Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) denounces gay marriage, cohabitation and promotes chastity [View all]

[Better Believe It]

Pope Benedict XVI denounces cultural shift toward gay marriage in U.S.
By Alessandro Speciale
March 9, 2012

VATICAN CITY(RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (March 9) denounced the “powerful political and cultural currents” that are working to “alter the legal definition of marriage” in the United States.

The pope also echoed bishops’ concerns over their battle with the Obama administration on the contraception mandate. “Threats to freedom of conscience, religion and worship” in the United States, he said, “need to be addressed urgently.”

The pontiff also challenged the bishops to act more incisively against the “widespread practice of cohabitation,” which is not only “gravely sinful” but also “damaging to the stability of society.”

The church, he said, must do more to promote the “virtue of chastity” in a society that “tends to misunderstand and even ridicule” it.

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/pope-benedict-xvi-denounces-cultural-shift-toward-gay-marriage-in-us/2012/03/09/gIQAs6bh1R_story.html

Based on his personal experience Mr. Ratzinger may be an expert on chastity (no evidence of child abuse has emerged) but not so much on marriage, gay or straight. Sex and marriage is unfamiliar territory for him. BBI