The Mafia’s sexual morality not so far removed
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The Irish Times reports today that members of Italy’s mafia meted out a punishment of gang rape against one of their number they suspected of being gay. The man was raped while in prison two years ago by eight others, resulting in him requiring medical treatment. None of his attackers were punished by the authorities.
Having recently watched Suddenly, Last Winter, a documentary on Italy and same-sex relationships, I really wouldn’t be surprised if Italian mainstream society agreed with this attack. Some of the opinions voiced in that film were deeply vicious and homophobic.
Religion was frequently at the source of the hatred of gays in the film. With the likes of the Iona Institute having a disproportionately loud voice in this country, not to mention the likes of Iris Robinson in Northern Ireland, we in Irish society need to be vigilant against the language and attitudes of hatred around us.
Prominent members of this society – public figures and those in the media – have a duty and a responsibility when discussing issues relating to minorities – including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans people. The logical outcome, otherwise, of intolerant or hateful statements is the type of violence mentioned above.
Current Pope Benedict XVI – formerly Cardinal Ratzinger (and not Nazinger, ahem) – stated in the 1980s when he was head of the Vatican’s policy division, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition):
It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the church’s pastors wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of a healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law.
But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase (No. 10).
What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behavior of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and therefore inculpable. What is essential is that the fundamental liberty which characterizes the human person and gives him his dignity be recognized as belonging to the homosexual person as well (No. 11)
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You might also like to read: Freedom of expression or incitement to hatred?
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lol@how this is turning...
I think you’ve made some interesting points there Click Here – However we need to examine how the Iona Institute uses it’s language – for example I think it’s very telling that they (David Quinn, Breda O Brien, Patricia Casey) would never resort to the language of Iris Robinson because they realise that that would be quite damaging to their causes – they prefer to dress their langauge with fluffy caring type articles that can sound (on the the surface) way more reasonable than Robinson – My point is Iona knows that hardline attitudes would damage their cause so they try to use charm offensive and try to sound compassionate
Absolutely, I’ve notice that, too – they play a very clever, very subtle game; but a dangerous one, nonetheless – perhaps even more dangerous than the likes of Robinson, by reason of its insidiousness. I suppose I tried to hint at it above (although maybe not very clearly), with the quote from Il Papa: Iona Institute are 100% pure Catholic (esp evident with Quinn – former editor of Irish Catholic, former religious affairs correspondent with the Indo – and with O’Brien (esp evident with ..well, all her bizarre opinions..).
Basically, these people align themselves with the sort of conservative language and intolerance of Ratzinger/the current Pope, although perhaps not in their PR campaigns.
(Incidentally, is it just me, or have their media campaign messages changed from ‘two brothers in rural Ireland’ to ‘the Constitution prohibits equal recognition of same-sex relationships’ to ‘won’t somebody think of the children?!’?)
[...] and still not to be missed, by the way..! And there was an article on the bizarre morality of the mafia compared with the bizarre morality of the wider world. We had one woman’s view of what it is [...]