Frankie speaks

AP has a rundown of statements the pope made when he was merely Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was asked for his take on gay marriage. Here's his response:

Gay marriage is "an anthropological step backward. If there's a private union, then third parties and society aren't affected. But if they're granted marriage rights and can adopt, there could be children affected. Every person needs a masculine father and a feminine mother to help them settle their identity." 

Yup, he's going to be a gay-hating pope -- just like the last guy. Well, I have a few friends who will be happy to hear this. They're not gay but they're atheists. They were upset that Pope Francis was acting like Jesus and getting cred with the public. They feared the man would raise Christianity in the eyes of the world. So much for that. This statement, along with the news that he has renewed the Vatican's attack on American nuns, will set everyone straight.

This guy wears different outfits but he's going to spout the same popeyguy nonsense. Argentina's gays pointed the way for us. I've often commented here about their distaste for Bergoglio. Now we know why.

Ghanian cardinal a real treat

This cardinal could be an even worse pope than Ratzi. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana is said to be in the running to take over Ratzi's job. And this one is seriously off the beam.

Then, the conversation turned to the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal. Amanpour asked Turkson if it's possible the scandal, which swept across the U.S. and Europe over the past decade, could reach Africa. 

"Not in the same proportion as we have seen in Europe," Turkson said. "Probably because African traditional systems kind of protect or have protected its population against this tendency. Because in several communities, in several cultures in Africa, homosexuality, or for that matter, any affair between two sexes of the same kind are not countenanced in our society. So, that cultural 'taboo,' that tradition has been there. It's helped to keep this out." 

Got that? His country's dedication to oppressing gays protected it from pedophilia. As the linked HuffPo article states, "The 64-year-old Ghanaian cardinal has displayed anti-gay sentiments before, defending anti-gay legislation similar to Uganda's so-called "Kill the Gays" bill." Great. A new gay-hating pope. Even the church, as an institution, doesn't think the pedophilia scandal is the result of gays moving into the priesthood. A five-year study undertaken by the bishops discounted this possibility.

The report notes that homosexual men began entering the seminaries “in noticeable numbers” from the late 1970s through the 1980s. By the time this cohort entered the priesthood, in the mid-1980s, the reports of sexual abuse of minors by priests began to drop and then to level off. If anything, the report says, the abuse decreased as more gay priests began serving the church.

So let's see...gays enter the priest workforce and pedophilia is reduced. Seems simple, no? Not to this brain-challenged cardinal.

But don't worry. Italian newspapers seem to think that smiling Timmy Dolan of NYC, who was deposed on Wednesday about the pedophilia scandal, has a good shot at being the next pope. Oh, wait. That would mean the fellow who honchoed the American Catholic bishops' vicious vendetta against gays could be the next pope. Hmmm...Turkson or Dolan. Doesn't seem to make much difference, does it? Interesting times ahead!

Popey guy says new dumb thing

In a story headlined "Pope Hits Out at Radical Secularism", we find this uninspired remark:

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says Roman Catholics in the U.S. need to understand the "grave threats" to their faith posed by radical secularism in the political and cultural arenas. 

Indeed. You know what's "radical" about our "secularism"? The fact that it has no place of honor for the imaginary baby jeebus. If you don't believe in jeebus, you're "radical". And of course, it's all about the gays:

Benedict did not explicitly mention it, but the bishops have complained their religious freedom is eroding in the face of growing acceptance of gay marriage and attempts to marginalize faith.

The pope said many bishops believe that new laws make it difficult for them to object to what they consider "intrinsically evil practices." 

You have to love the popey guy's obtuseness. Awww, the poor Catholics can't hit on the gays all the time for their "intrinsically evil practices." Gee, those poor bishops and priests and popey guys sure are having their "religious freedom" hampered by these new laws, huh? The nasty old bastards can't be as hateful as they like. What a tragedy! That must be so tough on them.

These people are pigs, from the pope on down to the parishioners who fail to speak out about the church's hateful practices. That's some religion they've got there, huh? Very holy. Ugh.