The Bishop warns against Catholic apathy to the issue.
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Personally, I believe the apathy stems from a laissez-faire attitude of "live and let live", "don't judge", "there but for the grace of God", and ultimately the dictatorship of relativism. I'm convinced this is a direct consequence of the contraceptive mentality which facilitated the irresponsibile exploitation of sexual relations for the sake of pleasure alone; leading to all types of promiscuous behavior and sex without consequences, including the acceptance of homosexual acts as having parity with heterosexual intercourse - since both are impotent when contraception is used by heterosexuals.
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Personally, I believe the apathy stems from a laissez-faire attitude of "live and let live", "don't judge", "there but for the grace of God", and ultimately the dictatorship of relativism. I'm convinced this is a direct consequence of the contraceptive mentality which facilitated the irresponsibile exploitation of sexual relations for the sake of pleasure alone; leading to all types of promiscuous behavior and sex without consequences, including the acceptance of homosexual acts as having parity with heterosexual intercourse - since both are impotent when contraception is used by heterosexuals.
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Bishop Tobin:
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“Abysmal” Catholic apathy must be overcome to oppose those who are “fiercely determined” to impose homosexual “marriage,” Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island Thomas J. Tobin has warned. Reasserting Catholic teaching on sexual morality, he also said that same-sex “marriage” will endanger religious freedom.
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“Abysmal” Catholic apathy must be overcome to oppose those who are “fiercely determined” to impose homosexual “marriage,” Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island Thomas J. Tobin has warned. Reasserting Catholic teaching on sexual morality, he also said that same-sex “marriage” will endanger religious freedom.
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“The supporters of gay marriage in Rhode Island are well-organized and well-funded. They’re fiercely determined to impose their politically correct agenda on all the citizens of the state – human history, culture and moral principles not-withstanding. Anyone who opposes them is quickly labeled a bigot,” the bishop observed.
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However, he said the typical Rhode Island Catholic’s response was indifferent and cited not wanting to judge people. Tobin also said that Catholics give rationalizations about the decline of Catholic influence.
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Bishop Tobin explained that “homosexual activity is unnatural and gravely immoral. It’s offensive to Almighty God. It can never be condoned, under any circumstances. Gay marriage, or civil unions, would mean that our state is in the business of ratifying, approving such immoral activity.”
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The movement for same-sex “marriage,” he added, “seeks to radically redefine the most fundamental institution of the human race, the building block of every society and culture. From the beginning, marriage has been defined as the stable union of man and woman, designed by God to continue the human race through the procreation of children.
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“Homosexual relationships are not marriage – never have been, never will be.”
“Homosexual relationships are not marriage – never have been, never will be.”
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“Proponents of gay marriage say that the Church won’t be forced to witness such marriages. Don’t believe it,” he said, warning that the Church may be required to admit homosexual couples as sponsors for baptism, to rent its facilities for homosexual wedding receptions, or to hire employees despite their immoral lifestyles.
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“For simply maintaining its teachings in these and many other possible scenarios, the Church will be accused of bigotry and unlawful discrimination. The threat to our religious freedom is real, and imminent,” he said. - Source
.“For simply maintaining its teachings in these and many other possible scenarios, the Church will be accused of bigotry and unlawful discrimination. The threat to our religious freedom is real, and imminent,” he said. - Source
Photo: Iowa.
I want to object to those clothes-they waited centuries to wed and that's the best they can come up with?!?
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm upset for other reasons. Just being a goofball over a serious situation, lest I go insane.
The movement for same-sex “marriage,” he added, “seeks to radically redefine the most fundamental institution of the human race, the building block of every society and culture. From the beginning, marriage has been defined as the stable union of man and woman, designed by God to continue the human race through the procreation of children.An elementary study of historical marriage tells us that this is not so. In fact, quite the opposite.
ReplyDeleteCath - LOL! I thought exactly the same thing - I had funny stuff to say too - but I'm trying to be nice.
ReplyDeleteThom - I must agree with the Bishop.
ReplyDeletePlease consider this from the late Cardinal Siri:
"Men may come and men may go, because God has left plenty of room for the to and fro of their free-will; but the substantial lines of nature and the not less substantial lines of Eternal Law have never changed, are not changing and never will change. There are bounds beyond which one may stray as far as one sees fit, but to do so ends in death; there are limits which empty philosophical fantasizing may have one mock or not take seriously, but they put together an alliance of hard facts and nature to chastise anybody who steps over them. And history has sufficiently taught, with frightening proof from the life and death of nations, that the reply to all violators of the outline of "humanity" is always, sooner or later, catastrophe." Archbishop of Genoa, 1960
I know that you must, Terry, and I'm not pushing public dissent. But can you understand how the "natual law" argument really doesn't stand up to the test? I have a hard time believing that "Eternal Law" (how vague that is) is a specific set of "do's" and "don'ts," open to conservative interpretation in every generation, as has been the case historically, as much as it is a more universal principle. Embodied in the person of Christ, and perpetuated by the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteThom - Actually it is the natural law thing that convinced me of these things - especially the natural complimentarity of male and female - the perfect fit, if you will - which unimpeded bears fruit in the birth of a child.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the conjugal act is what convinced me that deliberate contraception and abortion is evil, and that sodomy - best understood as anal sex - is absolutely evil.
I also understood that sexual intercourse is the completion/fullfilment of heterosexual love - love between a man and a woman - love uniting a man and woman as one, in an undisolvable bond.
I gained a remarkable understanding of this while watching a PBS documentary from Sweden, actually filmed inside the woman's (wife) body, as the husband's penis entered and ejaculated. I was not at all sexually stimulated or distracted by any movement or thought pertaining to lust, indeed it was an almost mystical moment wherein I witnessed the meaning of sex and the procreative act. I can't explain the grace - in retrospect it was almost as if I had witnessed the creation of man.
Since then, if I happen across pornography or anything impure and disordered, I usually experience a sort of indifference, as it doesn't belong to my state in life since I am celibate, and if it is at all perverted, I immediately experience a general sense of revulsion. In either case, I seem to be able to peacefully move beyond such things; stuff that would otherwise have seduced me as a younger man before such an illuminative grace.
The journey toward such freedom of spirit has been a long, arduous one, and therefore it must be guarded and protected lest it be taken away or lost.
I understand- really- and I greatly respect that about you.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I'm celibate too (haven't always been), though that doesn't seem to make any difference to the "let's turn our faith into a weapon and destroy anyone who stands in our way" group.
Some days, it's so easy to follow Jesus, and so hard to be a Christian.
Thom - I'm closing comments after this just because I don't want people to start using their faith as a weapon against anyone.
ReplyDeleteYep - it is very difficult to be Christian and Catholic especially, but now that I'm older, I can tell you the struggle is worth every bit of suffering it entails.