One would have imagined that the Church in France has had time enough to realize that politics should be left to the elected representatives of the citizens of the French Republic. Gone are the dark days when old-fashioned priests in black cassocks imagined that the nation might be guided, if not governed, by dogmatic voices from the pulpits of
"the Oldest Daughter of the Roman Church". Apparently the message has not yet got through to a dull cardinal in Paris,
André 23.
He has proposed a prayer, intended to be professed by priests throughout France, stating that
"children and young people must cease to be objects of the desires and conflicts of adults, so that they can take full advantage of the love of a father and a mother". Behind the euphemistic language, which beats around the bush, the cardinal is revealing his homophobic nature, opposed to granting same-sex couples the right to marry and bring up children.
Ecclesiastic behavior of this backward kind is outrageous in the French Republic of 2012. But I wouldn't imagine that André 23 has many followers who might listen to his words, take him seriously, and pray along with him.
You may recall that I quoted already this dumb cardinal back on 4 January 2009 [
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André XXIII seems to have the habit of wasting precious opportunities (as they say in French) of keeping his silly mouth shut.
