The Pope is dead, and they will tell you he was a groundbreaking innovator when it comes to championing the LGBTQ+ community and to supporting the rights of women. The bar was set and still is set so low that you might be fooled into thinking this is true. So here are a few reminders and two follow-up reads, should you need documentation on how the Catholic church is a dangerous institution, we’re letting way too close to young people in vulnerable situations.
Dignitas Infinita, a doctrinal document from 2024, equates gender-affirming surgery to violations of human dignity comparable to abortion and euthanasia. The idea was pushed again in April, arguing that “gender ideology” “nullifies differences” and contradicts God’s plan, whatever that is.
The Strength of a Vocation is a text from 2018 in which it’s stated that individuals with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should not be admitted to seminaries or religious life, emphasizing celibacy and insinuating that queer people are prone to act as predators in these contexts, living a “double life”.
Even the 2023 blessings for same-sex couples was given provided they avoid resembling marriage rites. While saying that being gay is not a sin (well thank you, darling) he both stressed that homosexual acts are sinful under Catholic teaching, as all sexual acts outside marriage, and that homosexual couples can’t marry, basically saying they can be a couple if they stay celibate. Which is not how being a couple works. Being a couple should work in the way THE COUPLE decides.
On a side note, it didn’t go any better for women. After receiving criticism of his language about women’s “feminine genius,” he argued against “masculinizing” women through “exaggerated feminism”. He kept praising women’s “tenderness and compassion”, pitting pressure on it as essential for resolving global conflicts and framing women’s contributions in ways that are always supportive and never leading.
Progresses on bodily autonomy and abortion? Forget about it. It’s from March 2024 the statement about institutional duty to help women “accept the gift of life.”
So yeah. I respect people who are mourning their religious leader. But do not come around spitting bullshit on how he tried to help me too.
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