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Catholics
who hand out a Vatican publication that calls homosexual
activity "evil" could be prosecuted for incitement
to hatred under Irish law, a civil rights group claims.
The 12-page booklet states Catholics, particularly politicians,
have a duty to oppose attempts to legalize same-sex unions,
the Irish Times reported. The document reiterates Catholic
teaching which says while homosexuals should be treated
with "respect, compassion and sensitivity,"
homosexuality is "objectively disordered."
"Those
who would move from tolerance to the legitimization of
specific rights for cohabiting homosexual persons need
to be reminded that the approval or legalization of evil
is something far different from the toleration of evil,"
it states, according to the Irish paper. The publication
also asserts allowing children to be adopted into same-sex
unions would mean "doing violence to these children"
and place them "in an environment that is not conducive
to their full human development."
The
Irish Council for Civil Liberties, or ICCL, warned yesterday
the statement could be in violation of the 1989 Incitement
to Hatred Act, which penalizes violators with jail terms
of up to six months, the Times reported. "The document
itself may not violate the act, but if you were to use
the document to say that gays are evil, it is likely to
give rise to hatred, which is against the act," Aisling
Reidy, director of the ICCL, told the Irish daily. "The
wording is very strong and certainly goes against the
spirit of the legislation." Under the act, literature
that is threatening, abusive or insulting, linked with
the intent of stirring up hatred, is illegal, the Times
said.
©
2003 WorldNetDaily.com
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