I know “THE RULING” came out on Friday, but if you didn’t hear a homily this weekend that at least mentioned the SCOTUS marriage debacle or Religious Freedom, that might be why we’re in the mess we’re in today. A disaster of this epic proportion at least deserves a nod, don’t you think? Let’s hope by next weekend, we’ve all heard about it from our individual pastors.
Thanks to Catholic World Report, I was able to spend the day reading the comments from many of the U.S. Bishops (http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3985/bishops_across_the_country_weigh_in_on_scotus_ruling.aspx). I’m sure they’ll be posting more as they come in, but I have to say, I was underwhelmed by most of them. I realize these are just preliminary statements, but you’d think that something of this magnitude would deserve more than just a short paragraph or two. Some of them didn’t even bother mentioning the children who are affected. As a mom, it has been just devastating to me to think about how this is going to affect my children, grandchildren, and children in general. Thank you to those bishops and cardinals who took the time to mention that all children deserve a mom and a dad as the norm (you can keep your anomalies to yourselves; nobody is trying to offend you by not listing them all). Considering how long it’s taking us to turn around Roe vs. Wade in the mind of the public, it is likely going to affect my great-grandchildren and beyond. Kennedy was Reagan’s worst mistake
I really can’t decide whose statements are the worst. Many were just lacking. I have to admit I’m a tad bit annoyed at the bishops who reminded us that we must be civil and respectful of all human beings even if they disagree with us. I missed who was advocating something other than being Christian. It seemed more of a media play. One comment I wasn’t particularly thrilled about was this ambiguous one from Bishop McElroy:
The Catholic community of San Diego and Imperial counties will continue to honor and embody the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman as a gift from God–in our teaching, our sacramental life and our witness to the world. We will do so in a manner which profoundly respects at every moment the loving and familial relationships which enrich the lives of so many gay men and women who are our sons and daughters, our sisters and brothers, and ultimately our fellow pilgrims on this earthly journey of life.
Why wouldn’t we respect loving, familial relationships of people with homosexual inclinations? There’s certainly nothing wrong with those. Is he separating the words “loving” and “familial” for a reason? What kind of familial relationships are we talking, NON-loving familial ones? Ask me why I’m asking. Why, thanks! Back in the Archbishop Quinn days, Bishop McElroy (then Msgr. McElroy) appeared to be part of the club that rejected the Vatican’s prohibition of homosexual adoption and the broad extension of civil rights to homosexuals. He didn’t feel it was binding on them but rather an advisory (https://web.archive.org/web/20080906233415/http://www.ignatius.com/Magazines/CWR/charities.htm). Of course, that’s how most things from the Vatican were received in the SF Archdiocese during the Archbishop Quinn days. They were simply opinions to be ignored, so forgive me for being skeptical about Bishop McElroy’s current statement. If Bishop McElroy is hinting that we must be respectful of homosexual acts or their desire to adopt children, nope we don’t. Given the history, it’s really hard to tell. Now’s not the time for unclear statements.
As far as the good statements, here’s an amazing one from Bishop Strickland of Tyler, TX. Your Excellency, thank you for giving one of the biggest tongue lashings on this one. I’m going to quote it in its entirety, because I don’t want anyone to miss one line of it (https://www.dioceseoftyler.org/news/2015/06/bishop-stricklands-statement-on-u-s-supreme-court-decision/):
Bishop of Tyler
TO THE PRIESTS, DEACONS, CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS AND CATHOLIC FAITHFUL OF THE DIOCESE OF TYLER, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF OTHER FAITH TRADITIONS, AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL IN THE THIRTY-THREE COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST TEXAS THAT MAKE UP THE DIOCESE OF TYLER:
On the morning of June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a 5-4 decision establishing the legal right of two individuals of the same sex to legally marry in all 50 states. By doing so, the Court has acted in contradiction to their duty to promote the common good, especially what is good for families. I join with the Bishops of the United States in calling this decision a “tragic error.”
Let me unambiguously state at the outset that this extremely unfortunate decision by our government is unjust and immoral, and it is our duty to clearly and emphatically oppose it. In spite of the decision by the Supreme Court, there are absolutely no grounds for considering unions between two persons of the same sex to be in any way similar to God’s plan for marriage and the family. Regardless of this decision, what God has revealed and what the Church therefore holds to be true about marriage has not changed and is unchangeable.
Marriage is not just a relationship between human beings that is based on emotions and feelings. Rather, our Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Traditions tell us that God established true marriage with its own special nature and purpose, namely the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.
While taking a strong stand for marriage is the duty of all who call themselves Christian, every type of unjust discrimination against those with homosexual tendencies should be avoided. We must treat these individuals with loving kindness and respect based on their dignity as human persons. Christ rejects no one, but he calls all of us to be converted from our sinful inclinations and follow the truth He has revealed to us. Nevertheless, our continued commitment to the pastoral care of homosexual persons cannot and will not lead in any way to the condoning of homosexual behavior or our acceptance of the legal recognition of same-sex unions.
While some of us may have family members who have same-sex attraction, and there are even some who are members of our local churches, this decision to require the legal recognition of so-called marriage between homosexual persons should in no way lead us to believe that the living out of this orientation or the solemnizing of relationships between two persons of the same sex is a morally acceptable option.
We know that unjust laws and other measures contrary to the moral order are not binding in conscience, thus we must now exercise our right to conscientious objection against this interpretation of our law which is contrary to the common good and the true understanding of marriage.
Given this and recognizing my responsibility and moral authority as the shepherd of this Church of Tyler, I will shortly issue a decree in this Diocese establishing, as particular law, that no member of the clergy or any person acting as employee of the Church may in any way participate in the solemnization or consecration of same-sex marriages, and that no Catholic facilities or properties, including churches, chapels, meeting halls, Catholic educational, health or charitable institutions, or any places dedicated or consecrated, or use for Catholic worship, may be used for the solemnization or consecration of same-sex marriages.
Finally, I call on the Catholic faithful of the Diocese to turn in prayer to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, asking their intercession for our nation that all of us may come to a greater understanding of the beauty, truth and goodness that is found in marriage as revealed to us by our Savior.
I instruct that this letter is to be publically read by the priest-celebrant following the proclamation of the Gospel at all Masses of obligation in the parishes, missions and chapels of Diocese of Tyler on the weekend of July 3-4, 2015.
Given at the Diocesan Chancery On the 26th day of June Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
Most Reverend Joseph E. Strickland Bishop of Tyler
Now, I don’t really know the Diocese of Tyler or Bishop Strickland (I just simply have more going on then to know them all – sorry, it’s a mom thing – I barely can keep my kids straight some days), but I’d have to say the faithful there have been blessed by this statement. It is clear in every respect, and when he said, “let me be unambiguous,” he meant he was going to be the opposite of Bishop McElroy! This is how it’s done!
Bishop Strickland is right! We should not just sit here and resign ourselves to it. We should work, no matter how long it takes, to overturn this sucker. Yep, it’s likely to take as long as overturning Roe vs. Wade, but we must chip away at it constantly and save as many of our children as we can.
Bishop Strickland is the one bishop I saw who used the “dignity” statement and yet clarified to the hilt that we couldn’t condone sin and we ALL should turn away from our sinful inclinations. Bravo!
I am really glad Bishop Strickland is in Texas, for his sake, because I’m just guessing he’ll be a little better received there than if he were in San Francisco. If the “100 Prominent Something or Others” here in the San Francisco area thought their teacher handbook had inflammatory language in the beginning, they’d be out of their minds with this one. (Let’s hear it one more time!)
Given this and recognizing my responsibility and moral authority as the shepherd of this Church of Tyler, I will shortly issue a decree in this Diocese establishing, as particular law, that no member of the clergy or any person acting as employee of the Church may in any way participate in the solemnization or consecration of same-sex marriages, and that no Catholic facilities or properties, including churches, chapels, meeting halls, Catholic educational, health or charitable institutions, or any places dedicated or consecrated, or use for Catholic worship, may be used for the solemnization or consecration of same-sex marriages.
I pray this man continues defending the Faith in this amazing and concise way! God bless Bishop Strickland!
I also want to give a few other tips of the hat. Once again, Cardinal Wuerl seemed to have put a lot of thought and effort into his statement, which I appreciate, because this is so crucial. Here are a couple highlights (http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/2015/06/the-implications-of-the-supreme-courts-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage/):
Our faith is not based on human preferences but the revealed Word of God.
<snip>
The ancient Maxim “love the sinner but hate the sin” is central to our behavior because it refers to all human beings. The Lord asks us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect,” but he does so in reference to how we are to love one another (Matthew 5:48). In the Sacraments, he also gives us the grace to do so. The Church has and always will meet people where they are to bring them closer to Christ.
Bishop Wenski made a short but strong statement that shows us what we’re in for in this country, and it’s not pretty. He shows the history of bad laws and their consequences (http://www.miamiarch.org/CatholicDiocese.php?op=Article_Statement+by+Archbishop+Wenski+on+Supreme+Court%92s+decision+on+same-sex+marriage):
Roe v. Wade has resulted in more than 50 million abortions. Yet, abortion still troubles the conscience of America and an increasing majority of Americans reject “abortion on demand”.
This decision redefining marriage will also bring bad consequences. Losing the understanding of marriage in our culture as a conjugal union of a man and a woman in a permanent and exclusive commitment conducive to welcoming and raising the children born from such a union weakens the family as the basic cell of society; and it imperils the human flourishing of future generations. Allowing “an act of the will” to be substituted for “legal judgment” is a recipe for tyranny.
The Michigan bishops’ joint statement (http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/news-room/news-releases/2015/bishops-respond-to-decision-to-redefine-marriage/) heavily focused on the rights of the child (we miss you out here Archbishop Vigneron!):
Every child has a mother and a father and even though each child deserves to be loved and raised by them together, we are conscious of and loving toward those circumstances in which this arrangement of a married mother and father in the home is not reality. Married couples unable to conceive children or family structures that differ – single parents, widowed parents, adopted children and those being raised by grandparents or other family members – merit compassion and support for their life situations, which at times can be difficult and challenging. The Church and her ministries must remain conscious of and respectful toward these differing dynamics, especially when support, counsel and love is sought.
The Colorado Bishops’ Conference also defended the rights of children and predicted doom and gloom. Sadly, I’m sure they are correct (https://t.e2ma.net/message/mm60g/ew4jvd):
The coming months will likely be filled with more questions than answers, given the thousands of laws nationwide related to marriage that will be adversely impacted by the court’s action. We are concerned that hateful rhetoric and discrimination against those, whose religious and moral beliefs support the true definition of marriage that has existed for millennia, will intensify. We will continue to pray that people with differing views on marriage will be able to express their beliefs and convictions without fear of intimidation or hostility, and more importantly that religious freedom and liberty will be supported and defended.
The days, weeks, months and years ahead will require courage, strength and prayer. All people of good will must remain united in defense of marriage between one man and one woman, while bearing witness to the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
I’m sure Archbishop Coakley will get dinged for using rhetoric, but he chose the correct adjectives – tragic and devastating.
Read them and weep my friends. These are indeed the times that try men’s souls. Maybe some trials are very good for the souls. I suppose something has to wake up the slumbering and a little persecution will do that. I just pray for our future generations. If our cardinals, bishops and priests stand up and lead, we’ll be fine. If not, it’s going to be a long, long road of tragedy and devastation.
One Mad Mom 
One concrete action that Catholics can take to oppose the radical gay agenda is to drop Google search now if you haven’t already. There are search engines just as good, if not better. I like DuckDuckGo. You won’t be tracked for one thing, and you will not have gay propaganda shoved in your face.
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good suggestion, thanks!
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Oh thank you Mad Mom for quoting some of the good stuff! We should all go check it out in detail.
Meanwhile over at The faux-catholic publication that won’t be named, I was reading a glowing account of Bishop McElroy’s statement. Well, that figures. They want him to be cloned and appointed bishop all over the U.S.A.
We heard in church today that we should be prepared for persecution and that we may have to give our lives for our faith.
Amen…
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I guess that human cloning being included on the list of non-negotiables, won’t deter them
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Well, I hadn’t seen that yet since I spent so much time on bishop statements but it’s not surprising. I’m betting Bishop Strickland won’t get much ink over there.
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It’s simply untrue that ‘we’ have ‘profound respect’ for the ‘loving relationships’ of homosexual couples. Unless 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy and the Catechism of the Catholic Church have all been officially repealed, ‘we’ as Catholics do not have ‘profound respect’ for the ‘loving relationships’ of homosexual couples. Nonetheless, the most reverend bishop is very much in line with some of the players we heard from at last October’s synod where there was a push to recognize the ‘good qualities’ of homosexual relationships (‘mutual aid. ‘precious support’ etc.). St Paul, ora pro nobis.
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It’s like these bishops have had their responses written by gay agenda activists. I have no respect for gay couples or anyone who support them. I’ve been actively unfollowing facebook friends with a stupid rainbow flag on their profile: I can’t tolerate sheeple. There’s nothing to admire from a gay couple. We should admire and treat drug addicts with respect: see where that takes you and your money.
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I don’t think I’d go that far. I have only seen on ambiguous statement (although I saw Cupich had posted after I posted the blog). Most didn’t say anything about “gay couples”. McElroy was the only one who seemed to be hinting that way.
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…and that’s where the ambiguity is a problem with McElroy.
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I have to say I am ashamed of the Catholic Church…What a colossal cowardly response to something of this importance! My parish priest didn’t mention the error of the Irish vote instead spend 20 minutes or so of his homily going on about the BEAUTY OF GOD !! Is that what I spend 1.5 hour of my Sunday for, I asked in my mind??? But I decided to be patient…you know, Ireland is over there…not here…
To go to mass yesterday, sit and listen to a young new priest at our parish talk about his conversion to Catholicism at 15 then desire to become a priest at 20 then give a completely useless…I say it: useless homily that was a string of words attached to each other that made sense but was spoken in a nice vacuum and cocoon …the first lecture spoke of death and so appropriately addresses God’s anger and the destruction he can bring to the world because of our affront to him…nope, the priest mentioned SIN and then ran away from the word as soon as possible.
If the pews are empty it’s the Church’s fault and no one else. IF that’s the source of their fears for shutting up then they are just not capable of putting 1 and 1 together. I don’t like going to Church. As a child I found it to be an imposition by my parents. I dreaded summer at my grandparent house because my grandmother would wake us up very early in the morning (dawn) to walk to go to Church in the Caribbean.
As I became an adult, I just would invent any excuse. But at least I was apparently taught well in the Catholic Schools and know the truth. To go back to Church now (which I’ve been doing regularly lately) and have to sit to listen to nothing is really not an encouragement for me to go. I get greater strength online reading Church Militant, this blog, and real Catholic’s comment on what it means to be a Christian. I’m sad because I can’t put my daughter at a Catholic School knowing that she’ll be given the education that I was given because the Church has gone silent! I don’t even have a good reason to take her to Church which she’d love.
Sadly, the Church’s response has been uniform across the land. My entire parish I could tell was shocked at the silence. They had applauded the young priests’ first words to introduce himself and you could see everyone paying attention. When he ended, the silence was deafening and palpable. Called my parents in NY at a parish with a large Caribbean immigrant population: the silence was deafening there too.
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One thing that I’ll encourage us to do (if many haven’t already) is to counter the rainbow assault on facebook with a facebook background image of the holy family. I used to believe in keeping my religion at home separate from my social presence but I’m not gonna let people control the public sphere with this stuff anymore. I’ve also used an image of Pope Francis’s words on falsehoods that are being taught about sexuality. There’s a meme available on the “I support Archbishop Cordileone” facebook page.
Speaking of Pope Francis, he might as well not come to the US if he’s going to open his mouth and say nothing! Let him be followed by the rainbow flag wearers if that’s where the Church’s allegiance is
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I agree totally with all of your comments. I am also ashamed of our leadership for the last 50 years. They did nothing to oppose satan and we see the results: divorce, contraception, abortion, perverted “marriage.” What a joke our “new evangelization” is turning out to be.
Our future is not bright, but I ask the Lord to grant us charity in order to keep countering this evil culture which keeps descending faster and faster toward its eternal perdition.
We, the laity, must not back down, regardless of the cost. Forget the pope who wears the clown nose and speaks and writes mostly nonsense and contradiction. We must remind ourselves that we don’t live for this wicked world. Our true home will be eternal goodness if we persevere til the end. We have to state clearly that they are the bigots; bigoted against Truth, who is Our Lord Himself. They counter that they don’t believe in God, But we must remind them calmly that they will meet Him face to face and that our evil actions will condemn us if we don’t repent. We must tell them that they have no excuse, because our hearts carry His law naturally and all of us know right from wrong.
We must tell them that they are the ones who are the narrow minded, because they can’t distinguish natural acts from unnatural ones; and that they are the religious zealots who rage against anyone who has facts about the destructiveness of homosexual acts and who cannot bear to hear the truth and that’s why they need a totalitarian, police state to try to silence us.
And once we have tried to reach their conscience we must be silent and pray for them and ask the Lord to save them. Only He can convert these poor deluded, just as he did that once poor deluded Saul of Tarsus.
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Now, now. We can’t forget the Pope. That would make us protestants. We must pray for him and pray harder than we’ve done that he get the necessary information. We do have ways around those road blocks too. Must continue yelling until we are heard!
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You are right, MM. He is the Pope. Yes, we must pray for him, especially in these times of overwhelming darkness. Thanks for reminding me to try to be patient and charitable, which is what I just wrote about! We cannot fight alone. We need each other to keep ourselves under control. God bless you and your efforts.
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I’m visiting my daughter in Florida & went to a sappy, clappy Mass here on Saturday evening. No mention at all of this mess we’ve brought on ourselves. The homily consisted of “feel good” stories, including one read aloud from one of the Chicken Soup books.
It was almost more than I could bear.
A beautiful, fairly new church full of old people.
I wanted to snap at someone, anyone as I left….”How much longer will this church stay open with the coming persecution and with no young people to fill the pews?”
But I held my tongue & stayed in the pew on my knees praying instead.
I mostly grieve for my grandchildren & future generations who will know a country vastly different than the one I grew up in….and whose lives & souls have been placed in even greater jeopardy….by us.
Yet, I’m almost ready to embrace the coming persecution because I know it will make us stronger, though fewer, no doubt.
Lord God, give me the graces I need to stay faithful to You, no matter what lies ahead!
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Great post. We must all pray. Lord have mercy on us and on our country.
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Reblogged this on Deaconjohn1987's Blog and commented:
“We should not just sit here and resign ourselves to it. We should work, no matter how long it takes, to overturn this sucker. Yep, it’s likely to take as long as overturning Roe vs. Wade, but we must chip away at it constantly and save as many of our children as we can.”
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The problem is significantly different though. Nobody self-identifies as an abortionist. And excepting perhaps those who are still trying to defend their own abortions, the reaction to a pro-life position is not nearly as vehement or self-threatening.
The gay lobby self-identifies with the acts and inclinations. Any opposition draws immediate, vehement, and very personal reactions. That’s why opposition, even the witness of heterosexual marriage, is fought so fiercely. There will not be given any time to fight this as was given Roe v Wade. There’s too much at stake. Pro-life positions were still permitted to appear in newspapers, albeit not in their fullness. One newspaper has already declared that it won’t even permit an authentic marriage position printed.
This is an entirely different kind of battleground. I tried to make this clear to people over a dozen years ago, and of course, was branded homophobic. The entire mantra of “hateful, hurtful, bigoted, homophobic….” is nothing but name-calling and bullying. It’s been very successful because too many people suffer from the vice of human respect. They can’t bear up under name-calling.
Nope. This battle is completely different, even if the origins–the disintegration of marriage via contraception–are the same.
Actually, a really profound demonstration and perhaps the most effective right now, might be a mass application to the Russian Embassy for asylum based on religious persecution. Imagine the political fiasco THAT would cause Obama. Putin, for all the press against him, is the only leader of a major power to even SAY anything against the gay lobby. Talk about putting pressure on the US Government to guarantee free EXERCISE of religion. If you got about 100,000 people (maybe just 10,000) willing to seek asylum, that couldn’t be ignored. It would be too great of an embarrassment.
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I don’t see it much different at all than the pro–life fight (a fight I’ve been since I was a child). The squeaky wheel gets the oil. we just have to be far more squeakier. We have advantages now that we didn’t have and we need to take full advantage of them.
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We shall soon see.
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Hey, great idea! I took a year of Russian in college. At the time I couldn’t imagine the collapse of the Soviet Union and certainly could not either that the United States Supreme Court would turn us into a totalitarian state and declare that the Constitution guarantees the “marriage” of mentally ill people who crave unnatural sexual relations. How the world has changed for the worse!
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Despite being strong in today’s climate, Strickland’s statement has two major weaknesses.
The first is so common today, that I’m not asserting he intended it. He inverted the primary and secondary ends of marriage. It is precisely this inversion that led to the disintegration of the understanding of marriage amoung the heterosexuals of the baby-boomers (and quite frankly the “greatest” generation before that was already moving toward contraception). Without the loss of understanding that the primary end is the procreation and education of children, civil recognition of gay unions would never have gotten off the ground.
The second weakness is that he did not include ALL catholics in the prohibition against participation in any gay ceremony. That is something that NO catholic (or any reasonable person) can do. By failing to make that clear, he’s already giving up the battle. People participating in such a ceremony should be excluded from communion, until they repent. To fail to make that clear jeopardizes not only the cultural fight, but the souls of the ones tempted to do so, and by extension the clergy that do not make that clear in their teaching.
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Good point. That said, I think he was intending to warn the employees who can be fired for such a publicly scandalous act. He wouldn’t fire the laity for sinning. 🙂
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Good work! What I find very irksome and tiring is how the faithful ONLY are admonished to promote dignity towards the homosexual group and they appear to act out with impunity! Disgraceful.
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I can pretty much guarantee that the ‘profound respect’ for those who do not condone or promote sodomy will NOT be there! And that ‘loving family’ ideal of homosexuals is pie in the sky as the stats show differently. Sodomites on the whole have many many partners. They die younger. They have more diseases. They have more depression and suicide. No matter how many people affirm the perverse lifestyle, it is still against nature and the law of God that is written in the heart. And children still need a mother and father, a true family. What they will get is indoctrination into sin. God help us!
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I love how all of these prelates believe their flock is composed of unhinged hotheads ready to go out and commit “hate” crimes and maybe tip over some hybrid vehicles because of this. Yes, it’s very important to remind Catholics that they can’t just go about spitting on people and flinging feces at homosexuals like we always do. Thanks for the reminder.
On the other hand, I’m only called to respect a person’s human dignity, not their diabolical life choices. I respect the person who sincerely struggles to overcome their disorder, even if they fail in that regard. The unrepentant, however, deserve no respect.
The politicians, the media, the activists, and now everyone on my FB feed is eating our children. We need to come against this with all the force of heaven, not issue mealy-mouthed statements.
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Yeah, I don’t understand that one. It’s not like we don’t work, coach, have family members, etc. who are homosexual. Disagreement doesn’t equal hate.
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I’m surprised that you praised Cardinal Wuerl’s statement; I found it to be highly disappointing, if not surprising. He goes overboard emphasizing that we can’t discriminate against homosexuals – as if we will ever satisfy the accusations of the gay mafia in this regard. He also emphasizes that gay “marriage” is now “law of the land”, even saying “we try clearly to respect the law of the land”. As Catholics we have no respect for a false law like this, nor can we do anything to give it credence. It seemed to me to be yet another accommodationist statement from an accommodationist bishop.
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I actually didn’t think he went overboard on that one. I saw other bishops I’d normall agree with emphasize it more than he did. That said, I agree that we fight “laws of the land” all the time. Dred vs. Scott, Roe vs. Wade, etc. A rally cry would have been nice but he was consistent on Church teaching and explained that we must love the sinner and hate the sin which was lacking in a lot of the statements. No, not perfect, but better than his old norm. He also spent some time to explain teachings and it took more than 30 seconds to jot down! Also liked this paragraph which clarified we’re not mean ol’ people if we do not agree with the decision.
“At the same time, to condemn any sin is not discrimination against the person who commits the sin. Disagreement is not discrimination. We do not force people to agree with us, we ask to be granted the same freedom to hold our beliefs. Catholic teaching on human sexuality is the same for all. We are called to love God and love one another in truth (Matthew 22:36-40; Ephesians 4:15; Philippians 1:27; cf. Gaudium et Spes, 24; Caritas in Veritate, 1-2; Familiaris Consortio, 11 et seq.). – See more at: http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/2015/06/the-implications-of-the-supreme-courts-ruling-on-same-sex-marriage/#sthash.IzlmjJ34.dpuf“
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OMM,
Honestly, I am at right angles to all the above for I see the same pattern emerging as it did post Jan 20, 1973. My fear is that we will write horrified essays to one another, complain about the media not covering our protests, form multiple organizations working at cross purposes, and suffocate the truth in terminal philosophical politeness and religious jargon that will not reverse anything.
So then, what to do? It is most important for all of us who are still sane 1) to get on the same page; 2) to act massively and immediately. That much is obvious. We have very little time left to exercise free speech, so we need to say “No!” at the top of our lungs and together.
Practically, I think the following three steps would do it:
1. Throw out our televisions. This has to do with conserving our sanity, for it has driven us mad as a nation. Besides,doing this would put our families more in touch with reality. Watching televisions is hiding our heads in the sand. Televised sports, for example, is a shot of heroine between the ears. We simply cannot afford any more escapism.
2. Remember we are obviously dealing with a body politic with the attention span of a fruitfly (too much TV) and who have had no philosophical or moral formation whatever. An argument with pictures would be the polemical equivalent of showing aborted babies in the pro-life cause. The question then becomes, what pictures? Vox Cantoris had a paragraph the other day that was very suggestive: He wrote:
“Anal cancer (with caution, you can google the pictures and see what sodomy can cause) is 50% higher than the normal. Parasites such as amoebiasis and giardiasis, gonorrhea and anal warts abound in the population. Anorectal sepsis, Epstein-Barr Syndrome, Burkitt’s Lymphoma, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Karposi’s Sarcoma, Hepatitis, AIDS, Prostrate Cancer, colitis, enterities, proctitus, proctocolitus and diseases of the mouth which would cause horror to view.”
So why not cause some horror among the general population and the young in particular by passing out pamphlets with such pictures out at high school and college campuses? Here we are no longer defending anything, but taking the war to the enemy by attacking homosexuality itself. Yes, it has a huge “yuck” factor, which is the very reason for doing it.
In other words take the gloves off immediately and stop talking in latinate phrases and framing our arguments in philosophical and theological jargon. This body politic has the attention span of a fruitfly. Leave phrases like “traditonal understanding of marriage” etc., etc. out of it, and go for the throat by attacking homosexuality directly and incessantly with pictures of its consequences.
Of course, we have to present the teachings of Christ in the public square, but showing what a horror homosexuality is at the physical level would be a motive of credibility to listen to the Church in her monitums about that and other crimes against human beings.
3. Frame the leftist advances as “The war on children.” In other words, up the rhetorical ante enormously and raise the decibel level to painful levels . . . in unison and immediately.
Were we to do all this together, incessantly, implacably, we’d have a good chance of turning the situation around.
While we still have free speech, let us do something that devastates the prevailing orthodoxy.
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Go to it, Lee! Like I’ve said before. Social media was a game changer for the pro-life movement. We have the ability so to circumvent the media now. They’ve had clinic after clinic close and it’s been mostly due to the youth getting very creative and then blasting it all over the internet. The liberals worst nightmare is all of the conservatives taking to the internet. That’s why net neutrality is so important to them.
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From Sonoma County–This is a snipet of an exchange on our neighborhood forum and my small attempt to challenge the over-the-top court’s decision on its Tragic Error. This is a small part–Of the 50 or so responses half of them were nasty hate mail directed at me. But I thought the 2 most interesting things were the author of the poem felt compelled to put God in quotes and the commenter bragging about her son teaching in Catholic schools where he and quite a few more homosexuals are well-accepted. Our poor bishops who have to face this vitriol every day. Thank you for posting the useful links to gutsy bishops.
Good job, U.S.! Marriage is love.3d ago
Margaret
I’m happy to live in a place where I bring pine needles into the house on my feet!
And I’m happy to live in a country that makes honor and respect for love complete!
I’m happy to say, “I read the news today, oh boy” and girl
ALL LOVE and nature equals “God” in a resonating whirl
I’m proud of my awesome PERFECT gay son
And his INCREDIBLE fiancé, whose heart he’s won
‘Cuz “here, there, and everywhere,” “love is all you need”
Plus an open mind and an open heart to make all dreams succeed
Well, also we need some coffee, some Beatles,
A dip in the pool, my pup, and pine needles!
So happy today, I could fly!
There’s a rainbow tonight in the sky!
My reply–the only disagreeing voice2d ago
Oh Margaret! I’m so “happy” you get to live in a “happy” country! “Good” luck to all your “happy” days! And thank you for telling all of our neighborhood what your child does with his privates.
Another woman replies1d ago
You know – my son is gay. I’ve known since he was 5 years old. He was brought up with all the advantages accorded to a typical American boy and chose to come out to me when he was in high school. Fast forward 30 years to now, and I have enjoyed all the benefits of being the mother of a highly accomplished, loving, caring, beautiful man. The fact that he chooses to partner with another highly accomplished, loving, caring, beautiful man is a joy to me. It is emphatically NOT a choice. He was born that way, as I was born the way I was born. I am a Christian, I choose to have that faith. It was not born in me, I was raised that way and came to that faith as an adult. I had that choice, it was not a bio-physical phenomenon, as homosexuality was born in my son. It grieves me that some people cannot seem to embrace these truths and allow for all humans the same rights accorded to all. Let it rest. It IS. For heaven’s sake let’s get over it!!! Homosexuality IS, it always has been – read history. AMEN!
Poem author1d ago
You are awesome, Kay. I’d bet money that if the haters spent an hour with your son and my son and their guys, they would want to hang out with them again and realize, what’s the big deal? No one who knows my son and his fiance is not in love with them both—they are so accomplished, kind, hilarious, brilliant, talented—just like anyone else, of course. We are both lucky moms, and yes, they are both lucky sons! My son has had a very prestigious job at a Catholic (!) University for 9 years, graduated from there previously, and a number of others on the staff there are gay. That is progress! Everyone there LOVES him because he is so smart and fun and great at his job–they would never judge him for anything else! THAT is progress! But, this is California, so I’d expect that. Now the “stigma” is being lifted from the rest of the country and gay marriage is now JUST “marriage”; it will take time for attitudes to change, but this has to be a great first step! Cheers to love! Thanks for your beautiful writ!
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My, oh, my. Ever wonder if these people ever give sin a thought?
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This is from a senior citizen community. You should see the entire vitriolic exchange of posts.
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