I cant believe I am reading this in the 21st century

[Momof2]

Amen!!!  There is so much divorce today.  There is no "normal" or traditional family.  Some occur because of choices some occur because they have to.  As long as two people love each other and are committed to having a family whose business should it be.  I am Catholic and I do not subscribe to the say no to the deviant lifestyle.  As a practing Catholic anything other than being in church on your knees is deviant.  They are in the middle of "normal" marriages.  I can remember being taught that sex was for procreation only not for fun.  Then I found out otherwise.  My husband and I did the no birth control thing and soon decided that is was not for us.  I do not promote abortion, but I believe a person has a right.  I believe that we should love one another.  We are in this together.  I believe in free will.  As long as you are a good person and are good to people and try to be an honest and loving person, then you are Godly.  When people do not understand something they are scared of it. 

[Shuggy]

What burns me up is that Ratzo is simultaneously so soft on paedophile priests. In his latest wrist-slap, he called their crimes "a tragedy". And a Google on the topic brings up his reaction when the scandal first broke, that it was a beat-up by the media gunning for the Catholic Church (shoot the messenger), because "only one percent" of priests are paedophiles.

“I am personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign, as the percentage of these offences among priests is not higher than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower.

“In the United States, there is constant news on this topic, but less than 1% of priests are guilty of acts of this type. The constant presence of these news items does not correspond to the objectivity of the information nor to the statistical objectivity of the facts.

“Therefore, one comes to the conclusion that it is intentional, manipulated, that there is a desire to discredit the Church. It is a logical and well-founded conclusion.”

One in a hundred? That's considerably higher than the lay population, and it would mean there's several in every large city, and there must have been hundreds at JP2's funeral.

[saucycobblers]

As a practing Catholic anything other than being in church on your knees is deviant.  I can remember being taught that sex was for procreation only not for fun.

Exactly. This is my main objections to the teachings of the Catholic Church. It just sets people up for a lifelong sense of failure. I fail to see how this attitude can possibly contribute to a Godly and peaceful society. And we're not the only animal to use sex for purposes other than procreation - chimpanzees use it to bond and to relieve stress.

As long as you are a good person and are good to people and try to be an honest and loving person, then you are Godly. 

Amen! Going into a Church doesn't mean diddly. It's how you conduct yourself in your everyday life that defines your relationship to God.

[isabelle]

It is a well known fact that after marriage most couples have less sex than before.   So if the Pope wants to stop Gay people from having deviant sex, he should just legalize same-sex Marriage!   

Exactly!

OP: I live in a traditionally Catholic country, France, which still doesn't have gay marriage. I maintain what I said before, that France is an overall homophobic country, and yeah, I am NOT in the LEAST surprised that this Pope, or any Pope for that matter, should say things like that. Hell, they even oppose using condoms! Their only credo is abstinence if you want to avoid unwanted pregnancy, or AIDS or any STD. Indeed, sex is not for fun, according to them.
I never did sympathize much with any (monotheistic) religion.

But even if marriage is a disaster, and raising kids makes you wonder why you wanted them in the first place, sometimes, I still think EVERYONE should have the same rights, even if they choose not to enjoy them.