Reply #28: No final text for the French resolution appears available yet, so one doesn't know

[struggle4progress]

exactly what the Vatican refused to sign onto

And since current Vatican thinking runs strongly against the death penalty, the claim (that the Vatican supports executing gays for homosexuality) is implausible

Quite a few countries aren't supporting the text (though they probably should): last I looked, Canada hadn't signed on, and the US is unlikely to sign on

The French are apparently circulating a nonbinding resolution, which has no force

The Vatican, of course, has only "observer" status at the UN, which means it has very limited influence

Vatican positions are extremely unlikely to sway minds in those countries that execute folk for homosexuality, since those countries are typically controlled conservative Islamic regimes which outlaw Christian proselytization anyway

Conclusion: targeting the Vatican here is largely an exercise in anti-Catholic prejudice; there's lots of reason to be unhappy with the Vatican, but the suggestion that the Church is to blame (say) for the execution of gays in Iran is just nonsense