ROME, Italy (CNN) — Pope Benedict XVI reiterated the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to homosexual behavior — warning that humanity could destroy itself — in his year-end message to Church leaders.

The Church “demands that the order of creation be respected,” he said Monday, defining “the nature of the human being as man and woman,” according to excerpts released by the Vatican.

He did not specifically mention homosexuality in his speech.

The Catholic Church considers homosexual intercourse to be a sin — as it does all sex outside of marriage — but does not consider homosexuality itself to be one.

“Homogenital behavior is objectively immoral, while making the important distinction between this behavior and a homosexual orientation, which is not immoral in itself,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said.

Part of the Church’s mission is to “protect the human beings against self-destruction,” the Pope said in his annual address to the cardinals, archbishops and others who make up the Roman Curia.

The Church has as much responsibility to preserve what it sees as man and woman’s God-given roles as it does to protect endangered species, he implied.

“The rain forest deserves, yes, our protection,” Benedict said, “But mankind does not deserve it less as a creature.”

The Pope spoke of an “appropriate ecology of man,” the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales said. “This is rooted in central Catholic teaching of the dignity of the person. It is a central message for all Christians. It is central to what it means to be human.”

Eeeehhhh? The catholic church has outlived itself – definitely. When will people wake up?