Nothing New Here

It seems that the Catholic hierarchy of Scotland is just as bereft of honesty as the Catholic hierarchy of the U.S. This, from the Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen:

Hugh Gilbert, the Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen who said he ‘loved’ gay people told the Scottish Catholic Observer: “Why is it alright for a man to marry another man, but not alright for him to marry two women? If we really want equality, why does that equality not extend to nieces who genuinely, truly love their uncles?”

Another slippery slope. This is the kind of argument we've heard too much of here (and isn't it interesting that the ones who are talking about legalizing polygamy and incest are all "Christians"?), and it's just as dishonest and disingenuous in Scotland as it is in New York.

First off, no one is pushing to legalize polygamy or incest. We can talk about that when it happens.

Second, societies define marriage to suit their needs. They always have. And in response to those who claim that "marriage is defined by God" -- um, no. Sorry, but if you to the least little bit of reading on the subject, it becomes quite clear that marriage is a purely human institution that existed in some form long before there was an established church. And what people have defined, they can redefine whenever they damned well please. (And in fact, if marriage is defined by God, why did it take the Christian church 1300 years to recognize it as a sacrament?)

As for the Catholic hierarchy in Scotland, it's the same old story -- they're faced with a loss of power and influence, and they're getting, as the Germans say, all ausgeflipt about it. So, like the American bishops and the American evangelical "Christians," they're searching for some way to scare people.

Tacky. That's really tacky. Especially coming from an institution as morally bankrupt as the Catholic Church.