Posted on 10/24/2004 12:11:59 PM PDT by missyme
(Lynchburg, VA) -- In response to continued attacks against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals and couples, Soulforce is implementing a two prong campaign this year to try to change the hearts and minds of Catholic Bishops, and beseech them to stop the spiritual violence perpetuated by Roman Catholic religious policies, teachings and anti-gay rhetoric.
Local Soulforce groups and other supportive groups in a dozen different cities are trying to dialogue with their local bishops through letters and other correspondence. Soulforce's commitment to the non-violent principles as taught by Gandhi and King dictates that each group first try to dialogue with their local Bishop first. If these attempts fail and Bishops refuse to dialogue, vigils are being planned in front of local chanceries. Local Soulforce groups planning vigils on November 9 include, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York City, Albuquerque, Washington, DC/Arlington, Orange County (Los Angeles), Atlanta, Detroit, and San Francisco. Additionally, supportive groups in Denver and St. Louis are also planning vigils outside their local chanceries on November 9th. (Call media contact above for specific details on each location)
Soulforce Twin Cities will attend Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral on Sunday, November 7 wearing rainbow sashes. The bishop in Oklahoma has agreed to dialogue, so no vigils will be taking place.
"We are praying for these bishops to follow in the footsteps of Oscar Romero, who gave his life to stop the violence against the Salvadoran people. Most of these bishops, know the truth of our lives, but they are fearful to speak out," said Kara Speltz, Chair of the Soulforce Catholic Denominational Team. "They know the gifts we have brought to our church, because they've seen them first hand, in their families, parishes and chanceries. On this day we call down the power of the Holy Spirit to transform their fear and temerity into courage and prophecy. As M.L. King, jr. said in his letter from a Birmingham Jail, 'We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.'"
On November 14, 2004, Soulforce volunteers will gather in Washington, D.C. to try to continue to speak to the bishops, and vigil outside of the USCCB meetings. If the USCCB persists in ignoring Soulforce's requests for dialogue, a civil disobedience will be considered.
This will mark the fifth year in a row that Soulforce has had a presence outside of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) annual meeting. This is the first time Soulforce and Soulforce local groups have done vigils at their local Chanceries prior to the USCCB's annual meeting.
Additionally, Soulforce is encouraging supportive people to individually communicate with their local bishops concerning the devastating effects of their anti-gay rhetoric, their outspoken support of the now-defeated Federal Marriage Amendment, and their involvement in electoral politics. For more information, see www.soulforce.org/denomination/rc/usccb2004/.
Soulforce, Inc. is a national interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Soulforce teaches and employs the non-violent principles of Gandhi and King to the liberation of sexual and gender minorities. www.soulforce.org
"Love the sinner; hate the sin."
Did not Jesus Christ die for all mankind?
Get lost, a**hole.
Ride the lightning....
Moderator, please ZOT this madman loser.
It's the homosexual activsts who read "Mein Kampf" for inspiration (Larry Kramer, one of the founders of ACT-Up, admitted this), not sincere religious believers.
Go back to your padded room, take your Prozac, and start reading some useful books.
He's DEAD, Jim!
Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list
Why did you "hit-and-run" post this?
I will have to add that to my reading list. What a last name.
I'll pray for their anthropocentric souls, but they need to do some praying too...start right after reading Dante. Focus on the seventh circle...
Yours truly, Cap'n.
What? I didn't when I first posted it, the Admin Moderator pulled it they did re-distribute on the Religion Site and I have been reading the replies...
For me, Christ's answer to the question concerning the Great Commandment (Matt 22:36-40) is easily remembered as this: love God absolutely (long pause) love everyone else unconditionally.
One thing I would make clear, is we are talking about Church leadership. Of course we want anyone coming into the Church to attend. We are all sinners. The issue is who is leading the congregation.
"Soulforce, Inc. is a national interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals."
"spiritual violence" = Truth...
"teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals" = God's teachings -teachings not morally relative...
"soulforce" = fleshforce = selfish pursuit of sin force...
The homosexual infiltration of the RCC burrowing from within, and the radical liberal agenda people burrowing from without (and both parties really working hand-in-glove)are working very hard to destroy the church......both in its infrastructure, and in the faith of its members.
Until such time as God sees fit to cause these chastisements to cease, they will continue to make strides, chipping away, more & more rapidly, at the rock of faith.
Ultimately, they will never completely succeed. The Holy Roman church will lose its buildings and assets...fine.......so be it. We have no need of these things ultimately. Christ promised spiritual power and authority - and that is free, and does not require endowment funds. So the efforts of the anti-church partisans is ultimately doomed to shipwreck.
They may even succeed in forcing genuine, true and faithful believers who will not accept their ungodly agenda to leave the Church infrastructure.
The Holy Church will survive - if necessary, for a time - underground....until such time as God provides for a restoration......which is promised to us at Fatima, Akita, and La Salette.
The gay agenda has been very blatently used against church and society to cause total breakdown of morals and of society itself.
But what they obviously forget is God, and His laws. there is truly no such thing as an atheist - as by his denial of God's existance, it is implied that the opposite might be true. What we do have a ,ot of in this world are agnostics - who refuse to recognise god, His laws, or His influence upon our lives.
Very sadly, that describes most sexually active gay people. Scripture tells us that "the fool sayeth in his heart 'there is no God'". Indeed foolish is a man who commits greivous mortal sin (like homosexuality), and then mimics the primordial sin of Lucifer by parading it down main street...in "pride".
The gay agenda consistantly clamors that they must be made "welcome" in church. This translates into not threatened by any teaching preaching that their lifestyle is sinful, and complete and total acceptance of that lifestyle.
What they forget is that when the sign on the fron of the church says "all are welcome", it does not merely refer to the front door, or to the pews.
It also refers to the confessional.
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