My opinion on Pope Benedict is that he is an old man in a funny hat, and if you think the people in Gay Pride parades dress strangely, I think the high jinks of the Council of Bishops and Cardinals doing their ritual obeisance to His Holiness is easily on a par.

Let me point out that bemoaning the decline of society has been a favorite pastime since the days of Socrates.

As for the illogical assertion that tolerance toward homosexuals has preceded the fall of every historical civilization, I would argue that this is an absurd statement. The Incans did not condone their homosexuals, although I am sure they had them. The Greeks did. In both cases, through political miscalculations, they lost their lands to invaders.

Obviously homosexuality is not the common denominator here.

But let me make myself perfectly clear: I do not give flying fuck if you welcome or shun homosexuals in your personal lives.

I DO care that you choose to deny them a civil status which you are happy to grant to the most perverted heterosexual pairings.

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