Vatican Balks At Receiving Gay Ambassador

[beam me up scottie]

Vatican Balks At Receiving Gay Ambassador



Laurent Stefanini, appointed ambassador to the Vatican last January, has yet to be accepted by the Curia, even though the post has been vacant since March 1.

Europe's Blasting News lived up to its name this week, denouncing the Vatican for stalling the appointment of the first gay ambassador.

"Homophobia is unacceptable." proclaimed the news site. "In 2015, it is inconceivable to accept for a single second that a man can be excluded for a position of such importance because of his sexual and emotional orientation."

The man in question is long-serving French diplomat Laurent Stefanini, who is openly gay. Most recently, the 55-year-old career diplomat has served as France's Chief of Protocol. (That's him in the photo above, accepting the credentials of U.S. Ambassador to France Jane Hartley.)

Last January, the Council of Ministers appointed Stefanini France's Ambassador to the Vatican. That post, to the historic Villa Bonaparte Embassy in Rome, is considered a plum assignment, often given as a reward for years of service by members of France's diplomatic corps. That ambassadorship has been vacant for more than a month now, but Stefanini has yet to be credentialed by the Vatican, and the rumors are growing that it is because Stefanini is gay. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has recently alluded publicly to that explanation, calling the appointment of a gay diplomat "a provocation."

...

French President Hollande has promised he won't back down on the appointment.

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/uncucumbered/vatican_balks_at_receiving_gay_ambassador

Why do so many catholics continue to support their anti-human rights leader?

[trotsky]

1. OK look, I think I see what everyone is doing wrong here.

Pay no attention to what the Wonderpope and his church actually DO - you should only listen to what he SAYS and judge him on that! Unless he says something cruel, bigoted, or stupid - then as long as the quote is at least 5 minutes old, you just say that it's an old quote and he's probably changed his mind by now.

[beam me up scottie]

6. Of course we can't ever really know what he means when he speaks.

Everything gets lost in translation.

[progressoid]

2. What? No way.

God is love and Pope Frank is the bee's knees!!111!

Maybe it's just a clerical oversight.

[trotsky]

5. My money's on a translation error. n/t

[beam me up scottie]

7. Jinx!

You owe me a coke: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1230&pid=38987

[trotsky]

9. No way!

I beat you by a minute! :-P

[Arugula Latte]

3. What was Frankie just saying about equality?

The RCC is a villainous, festering pit.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Civil rights are only for heterosexual men.

Women and lgbt people aren't quite human enough.

[bvf]

4. Why?

"Why do so many catholics continue to support their anti-human rights leader?"

Because they need to be told what to think. It's that simple, IMO.

Good on Hollande. I hope he stands his ground.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Maybe they should stop accusing others of religious bigotry and clean their own house.

Hollande!

[Curmudgeoness]

11. "Who am I to judge."

Isn't that what the Pope had to say about gays? Well, I am sure he really did mean it.

I wonder how this will be spun.

[skepticscott]

12. But…but…he hugged an ugly person!

And dogs go to heaven! And…and…soup kitchens…baby steps!

Sadly, even some self-proclaimed gays and lesbians on this site will defend the pope and the Vatican on this. Or try to pretend that it isn't happening.

Just imagine if an atheist organization tried to keep someone out of a leadership post because they were gay. The Interfaithy religionistas and rabid Catholic apologists would go ballistic. But since the wonderpope is behind it, we're supposed to be "cautiously optimistic" and proclaim this from the mountaintop as "progress".

[Curmudgeoness]

15. I cannot even imagine the backlash

if it was an atheist organization doing this. There is no excuse for this.

I do think that France knows damned well what they were doing here.

[beam me up scottie]

18. He only said that about gay priests.

And only if they remained celibate.

It's that good ole hate the sin, love the sinner (but persecute him anyway) thingy.

[AlbertCat]

13. Vatican Balks At Receiving Gay Ambassador

What..... did they want to be on top?

[beam me up scottie]

16. Oh no you didn't!

[onager]

14. Villa Bonaparte Embassy?

Now there's some irony. An Embassy bearing the name of the guy who shut down the Pope's personal Jewish ghetto in Rome. Wikipedia:

The Roman Ghetto or Ghetto of Rome, Italian: Ghetto di Roma, was a Jewish ghetto established in 1555 in the Rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy...

With the exception of brief periods under Napoleon from 1808 to 1815 and under the Roman Republics of 1798-99 and 1849, the ghetto of Rome was controlled by the papacy until the capture of Rome in 1870.

Controlled by WHO? Say it ain't so!

TOUR GUIDE MODE: Villa Bonaparte is not named for the Emperor, but for his fast-livin' sister Pauline, who lived there. So fast-livin' that her husband once put her under house arrest, which didn't slow her down a bit. The family of Pauline's husband gave their name to another awesome piece of Roman real estate - Villa Borghese. Located right behind Piazza Federico Fellini!

[beam me up scottie]

17. Most excellent history, as usual.

Never made it to Italy but I did get to see Waterloo.

[AlbertCat]

19. Controlled by WHO?

Whom..... by whom....



Sorry, I can't help it.