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Monday, April 04, 2005

AROUND THE PITTSBURGH INTERNETS: CONTRASTING REACTIONS TO THE POPE'S DEATH

Searching for a respectful eulogy? Then I would look at choir boy faced Ales Rarus (He'll ban your contraception but, hey, he's a guy who talks to God so he knows best lil' ladies...). Here's a predictably glowing excerpt praising God's top personal assistant:

"The pontificate of John Paul II, formerly Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was notable for its constant championing of the dignity of every human life. In the youthful days of his reign, he fought tirelessly for the dignity of the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, and the unborn. In those years, he taught us that even those whom the world had rejected had dignity as human beings. In his waning years, he taught us that there is dignity in infirmity. Old age is not something to be ashamed of. Physical impairment is not a curse. Life does not end when disability begins.

Too many societies, including our own, abandon our handicapped and elderly in nursing homes. We're either too afraid to deal with their weaknesses or too busy with our youthful lives to be bothered with caring for them. There are many lessons to be learned from examining John Paul II's life, not the least of which is how to grow old, face adversity, and die with grace and dignity. As many called for his resignation, he bravely, yet humbly, continued to do whatever he could muster his body to do in order to perform his duties. He showed that human worth is not defined by utility. "

Unspace, a Christian writer who I have more respect for and who quite frankly doesn't rush to defend James Dobson's attacks against spongy cartoon characters, has this thoughtful response. He's not catholic.

I know that many Evangelical Protestants do not accept Catholics as brothers and sisters in Christ. I’m not one of them. Pope John Paul II was a brother in Christ.

This was a man who forgave his would-be assassin. That takes guts, guts that far too many of us Christians lack. American politicians honored this Pope only when it was convenient for their political agendas. His attacks on Communism were hailed; his criticisms of Capitalism were blatantly ignored. His stance on abortion was also welcomed by the current political-industrial-religious Right; they mocked his stance on capital punishment. The Left felt about him the same way the Right did for opposite reasons, except they were a little more honest in their dislike of the man.

Like I said, I disagreed with him strongly on a lot of things, but he managed to anger both sides. He must have been doing something right. I ask forgiveness where I am wrong. I could do no less for anyone else.

So goodbye, Pope John Paul II. I pray that you are now with God the Father, Son and Spirit.

Well spaked, or spaken. Now, just like the corporate press we always strive to be fair and balanced here at Three Rivers Online. So heeeeere's Gayboy!:

Ding dong John Paul is dead
If anyone expects the general GLBT community to mourn John Paul II's death, they are very very mistaken. This is someone who writes that our relationships are "insideous" and "attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man." This is someone who devalues our lives and our loves, and wants GLBT human beings to be treated as animals because of how we love. Only celibate gays and lesbians could be tolerated, and the use of condoms to protect ourselves from disease was discouraged as "against the will of god." When priests, who take a vow of celibacy, molest children, he took a blind eye and blamed gays instead.

And then he says some things that I think show disrespect toward the Pope. Go figure. Note to self: Does the eternal Hellfire sting more in the summertime? Might need to know that...

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