Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Marriage Equality Battle in France: Catholicism Embracing Hard Right



Pictures tell stories. I wonder what story this picture is telling. 


The photo (which is by Agence France-Presse) shows Frigide Barjot, leader of the anti-marriage equality movement in France, being embraced at one of the recent rallies against marriage equality by Gilbert Collard. Barjot claims that her motivation for agitating against marriage equality is religious and stems from her Catholic values.

Collard--well, M. Collard is another kettle of fish. He's a member of the French Parliament representing the hard-right National Front. Collard represents a political party known for its anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-socialist, anti-tax (and, historically, anti-semitic and pro-fascist) law-and-order stance. 

It's hard to look at this picture, in other words, and listen carefully to the story it tells without asking why Catholic leaders seem intent on embracing ideologies that militate against some of the most fundamental Catholic values imaginable, in the realm of economics and social policies, as the Catholic church continues its bitter fight against marriage equality.

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