(photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)B16 showed his true colors by avoiding any mention of Catholic Fire Chaplain Rev. Mychal F. Judge in the prayer he offered at Ground Zero earlier today. He passed up an ideal opportunity to make a subtle but clear overture to the gay community by honoring that heroic man, a self-admittedly gay (and celibate) priest. Skipping him when he mentioned heroic firemen and policemen is a glaring omission. B16 did not even mention "chaplains" in that list of heroes. Even that would have been overly circumspect, but it would have been something. Father Judge is being considered for sainthood, so don't ask me to believe this was unintentional. If anything, the omission of his name is a strong message that B16 and the Vatican have no intention of advocating for this man's canonization. Rather, they will turn their backs on the possibility, effectively squelching it. Here is the telling section of the text of the prayer B16 delivered at Ground Zero earlier today:
O God of love, compassion, and healing,
look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.
We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.
Go here for the full text of the prayer.
Don't tell me I'm being cynical or suspicious here, folks. Don't tell me that prayer was spontaneous. It was scripted, and vetted. Don't ask me to believe that B16 was not presented with the possibility of mentioning Father Judge in that prayer and that he did not deliberately choose not to do so. This Pope deliberately chose not to ask God to give eternal light and peace to Father Judge, one of his own priests, and reputed to have been a great one.
Anyone who may have been even mildly impressed with this soft-spoken gentle old visiting pontiff ought to consider the importance of what he would not say. He is a cold-blooded dinosaur.
(Go here for more about Father Mychal Judge.)
