Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Liberal German reaction to Pope's stance on same-sex marriage predictably negative

Deutsche Welle
DW-WORLD.DE

June 8, 2005

Germans Criticize Pope's Views on Gays

The German Green Party and a major gay rights group have criticized a speech by Pope Benedict XVI in which he said gay marriage was “based on a trivialization of the human body.”

The Green Party and Lesbian and Gay Federation have broken the silence in Germany among groups that disagree with the Pope’s stance on social issues. Green parliamentarian Volker Beck said that Pope Benedict XVI’s attitude toward homosexuality was “marked by theological mercilessness and the haughtiness of the Pharisees.”

Manfred Burns, spokesperson for the Lesbian and Gay Federation, called Benedict’s remarks on Monday an “insulting sermon of hate.”

Benedict had told Italian Catholics that gay marriage involved a “trivialization of the human body.”

“Gay marriage is an expression of an anarchic freedom, which falsely tries to pass itself off as the true liberation of man... man is not just his body, and that which is biological, is not just biological, but an expression and fulfillment of his humanity,” the Pope said.

Continuing John Paul II's mission

Benedict’s position is not radically different from his predecessor’s, Pope John Paul II: although gay marriage is theologically unfounded, discrimination against gays is also sinful. John Paul was the heavy target of criticism by the Lesbian and Gay Federation. It called on German bishops to distance themselves from the John Paul’s ideas on homosexuality in his last book, Memory and Identity, which the gay advocacy organization called “inhuman writings.”

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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:43 PM