Thursday, August 26, 2010

Benedict’s unsubstantiated antigay teachings – “The Pope Is Not Gay” by Angelo Quattrocch, 2010 - Among the Flutterers - Colm Tóibín - London Review of Books


Among the Flutterers - Colm Tóibín
The Pope Is Not Gay by Angelo Quattrocchi
translated by Romy Clark Giuliani

 …when Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005…It was possible to imagine him spending his papacy restoring prayer and the spiritual life to the heart of the Catholic faith, placing much emphasis on the mystery and beauty of the Eucharist and dwelling as much as he could on ideas of redemption, responsibility, solidarity, forgiveness and love in the life of Jesus in the New Testament.

If anyone wonders why this has not happened, it is worth taking a look at Ratzinger’s views on homosexuality, which are offered in full in a number of appendices to The Pope Is Not Gay! by Angelo Quattrocchi. In 1986, as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger wrote a letter to the Catholic bishops, which was approved by the pope, on ‘the Pastoral Care of Homosexuals’. He referred to an earlier Vatican declaration on the matter in 1975, which ‘took note of the distinction commonly drawn between the homosexual condition or tendency and individual homosexual actions’ and described the latter as ‘intrinsically disordered’. But in the discussion that followed, according to Ratzinger, ‘an overly benign interpretation was given to the homosexual condition itself, some going so far as to call it neutral, or even good. Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency towards an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as a moral disorder.’

In plainer language, whereas in 1975 having sex if you were gay was ‘disordered’, now doing nothing at all – singing hymns, say, or watching reruns of Bernadette of Lourdes – was also ‘disordered’. Just sitting there, you were ‘disordered’. There was no way out, since Ratzinger’s catechism of 1992 also declared that ‘masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action.’ Ratzinger went on in his letter of 1986 to wonder whether, since homosexuality ‘must be seen as an objective disorder’, this required the faithful to attack homosexuals. No, he thought, it did not. ‘It is deplorable,’ he wrote, ‘that homosexual persons have been or are the object of violent malice in speech or in action … But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered.’ He went on:

When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behaviour to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase.

…This is an interesting moment, the beginning of a culture of denial, a culture in which someone else, somewhere else, had to be blamed.

…Ratzinger moves from associating homosexuality with disease and madness to pondering the question of coming out, or remaining in the closet. Ratzinger makes clear that he favours the closet.

The ‘sexual orientation’ of a person is not comparable to race, sex, age etc also for another reason … An individual’s sexual orientation is generally not known to others unless he publicly identifies himself as having this orientation or unless some overt behaviour manifests it. As a rule, the majority of homosexually oriented persons who seek to lead chaste lives do not publicise their sexual orientation. Hence the problem of discrimination in terms of employment, housing etc, does not usually arise.

Not publicising your sexual orientation was something the Vatican supported, perhaps with good reason. However, the idea that ‘an individual’s sexual orientation is generally not known to others unless he publicly identifies himself as having this orientation or unless some overt behaviour manifests it’ is more complex than Ratzinger might think. An individual may manifest this orientation without intending to, for example. There are ways for people who do not want to identity themselves as homosexual to identify themselves as such while thinking, or hoping, that they are not in fact doing so…
Read complete review by - Colm Tóibín - London Review of Books

[Book: The Pope Is Not Gay by Angelo Quattrocchi, translated by Romy Clark Giuliani 2010]  

The Psychology of the Closet: 
Governor McGreevey's New Clothes
by Jack Drescher, M.D. – August 27, 2004

Vatican Asking For Male Prostitutes –
“Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.”
Though you drive Nature out
with a pitchfork,
she will still find her way back.

Is It Possible to Be Against Same-Sex Marriage
Without Being Homophobic?
Carlos A. Ball
Professor of Law at Rutgers University
August 24, 2010 – Huffington Post

The Closet: Psychological Issues of Being In and Coming Out
By Jack Drescher, M.D. - October 1, 2004

The Pope Is Not Gay
Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Dish
The Atlantic

The Psychology of the Closeted Individual and Coming Out – 2007
by Jack Drescher, M.D.

The Significance of Brokeback Mountain
by Ralph Roughton
Self Psychology News – Fall 2007

Auschwitz - Christmas 2008
A flashback far more severe than
in Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain

Homophobia- American Psychoanalytic Foundation Public Forum
Ralph Roughton, M.D. 1999

Human Sexuality -> Astonishing Complexities, Variations And Wonder
October 20, 2009 – MSK

To Be Catholic or Not To be Catholic
by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz – September 30, 2009

Heterosexism and homophobia
Different in More Ways Than One:
Providing Guidance for Teenagers on Their Way to Identity, Sexuality and Respect
"TRIANGLE"

Structural Violence Section Introduction
Peace, conflict, and violence:
Peace psychology in the 21st century
Daniel Christie

Structural Violence:
RELIGION AND CONFLICT
Luc Reychler
Introduction: Towards a Religion of World Politics?
The International Journal of Peace Studies

Prop 8 judgment, August 4, 2010
Gay marriage
“Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
Judge Vaughn Walker

On Prop 8, it's the evidence, stupid
By Lisa Bloom
CNN.com -
and related links:

Prop 8 ruled unconstitutional as lacking rational basis
Nan Hunter - Professor, Georgetown Law,
Washington, DC
hunter of justice

Gay Marriage Ruling A Matter of Simple Justice
by Geoffrey R. Stone
law professor at the University of Chicago
Chicago Tribune

Gay Marriage -> Restores
“Hope of Love”
To Children In Early Childhood

Sexual orientation is less about sex and more about love,
being one with another human being - Attachment Theory
LOVE & RELIGION
Gay Marriage

Gay Marriage - Galileo Condemned As A Heretic -
Misinterpretations of The Bible
Homosexuality?
Natural Law?
Benedict XVI?
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!

SEXUAL CONVERSION THERAPIES - Jack Drescher, M.D.

Religious Groups' Official Positions on Same-Sex Marriage
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life – July 27, 2010

Gay Marriage & Homosexuality
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Church of Scotland admits institutional homophobia
April 25, 2007 - Ekklesia

"No sensible person can imagine that the 
sexes differ
in matters of love as they do in matters of clothing.
The intelligent lover of beauty will be attracted to beauty in whichever gender he finds it." Plutarch

The Quality Of Lasting Homosexual Relationships
Deserve Respect
Roman Catholic -->Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, 
Vienna

Gramick: Equality is a Catholic value
by David Taffet – Dallas Voice

Campaigns Against “Gay Marriage” Have Been A Vehicle To Convey Certain People Into Political Office

Karl Rove… "had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-gay initiatives and referenda would appear on November ballots in 2004 and 2006 to help Republicans." Ken Mehlman
 August 25, 2010
 The Atlantic
Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman:
I'm Gay – by Marc Ambinder - The Atlantic

Gay Marriage
Truth Will Set Us Free
Not Ignorance and Fear
by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz – October 2, 2009

Hate Crime Bill vs Attacks But No Facts -> Fear And Ignorance Of The Blind Leading The Blind – October 27, 2009 – MSK

ANTI-GAY/LESBIAN VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES
Bianca Cody Murphy
Peace Psychology for the 21st Century

No one individual, no religion, no one has the right to hurt anyone, especially children - - - Kids are being hurt !!! – By Fr. Marty Kurylowicz – July 22, 2009

Institutional homophobia (or heterosexism)
Edith Cowan University Western Australia

HOMOPHOBIA
Edith Cowan University Western Australia

Structural Violence Section Introduction
Peace, conflict, and violence:
Peace psychology in the 21st century
Daniel Christie

Sexing political identities/ National as Heterosexism
V. Spike Peterson - University of Arizona
International Feminist Journal of Politics, 1:1 June 1999, 34–65

Structural Violence 
Dr. N.V.S.Suryanarayana 
August 19, 2010
Psyspeak, Human Behavior on Social Media

Peace Psychology Book
Daniel Christie

Dan Christie
Professor of Psychology at Ohio State University

Why not allow gay marriage?
Dr. Brian Mustanski – November 28, 2008
Psychology Today
Arguments against same sex marriage not supported by evidence

Lessons from a Gay Marriage
Marian M. Jones, Ph.D. – May 1, 1997
Psychology Today

American Psychological Association reiterates support for same-sex marriage
August 11, 2010

Early Childhood Development – Your Options – How Do I Know If My Child Is Transgender? By Stephanie Brill and Caitlin Ryan, PhD, ACSW
National Association of Social Workers

GENDER SPECTRUM
provides education, training and support to help create a gender sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens
Stephanie Brill, PhD. - Executive Director

The New Gay Teenager - Google Books Result

Mom, Dad I'm Gay : How Families Negotiate Coming Out
by Ritch C. Savin-Williams

Ritch Savin-Williams
is professor and chair of
Human Development at Cornell University

The Sex & Gender Lab
Cornell University’s Department of Human Development

(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter?
Judith Stacey; Timothy J. Biblarz
American Sociological Review, Vol. 66, No. 2. (Apr., 2001), pp. 159-183.

DOES A PARENT'S GENDER IMPACT A CHILD'S SUCCESS? -
By Cristen Conger – January 28, 2010
Discovery News

Parents of Gay Children and Courtesy Stigma
by Michael C. LaSala, Ph.D. – August 15, 2010
Psychology Today

Gay Marriage's Biggest Supporters: Children of Gay Parents
By Sarah Wildman
Politics Daily

Reading, writing, ’rithmetic, and reaching out
by Dana Rudolph
Bay Windows

Children with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents


American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry

“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.” Erik Erikson

…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:6

Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
Kids Are Being Hurt !!!

No comments: