Gays, the Vatican believes, bring their misfortunes upon themselves. Gay rights campaigners maintain that between 150 and 200 gay men are murdered in Italy every year. For this reason, if for no other, we should take this papal bull seriously. Morality is surely meaningless unless it refers to the impact we have on other people. What this appears to mean is that they might be led away from the teachings of the church.
Heterosexuality is quite another matter.
In a world of diminishing assets, being gay is arguably more moral than being straight. This could mean one of two things. If so, this has uncomfortable implications for an associa tion of old men who wear dresses, hear voices and practise ritual cannibalism. Alternatively, he might be suggesting that homosexual behaviour is at variance with that of the non-human world. Here too, however, the church has a problem.