"neither the church nor society should be surprised"

It seems appropriate, in the circumstances of the tragic story of a murder in Chicago and the uproar it has caused among certain Catholic zealots, to be reminded of a ten-year-old proclamation which originated with the Vatican Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (once known as the office of The Holy Inquisition).

Most shocking of all, [a 1992 Vatican proclamation authorized by both Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and by Pope John Paul II] suggests that when lesbians and gay men demand civil rights, "neither the Church nor society should be surprised when ... irrational and violent reactions increase".

This implies that by asking for human rights, lesbians and gay men
encourage homophobic prejudice and violence: we bring hatred upon ourselves, and are responsible for our own suffering. The Catholic Church, it seems, blames the victims of homophobia, not the perpetrators.

---from the essay, "Catholic Homophobia," by Peter Tatchell

Given that the Church's pronouncement cuts both ways, one has to wonder why parishioners are all up in arms. Unless of course being nonplussed by irrational and violent reactions were only supposed to apply to attacks on gay people and not to the Faithful.



Either way, the blame in the passage is placed on gay people and not with the RCC. While Chicago murderer is at fault and must be held accountable for what he did. the same thing holds towards the international organization that propounded the boneheaded ideas that started the argument in the first place.

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Published on November 28, 2002 3:07 AM.

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