I haven't seen the actual wording of the speech (the Vatican site has it only in German and Italian, neither of which I have seen). However, none of the major news stories I've read (including the BBC one you linked) made the speech sound like it did "directly attack homosexuals and transsexuals, comparing their existence to ecological disaster". Rather, the pope, according to these reports, seems to be saying that, just like ignoring the environment can lead to the destruction of the planet, ignoring the basic truth about man (including that there are two sexes and that these sexes are complementary and can come together to create children) can lead to the destruction of humanity.
This is hardly news to anybody who has followed Catholic dogma in the last 2000 years or so. And in fact the pope is speaking for me when he says it. I too think that there are men and women, that they're different but with equal dignity, and that vague talk about "30 possible genders" and other such nonsense is obscuring the real state of things. This position is based on some philosophical concepts which have a long and stories history and I do not it this makes me a bigot.
I'm not expecting you to agree with the pope's view. You're coming from a very different philosophical viewpoint, and while I think the philosophical basis for that viewpoint is mistaken it's still yours. I would however appreciate it if you didn't link to a story saying one thing with link-text saying something completely different. It's unfair, it's inaccurate, it closes down debate, and it diminishes all of us.
Nowhere do you back up your claim of direct attack or comparison of gays/transgenders to ecological disaster. I argue that you don't do this because the facts don't allow you to. Don't be blinded by your anger, read the text. Authorial intent might be dead, but you still have to stick by the literal reading of the text, and I don't think you've done so in this case.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-24 04:15 am (UTC)This is hardly news to anybody who has followed Catholic dogma in the last 2000 years or so. And in fact the pope is speaking for me when he says it. I too think that there are men and women, that they're different but with equal dignity, and that vague talk about "30 possible genders" and other such nonsense is obscuring the real state of things. This position is based on some philosophical concepts which have a long and stories history and I do not it this makes me a bigot.
I'm not expecting you to agree with the pope's view. You're coming from a very different philosophical viewpoint, and while I think the philosophical basis for that viewpoint is mistaken it's still yours. I would however appreciate it if you didn't link to a story saying one thing with link-text saying something completely different. It's unfair, it's inaccurate, it closes down debate, and it diminishes all of us.
Nowhere do you back up your claim of direct attack or comparison of gays/transgenders to ecological disaster. I argue that you don't do this because the facts don't allow you to. Don't be blinded by your anger, read the text. Authorial intent might be dead, but you still have to stick by the literal reading of the text, and I don't think you've done so in this case.