family is threatened by growing efforts” to “redefine the very institution of marriage.” He also criticized wealthy Western countries for imposing their ideas about gender on developing countries, calling it “ideological colonization.”

A month later, he was quoted in a book saying that “gender theory,” which holds that gender is a social construct, is one of the great modern dangers to humanity, like nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons? Isn't that sweet? As readers of this blog know, I don't think there's reason to hope. This pope will do what all the other popes have done: he will cast aside gay and transgender people. The church is the church. It never changes.

Happy about the pope's climate encyclical? Not so fast.

In his encyclical on protecting the planet, Pope Francis pushed the idea that climate change is all about industry, selfishness and greed. The elephant in the room, of course, is that he's unwilling to consider the benefits of sensible population control. Women gotta have babies. They gotta, especially if they don't want to. After all, they're just breeding stock, and you don't want them to get uppity by having too much control over their lives. Barefoot and pregnant is how women are supposed to be.

Nick Cohen nails this issue down for you. If you were pleased by the pope's encyclical, do read it. This pope isn't liberal. He's got a few nice ideas but he's bound by inane Catholic dogma -- which pretty much ruins everything.

What'd I tell ya?

Pope Francis is not a friend to gay people. He is and always will be our enemy. Here are a few of Francis' recent remarks, which will clear up any vagueness about his position on gay marriage. (Bolding is mine.)

On Sunday June 14, Pope Francis addressed more than 25,000 faithful on the importance of heterosexual parenting during his general audience -- just one day after thousands marched in Rome’s LGBT pride parade. 

Heterosexual marriage makes for happier couples, the pope said, and is essential for healthy parenting.

“Children mature seeing their father and mother [happy],” Francis argued. “Their identity matures being confronted with the love their father and mother have, confronted with this difference.”

The pope called the differences between men and women fundamental, and said these differences make heterosexual couples strong. “What great richness this diversity is, a diversity which becomes complementary, but also reciprocal. It binds them, one to the other,” he said.

I trust this ties up any loose ends for you. The Catholic church will always be one of the staunchest and most vicious enemies of gay people. Thus has it always been. And as I've said all along, the pope's upcoming tour to the United States is going to be a straight-marriage encyclical, brought to life. There is no room for gay people in the Roman Catholic world of Pope Francis.

Apparently, Francis learned nothing from Ireland's recent approval of gay marriage. This isn't surprising. You've got to be dense to be pope.

Also, too: this. Francis isn't on solid ground with his "hets are best for kids" routine. What a surprise.

If the Vatican's evil motivations intrigue you...

Paul Vallely has an interesting op-ed in the NYT today. It's about Pope Francis and the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. To my mind, it's about the evil conservatives who run (ran?) the Vatican and the lengths to which they'd go to malign someone with a good heart.

You have to know a bit of Roman Catholic history to appreciate this fully, but the wonderful upshot is that Francis is really a sock in the head to the bad guys. That's the primary, most delicious point. If you despise the Vatican of the past two decades, you'll love the linked op-ed. If not, skip it.

Bruni on Roman Catholicism and women

In this morning's NYT, Frank Bruni takes exception to the pope's statement that he is "outraged" by the inequality women face in the workplace. Uh, the all-male church thinks women should be equal? Rather than say "hahaha", which isn't Bruni's style, he takes aim and shoots.

Here's just one paragraph:

Pay isn’t the primary issue when the symbolism, rituals and vocabulary of an institution exalt men over women and when challenges to that imbalance are met with the insistence that what was must always be — that habit trumps enlightenment and good sense.

I really look forward to this guy's columns. He's such a talent. (And we really really needed someone to step up after Frank Rich hid himself in a magazine that no one reads.)

Who would know best?

AP's running this story today:

ROME — Pope Francis on Saturday praised the zeal of an 18th-century Franciscan missionary he will make a saint when he visits the United States this fall but whom Native Americans say brutally converted indigenous people to Christianity.

I've written about this before. Don't you find it odd that the pope -- who doesn't know a thing firsthand about this Junipero Serra person he's about to crown a saint -- would go forward, given the Native American storyline on Serra? I mean, who would know better whether Serra was a saint or a monster? The pope who never met him, or the descendants of the people Serra brutalized?

If he was a "saint", don't you think he'd have a better rep in the community where he was active? That the pope would move forward on this is bizarre. But then, Roman Catholicism is quite mad.

You can read my original post here. It provides all the lurid details. The guy was a genocidal monster. And as I said in the earlier post, he's about to become Saint Genocidal Monster. It's disgusting.

Come getchur two stories heah

First we have this:

The Vatican has for weeks failed to accept the appointment of an openly gay diplomat as France's new ambassador, leading to speculation that the Holy See is effectively rejecting him because of his sexual orientation.

Gee, that couldn't be. I mean, isn't the pope a nice guy who thinks gay people are okay? No. As I've been telling you, the pope is about to launch his anti-gay "family" tour in the US. And when he does, we will liken him to Pope Ratzi, the gay-hating closet case pope. (Though Francis is straight.)

And there's another story included in this one, though some may not notice it. I believe the following is a preview of the papal tour that will soon come to America:

“The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life,” Francis said. “These realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces, which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation.”

Yes, I'm sure Pope Francis is on our side. Hahaha.

Pope Francis is a monster

Time to cash in your bets, me bloggies. Those of you who had big money on Francis-the-Monster won big-time! There is no longer any doubt. The pope is indeed a monster, worse than the demons that live only in his (and the other pope's) imagination. Why do I say this? Well, the following is from an article about the popey guy's new book:

"Let's think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation."

"With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator," the pope adds.

A bit more from the article:

Pope Francis has appeared to compare trans and genderqueer people to nuclear weapons, saying both do not 'recognize the order of creation'.

The head of the Catholic Church has claimed people who 'manipulate' their bodies are similar to 'Herods' that 'destroy, that plot designs of death, that disfigure the face of man and woman, destroying creation.'

Nice, popey guy. Really nice. To be clear, I mean "nice" like finding a turd in your breakfast dish; that kind of nice. Francis has finally come out as the card-carrying, hate-driven, viciously rightwing lunatic that he's always been. 

Expect much more from the pit of hell that exists inside this pope's heart. The next big chapter in Catholic hatred of GLBTQ people will take place in Philadelphia and New York, when the illustrious new pope celebrates "the family". (Praising "the family" is Catholic code-speak for "I hate all gay and trans people".) Stay tuned.

Gay people are supposed to be excited about this? Meh.

The headlines blare: "American gay Catholic group welcomed to Vatican". But then we learn the details:

For the first time ever, a delegation of American gay and lesbian Catholics were in the VIP seats at a public papal audience in the Vatican.
 
Pope Francis did not mention New Ways Ministry in his remarks Wednesday.

They were identified on the list of attendees only as a “group of lay people accompanied by a Sister of Loreto.”

From now on, when I go anywhere, I won't tell people beforehand that I'm gay. Instead, I'll just say that I'll be "accompanied by a Sister of Loreto". In the new code-speak, this apparently suffices as identification.

And then there's this:

“We didn’t get the shout-out, but we were very, very close,” DeBernardo told The Associated Press.

Uh-huh. And this excited you, eh? As I said above: meh. Anyway, I guess this means that gays are allowed to do Catholic things now -- as long as they remain invisible.

And this is supposed to be progress? I think not.

Craven pope lauds abusive parents

This makes me sick:

In his general audience this week, Pope Francis had praised a father who admitted smacking his child "but never in the face so as to not humiliate them."

Francis described the man's comment as "beautiful," adding: "He knows the sense of dignity! He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on."

I'd like to send a big, resounding "F you" to the pope. It's never okay to hit a child. Oddly, children can understand language -- so we don't have to hit them to get their attention. Only inhuman scum hit their children, and only a religious git would praise this abuse with words like "dignity" and "beautiful". The pope just revealed that he has no soul. (Mind you, no one does. But you know what I mean.)

This reminds me of a disgusting story I saw on the news last night. It was about fathers who "humiliate" (they actually used that word as a plus) their children by making them get "old man" haircuts. The cuts were pretty awful but I won't show the image to you. Because to do so would further humiliate the child.

These fathers are animals and their children should be taken away from them. Ditto for the awful parents who make their kids wear demeaning signs on the side of the street, to "teach them" stuff. I send out a huge "F you" to all these parents.

Kindness. Religious people haven't heard of the notion, but it's out there. Never hit your child or humiliate him. It only shows your lack of morals and teaches the child that he or she should aspire to be better than you.

You're harming your children. You're scum. 

Pope Francis on a roll with stupid remarks

Lately, the pope's really been on a roll, extinguishing people's expectations that he might be reasonable and modern. Ha. He said contraceptives are evil, gays are a threat to "traditional" marriage, and now he's said this:

“Women have much to tell us in today’s society,” the Pope said, drawing applause from the crowd at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. “Sometimes we’re too macho, and we don’t leave enough room for women.”

Pope Francis also said that women should be included because they’re able to “see things with different eyes” than men.

“Women are able to ask questions that men can’t understand,” he said.

You mean, questions like "why can't we be priests and cardinals and popes?"

Same old church, same old restrictions on liberty, sex and enjoyment. Did you know you're not allowed to have fun during sex? This is a real Catholic teaching. Bizarre. And of course, they see gay marriages as being all about teh sex. Love ain't got nuthin' to do with it.

Pope Francis is just another sad, silly man in a dress. Move on, nothing to see here. (Nothing new, anyway.)

PS: I have nothing against men in dresses, of course. Go for it, if that's your thing. But religious men in dresses who go around launching verbal missiles at gay men...that, I have a problem with.

Pope to make evil friar a saint

Always with the surprises, that Pope Francis. He's quite the guy. The latest is that he plans to create a new saint. He's chosen a Spanish friar named Junipero Serra for this honor, but perhaps the church should have done a little investigation first. You know, maybe talk to the people he tried to convert, suss out what happened. For instance, maybe the tribes and descendants of the Native Americans he converted would have something pertinent to say about this soon-to-be-sainted man.

Alas, the church seems to have skimped on the local investigation. Thus, we get this:

Tribal leaders have condemned Pope Francis' wish to canonize a 18th-century Spanish friar believed responsible for the destruction of indigenous people through his missionaries.

(snip)

[H]is work was anything but holy, argues Chief Anthony Morales of the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe. “There’s nothing saintly about the atrocities on our culture and our people,” Morales told KNBC-TV.

(snip)

Serra’s beatification heralded protests at his Carmel gravesite and the Junipero Serra Museum in San Diego for rumors of harsh punishment, such as whipping while converting reluctant tribes, that have been passed down through generations.

The museum was defaced with slogans such as “Genocidal Maniac” and “Serra was a Baby Killer.”

Saint Genocidal Maniac. Kinda has a Catholic ring to it. He'll be welcome alongside Mother Theresa, for sure. She's been lookin' for a buddy, up there in heaven. No one else will talk to her. I'm thinking this guy will.

Jason Rosenhouse on the pope's sad free speech comments

If you're late to the party, this story on Jason Rosenhouse's excellent blog covers the whole kerfuffle. I was pleased that he arrived as the same conclusion I did:

What is the Pope trying to say here? Why would you hedge in your condemnation of religious violence? Why do you respond to a vile terrorist attack by warning everyone to be respectful of religion? To me it sure seems like he’s saying the terrorists were justified in their rage, they just overreacted a little. 

That’s the real face of religion. One minute they’re telling you they are God’s emissaries on earth, uniquely qualified to hold forth on morality and the nature of reality, the next they are so touchy that the slightest insult is considered a provocation worthy of violence. The Pope says it’s a duty to speak one’s mind for the sake of the common good. But what if a major threat to the common good is coming from self-proclaimed religious authorities? 

Charlie Hebdo is acting to promote the common good. I don’t know what the Pope is doing.

Blasphemy is good. Try to insult religion every single day: it's your duty as a responsible human being. Religion is a fairy tale -- and yet it's tearing the world to shreds and preventing us from focusing on real problems. Religion is a great evil. Let's relegate it to the past.