Heh heh heh, Hey Beavis, he said "ass/soul."
Posted on 04/28/2005 9:27:09 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Every Catholic on Earth is a sinner. From this writer up to and including the newly installed Pope Benedict XVI. That we have the church to steer us to our redeemer through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation to forgive our sins, is a precious gift of grace from God. It is this belief, along with many others, that unites us to what we call the one true church.
During the last few weeks, we have seen numerous images of Catholics from around the world converging on Rome to worship God and to pray. People of different colors, dress and customs united in celebration of the masses in St. Peter’s Square, where, before distribution of Holy Communion, they were reminded to be “conscious of the conditions necessary for sincere and fruitful communion.” This means chiefly to be free of un-absolved mortal, or grave sin.
What we have also seen is a vocal group of American homosexual Catholics calling on the church to modify its teachings so that they would be sinners no more. For thousands of years, many cultures, including ours, saw homosexual behavior as illegal or immoral or both. Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, nearly all forms of adult sex are not only legal, but today, those who disapprove of those acts are themselves seen as immoral.
Chief among these is Pope Benedict who finds himself in the bullseye of the homosexual community, led by Andrew Sullivan. A fine writer on most issues, it appears that Mr. Sullivan, a self-professed ‘progressive’ Catholic, has let his gay identity subsume his religious one--a grave error as he should and probably does, know. He writes,
In a society with a huge gay population, the Pope has declared that homosexuals have an innate tendency towards “intrinsic moral evil” and are therefore “objectively disordered.” He has also argued that the exercise of conscience is a sinful delusion if it doesn’t comport with church doctrine.
Here, the Pope is taken to task for citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2357, 1790-94) which he helped re-edit and which, according to his predecessor, is derived from “Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium.” For a ‘non-progressive’ follower of the church, it doesn’t get any clearer than that and therein lies the problem.
Although the Catechism goes on to say that homosexuals are to be “accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity” (2358), they are also “called to chastity,” as are any who would use the sexual act outside of marriage, which is defined as the union of man and woman in both the New and Old Testaments (1614). For his part, Mr. Sullivan acknowledges the fact that this and other differences could lead to a permanent fracture:
If this forces liberal Americans to leave the church, so be it. In 1970 Ratzinger wrote of the 18th-century church in Europe, reeling from the Enlightenment, that it was “a church reduced in size and diminished in social prestige, yet become fruitful from a new interior power, a power that released formative forces for the individual and for society.”
And this is his vision for the American Catholic Church in the future: purged of wayward priests, lackadaisical believers and the liberal throngs that still cling to Catholicism’s basic tenets and rituals, while differing with it on social, cultural and sexual issues.
I don’t know which tenets Mr. Sullivan’s throngs believe on earthly matters that are outside social, cultural and sexual issues, but I do know that no rituals would bear any significance without adherence to church teaching on same.
Membership in the Catholic Church requires more than just the way in which we believe in God. The Ten Commandments and other precepts of the church exist to shape human behavior in order that its adherents may follow Jesus Christ through the “narrow gate” to our father in heaven. To believe otherwise is to say, “I believe that the church can help save me, but I will choose how.”
There are many, many churches that believe one can gain Christ’s salvation through various combinations of scripture, faith and grace, but the Catholic Church cannot alter her doctrine based on changing social mores or the wishes of her flock. To do so would be to deny her whole history and reason for being.
Mr. Sullivan concludes his piece by predicting that the Pope’s elevation could throw gas on the flames that are America’s culture wars but that “modern, open-minded Catholics can only hope the church isn’t burnt in the process.”
Given the casualties of those wars--40 million lives aborted, countless others euthanized and genetic engineering on the way--they may just drive many lapsed Catholics back into the arms of the Pope’s church.
About the Writer: Lisa Fabrizio is a freelance writer from Stamford, Connecticut. Lisa receives e-mail at mailbox@lisafab.com.
IIRC, Paul IV(?) expanded jurisdiction of the Inquisition to include sodomy, besides ordinary heresies. But I might be mistaken.
"gay Catholics want relaxation of church doctrine"
People in Hell want ice water.
"...gay Catholics want relaxation..."
Too easy.
As others have suggested, if the Church won't "change" then they should start their own church. If it is such a wonderful idea to combine unhygienic dangerous sexual practices with religion then go for it! Maybe there will be lots and lots of - worshipers.
Maybe if they get enough ACLU Lawyers, they can sue God into changing his "out of date" & "Old fashioned" standards
"Mr. Sullivan,....has let his gay identity subsume his religious one--"
He's let his gay identity "subsume" a lot of things, most notably all his drooling accolades over Kerry in the last election. Made me sick.
Tony Blankley put it best on McLaughlin last week when he said that a lot of people seem upset that the Cardinals picked a Catholic to be Pope.
Tony Blankley put it best on McLaughlin last week when he said that a lot of people seem upset that the Cardinals picked a Catholic to be Pope.
"a lot of people seem upset that the Cardinals picked a Catholic to be Pope."
I had read that statement in a column a little bit ago, probably by Tony Blankley, or someone quoting him. It's a great line!
Of course it makes sense to combine unhygenic sexual practices with a religion. Your gonna have to pray to someone to saave your ass/soul!
Ain't gonna happen ,never.
Heh heh heh, Hey Beavis, he said "ass/soul."
how do you cut and paste pictures and cartoons in??
What a clever response. Thanks. Needed the laugh!
Char :)
Simple and brilliant statement. That would make a nice bumper sticker.
When I was young and lived at home, every time I told my Dad I wanted some ridiculous thing or another, that was his stock reply....:))
It's not the Catholic Church that going to burn..
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