Thursday, October 06, 2011

Archbishop Nienstedt in an interview on Catholic Teaching and Same Sex Marriage



"I think people ought to know that there is a threat out there. Either through congressional action or judicial action, this is a very vulnerable situation. So I think the constitutional amendment is absolutely needed." - Archbishop Nienstedt
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Things have been heating up ever since an amendment to the constitution of Minnesota to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman was approved to be placed on the ballot for the November 2011 vote.  Archbishop Nienstedt is in the forefront of the battle, declaring: "The Church has to continue to proclaim the truth in season and out; and the truth is that God calls only one man and one woman to that complementary relationship which we call marriage. Jesus raised marriage to a sacrament, so how anyone who has the Christian faith can believe otherwise is a mystery to me."
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Defending the Church's position and involvement in the fray, The Archbishop explains: "I wrote an article in my paper some time ago indicating that the media is trying to stereotype this action as being mean spirited, prejudicial and anti-homosexual. It’s really not anti anything: It’s a very positive thing – it’s for marriage.

Whatever society decides to do with other relationships is one thing, but marriage is the reality that we ought not to redefine, or rather un-define, which is basically what they’re doing to the reality of marriage, which we’ve known from the beginning. The institution of marriage predates any of our institutions, including any government and any institution of religion. Therefore, it’s something that we have to uphold."
- Read the entire interview with the Archbishop here.
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"I don't know how we got here."
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In the interview the Archbishop expressed a sense of incredulity regarding the issue of homosexual marriage:  "I don’t know how we got here. I’m baffled that here we are in 2012 with as much data that we have around and that people could be questioning the definition of marriage. I think it’s just incredible."
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With the greatest respect for the Archbishop, I must say I'm surprised he is surprised.  As one rather astute blogger noted after New York legalized same sex marriage:  Marriage was already befouled a long time ago and heterosexuals did it.
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I couldn't agree more.  Marriage was downgraded first and foremost by the legalization of no-fault divorce on demand.  While the contraceptive mentality equalled the sexual playing field - opening the way for sex to be considered a recreational past-time, engaged in according to one's personal tastes - at will.  Degenerate heterosexuals engage in sodomy too - so live and let live is the motto used by all to justify homosexual acts and the homosexual demand for marriage and recognition as family.  Neither must one forget that liberal Church leaders have for years promoted the normalization of homosexuality at the grass roots level in progressive parishes and through unofficial support of organizations such as Dignity and New Ways Ministry.
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"Now's not the time for pretendin'."    - Agador-Spartacus 
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Disclaimer:  Once again - for the record - I'm against same sex marriage, gay adoption, contraception, abortion... etc..
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H/T to Ray At Stella for the interview.

16 comments:

  1. I'm afraid, Terry, that despite your disclaimer you aren't anywhere near anti-gay enough.

    Love and kisses,
    The Temple Police

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  2. Chris in Maryland6:13 PM

    Terry, you are precisely right. It is astonishing that anyone is astonished about how we've come to this.

    1. Normalizing divorce. 2. Normalizing contraception. 3. Normalizing fornication. 4. Normalizing abortion. 5. Ignoring, neglecting and mocking chastity. 6. Pretending that everything is normal while we commit, condone, promote and ignore 1 thru 5, and then...

    I think of what it means to fear The Lord, when I recall Jesus' word: "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." All sins against the temple of the body and conjugal love are inherently disordered acts.

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  3. “Nature abhors a vacuum.” - Didn't Aristotle say that?

    Since marriage in the civil sense became something of an option, often rejected by heterosexuals - gay people jumped in to claim it.

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  4. ... jumped in to claim it or do something else with it?

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  5. Just words8:22 PM

    Curious, in one sense I do understand the dismay that a reasonable person could have about the state of things—particularly in the area of marriages. With ALL the information that is available today to help people discern right and wrong actions, along with witnessing 'lived' actions and consequences, it is bewildering... really, especially when souls are moaning and groaning worldwide... and the overall stated of health (mental and physical) of our children...

    ... I am dismayed by the attitude of gay supporters who are quick to jump all over bad heterosexual marriages proclaiming heterosexuals sole culpability for the demise of marriages, yet in the same breath seem to support 'gay' marriages ... Nothing like really being in support of healthy marriages with such duplicities... bewildering.

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  6. PML - to do something else with it, of course!

    Anonymous - no one is supporting gay marriage here. And I very much support healthy Catholic marriages. Astonishingly, in 1917 or 1918 Our Lady told Jacinta before she died, "There are many bad marriages." My goodness! What would she say today?

    On the other hand, if you are wondering what I meant by my reference to 'heterosexual degenerates', the following may help you understand it a bit better:

    It seems to me, when a man inserts his unit into a condom to have sex with his girlfriend and/or wife or female 'partner', or if he inserts his unit into her anus, or her mouth, or betwixt her breasts for the purpose of ejaculation, then he too is a sodomite and makes his partner one as well.

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  7. Anonymous/Just words - this is the accurate quote from OL to Jacinta: “Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord, and they are not of God.”

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  8. Terry, was your "It seems to me ..." an original Terry Nelson quote, or is that from Aquinas? :)

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  9. LOL! It was mine Merc.

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  10. And btw, I've seen some trads use that quote from Fatima to say that the Lord is displeased with spouses who enjoy sex, or who do it for love and not for the SOLE PURPOSE of procreation.

    What miserable marriages those must be.

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  11. Just words10:36 PM

    First, I want to be clear that I am not puzzled nor wondering about your meaning behind "heterosexual degenerates". So need to make the blog 'x' rated. Your postings have made it very clear that you do not support ss-marriage, but I am not to sure about some of your visitors who post and get in a tizzy about 'heterosexual degenerates', while seeming to be in a tizzy about Church teachings on ss-marriage. That is my point.

    It seems a bit disingenuous for if they truly wanted to reverse the 'heterosexual degenerates' & lead them back to Christ and a spiritual healthy marriage union, they would not be compromising on the meaning of true marriage.

    Further, I would hope they would be pro-active in the public square correcting false concepts of marriage that abound.

    I guess what my mind hears many times over is:

    "Well, they started the sin, therefore we cannot help ourselves that we are doing it too."

    I say "enough already" ... stop visiting the fallen garden.

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  12. Just words ... I think many people are just criticizing the hypocrisy of the "it's the damn homos" crowd, without looking at what started it all, not justifying sodomy. At least, that's how I see it.

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  13. Thanks Just Words for making your point clearer to me. I understand.

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  14. Just words8:01 AM

    Mercury — there are many of us, heterosexual married with children, who have looked at the VARIOUS and MAJOR influences that "started it all", particular those 'milestones' events, such as the Anglican conference (religious leaders) who accepted contraception practices in marriage ... and the Communist who made it an agenda to breakdown traditional marriage, the list is long ... and let us not forget the fallen spirit with the pitch fork. It does absolutely no good to jump on the same bandwagon m.o. of finger wagging that you decry. There are a lot of heterosexual marriages that are suffering because they had been lead astray by spiritual leaders, teachers and government pressures (and host of others). Bottom line it is a lost of faith and understanding. Go out and find ways in which you can support and spiritually feed these families ... the fathers, the mothers, their children, and most of all the pastors that are anointed to lead them to Christ.

    What an amazing grace that would be if Catholic in unity would do just that. I pray for it. The 'single' folk, the children, the parents, the elderly, the church communities, the local societies and the nations would all benefit from such unitive efforts.

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  15. No one is denying any of that. And you are right bout all of what you say.

    The point people are making is that the while the hay movement and the push to have it accepted in society is the most visible symptom of what's happened, it's not where it started. Of course it does no good to just sit around and complain - but it's simply acknowledging the problem.

    This is especially true for lots of "family values" Protestants who will rail on the gays, quoting Leviticus and Romans, yet have no problem with contraception, no intrinsic problem with divorce (though they do see it as regrettable), and who smooth over the issue of fornication.

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