Politics
Wednesday May 31, 2006
Vatican to United Nations: "Sexual Orientation Is Not Comparable To Race or Ethnic Origin"
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By Terry Vanderheyden
VATICAN CITY, May 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Vatican delegation to the United Nations has objected to granting UN NGO status to two homosexual activist groups.
The International Lesbian and Gay Association argue that they deserve NGO status at the UN as a matter of human rights. The Vatican delegation, headed by Msgr. Ruben Dimaculangan, stated in an intervention dated May 16, a copy of which has been obtained by LifeSiteNews.com, that the demands of homosexual activist organizations have nothing to do with human rights.
In particular, "sexual orientation is not comparable to race or ethnic origin," as the ILGA contends, Msgr. Dimaculangan emphasized. "In spite of its assertions about human rights, this NGO's particular interests fall beyond the scope of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international juridical instruments."
Msgr. Dimaculangan added in his letter that the ILGA is seeking not equal rights but special rights: "In other words, what ILGA and its proponents are asking is not for equal rights but special rights; special rights that allow others a leeway for a discreet suppression of moral distinctions in choices and behavior that are of vital concern to the international community and the international order."
Defending the Catholic Church's long-held position on homosexuality, the Vatican envoy explained to the UN that "Placing the homosexual lifestyle on the level of marriage will have 'a direct impact on society's understanding of the nature and rights of the family and puts them in jeopardy'."
"Tolerance without standards seeks to create a level playing field offering loopholes for suppressing moral distinctions in choices and behavior which would be tantamount to accepting fake expressions of 'anarchic freedom'," he added.
Dimaculangan explained that the meaning of the UN's Universal Declaration on Human Rights, despite "interpretations to the contrary", is based in an understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman.
The Msgr. added that, if the Vatican's interpretation is seen as an imposition of morality on others, then "gay rights laws and the demand for special rights as well impose one view of sexual morality (sexual relativism) on all peoples and then enforce this code of morality on constituents of other groups holding other beliefs and legislations."
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
United States Backs UN NGO Status for Homosexual Activist Groups Once Associated with Pedophiles
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06051902.html
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