Richard AmmonGay American writer Andrew Sullivan claims ex-Pope Benedict will not go into hidden retirement but will instead continue living in the Vatican with trusted secretary Archbishop Georg Gaenswein
The deeper sadness in all this speculation is that the artifice of religious dogma and tradition have polluted whatever love two people may have for each other. How terribly sad that Gaenswein (photo) and Ratzinger have to hide and mask whatever affection they may have for each other–gay or not, sexual or not.
Such has the Church, with its anti-gay, anti-sex, rigid pro-life extremes, (not to mention extreme wealth and idolatry) distanced itself from the true nature of being human and being human on this earth. Long before the Church came along to build a profitable industry around the man Jesus there was same-gender attraction and there was prematurely ended pregnancy.
The vast majority of people lived life much more in cadence with the vagaries of nature, not with proscribed rules and rituals imposed by institutional religion. As a result today we have scandalous projections, insulting insinuations and disgraceful rumors that surround two possible soul-mates whose hearts are linked.
How fine could have been been if Gaenswein and Ratzinger had led the world in displaying the depth and quality of male bonding and affection by being allowed to express their truth–gay or not, sexual or not. Instead of being at the heart of scandalous gossip they could be shining examples of human (divine?) love expressed openly and freely–closer to the original message of Jesus.
The world is desperately in need of towering role-models of kindness, open-mindedness and inclusion that embraces differences between nations, races, tribes and religions and differences between inherent sexual orientations.
