The Times of London reports that the Anglican Church is closer than ever to a genuine schism over the North American wings' decisions to ordain gay people as bishops and encourage others to lead devout, monogamous lives. (How unChristian of them!) The US and Canada churches are effectively expulsed until 2008, for what amounts to an Anglican timeout. Then they have to renounce their wicked ways of treating gays with dignity and respect or there will be hell to pay. Frankly, the only acceptable gay people to most of the church around the world are eunuchs and most of the people complaining still haven't recovered from seeing women treated as equal to men and capable of leading a flock. The US Church, as made clear in its Tuesday presentation, has been developing its theology in favour of ordinations of homosexuals for 40 years and regards itself as a pioneer. To the Africans, Asians and other fast-growing churches of the “Global South”, the issue of homosexual rights represents not liberation but the threat of another enslavement, to decadent Western liberalism.
In Spain, meanwhile, everyone protesting madly that the world would come to an end if gay marriages were given the same basic rights as other marriages were trumped by an "academic" who said homosexuality is "a disease."
Professor Polaino told the Senate's Justice Committee that homosexuality was caused by "a hostile, distant, alcoholic or violent father ... or an overprotective, cold and demanding mother". Homosexuals, he said, "did not play games as children ... may have suffered sexual abuse within the family ... are more likely to be promiscuous, take drugs and suffer from schizophrenia".(Does going to the beach with Malibu Barbie count as playing games?) The silver lining there? Even the people on the right distanced themselves from this nutjob and said his comments were backwards and "from another age." It says something about the times when even people denouncing gays feel obligated not to completely denounce them. Or am I just being too Doris Day-ish about the whole thing?
