THE TELEGRAPH: The Roman Catholic Church still regards homosexuality as an “insult to God” and homosexuals and transsexuals will never go to Heaven, a leading cardinal said on Wednesday, prompting a rebuke from the Vatican.
"Transsexuals and homosexuals will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven and it is not me who says this, but Saint Paul," said Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, 76.
In remarks which outraged gay rights groups, he claimed that people were not born gay, but chose to embrace homosexuality of their own free will.
"People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence.
"Perhaps they aren't guilty but by acting against the dignity of the body they will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven," said Cardinal Barragan, who recently retired as head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers but still holds influential positions on several Church committees.
He quoted a passage from Paul's epistle to the Romans which speaks of "men committing indecent acts with other men".
"Homosexuality is therefore a sin, but this does not justify any form of discrimination. God alone has the right to judge," the cardinal said. "We on earth cannot condemn, and as human beings we all have the same rights."
But the Vatican distanced itself from the cardinal's comments in a statement that was highly unusual because it indirectly criticised a top Church official. >>> Nick Squires in Perugia | Thursday, December 03, 2009
* Who the hell cares? Hell's where all the interesting people are going to end up anyway!
ARCIGAY: Mentre in tutta Italia imperversano violenze contro le persone omosessuali e campagne mediatiche contro la dignità delle persone transessuali, arrivano le considerazioni del cardinale messicano Javier Lozano Barragan, che sul sito www.pontifex.roma.it si scaglia oggi, prima contro la pillola del giorno dopo (in verità contro la RU486, ma i gerarchi cattolici fanno spesso confusione), e poi naturalmente contro gay e trans che non potranno mai entrare nel Regno dei Cieli.
Il presidente emerito del Pontificio Consiglio per gli operatori sanitari Pastorale per la salute, insiste poi nell’affermare che non si nasce omosessuali, che la causa del proprio orientamento sessuale la si deve cercare nell’educazione, in un mancato sviluppo dell’adolescenza. Si può anche esser incolpevoli, ma siccome gay e trans agiscono contro la dignità del corpo, certamente non andranno in paradiso, perché andare contro natura offende Dio. >>> Aurelio Mancuso, presidente nazionale Arcigay | Giovedi 03 dicembre 2009
