Ivan Petrovich Pavlov would be proud. And jealous. While he used bells, whistles, and even electric shocks to test his theories about "conditioned reflex"—the notion that many actions are merely instinctive reactions rather than the culmination of critical thinking—the World of Silly, Secular Opinion can be moved to hysteria by mere truth-trashing headlines. In this case:
"Gay marriage a threat to humanity's future: Pope"
The January 9th Reuters piece (of trash) states:
The pope made some of his strongest comments against gay marriage in a new year address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican in which he touched on some economic and social issues facing the world today.
I submit this provides further evidence for the supernatural character of the papacy, for it is apparently a stunning example of the Pope being able to miraculously say something without actually saying it. (It is a smaller version, I suppose, of the Catholic Church ruthlessly killing 100 million people during the "Dark Ages": a remarkable and miraculous feat considering there weren't 100 million people to be found or killed.) The article and headline were then picked up by hundreds of other papers, blogs, and pundits. Ring, ding, pant, pant, slobber, bark, and so forth.
Read the address. Note how many times "gay marriage" (a perverse term, even in quotation marks) is mentioned. Zero. The passage in question:
In addition to a clear goal, that of leading young people to a full knowledge of reality and thus of truth, education needs settings. Among these, pride of place goes to the family, based on the marriage of a man and a woman. This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself. The family unit is fundamental for the educational process and for the development both of individuals and States; hence there is a need for policies which promote the family and aid social cohesion and dialogue. It is in the family that we become open to the world and to life ...
Does it need to be pointed out that up until a few years ago, this would be about as upsetting and controversial as a piece of toast and a glass of milk for breakfast? But now the conversation has changed and a higher consciousness has been attained as we are now constantly informed about how beautiful, sacred, lovely, and downright goose bumpy it is to be anything but heterosexual, monogamous, and married. Of course, all of those progressive folks who speak of rainbows and how families come in every shape, size, and configuration were appalled that the dark cloud of a family consisting of man, woman, and children was so rudely dropped onto the diversity party by the Pope.
Once the Reuters' bell had rung, predictable and unthinking reactions came from the LGBTHUH crowd, most following a basic template: Pope dumb. Pope hate us. Pope does nothing about child abuse. Pope hurt my feelings. There were rumors of grief counselors getting overtime pay in New York City and San Francisco. Oh, and Portland, Oregon.
One homosexual columnist, reflecting deeply on the Pope's words, confessed, "It is a mystery I fail to understand, but it is what it is." Yes, it is what is is: there has never been a civilization built upon homosexuality or so-called "gay marriage"; all civilizations and stable societies have a common feature: men and women being married, having children, and being committed to one another's well being. This isn't religious speak or Bible thumping, but the application of common sense to historical fact. But, yes, speaking in more theological terms, real marriage is a mystery, and it points to a greater mystery, as a certain St. Paul said:
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church... (Eph 5:31-2)
Meanwhile, the women of "The View" were mystified by the Pope's remarks (from what I gather, they are mystified by anything intelligent, and mesmerized by anything Hollywood):
“I think about my marriage and gay marriage doesn't affect my marriage,” said Elisabeth Hasselbeck, considered the most conservative co-host on the panel. “You know what affects my marriage? Divorce.”
I can see the headline already: "Host of 'The View' attacks divorced people; says they are the spawn of Donald Trump and the Devil." Kudos, however, to Hassellbeck for recognizing that divorce ain't so great. Oh, and guess what: the Church isn't keen on divorce, either: "Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law" (CCC, par 2384).
Sherri Shepherd called attention to the Catholic Church's child abuse scandals in her comments: “You've got a lot of people who are condemning things and they haven't cleaned house themselves, and they're doing the same things that they're condemning people for.”
Let's see: the Pope condemned "policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself" and the "prenatal selection on the basis of sex". I had hoped he would condemn "viewing talk shows hosted by people who know nothing save thier own opinions, which are essentially nothingness wrapped in emptiness and covered with vapidity." Granted, the Pope is more of a gentleman that am I.
Father John Flynn, in a January 12th piece for ZENIT, said of the Pope's address:
That was it about marriage and he merely reiterated traditional Catholic teaching. By inference it could be seen as not approving same-sex marriage, but also single parenthood and cohabitation.
Moreover, the whole section on the family, including a reference to the European Union decision to prohibit the patenting of human embryonic stem cells, took up only 174 words of a speech which was 2,778 words long.
In its commentary on the Reuters article the very apt title of the Get Religion Web site's analysis was: "Gay marriage a threat to journalism's future."
It shouldn't really be news for a Vatican reporter to see that the Pope follows the Gospel teaching of Jesus that marriage is the joining of a man and a woman, the Get Religion commentary noted. It also pointed out that the second part of the article went way off tangent, talking about New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan's support of Catholic teaching on marriage.
Here is the GetReligion piece, written by Mollie Hemingway.
Gotta run, I hear the dinner bell!
UPDATE: A special award for Homosexual Hysteria Augmented By Brackets goes to Wayne Besen for his Huff-and-Puff Post piece titled, "The Pope's Latest Anti-Gay Rant Is Bigoted and Bizarre", which is refers to the "pathological homophobia of Pope Benedict XVI", and:
Now we learn that Pope Benedict XVI did his best Dobson imitation when he delivered an address to diplomats representing 180 nations. According to reports, the pontiff said that the marriage was "not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies [such as gay couples marrying] which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself."
The little screed also contains this bizarre remark:
Of course, his attacks on innocent LGBT families are not the pope's only notable gaffes: ... In 2009 Benedict decreed that Anglicans who leave their Church because they believed it was too liberal could join the Catholic Church, which would allow them to keep some of their traditions.
So it's a "gaffe" to have an open door for people who want to become Catholic? That's not a reach; it's simply wretched. I'd be happy to critique Besen's logic, but there is nary a speckle or spot of logic to be found, apparently as a way of upholding an ancient and venerable Huff-and-Puff Post tradition.
600,000 years ago (approximately) volcanic ash captured the footprints of three fleeing humanoids...a man, a woman, and a child. Obviously, the development of artificial forms of birth control, i.e. the separation of the procreative act from the unitive act, has severed the bond of naked love between man and woman, and created the mess we find ourselves in now. The Billings Method of Natural Fertility Awareness MUST be taught to re-unite the procreative and the unitive aspects of sexuality.
Posted by: mortimerzilch | Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 07:10 AM