The Pope - who has some small claim to be taken seriously in religious matters - sincerely believes that a homosexual who acts on his sexual urges (and does not sincerely repent in time) is going to hell. The Pope would like to help the said person avoid that terrible fate. His theology may be wrong, but it's not "anti-human." You just don't agree with it. Neither do I. So what? Why does it matter to you so much that this man has a different view? And where do you get the idea that your free speech is limited to your home? You are welcome to go and express your opinions anywhere you are entitled to be (here, for example, with my permission). So is he. The Pope is essentially only giving religious advice. I ignore such advice by the shed-load every second of every day and it doesn't hurt a bit. You might like to give that a try. B^)

I am an atheist, so it doesn't affect me. I have no interest in telling the Bishop of Rome what to think. Personally, I don't care what people do in bed as long as it's consensual, but I simply don't understand the outrage of those who protest at his comments. Why do so many gays seem to need universal approval of their sexuality, as opposed to the tolerance they asked for and were quite rightly granted? If the theology doesn't suit you, leave the church. If you are not in the church, then why do you care? If you are unfortunate enough to be born gay into a Catholic family, you have must choose between your the active expression of your sexuality and your religion. Religion is all about tough choices.

A Catholic gay is fine as long as he is chaste. Perhaps that's why so many of them go into the priesthood. They are already under a religious obligation to comply with one of the job's toughest requirements. If you are a lay Catholic and can't be chaste now, you can always do your penance and be chaste later, when it's easier. So what's the problem? Catholics are big on repentance and absolution aren't they? That's the most attractive feature of their religion and tends to make them a lot more relaxed and better adjusted than Protestants in my experience. Better a gay Catholic than a gay Protestant, it seems to me. And certainly better than a gay Muslim!

I would have no respect for the Pope if he changed the church to suit modern views on sexuality. That would be ridiculous (or, in Christian terminology, Anglican). Like my illustrious namesake, I believe the Bible to be, not the infallible Word of God, but the imperfect work of Man and riddled with contradictions. it is of interest to me as the cultural underpinning for my language's literature and my nation's ethics. But I no more need it to be true than I do the Lord of the Rings. On the other hand I understand and accept that to Christians, it is true. As long as they threaten me with only imaginary harm for disagreeing where's the harm?

People should stop crying "hate crime" when someone expresses their views, religious or otherwise. To do so is to fall for the fallacious modern view that bad words are somehow worse that bad deeds. Judging by the absurdly intemperate reaction of the British blogosphere to the Pope's words, that view has infected many who should know a lot better. As for me, give me words that I can contradict or ignore any day, over actions that may injure me. Ratzinger is not exactly going to bash any queers. That would be against his religion too. So he's no problem to any gay on the planet.

If I have a problem on this topic, it's with the fact that the laws of my country now value my life less than that of an homosexual. If a gay is killed that is a "hate crime" and punishable more severely than if I am killed. THAT is an abomination, because it is the law of the land and I cannot walk away from it. The Pope's views are merely irrelevant.