News

Editorial by John-Henry Westen

VATICAN CITY, December 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In thousands of news articles and talk shows around the world today from Bulgaria to India, Pope Benedict XVI is being bashed for daring to say we should care as much for mankind as the tropical rainforests; that the harm caused by going against the Creator’s plan for human sexuality is destructive and hurtful.  In truth, he is being pilloried for having enough love to tell his brothers and sisters struggling with same-sex attraction, promiscuity, pornography, adultery and more, that their behavior is hurting them and society at large.  It is hurting them physically, psychologically, but most importantly – hurting them spiritually.

The homosexual press has the most outrageous headlines on the topic; Pink News in the UK screams: “Pope Benedict learnt nothing from his time in the Hitler Youth” and “Pope Benedict’s latest outburst ‘justifies’ homophobic bullying and attacks”.  But the coverage in the mainstream press is hardly less offensive. 

A San Fransico Chronicle headline reads, “Pope Benedict at Christmas: Preaching bigotry disguised as compassion”, and the Times of London opines: “Christmas was never meant to be about this”. See one example of the explicit hate mongering by gay activists against the Pope in the YouTube video at https://www.nowpublic.com/world/pope-benedict-christmas-message-discrimination-against-gay-people.

Interesting to note is the fact that nowhere in the Pope’s remark did he even use the word ‘homosexual’ or ‘homosexuality’, rather he referred to ‘gender’ and to the Creator’s plan for human sexuality as being in life-long marriage between one man and one woman.  In this respect, he spoke not only to the problem of homosexual acts but also other sexual aberrations such as sex outside of marriage, adultery, pornography, and even contraceptive sex.  This is borne out by the fact, unreported by the mainstream media, that within the speech he urged the faithful to re-read the encyclical Humanae Vitae – known most for its prohibition of contraception.

Hence, our coverage of the Pope’s message yesterday was headlined “Pope’s Christmas Greeting Says We Must ‘Protect the Human Being against Self-Destruction’ of Sexual Aberration”. (see coverage here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08122213.html ) See the full address with photos at https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/PopeBenedictChristmasaddress.pdf or https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/081223a.html.

Trust me, the Pope is not going on about such matters to be popular, not because he has some vendetta against gays.  He is preaching the truth out of love; love for God and his Truth, love for mankind as a whole, but specifically love for his fellow human beings who are hurting themselves with destructive sexual lifestyles.  By being accepting of homosexual sex, or even encouraging it, society at large is playing the part of the appeasing friend who allows or even encourages the teenager to engage in ‘freedom’ – in those risky behaviours which will lead to his downfall.  The appeasing friend may profit from the teen’s self-abuse, or at least be seen as accepting.  It is the role of those who really have the teen’s best interests at heart – parents, teachers, sibling, and true friends – to point out the danger despite the rancor they may receive. 

The Pope has sounded the alarm on rejecting God’s plan for human sexuality and pointed to the dangers for those involved and society in general of fostering such behavior.  He is now experiencing the backlash, but like any good parent, he will weather it in patience and love, knowing that one day, his aberrant children will come to their senses or at the very least that he has tried his best to get them to do so.

The statement made recently by atheist Penn Jillette of ‘Penn & Teller’ fame applies in this case, and serves as a reproach to all those Christian leaders who, out of fear of being politically incorrect and losing human respect, are – unlike the Holy Father – silent on the topic of sex outside the plan of God.  Speaking on a video monologue recently, Jillette said: “If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and that people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward … – how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?  How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that?”

See the Pope’s complete Christmas address: 
  https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/PopeBenedictChristmasaddress.pdf (Acrobat format with photos) or
  https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/081223a.html (html format)