The confusion of Pope Francis

Will Pope Francis say something positive about gay and transgender people when he visits the United States this Fall? In a country newly accepting of gay marriage, a place where transgender people are finally getting just a bit of respect, will the Pope applaud these changes? Will he call for an end to the firing of gay teachers at Catholic schools, and the denial of communion to married gays? The world wants to know.

At the NYT today, as the writers try to read the tea leaves, they note that despite the general media impression that this pope is less hateful toward gays than his predecessors, Pope Francis' remarks on sex and gender have been all over the lot.

But he has shown no indication that he intends to lead the church toward changing its teaching that gay people are “called to chastity” and marriage is only for a man and a woman.

On a visit to the Philippines in January, Pope Francis said in a speech that “the family is threatened by growing efforts” to “redefine the very institution of marriage.” He also criticized wealthy Western countries for imposing their ideas about gender on developing countries, calling it “ideological colonization.”

A month later, he was quoted in a book saying that “gender theory,” which holds that gender is a social construct, is one of the great modern dangers to humanity, like nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons? Isn't that sweet? As readers of this blog know, I don't think there's reason to hope. This pope will do what all the other popes have done: he will cast aside gay and transgender people. The church is the church. It never changes.

Misplaced modifier of the day

The fun thing about this is that it's on-topic. Here's a terrible sentence AP used as the lede for a story today:

ROME — The gay marriage debate arrived within walking distance of the Vatican on Saturday as Rome's mayor registered 16 gay marriages celebrated abroad in open defiance of Italy's government.

So...the marriages were celebrated abroad in open defiance of Italy's government? No. It's just a badly constructed sentence. You've got to watch your modifying clauses, people. I keep tellin' ya that. Here's how it should have been written:

The gay marriage debate arrived within walking distance of the Vatican on Saturday as Rome's mayor, in open defiance of Italy's government, registered 16 gay marriages celebrated abroad.

Note that I simply moved "in open defiance of Italy's government" closer to the word that it modifies (mayor). Yes, it requires you to set it off with commas, and I know this trick may be difficult for those of you who are punctuationally challenged. But it's really not that hard. (Of course, the whole sentence should simply be rewritten. It still stinks. But what can you do? It's AP.)

Luckily for us, the story is on-topic. Here's a bit more about this terrific Italian mayor.

Marino said Saturday was an important day in the fight for equal rights for all and that "the most important right is to say to your companion 'I love you' and to have that be recognized.

Sounds like a smart guy with a good heart. And of course, the biggest bonus is that this happened within shouting distance of the Vatican. Yay!

Bruni chimes in on the ousted gay couple

I wrote about this just the other day. As always, Frank Bruni does a far better job of telling the story. In case you've forgotten, the Catholic church ousted an old gay couple from their parish, simply because they got married. Despite the church's insistence that it is the ultimate authority on all moral issues, it doesn't understand love.

Here's a bit from Bruni's column:

The Catholic Church does incalculable good, providing immeasurable comfort — material as well as spiritual — to so many. But it contradicts and undercuts that mission when it fails to recognize what more and more parishioners do: that gay people deserve the same dignity as everyone else, certainly not what happened to the Montana couple. If Francis and his successors don’t get this right, all his other bits of progress and pretty words will be for naught.

The church committed an evil act. That's the bottom line. Part of me hopes the church will wise up. But after all the terrible things the Roman Catholic church has done to gay people, I confess I'd be happier if it just went away.

Wingnut uses marital status against gays

You can't make this stuff up. It's one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" things. Let's see how this one works.

Michigan Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema regularly votes against allowing gays to marry, allowing them equal rights, etc. Yup, he's a dyed-in-the-wool wingnut -- and the Wingnut Creed requires that they hate gay people.

Ah, but the story doesn't end there. Recently he sponsored a bill to ban domestic partner benefits for all public employees. He actually said this to support his position:

In defending his legislation, Agema wrote in a 2011 statement, "It is not the responsibility of taxpayers to support the roommates and unmarried partners of public employees."

So...we can't marry...and we can't get benefits because we're, ahem, not married. This is how wingnuts roll -- without any logic. I will be so happy when stupid people go out of vogue. It'll happen some day, right?...Right?

Ron Darling high-fives marriage equality

Ex-Met and current broadcaster Ron Darling, one of my favorite baseball announcers, has come out for marriage equality -- and it sounds like he's a major supporter.

"I immediately called my wife as soon as I heard," said Darling, who long ago made the city his adopted home and now works as a broadcaster for the team. "I'm joyous. Excited. I can't wait to hear if my friends are going to take the plunge, and I'm anticipating going to many marriages."

It's great to see admired sports figures come down on the side of fairness and equality. This gave me such a lift today that I had to share it with readers. Great things are happening in New York.