We live in an enlightened society where being gay is not a sin or a moral 'problem' as some might say. Whatever one's sexual orientation is, is one's own business. This sexual liberation came after centuries of struggle. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was a shame to be 'different' and the world has suffered for it because so may notable literary and other geniuses committed suicide.
There are a myriad of examples and one is the life of English scientist and mathematician Alan Turing. Turing was described as “one of the greatest British scientists of the 20th century”. He was convicted of a 'lewd act' with another male and chose chemical castration over prison. He died (by his own hand) of humiliation on the 8th of June, 1954. Turing was the father of the modern computer of which the Turing Machine was the forerunner.
This contrasts starkly with earlier history when homosexuality was openly practised. In ancient Greece as well as ancient Rome it was accepted that a man would harbour desire for both males and females. Interestingly though, while the active or 'penetrating' party was considered to be moral, the passive party was stigmatized.
The Romans' view stemmed from the preposition that men are free to govern themselves and their households. The ante was that a man who failed to exercise self-control was deemed to be incapable of governing others too and thus it resulted in a lowering of social standing. This is perhaps where the Western premise comes from when they judge the sexual misdemeanors of their ruling class.
The list of famous homosexuals is long and impressive: Alexander the Great, Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Richard Cromwell, Ralph Waldo Emmerson (who said “It is not the length of life, but the depth.”), Pyotr Tchaikovsky and a host of others. Now, so it appears, the names of some of the illustrious popes seem to be missing from it.
By all (or most) accounts, prominent Catholic and gay blogger Andrew Sullivan started the whole speculation about the sexuality of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – as he is henceforth known. And this has all to do with one much younger and very handsome Archbishop Georg Gänswein. Gänswein, at 56, is a puppy in geriatric Rome and a catch for an older man. Handsome Georg is described as a cross between George Clooney and Hugh Grant – just handsomer. He featured on the cover of the Vanity Fair magazine in January of 2013.
The story goes that our holiness does not want to move to his rural estate, away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, but that he has elected to stay behind – complete with title and all. Not only that, but that Gorgeous Georg will stay on as his personal 'monastery mate' while serving the new Pope during the day. Hehehehe...
According to the tabloids, Roman gays are ecstatic that Benedict is leaving, saying that “...he was less human than the last one”. A phrase springs to mind: there is no antidote so potent as the prejudice of guilt!
I am not saying anything...and neither is His Holiness.
Jonas Barbarossa
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