VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The official Vatican newspaper has published a strong rebuttal to the gay-rights activists who have complained that Pope John Paul II did not ask God's pardon for the Church's attitude toward homosexuals during the Day of Pardon ceremony on March 12.

    L'Osservatore Romano noted in an April 7 article that the Church has always upheld the principle of "respect for every person," but that this principle does not imply "acceptance or compromise with deviations in ethics or in behavior." Father Gino Concetti, the theologian for the Vatican paper, argued that this attitude has been applied consistently by the Church.

    Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Father Concetti wrote that homosexuality is "intrinsically disordered" and "contrary to natural law." Homosexual acts, he continued, still quoting the Catechism, "do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."

    At the same time, the L'Osservatore Romano article points out, the Catechism goes on to say that homosexuals must always been treated with "respect, compassion, and sensitivity." The Catechism teaches: "Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."

    Father Concetti recalled the public statement issued by Pope John Paul in 1994, after the European Parliament approved a resolution favoring the legalization of homosexual acts. The Pontiff stressed that homosexual persons must be protected against unjust discrimination, but he insisted that "juridical approbation of homosexual practices" is morally inadmissible.