The despicable tampering by the Vatican

In Italy, it is well known that the Vatican has "secretly" been involved in the government politics since the dawn of the Republic, always trying to influence laws to its benefit (hell, the party in power for 40 years after WWII, "Christian Democracy" was nothing but a puppet of the Pope).

Things haven't apparently changed much:

A directive by Italian bishops ordering Catholic politicians to vote against gay rights legislation has caused a political uproar and prompted fresh charges of Church interference in domestic affairs.

The long-awaited note, issued on Wednesday by the Italian Bishops Conference, was significant because it specifically targeted politicians as they consider a law to give homosexual and heterosexual unmarried couples more rights.
[...]
The note said Catholic politicians had "the moral duty to clearly and publicly voice their disagreement and vote against any proposed law that would recognize homosexual couples".

While some Catholic and centrist politicians welcomed the directive as food for thought, other lawmakers and civil rights groups condemned it as outright interference.

This is what smart politicians had to say:

"This continuous, daily interference by the Church in parliament's activity is intolerable," said leftist senator Luisa Boccia. "What's next, excommunication?"

Another leftist politician, Pino Sgobio, said the Vatican had to realize that unmarried couples are a fact of life and parliament had a duty to pass laws to protect the rights of people who have decided not to marry.

Excellent point. At the end of the day, this is what it all comes down to. Gays and lesbians are citizens of the country they belong to whether heterosexuals like it or not. They work and pay taxes like their heterosexual counterparts.

In some way, their rights have got to be protected and enforced. If homosexuals cannot take advantage of the same tools that are provided to heterosexuals, then some other kind of tool must be provided to them so that their livelihoods aren't threatened.

One thing is certain, the Church feels threatened by this measure and will do all it can to protect its power over Italy's everyday life, even if this means unleashing its harshest and most bigoted attack dogs:

Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who was appointed last month to head the Italian Bishops Conference, is leading the Church's campaign against the legislation which the Vatican says would weaken the institution of marriage.

The “DICO” Bill's supporters have already criticised the Church for what they see as interference in politics, but comments by Archbishop Bagnasco, reported in newspapers, have further incensed the gay lobby.

“Why say 'no' to forms of legally recognised co-habitation which create alternatives to the family? Why say 'no' to incest?” he said at a meeting of Church workers, according to a report in La Repubblica daily.

“Why say 'no' to the pedophile party in Holland?” he said, referring to the Dutch Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity party which wants to cut the age of consent from 16 to 12 and legalise child pornography.

Hmm, how about because incest and pedophilia have nothing to do with homosexuality?

That's outrageous. This guy's a fucking moron, because there's plenty of scientific evidence that shows that incest and homophobia have nothing to do with homosexuality. But naturally, why say the truth when a lie can smear a whole segment of the population, the very segment that threatens your fucked up institution?

These people should be shunned by all reasonable individuals for their unethical and shameless practices.

God, I hate the Church.

Links here and here.