Posted on 09/09/2014 9:05:15 PM PDT by GonzoII
On Saturday I sent the letter below to Archbishop Vigano with regard to the statment Cardinal Dolan of New York gave in support of a Gay Rights Group being included in the 2015 New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This parade is a Catholic event and I am disheartened to hear that Cardinal Dolan would support a position contrary to that of the church in this situation.
September 6, 2014H. E. Most Rev. Archbishop Carlo Vigano
Apostolic Nuncio
3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008
Your Excellency Archbishop Vigano:
New York's Cardinal Dolan, appointed as Grand Marshal of the 2015 St. Patrick's Day Parade praised the decision to allow gay group to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. "I have no trouble with the decision at all . . . I think the decision is a wise one."
His action leaves many Catholics, including elected officials like myself, puzzled and disheartened when we measure Cardinal Dolan's new policy with his predecessor, John Cardinal O'Connor.
In 1993, when GLBT groups and government officials demanded that openly homosexual groups be included in the Parade, Cardinal O'Connor vowed in a St. Patrick's Day sermon that he "could never even be perceived as compromising Catholic teaching." Neither respectability nor political correctness is worth one comma in the Apostles Creed." (New York Times, 1/20/93)
At that time, the New York Times also noted that, "The Hibernians and Cardinal O'Connor have said there is no place for a gay contingent in the parade because it is a Catholic event and the church teaches that homosexual acts are sinful."
Yet, Cardinal Dolan claimed, "Neither my predecessors as archbishops of New York nor I have ever determined who would or would not march in this parade," adding that "the parade would be a source of unity for all of us." (NYTimes 9/3/14)
Would Cardinal Dolan, as Parade Marshal, applaud the inclusion of Irish abortion clinic owners or Planned Parenthood employees in a Parade honoring Saint Patrick? On what logical grounds does he applaud openly GLBT marchers and reject openly pro abortion Catholics, including some "Catholic" nuns?
Perhaps organizations which advocate to legalize prostitution and pornography should also be permitted to march? What about promoters of euthanasia for the elderly and disabled or advocates of physician assisted suicide? Where does Cardinal Dolan draw the line?
The St. Patrick's Day Parade sponsored by the Irish Catholic Ancient Order of Hibernians under the auspices of and with the blessing of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, is not a purely secular event, despite the fact that secular politicians participate. It honors a Catholic saint who converted pagans to the Faith and away from immoral behavior.
Promoters of homosexual behavior take part in many "gay pride" marches and parades, but these are not events sponsored by the Catholic Church or a Catholic organization. Therein lies the problem.
Same sex "marriage" advocates say they feel marginalized by the Church, yet the Church has been very clear that it is a hospital for sinners, and not one is sinless. Jesus saves us from being "marginalized" by our sin, so long as we seek Him and seek to do His will.
Everyone who rejects God's work, or who ignores or violates the Ten Commandments (and we all are guilty of that) feels "marginalized" at times, but we don't re-write the Commandments to make us feel less marginalized.
News reports indicate that NBC which televises the Parade, New York's Mayor, Guinness Brewery and others were pressuring the Parade sponsors to include openly GLBT groups. Choosing money over truth is never a good choice.
This situation is not about judging individual souls. God loves all his children, and fortunately His is the only one who can judge men's hearts, but we live in a world of actions that have individual, social and legal consequences.
Equality of persons is not the same as equality of behavior. What message does Cardinal Dolan's decision give? The US Supreme Court is considering whether to hear challenges to state laws allowing only one-man, one woman marriage. Cardinal Dolan's statement and actions here are most untimely.
I grew up in Washington, DC, worked in Congress for six years, have been privileged to serve the people of Virginia as a member of the Virginia General Assembly since 1992, was chief co-sponsor of the 2006 Virginia Marshall-Newman, voter approved one-man, one woman Marriage Amendment, and pro life legislation. I have overridden Governors of Virginia on abortion and GLBT issues, beat the ACLU in federal court on pornography prohibitions, and in 2008u won a precedent setting law suit overturning a tax law supported and defended in court by the Governor, Attorney General and Speaker.
I know from a lifetime in and around politics that federal judges and Members of Congress read newspapers. They are influenced by the actions of moral leaders. They gauge what they can "get away with" by what Catholic prelates "tolerate."
We do our brothers and sisters no service by pretending that God's teaching or the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God" are not important today. No one can change Natural Law or the Word of God, written in the blood of Our Savior for our well-being and redemption.
I haven't talked to one Catholic who thinks that what Cardinal Dolan did was prudent or helpful in defending the Faith, marriage or morals. Converts, especially, are distressed.
Some contemporary American Catholics falsely think that "tolerance" is exercised by maintaining indifference towards ideas, opinion or even error, or holding that all points of view are equal. For a Church authority to embrace political correctness at such a time will have consequences which extend far beyond the parade route.
Cardinal Dolan's actions will make enacting legislation in conformity with the Natural Law immeasurable harder to defend especially for lay Catholics or Catholic legislators.
Please pass my letter on to the appropriate Church officials. Thank you. You can contact me at 703-853-4213, delbmarshall@house.virginia.gov or bob@delegatebob.com
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
© Bob Marshall
This item 10660 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
Ping!
Ping!
Well written and right on the mark.
Excellent.
Cardinal O’Connor was a family friend. You represent him well, here. It’s an important point
This is a very bad move on cardinal do land part
I wrote to the Order of Hibernians on this
Excellent.
Thanks, Gonzo. Very encouraging. It’s about time for some measure of push back. Complacency has gotten us nowhere and things worsen.
This just about takes the cake as an in-your-face scandal crying out for redress.
Outstanding!
It’s outrageous, a Cardinal leading a parade promoting homos.
This sort of crap does tremendous damage.
I love Bob Marshall. He’s a hero in Virginia.
I believe all FReepers Catholic and non-Catholic should write strong letters requesting that Cardinal Dolan be removed from office. He is acting not unlike Mahony who turned a blind eye to the “pink” liberals because his best friend, the then Mayor of Los Angeles donated him a helicopter and he wanted to be loved by the Los Angeles Times. In the same way that Justice Kennedy wants to be loved by the DC media, Dolan is playing up to the NY times against traditional Catholicism and of course the NYTimes is an arch enemy of anything conservative, religious or secular.
Cardinal Law was hounded from office by the people. Unfortunately, it didn’t become a habit.
Truly an excellent letter. Coherent, well written and absolutely right on every point.
Ping!
Looking back on the history of this parade, Cardinal O'Connor also addressed this problem, and won.
O'Connor also supported the decision by the Ancient Order of Hibernians to exclude the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization from marching as such under its own banner in New York's St. Patrick's Day parade.[38] The Hibernians argued that their decision as to which organizations may march in the parade, which honors St. Patrick, a Catholic saint, was protected by the First Amendment and that they could not be compelled to admit a group whose beliefs conflicted with theirs.[39] In 1992, in a decision criticized by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the City of New York ordered the Hibernians to admit the gay organization to march in the parade.[40] The city subsequently denied the Hibernians a permit for the parade until, in 1993, a federal judge in New York held that the city's permit denial was "patently unconstitutional" because the parade was private, not public, and constituted "a pristine form of speech" as to which the parade sponsor had a right to control the content and tone.
Source
O'Connor used to slip away from his residence at night to minister to AIDS victims in a Manhattan hospital. He often nurtured and ministered to dying AIDS patients, many of whom were homosexual. Even though he condemned homosexual acts—some members of ACT UP had protested in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral in his absence, to protest, holding placards such as "Cardinal O'Connor Loves Gay People...If They Are Dying of AIDS"—) he would not allow his moral differences to interfere with ministering to them.
O'Connor demonstrated true christian love. He had strength of character and did not waffle on serious, moral issues.
Cardinal O Connor did not waffle on moral issues
Catholicism does not waffle on moral issues. When Catholics waffle that’s not Catholicism. It’s people doing what they feel like doing
It’s simple. It’s not easy maybe but it’s simple
You're welcome.
Dolan needs to fix this by issuing a statement recognizing his error, publically, and apologizing for scandalizing the little ones.
In the statement, he needs to immediately back out as Grand Marshall.
Dolan needs to address the parade committee that he will be found standing with the Church, her teachings, and not with the culture, and opposes the use of a Catholic saint and the Catholic theme of the essentially Irish parade in NY, so long as it supports the contingency of parade entrants who openly promote the lifestyle of homosexuality and march under such a banner.
What can be done after that, if the gay lobby wins out with the committee, or NY courts?
Can the good name of St. Patrick be retrieved from their hands? Can a parade be established within the confines of the diocese?
**Dolan needs to fix this by issuing a statement recognizing his error, publically, and apologizing for scandalizing the little ones.
In the statement, he needs to immediately back out as Grand Marshall.**
BINGO!
You are correct
Have you written him?
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