Today's Cultural Warfare Update

Pope Benedict XVI overhauls church policy in a strongly anti-gay direction; abstinence and behaviour entirely within church guidelines is now irrelevant for church positions if "homosexual tendencies" are "deeply rooted"; what's that mean? Specifically, in the original, if you still have same-sex attractions after adolescence, you're out no matter how "well" you behave; this is a major theological change in direction;

Vatican newspaper, via Reuters: Gayfolk risk "destabilizing people and society," are against "the family," have "no social or moral value"; line is hardened against GBLT Catholics in general;

Catholic World News unofficial translation of a letter discussing the policy (this is not the newspaper article above) indicates that this is specifically not a don't-ask-behave-well-don't-tell kind of policy - hiding that you're queer is just as bad as being queer, the "objectively disordered" line is repeated; only "unjust discrimination" is invalid, many forms of discrimination therefore implicitly valid (and indeed, this document describes some); some responses to the translation on CWN are upset the document doesn't go further, asking, for example, for excommunication;

Focus on the Family: "happy holidays" is a sign of "anti-Christian bias";

ACLU defends homeowner's nativity scene against neighbourhood covenant barring "outdoor sculpture"; please remember cases like these when the fundamentalists go on another ACLU-is-Satan rant;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM: Not using Merry Christmas "IS PART OF AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN AGENDA" (their caps, not mine) - they want complaints sent to Target;

FotF complains you can catch a glimpse of a breast on The OC; includes an ACTION ITEM to file a slew of indecency complaints with the FCC, whether you saw it or not;

FotF coverage of Supreme Court hearings over New Hampshire's parental-notification abortion law; Planned Parenthood sued on the basis that there was no health exemption; Focus on the Family is generically against exemptions based on the health of the woman, describing them as "a tactic which effectively guts laws designed to restrict abortion";

Focus on the Family Canada reports on Edmonton Archbishop Thomas Collins assertion: Communion should be withheld from Catholic political leaders who do not follow the Church's line in their public voting;

FotF Canada rails against the transgendered;

Conservative leader Stephen Harper plans revote on Canadian marriage rights if he becomes PM to overturn Canada's marriage law; he claims to support civil unions;

Focus on the Family Canada's five steps to "restore marriage" in Canada - they want to make it the nr. 1 issue of the campaign;

A special Cultural Warfare Update Feature Presentation. You have to watch it. Seriously. firni, do you know this woman?

( Articles, excerpts, and Feature Presentation )