Dear Pope...

I've had it. Nobody, including myself, should be surprised that the Pope is anti-gay and pointedly opposed to gay marriage. I disagree with him (a LOT), but I've had just about enough. Same sex marriages are apparently "insidious" and "dangerous." For some reason, the family unit itself must be protected from the threat we pose to the common good.

Mr. Pope, with all due respect (and that's a pretty small amount by now), fuck you! I'm tired of someone with a past connection to the Nazi party judging others (lest ye be...dot dot dot). Stop distracting folks from the issues you SHOULD be focused on. I'm tired of someone who has helped hide truly prolific pedophile priests getting his holy panties in a bunch because I want the same rights everyone else enjoys. Stop blaming us...being gay is NOT the same thing as being a pedophile. Just ask the APA, AMA, and countless other groups. They're smart people, and have been studying the issue for some time.

I agree that we're facing huge problems in the world today. Terrorism, damage to our environment, unstable economies, the AIDS crisis, cancer, access to health care...they're all serious problems that we need to address NOW by working together across whatever lines might divide us. But how will having legal recognition for my relationship destroy the time/space continuum? Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, and Canada have had it for a while...and NOTHING happened. The divorce rates didn't spike. The marriage rates didn't plunge. There wasn't an explosion of orphans. Or famine, plague, war, etc.

And let's take a moment to get something clear: you don't OWN marriage. Even in modern society, a church isn't required to get married. You can go to a justice of the peace or a judge pretty much anywhere. Marriage means different things in different cultures, and NO church has the right to say this is what marriage is supposed to be about for ALL people. It's been about property, politics, family status, wealth, land...and sometimes even love. You do not have the right to say that my love or my family isn't real because it doesn't match your definition.

So back the train up, your "holiness." Why don't you spend some time getting your own house in order before you worry about what's going on in mine? Why don't you focus your considerable influence (and treasury) on helping feed and shelter the homeless? Or providing care for the sick? In short...why don't you use your powers for good? Stop wasting your time defaming love...you know, that word that gets used a lot in the Bible? That's supposed to be the cornerstone of your entire faith? Ringing any bells yet? Please stop manufacturing fear, spreading hurtful lies, and trying to keep people from loving one another...it's just rude.