Pope Benedict XVI

• Birth date: 1927
  

The Pope’s shift in tone and broad statements about mercy have left a trail of comments that amount to a Rorschach test open to interpretation.

Rather than blaming LGBT people, Christians should start embracing science if they want to save humanity from itself.

He acknowledged that governing the church wasn’t his strong suit but says he doesn’t see his papacy as a failure because he persecuted gay people.

The pope blamed what he called “ideological colonizing” backed by “very influential countries”, which he did not identify.

Not only does Pope Benedict claim there was a “gay lobby” in the Vatican fighting for influence over him, but that he was able to break them up.

Even before the Davis affair, Vigano stirred controversy and was best known for his role in the first Vatileaks scandal.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, has resigned amid allegations that he made homosexual advances to younger clergy in his diocese.

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican lashed out Saturday at the media for what it said has been a run of defamatory and false reports before the conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI’s successor, saying they were an attempt to influence the election.

ROME — A controversial article by Italy’s respected, leading daily newspaper, La Repubblica, has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of blackmail, corruption and a network of gay prelates in the Vatican.

The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy has long been an opponent to LGBT equality. Even before Pope Benedict came on the scene, the Vatican was employing the phrase “intrinsically disordered” to refer to LGBT people. In the 2012 election, Roman Catholic bishops led the opposition to marriage equality in Minnesota, Maryland, Washington, and Maine, pouring energy and money into campaigns that ultimately ended in defeat for the anti-gay coalitions. Is it likely that the cardinals will choose a pro-LGBT pope? Everything is possible, but this seems highly unlikely. The hierarchy tends to reward and promote those who have been particularly successful at opposing LGBT equality.