St. John Paul II’s totally Catholic response when gay ‘pride’ parade came to Rome 18 years ago
The late Pope Saint John Paul II did not equivocate or placate over the implications of a sizable celebration of homosexuality conducted in Rome during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year of 2000 – saying it was an “offence” to Christian values and an insult that commanded acrimony. ''In the name of the church of Rome, I cannot express bitterness for the affront to the Grand Jubilee of the year 2000 and for the offense to the Christian values of a city that is so dear to the hearts of Catholics across the world,'' he told pilgrims in a Sunday message one day after thousands had marched in a gay pride parade in Rome. The pope reaffirmed Church teaching on homosexuality, quoting the Catechism, and said the Catholic Church could not be silent about the truth. ''Homosexual acts go against natural law,'' John Paul II said in an address delivered from a balcony over St. Peter's Square July 10, 2000. ''The Church cannot silence the truth,'