The Church will be around alot longer than the U.S. Why do liberals have to bend Church teaching to justify their sexual practices? If they don't like the Church, leave. The Church is not a democracy and a purely human institution. If libs ran the Church it would have folded long ago like the Soviet Union.

"To be honest I think the pope's critics have a point when they argue that even the implicit claim that humanity needs saving from homosexuality and same-sex marriage is out of place and even dangerous for those who live in places where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people face violence, legal persecution, imprisonment, or even execution because of their sexuality or gender."

As typical, liberals bash the Pope while remaining silent on what religion is responsible for the execution of gays "in places."

The post also remains silent that the reason the Pope does not support an UN measure decriminalizing homosexuality is the very real concern that liberals will work to outlaw Christian teaching that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman as a hate crime.

The argument is based on the false "compassion" logic that there are millions of GLBT Catholics implying the Church should condone homosexual acts. Gee, there are also millions of adulterers in the Church: let's bring back polygamy. Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon were polygamists!

The same liberal "compassion" argument is made against those who believe (that all things being held equal) it is best for a child to be raised by a mother and a father than by two members of the same sex. Liberals claim that those who believe in a mother and a father must be silenced since they are hurting the feelings of children raised by gay couples. If only those horrible Christians be silenced for this hate crime, then there would be no difference for a child being raised by a same sex couple than a mother and father.

The whole foundation rests on the false premise that being LBGT is biologically based and to claim God favors heterosexual marriage is an act of discrimination no different than racial discrimination.

Below is an excellent essay on the history of homosexuality and religion.

http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles2/PragerHomosexuality.shtml

So why do modern liberals, who are often intelligent, well-intentioned people, bash the pope who opposes persecution of homosexuals while remaining silent on Islam which advocates the persecution and murder of homosexuals? It's the cult of non-discrimination as dscribed in the talk below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE98w1KZ-c

In regards to the media, of course the dominant liberal media is going to bash the pope if he issues a statement not in lockstep with modern liberal beliefs. Those who think the Church would grow if it embraced the modern liberal agenda should look at the rapid decline of the Protestant denominations which have done so.

You have a good point. The Vatican is still a little bit, or alot, of a "gilded cage" or ivory tower. JP2 began to grasp the power and currency of the media, being a great communicator, but B16 maybe not so much. Sadly, they could really use the media to their advantage or detriment. They are still in a mentality of trying to deny the positives of modern culture along with the negatives. I think the future of the Holy See can only be American, in the sense of a truly inclusive global society, with all the media savvy which that entails. (I would personally love to see the See moved to America - not an impossiblity). Like a bad politician, the Holy See seems to be trying to have it both ways by repeatedly coming out with contradictory statements. Perhaps this is their way of acknowledging that the truth is often highly paradoxical. They would do well to acknowledge this more in general. It challenges their human tendency to claim monopolies on the "truth". The Church may have been divinely instituted, but it is a human institution, by now quite corrupted by self interest, history and power.

You should do an article on the recent sexual abuse lawsuit against the Vatican itself. Commentators say the lawsuit will not achieve its' goal of showing the Vatican having committed criminal acts, because it is still considered an independent, "sovereign" state. But isn't this one more example of the corruptions of history with which the Vatican is burdened and uses inappropriately to its own aggrandizement? This is a vestige of some unfortunate European history which made the Vatican a real world power, something it certainly was never meant to be, and certainly should no longer be. I look forward to the eventual crumbling of these wordly encrustations which only hinder the Church, and do not allow it the freedom to reflect God's true nature: the denial of paradox, the monolithism, the militarism, the clericalism, the tin ear, the marble halls, the velvet slippers, the lust for power and presumption of privilege. The Church must let go of the world to find it's heart.