Catholic priests’ group won’t take stance on referendum

In Ireland the bishops oppose same sex marriages and Association of Priests say nothing.

Association of Catholic Priests has decided not to take a position on the same-sex marriage referendum on May 22nd, and has urged priests not to direct parishioners to vote either Yes or No.

In a statement the group, which has a membership of more than 1,000 priests in Ireland, said: “After a consultation with our members, the results of which indicated clearly a wide range of views, the Association of Catholic Priests has decided not to adopt a position in favour or against the marriage equality referendum.”

The association appealed for “a respectful and civilised debate in which the issues involved can be discussed in a calm and reasonable manner”.

“Sexual orientation does not debar anyone from God’s love. If as priests we are speaking on this matter, we need to remember that the use of intemperate language can cause deep hurt among gay people and their families, as well as doing further damage to an already ailing church.”

The association said priests had a “particular responsibility” to measure their words carefully, and “not to direct their parishioners to vote Yes or No”.

“We look forward to a debate that will be characterised by freedom of speech and respectful listening so that the best result for the Irish people might be reached.”

Position of Christians

Meanwhile, the archdiocese of Dublin has issued a transcript of what Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said in response to a question on the position of Christians who did not agree with same-sex marriage, should the referendum be passed.

Archbishop Martin was speaking following a talk he delivered on “The Teaching of the Church on Marriage Today” at an Iona Institute gathering on Thursday night.

The transcript was issued by the archdiocese in response to what it described as “commentary, some inaccurate, in mainstream and social media in recent days concerning responses given by Archbishop Martin to a question at a public meeting which he addressed in Dublin last week, in particular in relation to freedom of conscience”.

The archdiocese said that at the event “the archbishop limited his comments to the broad issue of freedom of conscience, without making any specific proposals in the context of the upcoming referendum”.

It had been reported that Archbishop Martin had called on the Government to insert a “conscience clause” in the legislation to accommodate troubled Christians should the referendum be passed.

‘Brutal persecution’

On a more global scale, the Irish Catholic Bishops have joined with Pope Francis in calling for an end to the “brutal persecution” of minorities in the name of religion. They prayed for “a renewed global commitment to respect freedom of conscience and religion”.

The bishops said that “across the world the denial of the freedom of conscience and religion is closely connected to other human rights abuses”.

“The consequences include violent conflict, loss of life, forced displacement of populations, and the abduction and exploitation of women and children. This is a truly global crisis, but it is the poorest communities that remain most at risk.”

Catholic priests’ group won’t take stance on referendum

Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

 

Baltimore's St. Vincent de Paul church, Fr. Richard T. Lawrence read a nuanced letter from Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori at all the weekend's Masses. It concluded: "Each one of us -- as Catholics and faithful citizens -- must show up on election day and do our part by voting against Question 6," the Civil Marriage Protection Act.

"The archbishop's thoughts on this question are powerful, and will be persuasive in conscience to many" and should be read and prayed over by all, said Lawrence, who has been St. Vincent's pastor for 39 years.

He then stated his own homiletic thoughts:

I cannot tell you how any of this will come out, but I will tell you that I stand in genuine awe of all those parents, native-born, naturalized, documented and undocumented, who strive with every fiber of their being to ensure that their children have more opportunities than they had.

And I will continue to stand in genuine awe of all those couples -- straight, gay and lesbian -- whose day-to-day, year-to-year, and decade-to-decade faithfulness to each other is to me a sacrament, a believable embodied sign, of the absolute faithfulness of God to us all.

Read more:  Baltimore pastor speaks his mind in homily on same-sex marriage | National Catholic Reporter

Gay marriage in Illinois, and the Catholic Church's opposition - Greg Hinz - Crain's Chicago Business

 

In the first, and smaller, case, the bishop of the Springfield diocese last week called in police and vowed to bar the cathedral door to anyone who showed up with a gay rainbow sash for a threatened rosary protest, in which participants would say their Hail Marys and Our Fathers in a prayer for legal gay marriage in Illinois. Such activity would constitute “blasphemy,” disputing God's word in his own house, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki declared.

To the extent anyone was going to disrupt services—I know of no evidence of that—the bishop was perfectly correct. But calling the prayer itself “blasphemy” doesn't make sense. ….

ultimatum Cardinal George issued last summer to the Illinois Coalition on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The group mostly is known for its views on U.S. immigration reform. But, for its own reasons, its board decided to endorse the gay-marriage bill. The archdiocese reacted by threatening to cut off hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to 11 smallish community groups that are part of the coalition unless they quit the group

Read more of this article by clicking on the following:  https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/141f7a819a6d35db

Fr. Grady bars scouts from parish: Tree of Life UU Urges Tolerance, Compassion for Scouts and Religious Sponsors - chicagotribune.com

 

In the wake of the rising controversy over the decision of Father Brian Grady, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Crystal Lake to end his church’s sponsorship of a Boy Scout Troop and bar them from its facilities, the Social Justice Committee of Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry, has issued a plea for tolerance, compassion, and inclusion.

Click on the following for more details:  Tree of Life UU Urges Tolerance, Compassion for Scouts and Religious Sponsors - chicagotribune.com

 

Fr. Grady has a large article in St. James Church, Belvidere’s bulletin for June 9, 2013.

Equality Illinois rejects Cardinal George's narrow vision

 

Equality Illinois is saddened that Cardinal Francis George used a grand celebration on Sunday to denigrate Americans who seek marriages outside the definition he wants to impose on everyone regardless of their religious beliefs.

.The cardinal spoke out at a mass held to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversaries of 400 couples. Instead of simply honoring these families, the cardinal turned the special occasion into a political speech, saying, "There must surely be ways in our civil society, where we can honor friendships, where we can respect other people, without destroying the nature of marriage. It is very important, for your whole lives give witness to what marriage truly means. And while civil laws might change – if they do – then society will be the worse for it."

Click on the following for more details:  Equality Illinois rejects Cardinal George's narrow vision

Waterford Today - Reasons for Hope

Reasons for Hope

by I. Kennedy

Garret Fitzgerald attributed the erosion of church influence to "its overuse of authority rather than reason in promulgating its views on social morality." He suggested that after Humanae Vitae "many Irish Catholics began to do their own theology, so to speak, testing the Catholic Church's teaching against their own rational morality."

This issue raises important questions about the nature of authentic Christian teaching. Is a person obligated to obey the teachings of a papal encyclical? What is the place of individual conscience in such matters? Why pronounce on this when the bible does not directly address the issue?

The matter has led to silent revolution among many rank and file Catholics and many clergy have also expressed disquiet. Among the objectives of the Association of Catholic Priests is the recognition of the "primacy of conscience" and a "re-evaluation of Catholic sexual teaching and practice."

Click on the following for the entire story:  Waterford Today - Reasons for Hope

'Modern Family' honored by Catholic group - Yahoo! News

 

"Modern Family" might not be the most obvious choice to be showered with accolades by a religious organization, but the ABC comedy was honored by the Catholics in Media Associates over the weekend anyway.

"Modern Family" - the show known for the gay marriage of Cameron Tucker and Mitchell Pritchett and, more recently, the foul-mouth tirade of child character Lily - received the Television Award at the 2012 CIMA Awards, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunday.

"This remains far and away the best prime-time sitcom: crisp and farcical, but very kind," CIMA notes on its web site. "This fast-paced mockumentary perfectly captures the experience of parenthood."

Click on the following for more of the story:  'Modern Family' honored by Catholic group - Yahoo! News

Our History

In 1992, Fr. Tony Scannell, Capuchin invited a small number of Catholics working in the entertainment industry to meet and discuss their personal feelings on faith and spirituality as it is experienced in the workplace. The group grew in spirit and purpose and soon Catholics In Media Associates (CIMA) was born.

After attending one of CIMA’s prayer meetings, Cardinal Roger Mahony asked the group to host the Archbishop’s Annual Communion Breakfast for the entertainment industry. In 1993, the first annual CIMA Awards were inaugurated.

CIMA’s original purpose was now broadened with guidance from the 1992 Vatican document on Media -- Aetatis Novae, "the dawn of a new era". In part, it says that we "... contribute to that integral development of the dimensions of man and society and that we should seek ... to promote media awards and other means of recognition in order to encourage and support media professionals." Based on this principle, the First Annual CIMA Mass and Awards Brunch was launched.

The Awards Mass and Brunch was held annually in the fall until 2008, when it was moved to the spring.

Joseph Amodeo: The Pulpit vs. The Pews: A Call to Action for All Catholics

 

The Pulpit vs. The Pews: A Call to Action for All Catholics

Posted: 04/16/2012 8:53 am

A little over eight years ago, I came out as a gay man to my family and friends. Amid this revelation, I continued to practice my faith as a Roman Catholic. It was at this time in my life that I came to witness the overwhelming support that Catholics have for LGBT people. In my role as a religion teacher, a priest once informed me that a parent had expressed concern over having a gay man teach religious education. The priest called a meeting of the parish on a weeknight and asked that anyone who had concerns related to my teaching should speak up publicly. The night of the meeting, I entered a packed Church and slowly made my way to a pew where I sat next to my father. As the meeting began, one-by-one congregants rose and expressed their real concern: why this was even an issue. The reality is that my experience from nearly a decade ago is representative of the vast majority of Roman Catholics. We live in a Church that is called to welcome and affirm people's humanity and identity without exception. It was in reflecting on this faith experience that I had such a difficult time reconciling Cardinal Dolan's comments with the Catholic faith that I live and experience every day.

The past two weeks have been filled with an outpouring of support that I could never have expected when I resigned from the Junior Board of Catholic Charities. In writing a letter to the organization's leadership, I sought to articulate my concerns regarding Cardinal Dolan's positions on issues affecting the lives of LGBT people. I am particularly concerned by the hurtful language used by some of the Church's hierarchy when speaking about the LGBT community. As a Catholic, I feel strongly that statements made by the Cardinal and some in the Church's hierarchy regarding LGBT people are not only out of touch with the lived experience of many Catholics, gay and straight, but that they also violate Gospel values of inclusion. It further saddens me to think that the voices of some bishops are seen as representative of all Catholic people when in reality the vast majority of Catholics support their LGBT brothers and sisters, as evidenced by a growing number of studies. A recent study released by GLAAD showed more than 50 percent of Catholic voices presented in the media offer a negative view on LGBT issues when in reality a majority of American Catholics support LGBT equality.

Studies aside, the lived experiences of most Catholics serves as a testament to the stark disparity between some Catholics in positions of power and everyday Church-going Catholics on these issues. The notion that Cardinal Dolan would avoid responding to a plea for help for homeless LGBT youth is a deviation from Catholic social teaching. In 1997 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) refused to be silent in the face of an injustice with their pastoral message "Always Our Children." In this statement, they recognized the link between homelessness and LGBT youth, writing:

"A shocking number of homosexual youth end up on the streets because of rejection by their families. This, and other external pressures, can place young people at a greater risk for self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse and suicide."

The fact that those in positions of power in the Catholic Church have ignored the document's teaching is alarming and a reminder that Catholics in the pews and clergy who are allies must stand and be a voice for the most vulnerable among us. Last week, two Catholic parishes in Seattle, Wash., demonstrated great courage when they refused to allow their parishes participate in a signature drive being organized by the National Organization for Marriage, a leading anti-LGBT group. By this act, these two priests -- along with many other pastors, deacons, sisters, brothers and many who work in the church -- demonstrated that Catholic social teaching calls us to witness the beauty and diversity of God's creation in a way that respects what makes each of us unique in the eyes of God as beautifully articulated in "Always Our Children":

"God loves every person as a unique individual. Sexual identity helps to define the unique persons we are, and one component of our sexual identity is sexual orientation. Thus, our total personhood is more encompassing than sexual orientation. Human beings see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart" (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7).

As Catholics and others listen to the messages coming from those in positions of power in the Church, I hope they will realize that the heavy-handed approach to LGBT issues is not shared by all Catholics. Although those in the hierarchy may have the pulpit, there are far more pews than there will ever be pulpits. As Catholics speak out and call upon the Church to live out its call to be a beacon of social justice and love, those in the hierarchy will begin to see another way in which Christ has risen -- he has risen from the silence and has cried out for equality. We can only hope that those in the Church leadership will turn and listen to our voices, so as to see that our prophetic witness is merely asking them to look into our hearts and see the people God has created us to be.

For this reason I have decided to launch a petition on Change.org to be presented to Cardinal Timothy Dolan to let him know that Catholics stand in solidarity with the homeless LGBT youth of the Ali Forney Center and all LGBT youth in need. Through this Change.org action, the voices of gay and straight Catholics will unite, will break through the silence, and will call upon those in positions of power in the Church to see that the people of God will not allow the cries for help of God's children to go unheard and unanswered. So please join me in signing this petition, so that we might invite Cardinal Dolan into a dialogue about this important issue that faces us all.

Let your voice be heard, sign the petition and call the Church to live the Gospel message of inclusion.

Follow Joseph Amodeo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/josephamodeo

See the earlier posting regarding Cardinal Dolan and LGBT homeleess shelter by clicking on the following: http://boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/2012/04/dueling-words-on-lgbt-between-carl.html

Seattle parishes refuse to collect signatures for marriage referendum : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Even the cathedral in Seattle is not following the archbishop’s request.

While the archbishop has given his support to the effort, he has wisely left it up to each pastor to decide whether to allow the collection of signatures in his own parish,” said Father Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral. “After discussing the matter with the members of the cathedral's pastoral ministry team, I have decided that we will not participate in the collecting of signatures in our parish. Doing so would, I believe, prove hurtful and seriously divisive in our community.”

Seattle parishes refuse to collect signatures for marriage referendum : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Two more Catholic parishes say no to Ref. 74 signature drive | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

 

A growing number of Seattle’s Catholic parishes are saying “no” to Archbishop J. Peter Sartain’s offer that churches become signature gathering points for Referendum 74, the ballot measure to roll back Washington’s recently passed same-sex marriage law.

handful of Roman Catholic churches in Washington state, whose Catholic governor signed a law allowing gay marriage earlier this year, have refused to circulate a petition endorsed by their archbishop to repeal the law, congregation leaders said.

In Seattle, it would appear, parishes are asserting liberty from instructions (or at least strong suggestions) by the hierarchy, and in a season when the Seattle Archdiocese is asking for support in its Annual Catholic Appeal fundraising drive.

Archbishop Sartain and Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, in a letter earlier this month, endorsed Referendum 74. Opponents of same-sex marriage have until June 6 to collect 120,577 valid voter signatures to put the issue on November’s ballot.

 

Click on the following for more details:  Two more Catholic parishes say no to Ref. 74 signature drive | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

Catholic Bishops Defund Non-Profits Who Voice Support For Gay Marriage | The New Civil Rights Movement

 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) — the official group that represents the Roman Catholic Church in America, headed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan – is defunding small, local, and critical non-profit organizations that help minorities and the poor, if they demonstrate support for gay marriage, or any other issue the Catholic Church deems offensive. Through its Catholic Campaign for Human Development fund, the U.S. Catholic Bishops are contacting charities and threatening to pull funding — which can be half a group’s entire annual budget — if they continue to voice support for same-sex marriage equality or women’s health rights, or even if they associate with other groups who do.

It is not necessary for the small non-profits to fund or offer material support to groups who support same-sex marriage, but merely to voice support, sign a letter, join a campaign, or, essentially, “rub elbows” with a group that does. Guilt by association seems to be sufficient cause for an investigation or threatening letter from the Bishops.

Click on the following for more details:   Catholic Bishops Defund Non-Profits Who Voice Support For Gay Marriage | The New Civil Rights Movement

Dueling words on LGBT between Carl Siciliano and Cardinal Dolan

 

It all started with this letter to the cardinal.

Carl Siciliano: A Call to Cardinal Dolan to Stop Endangering LGBT Youth

LGBT="lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender”

I write to you as the director of the Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. I am writing to you on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youths who have been driven from their homes by parents unwilling or unable to accept their own children because they are gay. And I write to you as a member of the Archdiocese of New York who is deeply ashamed by the ways that his bishop contributes to the abuse and harm suffered by these youths.

I want you to understand how you, and other religious leaders who fight against the acceptance of LGBT people, are helping to create a national tragedy

Parental rejection has become so prevalent that LGBT youths make up an astonishing 40 percent of the nation's homeless youth population.

When you use your position as a religious leader to fight the acceptance of LGBT persons as equal members of our society, you inevitably make many parents less able to accept their own LGBT children

Carl Siciliano is the founder and executive director of the Ali Forney Center, which provides housing, medical care, and vocational and educational support to LGBT youths who have been driven from their homes. Formerly he was a Benedictine monk and a member of the Catholic Worker movement.

Click on the following for more details; Carl Siciliano: A Call to Cardinal Dolan to Stop Endangering LGBT Youth

Then the Cardinal snapped back this short retort:

March 28, 2012
Dear Mr. Siciliano,

Your letter of March 20, 2012, together with enclosure has been received.

For you to make the allegations and insinuations you do in your letter based on my adherence to the clear teachings of the Church is not only unfair and unjust, but inflammatory. Neither I nor anyone in the Church would ever tolerate hatred of or prejudice towards any of the Lord's children. In the future you ought to be more careful about personally attacking the character of those who espouse beliefs different than your own.

With prayerful best wishes for a blessed Lent, I am,

Faithfully in Christ,

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York

You can see the actual letter here.

And quite naturally Mr. Siciliano replied.

Dear Cardinal Dolan,
I thank you for your prompt reply to my letter

.
However, I am confused by your response. My letter did not address your character but your actions, and their influence on parents who reject their LGBT children.

More profoundly, I am distressed that your response does not in any way address the plight of our youths. My hope is that if you meet with our kids and see how devastated their lives have been by their parents' rejection, you might change your actions. I hope that you would recognize how unfair it is that in your diocese an LGBT teen is eight times more likely to become homeless than a straight teen. I hope you might realize how unjust it is for so many LGBT children to be deprived of their parents' love and support. I hope you might understand how truly inflammatory are the actions of religious leaders who disparage LGBT people and fight against our acceptance in society. I hope that if you opened your mind and heart to our kids and listened to their stories of being abused and abandoned for being LGBT, you might recognize how your actions contribute to their terrible ordeal. Fighting against the acceptance of LGBT people harms kids and harms families.

Your letter indicates that we have different beliefs, but we share a faith in a loving God. We share a faith in Jesus, who said that our very salvation depends on our response to those who are hungry and homeless and outcast, and who said, "Whatever you do to the very least of these, you do unto me."

I repeat my invitation for you to come to the Ali Forney Center and meet our homeless and outcast kids. Even if you refuse my invitation, I hope that you will reflect on their plight. I hope you might ask yourself why hundreds of thousands of LGBT youths are suffering homelessness on the streets of our nation. I hope you might ask yourself why religious parents are more likely to reject their LGBT children. I hope that you might reflect on how your fight against the acceptance of LGBT people bears fruit in parents who cannot accept their LGBT children.

Sincerely,

Carl Siciliano
Executive Director
Ali Forney Center

Trial: Priest joked about abusing 3 boys in week | 6abc.com

 

Monday, two jurors were replaced by alternates, but a gag order prevents lawyer from discussing the reasons for the move.

In the day's most startling testimony, a detective read internal church memos about a priest who allegedly "joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week." His accuser also stated that the priest had a "rotation process" of boys spending time sleeping with him.

Click on the following for more details:   Trial: Priest joked about abusing 3 boys in week | 6abc.com

Catholic Church in Ireland investigating gay porn slideshow | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

The leader of Ireland's four million Catholics, Cardinal Sean Brady, said the priest involved insists he didn't know how the explicit images got on the memory stick he intended to use for his Powerpoint presentation to families at St Mary's Primary School in the Northern Ireland village of Pomeroy, County Tyrone.

Brady said the priest, the Rev Martin McVeigh, "has stated that he had no knowledge of the offending imagery" and is helping an internal church investigation.

Click on the following to read more of this story:  Catholic Church in Ireland investigating gay porn slideshow | World news | guardian.co.uk

Same-sex marriage bill reveals differences

Gay Marriage for the Catholic Church in Australia. Testimony for a pending bill.

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell has made a submission to the inquiry supporting the traditional definition of marriage.
But two of Sydney's most high-profile Catholic women - Kristina Keneally and Clover Moore - have put in their own submissions disagreeing with their Archbishop.
'former NSW premier Kristina Keneally said:
''It is formed by prayer, reading, and reflection. It gives me no relish to be at odds with my church,'' she said. ''But it also gives me no joy to see people who are created in God's image unable to fully express their humanity, or live with the rights and dignity that heterosexual people are afforded. I act in good conscience - as a Catholic, I can do nothing else.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/samesex-marriage-bill-reveals-differences-20120401-1w6s4.html#ixzz1qtbKHoG0