Pope Benedict XVI may have stepped into the 21st century last week when he sent out his first tweet but his traditional views on marriage have not shifted. During a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Vatican, the pope made a few controversial comments about gay marriage.
The pope said that gay marriage was a “threat to peace” and urged political leaders to stay strong and fight for traditional marriage.
“There is…a need to acknowledge and promote the natural structure of marriage as the union of a man and a woman in the face of attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different types of union … Such attempts actually harm and help to destabilize marriage, obscuring its specific nature and its indispensable role in society. These principles are not truths of faith, nor are they simply a corollary of the right to religious freedom. They are inscribed in human nature itself, accessible to reason and thus common to all humanity.”
The pope’s comments on gay marriage sparked protests at the Vatican. According to the Quincy Herald Whi g, several protesters gathered in St. Peter’s Square today with signs asking the pope to reconsider his stance on gay marriage. One sign read “Marriage for All.” Another added: “Homophobia (equals) death.”
In addition to the signs, the organizers of the protest issued a statement, saying: “Gay unions don’t harm peace. Weapons do.”
The pope may not be changing his stance on gay marriage anytime soon but the United States might. The supreme court announced earlier this month that they would be looking at two cases related to gay marriage next Summer.