ABC News reports: “As Roman Catholic cardinals prepare to choose the next pope, political-style campaigning for the position is forbidden. So there were a few raised eyebrows in Rome on Friday, when mysterious posters appeared around the city, apparently in support of Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. Even informal campaigning to become pope is considered bad form, though, and openly putting one’s name forward is enough to end any cardinal’s chances.” Which could be a good thing. When the idea of Turkson for Pope first appeared, most people thought the idea of a black pope would be a step forward. Not so fast. Turkson is no Obama. When speaking about the human rights violations of LGBT individuals in Africa, he basically shrugged it off, saying, “Just as there’s a sense of a call for rights, there’s also a call to respect culture, of all kinds of people. So, if it’s being stigmatized, in fairness, it’s probably right to find out why it is being stigmatized.” He also called for distinction to be made between human rights and moral issues. WAIT, WHAT? Does he think “immorality” excuses the violations? As for condoms stopping the spread of HIV in Africa, he reaffirmed the Catholic social teaching on contraception, and basically supported statements made by Pope Benedict XVI that condoms were not a solution to Africa’s AIDS crisis. He didn’t rule out condoms in all circumstances; although he said that as he believes the quality of condoms in Africa are poor, and their use could engender false confidence. He said abstinence, fidelity, and refraining from sex if infected were the key to fighting the epidemic. Good luck with that. Of course, there’s not a candidate among the cardinals who can bring the Catholic church into the 21st century, so I suppose one old, homophobic asshole is as good as the next. (Turkson quotes via Wikipedia)