Pope rebuked for 'stoking' homophobic sentiments

Published on Tuesday 23 December 2008 20:42

GAY rights groups and Christian organisations condemned the Pope yesterday for his claim that "saving" humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was of equal importance to saving the world's rainforests.

The Pontiff stood accused of stoking homophobia with his remarks, which were denounced as "totally irresponsible and unacceptable in any shape or form."

Delivering his end-of-year address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration, Pope Benedict XVI suggested that a blurring of the distinction between male and female could lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race.

The church, he stressed, "should protect man from the destruction of himself". Describing behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work", he called for "a sort of ecology of man", adding: "The tropical forests do deserve our protection; but man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The comments further fuel accusations of homophobia directed at the Roman Catholic Church. In its teachings, homosexuality is not regarded as sinful, but homosexual acts are. In October, one Vatican official dubbed homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".

The speech was seized upon by the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, whose chief executive, the Rev Sharon Ferguson, dismissed the Pope's remarks as irresponsible and unacceptable. She said: "It is more the case that we need to be saved from his comments. It is comments like this that justify homophobic bullying that goes on in schools and that justify gay bashing.

"There are still so many instances of people being killed around the world, including in western society, purely and simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity."

The Rev Dr Giles Fraser, vicar of Putney and president of Inclusive Church, the pro-gay Anglican movement, said: "I thought the Christmas angels said 'Fear not'. Instead, the Pope is spreading fear that gay people somehow threaten the planet. And that's just absurd."

Mark Dowd, campaign strategist at Operation Noah, the Christian environmental group, said the Pope's remarks were "understandable but misguided and unfortunate".

A Vatican spokesman sought to downplay the furore, insisting the Pope had merely been criticising "gender theories".