A few weeks ago, the Vatican issued a new proclamation on gay marriage. Shockingly, it turns out they are against it.

Before we examine what I'm sure is a logical and rational treatise on the subject of homosexuality and marriage, let's look at some of the church's past contributions and moral leadership.

Of course everyone is aware of the many pedophile priests who used children to fulfill their repressed sexual cravings, as well as the important role church leadership played in covering up the habitual abuse.

The molestation of countless children wouldn't have been possible without the generous contribution of certain bishops and cardinals. The church has also provided the Magdalene laundry scandal. It's been estimated that 30,000 Irish women, over a period of many decades, were imprisoned by church officials and forced into slave labor in convent laundries. Why, you might ask? What was their heinous crime?

It's quite simple - the young women didn't fit the image of the "good girl" that the Irish church demanded. A shocking new film, "The Magdalene Sisters," explores the scandal.

Apparently, if young women were "sinful" enough to be raped, deemed "too attractive" to boys or have a baby out of wedlock, that was sufficient for banishment into convent servitude.

This sort of thing can happen when church and state fuse, as they did in Ireland.

Remember, this is also the organization whose moral leadership produced the unimaginable cruelty of the Inquisition and the murderous Crusades.

Now that the church is once again offering its moral expertise, I have a question: Why does anybody still listen? I see no evidence of divine guidance.

Normally I wouldn't give a church proclamation a moment of consideration.

Why would I? I couldn't care less how Catholics choose to apply their faith - it's their business not mine.

However, this document was designed specifically to influence the politicians of the world. That makes it everybody's business.

The church document has specific instructions for politicians who might be considering the issue of gay marriage: "The Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral." News flash - our lawmakers aren't supposed to take instruction from the Vatican.

On the contrary; as elected representatives, they represent the voice of their constituents - not the church.

Well, in spite of the abysmal past moral performance of the church, let's see if its new edict makes any sense.

I'll examine four points made in the church's proclamation on gay marriage.