Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons has launched a social media attack on The Pope, in response to a meeting held earlier this week with controversial anti-gay marriage county clerk Kim Davis. Vatican officials have confirmed Pope Francis met with Davis during his time in America. The clerk and her husband were snuck into the Vatican embassy for the meeting, and Davis' lawyer has claimed The Pope told Davis to "stay strong" and gave her rosaries. The move incensed Hegarty, who identifies as transgender. She wrote on her band's Facebook: "Apparently Pope Francis was working behind the scenes to undermine gay rights in America. How shameful and pathetic of him. I have been so impressed with his approach to climate and his call to end the death penalty in the US. But for him to make insidious comments about how the "traditional family" is under threat (presumably from gay marriage) and then to secretly meet that poor misguided cretin Kim Davis..." "I am glad that he is mobilizing his flock to care about nature, but i would still prefer that they would all just go to their heaven now and leave the rest of humanity and nature in peace here on earth. Pope Francis seems still to be causing harm and burning witches in the name of Christ, just like his forefathers."
"Francis attempts to distract us from Catholic sexual predators with a smokescreen of fake moralizing about gay people and their rights to live as equals in society," Hegarty continued. "Pope Francis should line up one hundred gay, lesbian and transgendered people from around the world and wash and kiss their feet."
"He should issue a formal apology on behalf of the Vatican for centuries of persecuting, torturing and killing gay and transgendered people in the name of their god. Or are we not worthy of his humility, unlike criminals, the American indigenous, and the poor? And he doesn't even have the political courage to speak of his bigotry directly. Knowing it would hurt his popularity, he slithers around in secret, watering the seeds of hatred and violence against gay, lesbian and transgendered people. Jesus Wept."
Antony and the Johnsons have been fairly quiet on the musical front recently, having not released a standard studio album since 2010's 'Swanlight', though they did launch the soundtrack to 'Turning' in 2013. The album 'Hopelessness' was announced in February, and will be the singer's first under the moniker 'Anohni'. There is no confirmed release date yet.
ps: You may have noticed that Pope Francis is in the United States. The pontiff's arrival in Washington shut down streets, led to throngs of adoring crowds and a giddy reception from President Obama. He is cast by some as a transformational figure, a "liberal" custodian of the Holy See and an important moral voice on some of the world's most pressing political and social issues.Of course, in the 2,000-year history of the Vatican, not all its popes have been as celebrated or righteous. There have been usurpers, greedy spendthrifts and warmongers. For centuries, the papacy was at the center of European power politics — and those who wore its mantle acted with fitting ruthlessness. Here's a brief sampling of some of the worst popes in history.
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