Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Detroit archbishop: supporters of same-sex ‘marriage’ should not receive Communion
life site ^ | Kirsten Andersen

Posted on 04/09/2013 8:03:56 PM PDT by Morgana

DETROIT, April 9, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Allen Vigneron on Sunday told the Detroit Free Press that Catholic supporters of same-sex ‘marriage’ should not present themselves to receive Communion.

“For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory things at once: ‘I believe the church offers the saving truth of Jesus, and I reject what the church teaches,’” said the archbishop. “In effect, they would contradict themselves. This sort of behavior would result in publicly renouncing one's integrity and logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.”

In an email to CNN, Archdiocese spokesman Joe Kohn elaborated on Vigneron’s remarks: “The archbishop's focal point here is not ‘gay marriage’; it is a Catholic’s reception of Holy Communion,” he explained. “If a Catholic publicly opposes the church on a serious matter of the church’s teaching, any serious matter – for example, whether it be a rejection of the divinity of Christ, racist beliefs, support for abortion or support for redefining marriage – that would contradict the public affirmation they would make of the church's beliefs by receiving Communion.”

Both the archbishop and his spokesman said the Church and its pastors stand ready to help Catholics understand and avoid this crisis of faith.

Archbishop Vigneron’s comments followed a blog post by Edward Peters, professor of canon law at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and adviser to the Vatican, who wrote March 27, “Catholics who promote ‘same-sex marriage’ act contrary to [church law] and should not approach for holy Communion … they also risk having holy Communion withheld from them … being rebuked … and/or being sanctioned under [church law] for gravely injuring good morals.”

The two church leaders’ comments show a remarkable shift toward orthodoxy for the Detroit Archdiocese, which hadhomosexual activist Thomas Gumbleton as its auxiliary bishop until he was forced by the Vatican to retire in 2006. Gumbleton, who has said he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in his youth, once famously said of homosexuals, “homosexual people are not disordered people. They are psychologically healthy people. ... Homosexuals are as healthy as anyone else.”

Gumbleton was affiliated with numerous gay activist organizations such as the Triangle Foundation, the Rainbow Sash Movement, and New Ways Ministry, SHARE, and Call to Action. In 1995 he received the Call to Action leadership award.

In contrast, Archbishop Vigneron told a news conference last month that if Catholic leaders were to abandon their teaching against homosexuality, “we would be like physicians who didn’t tell their patients that certain forms of behavior are not really in their best interest.”

It is unclear whether the archbishop intends to deny communion to public proponents of same-sex “marriage,” or whether he will rely on offenders to stay out of the Communion line of their own accord. Calls to the archdiocese seeking clarification were not immediately returned.

Catholic teaching says that those who receive Communion while in serious conflict with the Church are guilty of mortal sin.


TOPICS: Catholic; Moral Issues
KEYWORDS: catholic; communion; detroit; homosexualagenda; ssm
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

1 posted on 04/09/2013 8:03:56 PM PDT by Morgana
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Morgana

I agree with the idea that the Catholic Church has the right to enforce its beliefs upon those who claim to be Catholic. What I find interesting is two things....

1) To a Catholic, not receiving communion in the Catholic church is essentially denying them salvation. So that means that

2) Catholics believe that a living mortal can deny another mortal either their salvation or access to salvation.

(As a side note, I’m not a catholic and don’t believe most of their dogmas but I do agree that they or any other voluntary organization should enforce what they say is right or what they believe. Force the pretenders out.)


2 posted on 04/09/2013 8:12:05 PM PDT by ScubieNuc (When there is no justice in the laws, justice is left to the outlaws.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: trisham; RedMDer; vox_freedom; Jim Robinson; Morgana

Praise God!

He’s right.

God bless and keep Archbishop Allen Vigneron.


3 posted on 04/09/2013 8:14:09 PM PDT by onyx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Morgana; Finatic; fellowpatriot; MarineMom613; Ron C.; wolfman23601; ColdOne; navymom1; Pat4ever; ..
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.

4 posted on 04/09/2013 8:17:57 PM PDT by narses
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: onyx

Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron, Ph.D., S.T.L. (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Detroit and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands , having previously served as Bishop of Oakland from 2003 to 2009.



I am so pleased with him. He has my prayers!
5 posted on 04/09/2013 8:19:09 PM PDT by onyx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Morgana

This is the kind of thing that Detroit needs most of all. Moral courage.


6 posted on 04/09/2013 8:20:12 PM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ScubieNuc
"Catholics believe that a living mortal can deny another mortal either their salvation or access to salvation."

Catholics believe that we each have to accept the consequences of our own choices. To permit the unworthy to receive communion would only compound the sin.

Peace be with you

7 posted on 04/09/2013 8:24:34 PM PDT by Natural Law (Jesus did not leave us a Bible, He left us a Church.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ScubieNuc

Matthew 16:19
Douay-Rheims Bible
Christ to Peter

“And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.”


8 posted on 04/09/2013 8:25:22 PM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Morgana

How nice to hear a US Bishop support Truth and not be “afraid” of making Satanists mad.

It has been DECADES since the Catholic Church in America has followed Catholic Canon (except SSPX ) ...

(actually, since Vatican II-—and does what the Church is designed to do-—proclaim the TRUTH and save souls.

They have blurred the truth with their alter girls/boys (got to emasculate the boys and make girls and boys interchangeable) and Marxist “social justice” crud and all the other pursuits of man-centered worship.....disgusting.

What really ticks me off (and there is not much that does : ) is the sloppy dress and the kumbaya “peace” glad-handing right in the middle of the most profound part of the liturgy. It is disgusting. The dress of the nuns is disgusting.-—The separation of the “Spanish” mass is Marxist to the core to separate, divide and destroy communities. Makes the elderly whites feel like bigots in the church that they spent a lifetime supporting. It is a slap in their face and feeds into the hate. Disgusting.

They better bring dignity and respect back to the mass that the Marxists ejected with Vatican II-—just like evil Marxists do-—destroy traditions-—like Bella Dodd stated——the infiltration in the 30’s and 40’s-—with the homosexual Marxists intimidated and chased off the good (Fr Oko’s report) and took control in the 60’s with Vatican II.

I am waiting to “see” how Catholic the Pope really is.


9 posted on 04/09/2013 8:27:08 PM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Natural Law
Catholics believe that we each have to accept the consequences of our own choices.

I'm a Methodist who was fortunate enough to get that teaching before the church went liberal.
10 posted on 04/09/2013 8:32:53 PM PDT by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Morgana

“....should not present themselves to receive Communion.”

.
Why couldn’t the Archbishop have bluntly said that they should be denied Communion until they officially recant?


11 posted on 04/09/2013 8:54:29 PM PDT by 353FMG ( I do not indicate whether I am serious or sarcastic -- I respect FReepers too much.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Agree, but sadly...
the MSM will allude to him being a child molester in 3, 2, 1...


12 posted on 04/09/2013 9:05:07 PM PDT by Ouchthatonehurt ("When you're going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: ScubieNuc

No, the priest is not “denying” salvation-—the priest is teaching the tenets of Catholic Theology-—it is his duty to teach the Truth. It is the Free Will of the Catholic to do what they do-—but if they do not believe in Catholicism—then they should never be allowed to receive communion. How could teaching the Truth be denying “salvation” to a person.

Truth is black and white......you either are a Catholic or not. Your beliefs determine it. If you believe in Satanism (homosexual Rites) you are a Satanist-—in mortal sin-—and not in communion with the Catholic Church. To not teach sin or gloss over mortal sin—is evil for the Catholic Church. Confusing the people will lead to no salvation.

Catholic Theology is the most profound and reasoned philosophy on earth. There is nothing more sensible and ethical and consistent. You should read Chesterton’s book, St. Thomas Aquinas (who is the Father of Catholic Theology). It is a profound book on the “thinking” and Logic of St. Thomas.

As you notice-—only the Catholic Church (of Christian Churches) is consistent over 400 years on contraception, abortion, homosexuality, sodomy, divorce, euthanasia, etc.......(ignore Vatican II and after.....since it was a takeover by Marxist homosexuals (Bella Dodd/ Fr. Oko’s report) ).

Take for instance-—the foundational principle....you can NEVER use a human being as a “means to an end”. Never. All other “faiths” and ideologies abuse that concept (and yes, the homosexual priests were NOT Catholic-—they were Marxists who infiltrated to destroy the Church from within). Marxism uses human beings as a means to an end. Individuals have no worth—only the collective.

The Church is supposed to guide the laity to the Truth. It would be wrong for the Catholic Church NOT to teach the Truth to the congregation and point out sin. People need to know what is right and wrong (feelings, too often cloud the intellect) and the priests and bishops spent years dedicated to understanding the profound teaching of the Church.

People can not “know” the teachings of the Catholic Church without spending a lot of time studying and reading-—most people don’t have the time that a priest has to dedicate to the Bible and Canon so thinking is profound and not superficial-—like most people’s thinking. When I went back to college, I was appalled at the “shallow” thinking of the “students”. They had no understanding of anything important—like faith-— even of moral relativism-—and they all profoundly believed in it and socialism and didn’t understand how evil Mao/Stalin/Pot/Hitler’s ideology is. They were useless idiots.


13 posted on 04/09/2013 9:07:38 PM PDT by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: savagesusie

Thanks for this lucid explanation.


14 posted on 04/09/2013 9:12:10 PM PDT by Steelfish (ui)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: onyx

Very good.


15 posted on 04/10/2013 3:16:59 AM PDT by RedMDer (May we always be happy and may our enemies always know it. - Sarah Palin, 10-18-2010)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Morgana

So I’m guessing the Detroit Archbishop would look askance at the situation in my parish in which a Communion minister comes to church with his male partner and their two adopted children. Yes, that’s right. He not only receives communion, he distributes it as an extraordinary minister. Years ago, they would have called such a situation, giving scandal. Today, they mumble “Do not judge” about everything.


16 posted on 04/10/2013 4:20:27 AM PDT by MDLION ("Trust in the Lord with all your heart" -Proverbs 3:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Morgana

Has this EVER been enforced? I’m thinking we are watching hot air, not doctrine.


17 posted on 04/10/2013 4:54:28 AM PDT by ThePatriotsFlag ( EVERY DIME Obama Spends is given to him by the Republicans in the House.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ThePatriotsFlag
As long as Biden and Pelosi are members in good standing, it's all hot air.
18 posted on 04/10/2013 4:59:14 AM PDT by liberalh8ter (The only difference between flash mob 'urban yutes' and U.S. politicians is the hoodies.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: ScubieNuc

So when Paul tells the Church in Corinth to expel the sexually immoral (1 Cor 5:2), is that making their salvation dependent on “another mortal’s” (Paul’s) decision, too?


19 posted on 04/10/2013 5:17:37 AM PDT by Campion ("Social justice" begins in the womb)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ThePatriotsFlag; NYer; Salvation; Chode

“Has this EVER been enforced? “

Have no clue I don’t live in Detroit.


20 posted on 04/10/2013 6:36:48 AM PDT by Morgana (Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson