Gay-Friendly U.S. Bishops Outed by Homosexual Activist 'Catholic' Group

LifeSite ^ | Thursday November 11, 2004

[Land of the Irish]

Gay-Friendly U.S. Bishops Outed by Homosexual Activist 'Catholic' Group WASHINGTON, November 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Four of the most controversial left-leaning US Catholic Bishops have been praised by a homosexual activist group. Archbishop Harry Flynn (Minneapolis/St Paul, MN), Cardinal Roger Mahony (Los Angeles, CA), Bishop Mathew Clark (Rochester, NY) and Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton (Detroit) were named in a press release by the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM).

RSM is a group of homosexual activists which stages publicity stunts daring Catholic clergy to deny members communion. RSM members present themselves for communion while wearing a rainbow-colored sash indicating that they are sexually-active homosexuals. While Catholic bishops throughout the United States have themselves refused communion to RSM activists and warned their clergy not to administer communion to them, RSM notes that the four very liberal bishops "have welcomed RSM members to Holy Communion this past year."

RSM has announced to the press that it will be staging its characteristic challenge on Monday, November 15 at the 7pm Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

See the RSM press release: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041111/nyth066_1.html

[Land of the Irish]

 

The following letter dated October 3, 2004, was sent to the 295 Bishops that comprise the National Council of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). Each fall the Bishops meet in Washington, DC. This is a tradition of the Rainbow Sash Movement to notify each Bishop of our Presence at their Plenary Liturgy. It is the custom of the NCCB to hold the Plenary Liturgy at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in DC. This year that Liturgy will be held at 7 PM on November 15, 2004 (Monday). If you are interested in becoming part of the Rainbow Sash Movement deligation please email us at sashmovement@aol.com.

 

October 3, 2004

Eminences and Excellencies:

As Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual and Transgender Catholics we desire to be whole human beings, and full members of the Roman Catholic Church. Does membership in the Roman Catholic Church mean we must hide part of our humanity? Is this the only way we are welcome to receive the Holy Eucharist?

The Rainbow Sash Movement has sent a delegation to the NCCB Plenary Liturgy each November since 2000; this will be our fourth year. Refusing Rainbow Sash Members and supporters Communion was initially authorized by than Cardinal James Hickey the predecessor of Cardinal McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC.

Cardinal McCarrick has continued this policy, and our hope is that Cardinal McCarrick will remember his own words "The question for us is not simply whether denial of Communion is possible, but whether it is pastorally wise and prudent." We would also remind Cardinal McCarrick that denying any Catholics Holy Communion is a slippery slope.

The Rainbow Sash is a symbol, a sign of hope that one day gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Catholics can be acknowledged as true believers.

We wear the Rainbow Sash to identify ourselves publicly as both gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgender Catholics, and believers who want to practice their faith and to be nourished by the sacraments. We do not roll raucously down the aisle on the floats of a gay-pride parade. Nor do we carry placards, shout, wave or set fire to anything. We do not disrupt the liturgical celebration, but present ourselves, as all Catholics do, as sinners seeking forgiveness, as humans hungry for the bread of the Eucharist.

So we come to the Sacred Liturgy as human beings who are gay, finding no shame in that, and trusting in the Lord. We ask Cardinal McCarrick to honor his own words "We should have no confrontation at the altar."

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

 

Joe Murray
US Convener
Rainbow Sash Movement

 

[Diago]

What about Bishop Pilla?

He has the Gay Pride Rainbow Banner flying on his website:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/events/index.htm

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/imagesrnbwtile/.gif

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/glfmlogo.gif

The official logo for the Diocese of Cleveland Gay and Lesbian Ministry [Warning: This is not a joke]:

Go see for yourself:

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/mission/index.htm

From previous stories on Bishop Pilla:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1060132/posts

In March, 2002, about two years after leaving the diocese, Charlie [the bishop's former lawyer] says he met again with Bishop Gries. “I met with Bishop Roger and I told him as a friend that he needed to tell Pilla to step down. That's all I said.”

I prod him to continue. “Because of the manner in which all of this had been handled.”

Charlie later says, “The thing that really fried me was the way the church in Cleveland has agreed to ‘infanticize' Anthony. It's like he's a child. ‘Oh, he didn't know this, he didn't know that.' Wait a minute, oh merciful God. Then what's he in charge of one million Catholics for? Yes, Quinn did crazy stuff, but he was a lieutenant, you are the general. Why didn't you stop it?

_________________________________________________________

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/762432/posts

The following appeared in "The Wanderer's" From the Mail Section.:

In Cleveland, which has been racked with the most damaging sex abuse scandals outside of Boston and Los Angeles, diocesan officials, including Bishop Anthony Pilla, maintain a stiff upper lip as some homosexual activists in the chancery and parishes continue to transform parishes into gay-friendly communities. Consider:

The Diocese of Cleveland's official web site (www.dioceseofcleveland.com) greets the viewer with a rainbow flag, and gay activists at the diocese's Gay and Lesbian Family Ministry (GLFM) office are way out and way proud.

One member of the GLFM recorded his experience on an area gay web site of his participation in the Cleveland Gay Pride Parade, informing, "The catholic group had a very nice sized contingent. There were a whole ton of other religious groups as well...Oh, did I mention that I am in the same video as a pornstar?!...Our table was almost across from The Grid's table, so we got to watch Matt Rush shirtless signing autographs and posing for pictures most of the afternoon. I felt so uncouth ogling a pornstar and trying to be a respectable representative of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland...

"The Stonewall Democrats had the booth next to The Grid, and they had some mighty fine shirtless guys sitting at their table, too. After we took down our table at the pride festival, seven of us from the Catholic group went out to dinner...We also had the same waiter that we had last time...the cute one with attitude."

The author of that revealing letter is the apparent friend of Brian Halderman, a longtime gay activist of the Diocese of Cleveland who recently announced that he is joining the Society of Mary (Marianists) in Dayton.

In another Internet chat thread sent to FTM by a Cleveland reader, Halderman revealed that while a parishioner at Ascension Church (a church plagued by a number of predator priests), he was a chatechist involved in the sacramental preparation of second graders.

Reader, does all this help you understand what bishops such as Clark and Hubbard and Pilla mean by the "lay-run church.

You can contact the diocese of Cleveland toll free at 1-800-869-6525 or by e-mailing:

info@dioceseofcleveland.org

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

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The following exchange appeared in an article on a gay convicted priest here in Cleveland. [Note: Burkhart is a gay detective and McBride is the gay priest]:

Burkhart and McBride dined on crab cakes and chatted lightly. After dinner, McBride turned the conversation to the recent Catholic Church scandal. He hoped that, when it was all over, the church would recognize that priests are sexual beings too -- and that some are gay.

"Back in the 1960s, would you have ever come to a place like this?" Burkhart asked. "I mean, in this town, where you were working?"

"Probably not, no," McBride said. "Realistically, in 1960, no."

"And in certain places it looks like the seminary on Saturday night now," Burkhart joked.

"Yeah, that really is how it is," McBride said.

They compared notes on seeing clergy in gay bars. Then Burkhart stammered as he asked McBride a personal question: "So, whenever you had sex . . . were you bound to go to confession and confess it before you said Mass, or . . .?"

"Well, you were supposed to, yes," McBride said.

"Do you think all these priests do?"

"No," McBride said. "I think they changed their minds and decided it's not a sin."

The full article can be found at this link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/992919/posts

[Salvation]

Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

Any thoughts here?

[Diago]

http://couragerc.net/FAQs.html

Q. Why doesn't Courage use the terms "gay" and "lesbian"?

A. Courage discourages persons with same-sex attractions from labeling themselves "gay" and "lesbian" for the following reasons:

1) The secular world usually uses those terms to refer to someone who is either actively homosexual or intends to be. When a person decides to "come out" and say "I am gay" or "I am lesbian", the person usually means "this is who I am - I was born this way and I intend to live this way. I have a right to find a same-sex partner with whom to have a romantic sexual relationship." To "come out" as being "gay" or "lesbian" doesn't usually mean "I have homosexual attractions and I have a deep commitment to living a chaste life".

2) By labeling someone, we discourage those who may wish to try and move beyond homosexual attractions. Some people, especially young people, are able to further their psychosexual development with spiritual and psychological aid. If we labeled them "gay" and "lesbian", they might think there's no possibility of moving beyond these attractions.

3) There is more to a person than one's sexual attractions. Even if one experienced same-sex attractions for most of one's life, he or she is first and foremost a child of God created in His image. To refer to that person as "gay" or "lesbian" is a reductionist way of speaking about someone. We are even trying now to avoid using the term homosexual as a noun, or as an adjective directly describing the person (i.e. homosexual person). Although it takes more words, we prefer to speak of "persons with same-sex attractions". Fr. Harvey has said that, if he could, he would rename his first book "The Homosexual Person" to something else like "The Person With Homosexual Attractions". 

There are people within the Catholic Church who might argue that those who label themselves "gay" or "lesbian" aren't necessarily living unchastely. That's true, but the implications of the terms in today's society don't commonly connote chaste living. Furthermore, they are limiting their own possibilities of growth by such self-labeling, and reducing their whole identity by defining themselves according to their sexual attractions. At Courage, we choose not to label people according to an inclination which, although psychologically understandable, is still objectively disordered.

Q. Why are homosexual attractions considered "objectively disordered"? Isn't that a harsh term?

A. The term "objective disorder" is a philosophical term. It is used to describe homosexual attractions because such attractions can never lead to a morally good sexual act. It is objected that if a man lusts for a woman or vice versa, this too is an objective disorder. This latter example is not an objective disorder, because, if the man or woman controls this natural attraction, and wills to express it in the natural state of marriage, it is a good thing.

The term "objective disorder" may strike some of us with same-sex attractions as being harsh, because we feel that we never asked to have homosexual attractions and we fear that this term is in some way condemnatory or derogatory. It is important to remember that "objective disorder" is a philosophical term which describes a particular inclination - it does not diminish our value and worth in the eyes of God.

It is psychologically understandable that certain people struggle with homosexual attractions. The Church recognizes this and does not condemn people for simply having these attractions; however, the Church also teaches that homosexual acts are always immoral, and therefore, one must also accept that the inclination to engage in such acts is, philosophically speaking, objectively disordered.

Above all, we must keep in mind that homosexual inclinations do not make up our true identity as rational or Christian persons. We are first and foremost men and women created in the image of God - we are exceedingly precious in God's sight and we have been given the gifts of intelligence and free-will. We can live a life of union with Christ, through prayer, and we can know the peace of interior chastity. This is God's desire for us, and He continually gives us the grace to live it.

Q. Does Courage force its members to change their orientation?

A. Courage members are under no obligation to try to develop heterosexual attractions, because there is no guarantee that a person will always succeed in such an endeavour. Courage's aim is to help persons with same-sex attractions develop a life of interior chastity in union with Christ. If any of our members wish to go to professionals to explore the possibility of heterosexual development, we will stand by them, by helping them to keep the deepening of their Catholic faith and obedience to Christ as their first priority.  Courage itself does not provide professional therapy.  Some of our members have found varying levels of heterosexual development to be a by-product of living a chaste life for a period of time; however, the goal and focus of Courage remains a life of interior chastity, humility, and holiness, which can be achieved by all, with God's grace.

Q. Is Courage an Ex-Gay Ministry?

A. Courage does not consider itself an Ex-Gay ministry for the following reason: Many Courage members have never labelled themselves "gay" prior to coming to Courage.  This does not mean that they were unaware of their experience of same-sex attractions - it simply means that they had never chosen to label themselves "gay" in the first place, either because of a dislike of the reductionist nature of the term "gay", or because they kept their struggle with homosexuality private.  Courage prefers to think of itself as a "Pro-Chastity" ministry. 

Copyright (C) 2000 Courage

[Land of the Irish]

What about Bishop Pilla?

Good question. They missed many others besides Pilla. Cawcutt, Hubbard, Imesch, O'Brien and O'Malley also come to mind.

[WifeMotherDaughterSister]

later read-carefully

[vrwcagent0498]

As I've alluded to on other threads--there is that key year "1960" again. (in re: the Blessed Mother's instructions to read the 3rd Secret that year)

Reading things like this makes me wish the Lord would really send a few bolts of lightning down to these people. It's bad enough seeing this sinful behavior. It's worse seeing them getting away with it.

[Land of the Irish]

As I've alluded to on other threads--there is that key year "1960" again.

I agree. Rome ignored the Blessed Mother and we are now paying the price.

[vrwcagent0498]

If there's a silver lining to all of these scandals, I'd like to think that the Lord is simply cleaning His House. (the practicing homosexual priests) The press can spin it any way they want to, but over 90% of these sexual abuse cases involved prepubescent MALES.

Painful, but much needed, I think.

[saradippity]

Well,Cawcutt is in South Africa. I have never heard that Archbishops O'Malley or O'Brien had problems that would cause them to be "outed". If you were talking about the bishop O'Brien of Phoenix,he is gone,the other is the Chief Chaplain for the Military.

You are right about Pilla,Imesch and Hubbard.

You could add Pilarcyzk,Todd Brown,P.J.McGrath,Lynch,Friend,Skylstad,Zavala,Kikanes,Kelly,Fiorenza,Grahmann,Pelotte,McCormack,and a couple more ut the old,bad band of bishops is slowly going away. Unfortunately those bad guys were able to send a lot of less than holy priests through the seminaries so we are still loaded with some goofs and worse.But no question if we keep moving as we have been things are going to be okay,if Western Civilization survives,that is.

[Land of the Irish]

But no question if we keep moving as we have been things are going to be okay,if Western Civilization survives,that is.

Slouching towards Gomorrah is not OK.

[vrwcagent0498]

I highly recommend "Goodbye! Good Men" by Michael S. Rose.

Deliberate discrimination against traditional candidates for the priesthood was perpetuated by certain powerful people in the American church in order to suit their agendas.

A must read.

[GirlShortstop]

"...they changed their minds and decided it's not a sin."

Numero uno on the devil's "hit list" in our culture today.  It's not a sin....
  to receive the Eucharist if you're not in the state of grace....
  to behave like monkeys with no exercise of control over libido....
  to 'get rid of' a pregnancy

Only scratches the surface.

[ladyinred]

Numero uno on the devil's "hit list" in our culture today.  It's not a sin....

Oh indeed. Satan hasn't changed his tactics since the Garden of Eden, and yet people still fall for the same lies.

[Salvation]

Rainbow Sash Movement

Organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender "Catholics" who "demand" that the Church change its teachings on homosexuality so that they can live out their lives of burning intrinsically disordered lust. (See Romans 1:26-27)

[Pio]

Skylstad is the presumed winner (predicted by EWTN's Raymond Arroyo) of the USCCB Presidential raffle this year...we'll see...maybe the long string of fudge-packers will get broken....

[Siobhan]

Pray for a wee miracle on this one. Ask the intercession of all the saints.

Mary, Queen of All Saints, pray for us.

[COBOL2Java]

What about William H. Keeler (Baltimore)? Interested because an acquaintance of mine was recently rejected for entrance into the seminary for the Diocese of Arlington VA. His battery of psychological tests threw up some homosexual red flags. He then turned around and applied for the Baltimore Archdiocese and was accepted.

[Gone_Postal]

makes one wounder why Dan Rather say's " Courage Courage" on his news show