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Pope Calls Gay Marriage 'Evil'

from PlanetOut

In his new book, Pope John Paul II describes same-sex marriage as part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society.

The comparison comes from the pope's fifth book, to be released Tuesday, titled Memory and Identity. It is based on conversations with philosopher friends in 1993 as well as on talks the pope has had with his aides.

In a section about the role of lawmakers, the pope refers to the "pressures" on the European Parliament to permit same-sex marriage: "It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man."

David Smith, vice president of policy for the Human Rights Campaign criticized the pontiff. "Religious leaders should be focused on bringing people together not ripping them apart," he told the PlanetOut Network.

Jewish groups and Germans are also decrying the pope's book. In it, the pope compares abortion to the Holocaust. A leader of Germany's Central Council of Jews called the comparison unacceptable.