Provocative Pope Says Gay Lifestyle is a "Destruction of God's Work"

Hello Bloggers - In shocking statements to the Catholic Curia, or governing body, Pope Benedict said today that "saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction." Wow! Is he serious? Homosexuals and transsexuals are a threat to humanity? That's news to me.

On a more serious note, I think he is being incredibly irresponsible, even reckless. I don't care if he's trying to protect the morality of man, or the church, the only RESULT of statements expressing hateful judgements on a whole community of people - including millions of YOUNG PEOPLE - is self-hatred and SUICIDE. Statements like that do nothing to help make the world more moral. They do nothing to heal or help. They only HURT!

If you don't agree, and you think the Pope wasn't expressing hate, then I don't think you've ever been on the receiving end of it. Trust me, those kinds of statements hurt people. They make people, especially young people, feel like they're not good enough, and that they need to be fixed somehow. There is plenty of evidence to support it. They also encourage acts of hate, or violence. This is bad, very bad. We're not talking about a disease that can be cured. We're talking about human beings who have little choice but to be who they are.

He went on to say that "[the Church] should protect man from the destruction of himself." The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to "understand the intended roles of man and woman." He compared behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work".

"DESTRUCTION OF GOD'S WORK? He's equating homosexuals with a destructive force. It's almost as though he's making homosexuals scapegoats for all kinds of moral problems. I'm sorry, but that's hateful. Again, this is BAD, VERY BAD!

The Catholic Church opposes homosexual acts, gay marriage, and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound". I wish I could confront that Vatican official. In my opinion, he's the only wound that should be healed.

Homosexuals are not a "destructive" force, no matter what you say. There are plenty of heterosexual problems out there that are destructive that should be addressed. Why pick on a weak minority? I'm sorry, but I cannot tolerate that kind of language. I might be very spiritual and part Catholic, but I think the Pope is FULL OF BS!

He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected". I would like to say to HIS HOLINESS to LEAVE THE GAY COMMUNITY ALONE! They are often victims of extreme violence. It's a dangerous thing to call them out, to point a moral finger at them that way. It's going to lead to a world of HURT!

Stick to the teachings of Jesus. He didn't seem to have a problem with gay people. If he did, he probably would have said something. In my humble opinion your Holiness, any pain and suffering, or death, resulting from those words ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, and the CHURCH'S. I would be careful what is preached from your pulpits, because the words might even lead to lawsuits.

Hasn't the church already hurt gays enough? You might represent the Catholic Church, or even God on Earth, but in my opinion you are saying things to hurt, not to help.

Monday's Political/Spiritual Rant #2 - Michael

PS - The London Times and other great world newspapers reported on this story, and they all seem to agree that the Pope stoked homophobia. I agree.

My Personal Memorial for Abraham Biggs

Good Morning Bloggers - I came across a pretty horrible story in the London Times this morning about a 19-year old boy who committed suicide while being watched by up to 1,500 viewers on a live Internet site.

I wrote once before on this blog about a gay teenager in Derby, UK, who jumped to his death from the roof of a building while being mocked and encouraged to jump by people on the ground. The story was shocking to say the least.

So now we have another teenager dying while being encouraged by others who were watching online. Yes, sadly, Abraham Biggs from Broward County, Florida, took an overdose of pills while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, a live video streaming website.

He told those watching that he was going to commit suicide and went so far as to post a suicide note on another forum before taking the pills and turning on his webcam. Supposedly those watching knew very well was he was up to, yet they did not call the police.

The Times reports that the "19-year-old lay on his bed and only after several hours of no movement did others begin to take him seriously. With the video still running, forum members managed to contact the local police who eventually broke down the door, found the body and switched off the camera. Up to 1,500 people were viewing the feed, according to one report."

Many thought he was joking. Well, I hope they can live with themselves after they failed to take him seriously. Their irrational belief that he was joking led directly to his death. I hate to say it, but I think they're partly responsible. I know myself, and I know that I would have assumed the worst and tried to intervene.

The Times says that he apparently had threatened before to commit suicide. Who cares, the boy was obviously in need of HELP! Somebody should have done something. "On Wednesday he went to the bodybuilding.com forum and detailed the amount of drugs he was going to take. The moderators of the forum reportedly did not take him seriously because of his past threats and other forum members encouraged him to carry out his threat." WOW, what a bunch of assholes! The whole story makes me sick!

They supposedly continued to insult him as he lay motionless on the bed after taking the pills. "One forum member pleaded with other forum members to contact the police and tried to e-mail the Miami-Dade police. He borrowed his father's mobile and spoke to police who directed him to the Broward County Sheriff's Department. About an hour later, the authorities arrived at the teenager's house."

Incredibly, video clips have been posted on the net and copies of the suicide note can also be found. I don't know what to think about the world we live in today. I'm sure many right-wing Republicans who believe the world will fall apart without everybody embracing Jesus will blame it on corrupt morals caused by a lack of religion in our lives, or families without moral leadership. That is BS!

Society creates the conditions for acts of violence - on others or ourselves - at multiple levels. I think it has nothing to do with religious oversight; it as to do with a lack of societal and personal responsibility. We seem to live in a world where people don't take their own actions, much less those of others, very seriously. It's crazy.

Remember, we are all our brothers keeper. We are all responsible. People need to STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS and take more responsibility. We should never assume that people are pretending to drown, or choke, or commit suicide. They are nothing to joke about. ALWAYS ASSUME THE WORST! Always try to HELP and to hell with the consequences. If it turns out to be a joke, well then, shrug it off. It's a poor reflection on them, not us.

So, I never knew you Abraham, but I would like to say that you deserved better. People should have helped you. I would have helped you. People should have cared more. I regret that you had to die because we live in a society that does too little, too late. My personal memorial to you Abraham is to promise to act if I ever see anybody hurting like you did. I promise to do something. No matter what, I promise to take them seriously.

Rest in peace Abraham.

Personal Memorial for Abraham Biggs - Michael

Call to Action: For Our Own Humanity, We Must Remember Shaun Dykes

Hello Bloggers - I know it involves a crowd overseas, but I still think it's important for us to remember just how cruel people can get, especially when they gather and act like a mob. This is a stark and painful follow-up to my comments on last week's hateful campaign crowds, and just how horribly wrong things can go when they get out of hand. Like I said, people can die.

In the UK last week 17 year old Shaun Dykes threw himself off the roof of a shopping center in Derby, England, after a crowd gathered below and goaded him into jumping while chanting anti-gay obscenities. Shaun stood on the building roof for three hours contemplating killing himself. Eyewitness Alasdair Kay told the BBC's Today, "We could hear people shouting 'jump fag' followed by a stream of expletives. They weren't all just young people, some were middle-aged. To be honest with you I was sickened."

BBC reports that Derbyshire's Chief Constable Mick Creedon confirmed that members of the public encouraged the teenager to kill himself. Some filmed the event and posted it on the Internet. Pictures of him standing on top of the railings before his death even appeared in the newspaper the Daily Mail.

Up to 300 people gathered below where Shaun was perched on a railing. Some sources say that some observers, incredibly, allowed their children to watch. "Whilst we are very used to dealing with incidents like this, this was unusual with members of the public videoing, taking photographs and even shouting for Shaun to jump," Creedon said.

His teacher Rob Howard said that he was an openly gay student and that many of the kids “goaded him to jump" for that reason. The Bishop of Derby, the Rev. Dr. Alastair Redfern, added: “I’m horrified. I hope these people feel deeply ashamed. Here was a very troubled person crying out for help.”

After three hours and plenty of loud shouts of "jump fag" from the crowd, Shaun jumped the 60 feet to his death. It is reported that Shaun left a suicide note and was upset after the break-up of a relationship. His friends say that he was a great guy who "always had a smile on his face."

The whole story disgusts me, especially reading about how the crowd wasn't questioned or charged. The authorities just let the hate-mongering accomplices go free. The police said it was because the crowd was too large. I say it was because they didn't care enough. Crowds, like bullies, often get away with harm, or murder. Society should not tolerate hate, from individuals or crowds.

I am horrified, but not surprised. I've almost been a victim of crowd related violence myself after I tried to help somebody being threatened and abused. People didn't come to my defense against the bullies; they joined in the bullying. We were lucky to get out of there with only a few scratches and light punches.

I think that's what happens when people gather and allow hate to consume them. Who knows, it might be from a dark place completely unrelated. Perhaps they're expressing their anger at the world, or their disappointment in their own lives? Who knows, but the bottom line is they can't seem to stop themselves from taking it out on innocent people. They seem to lose touch with those very important parts of our social humanity: empathy, sympathy and compassion. It's like they become animals or something.

Shaun died partly because of his own pain, but also because of society's willingness to tolerate the hate that ultimately taunted him to his death. Our leaders need to always remind us that we are responsible for controlling our own anger, and for taking care of each other.

We should never channel - individually or as a crowd - any hate or anger in a destructive way. As I said on my earlier crowd-related post, people can get seriously hurt or die when crowds are allowed to erupt into verbal and physical violence. That crowd below Shaun should have been dispersed. The police failed to do their job.

We are each our brother's keeper. We are all responsible for our society's actions. We must demand civility and security for ourselves and those vulnerable among us. I would like to convey my personal condolences and prayers for Shaun, his family and friends. I hope they can find peace.

I urge you take action and sign an online tribute to Shaun here. I also urge you to join good government organizations that fight against hate and violence. Feel free to email me if you want my personal suggestions.

Monday's Call to Action #1 - Michael