Posted on 01/08/2016 6:22:40 AM PST by marshmallow
Germantown, Md. (ABC7) - Jeffrey Higgins says he never thought his same-sex marriage would be a problem at his job. But on November 8, his marriage came up during a conversation that led to his termination from Mother Seton Catholic Church in Germantown, where he worked part-time as a cantor and choir member for 1.5 years.
On November 8, Higgins, 29, says Pastor Lee Fangmeyer invited him to his office, asked him about his marriage, and then asked him if he'd resign. "I was shocked," Higgins says. "He told me it had been discovered, that's the word he used, that I was gay and married and would I resign. I told him I wouldn't resign, that I liked my job, that I was good at my job, and I didn't see the need to resign. He told me I'd been an asset to the music program at Mother Seton and that I'd be missed, but that I was terminated as of that moment."
Higgins told ABC7 News that a fellow parishioner allegedly saw him and his husband together in public and then found their wedding photos online and alerted the church. He says he didn't broadcast his marriage while working at Mother Seton, but pointed out that he wears his wedding ring and filled out his tax paperwork saying he's legally married. "Out of respect for people who disagree with me, I didn't broadcast it loudly."
Higgins appealed the decision to terminate him to the Archdiocese of Washington and received a letter on December 7 from Auxiliary Bishop of Washington Barry Knestout. It says, "Those who minister in the name of the Church, whether paid or volunteer, share in the mission of the Church and therefore are to support Church teaching and practice. If someone chooses to live publicly in......
(Excerpt) Read more at wjla.com ...
Take that freak show somewhere else.
It's a church. You willingly and unashamedly live your life in opposition to the church's teachings. It doesn't matter whether you like your job - you're outta here.
Uh.. it’s a church... and not the Unitarian Universalist type either...
Not only is he deviant, but an idiot as well.
Maybe we can get a trend going here.
As for the gay cantor, I think the tagline somehow applies:
The homosexual mind is degenerate in all its ways. The church is not a place of humility before God to such degenerate minds. It is merely another societal institution to be assaulted for degeneracy to be declared normal. Letting homosexual have jobs in church organizations is like calling up satan and inviting him to teach/speak at Wednesday night prayer meetings.
Allowing or inviting homosexuals to have fellowship IN churches is poison to the minds of children. If the adults do not teach the taboo structure to the children those children grow up not knowing the Way that they should go. When it comes time for them as adults to stand against degeneracy and demonic inveigling they will be completely unarmed.
Bet the little sicko took Communion as well
Or are the pretending, or just trying to draw attention to squash religious liberty?
So, it’s a lie that sodomites wouldn’t bother churches or the way they conduct their affairs within the church? Why am I not surprised?
Maybe we can get a trend going here.
&&&
Amen, sister. Maybe there is hope for the Archdiocese, after all.
This is one of my biggest beefs with the Catholic Church.
An active unrepentant homosexual is in mortal sin. Being outside of the state of grace, he/she cannot receive ANY Sacrament validly unless there is contrition, confession, absolution, and satisfaction. This entails the intention to henceforth avoid this sin, and avoid the near occasions of sin (persons, places, and situations that might lead one to relapse.)
A person in mortal sin can (and in fact, should) continue to attend Sunday Mass. This is because even a sinner should avoid further sin as much as he can. Thus you could say a church-going but unrepentant sodomite (or slanderer, sower of discord, false witness, or whatever) is still (physically, though not spiritually) a member of the congregation. If you could call that "fellowship," it would be only in a minimal sense: a butt in the pew. However, this merits them nothing --- nothing in terms of spiritual benefit --- unless they truly repent and confess the sin.
So the Catholic Church does not ban any person, Catholic or non-Catholic, believer or un-believer, sinner or even damned-sinner, from merely attending Mass (unless they are disruptive.) But the Church can, and should, forbid Communion and every other Sacrament, plus any position of leadership, prominence or visibility, to unrepentant grave sinners.
Personal note: I once had a meeting with my pastor to object to a woman who was prominent in the parish, an ETSU professor, who spoke out in favor of legalized abortion. I asked my pastor to "do something" about it because it is not right for a pro-abort to have any actual public role in a Catholic parish.
My pastor said he would talk to her about it. At that point, I rolled my eyes and thought, "Well, I've done my part. Now it's on his plate."
All I can tell you is, as far as I could see, she either changed her opinion on abortion, or at least she shut up about it. She did manifest a pro-life commitment in a small way, by doing the Scripture reading at the dedication of a memorial for the aborted babies. She's since moved out of state. I can only hope her spiritual growth, once started, will continue.
I’m pretty surprised by the Archdiocesan support, too, since Wuerl is notoriously gay-friendly. But who knows what’s going on in the Church right now.
Yeah, he’s surprised.
He’s surprised the church didn’t cower to his homo-demands. That’s all.
This pervert is a liar on two counts:
1) If he wasn't aware that his sexual perversion and "marriage" were against Church teaching, why was he so discreet about it?
2) He has absolutely NO respect for people who disagree with him. Otherwise, he would not be protesting his dismissal and airing it in public to foment outrage.
“Jeffrey Higgins says he never thought his same-sex marriage would be a problem at his job.”
I blame the American Catholic hierarchy for this; they deliberately have downplayed this issue for decades, and now they will be painted as the bad guys because they finally act.
True. Their penchant to be "nicer than Jesus" all these many years has allowed all manner of reprobates to embed themselves in all levels of the organization, to the point that their practical policy is "gay friendly" in many respects. They have made their own bed.
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