[T]he [Roman Catholic] Church sponsored protests all over [Argentina], with several Opus Dei bishops prominent in the dissent. And while a few priests courageously broke ranks, the major opposition sprang from Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires who referred to the pending [marriage equality] legislation as a “destructive attack on God’s plan.” The Church waged a propaganda war with posters depicting a man and a woman and a baby as the ideal (read: the only possible model of family). Marriage equality in Argentina will require new posters depicting the many ways family can look—with or without children. The cardinal lost a lot of the Church’s credibility along with the printing costs.
. . . Even at the 11th hour the Catholic hierarchy was on the wrong side. Thousands of Catholic anti-gay supporters staged a loud protest in Plaza de Mayo on the frigid evening of the Senate vote. Alas for them, at 4:05 AM on July 15 it must have felt like a cold day in hell when the votes were counted and the exuberant celebrations began.
- Mary Hunt
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina, Cry for the Catholic Church"
Religious Dispatches
July 21, 2010
"Don't Cry for Me Argentina, Cry for the Catholic Church"
Religious Dispatches
July 21, 2010
Recommended Off-Site Links:
Argentina Approves Gay Marriage, in a First for Region - Alexei Barrionuevo (New York Times, July15, 2010).
Defying Church, Argentina Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage - Uki Goñi (Time, July 15, 2010).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
At UST, a Rousing and Very Catholic Show of Support for Marriage Equality
Steve Chapman: "Time is On the Side of Gay Marriage"
Dr. Erik Steele and the "Naked Truth on Same-Sex Marriage"
What Straights Can Learn from Gay Marriage
A Christian Case for Same-Sex Marriage
Mary Hunt on Our Catholic "Stonewall Moment"
Image: Alex Freyre, right, receives a wedding ring from his partner Jose Maria Di Bello, during their marriage at the civil registry in Ushuaia, southern Argentina, Monday, December 28, 2009.
Slowly but surely the Church (and reactionaries of every stripe) is losing this battle. When history is written it will make the Church look very bad...the equivalent of racism in its own day.
ReplyDeleteWhere, o where, are bishops courageous enough to tell the Vatican that their position is a disaster?
cracyKevin, I think a lot of the bishops are afraid of opening their mouths. Sadly, it does make the Church look bad. I read the whole article on this and it was sad. I didn't realize that the Catholic Church in Argentina pretty much looked the other way while people there disappeared years ago. It seems the Church supported the wealthy and the powerful and turned their backs on the common people.
ReplyDelete