If only they’d denounced the evil within their own ranks as forcefully

This is utterly unbelievable:

The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face."

The attack by Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was the latest in a string of speeches made by either Pope Benedict or other Vatican officials as Italy considers giving more rights to gays.

This coming from the very same people who personified evil for decades by shuffling pedophile priests from one parish to another thus enabling them access to a new crowd of unsuspecting innocent rape victims. And they honestly feel they have the moral high ground to call gays and lesbians evil for wanting to love and commit to the person they love? I cannot wrap my mind around this kind of hate --- yes, HATE. That is what it is.

I keep telling myself I’m not going to waste any more time, energy, or emotion on the Catholic Church’s over-the-top homophobia and hate, but it is completely impossible to ignore the escalating rhetoric coming from these people’s mouths. How, how, how can they think they have enough credibility to condemn anyone as evil? HOW????

I just want to curl up in a ball and cry myself to sleep. The Church in which I was born and raised has truly gone off the deep end.

Andrew’s take:

How can one not regret the coarseness of the rhetorical blast that just came from the lips of Archbishop Angelo Amato? He directly equated suicide bombing with civil unions or civil marriage for gay couples. Yes: the human desire to seek out one other person and commit to him or her for a lifetime is "terrorism with a human face" and "equally repugnant" as the acts of al Qaeda. The comparison is such a ludicrously cruel, absurd and demeaning one it doesn't even rise to the level of rational debate. But here is an authoritative church leader calling gay couples the moral equivalent of mass-murderers of innocents. All one can say is that this is not the language of Jesus, and it is not the language of the Gospels. It is, in fact, hate speech. It will persuade no one. Even if one were to believe that abortion is as morally repugnant as murder, how can the same rubric be applied to gay couples who are intending to do nothing but look after one another under the law? How can attempts to find meaningful civil protections for their relationships be regarded as "evil"? Misguided for some, perhaps. Unwise for others. But evil? "Equally repugnant" as the acts of suicide bombers? From a bishop of the church? The mind reels.