In January, Pope Benedict XVI used his annual address to the diplomatic corps as a platform to denounce gay marriage, calling it one of the major threats that could undermine "the future of humanity itself." With Maryland becoming the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage last week, the Pope once again condemned gay nuptials, and came across sounding quite scared of "the powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage."
In a speech to visiting US bishops, the Pope said on Friday: "Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage...Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature." He added that traditional family and marriage had to also be protected from "the serious pastoral problem presented by the widespread practice of cohabitation...[which] has led to grave societal problems bearing an immense human and economic cost."
The Pope's comments came at the same time as a new campaign against same-sex marriage which was launched this week by Roman Catholic leaders in Britain. Of course, if the Pope really wanted to get his anti-gay marriage out there, he should have done it in 140 characters or less.
