Cardinal Marx's remarks in Dublin continue to drive the Catholic right crazy. It's encouraging that the benighted Vatican documents they wave at the dreaded gays now carry less weight than the off-the-cuff remark of the Cardinal, echoed by the Pope. It's as if change has been going on underground, so that when cardinals and popes emerge speaking like modern men, the effect is a sudden seism. Now, to rewrite the three or four Vatican documents that the rightists know by heart is a delicate hermeneutical task. I suppose the next document on gay issues from the Vatican will begin with the words "as the Church has always taught" – and indeed there are sources in the buried reservoir of church teaching that could be brought forth in defense of gay relationships and even, perhaps, of gay marriage. The rightists have lionized the obscure figure of Peter Damian, notorious for hysterical homophobic rants, thus painting themselves into an eccentric corner of the tradition. Let them open their eyes and observe that Catholic thought, art, and life offer a symphony of possibilities.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• The Catholic Church and Gays: An Excellent Historical Overview
• Catholic Church Can Overcome Fear of LGBT People
• Beyond Respectful Tolerance to Celebratory Acceptance
Recommended Off-site Link:
Homosexual Relationships: Another Look – Bill Hunt (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 8, 2012).
Image: Kristen Solberg.
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