Posted on 07/03/2019 3:24:24 PM PDT by ebb tide
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ChurchMilitant.com) - Bishop John Stowe used Pride Month to proclaim his support for the LGBT community in the diocese of Lexington, Kentucky.
Stowe offered his support on Twitter as LGBT events commenced: "With Lexington Pride underway, I am grateful for the presence of people of faith reaching out to those who have been turned away or felt rejected by the Church. Our arms are open to all who seek the Lord with good will!"
The bishop also issued a prayer card in celebration of Pride Month that includes a San Damiano cross with a rainbow glowing over it and a prayer written by the bishop. It was distributed throughout the Lexington diocese by the Catholic LGBTQ Ministry and Fortunate Families in Lexington.
Celebrity priest Fr. James Martin promoted the card on social media, noting that the Stowe "marks #PrideMonth in his Diocese."
The prayer card reads:
Dear Sisters and Brothers, I greet you warmly and offer you my prayers on your behalf during this celebration of Pride.
Psalm 139, a prayer attributed to King David, celebrates God's intimate knowledge and deep love of each son and daughter he has made in his image and likeness.
In part, the psalm reads, "you formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!" (Psalm 139:13–14) New American Bible)
My prayer is that each of us can celebrate that glorious discovery of how we are made and loved by God who knows us intimately and who calls us to a deeper relationship with Himself.
When we acknowledge this in ourselves, we have to be able to see this beauty in each other. There are so many things which can divide us, let's all come together in the recognition that we are wonderfully made and we are made to reflect the glory of God.
Peace and all good,
Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv.
One Twitter user reacted to the prayer by asking: "Am I the only one that sees that this prayer goes against church teaching."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says that homosexual acts "are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life" (CCC 2357–2359).
Church teaching remains firm on acts of homosexuality: "Under no circumstances can they be approved."
Homophobia is a sin.Tweet
"Homophobia is a sin," Stan Zerkowski, executive director of Fortunate Families and facilitator of Catholic LGBT Ministry in Lexington, declared. "Every person is made in the image of God. We must safeguard and celebrate the dignity of every person: those in our high schools, our parishes, our communities and, especially, those on the peripheries."
Saint Paul Catholic Church in Lexington put up a rainbow banner to broadcast its support of the LGBT community which reads: "LGBTQ+ Catholic - Family, Friends & Allies — All Are Welcome."
"This is a church that's open to all people and hopefully, this sign gets that across," said Zerkowski.
Saint Paul's pastor, Fr. Chris Clay, said to his parishioners that the banner represents "a small way of counteracting any experiences of hostility, rejection, and silent treatment that LGBTQ Catholics may have experienced."
Stowe's participation in the activities of New Ways Ministry, a Church-condemned activist group run by a censured nun, has not set well with many Kentucky Catholics.
At the "Justice and Mercy Shall Kiss: LGBT Catholics in the Age of Pope Francis" conference held April 28–30 in Chicago in 2017, Stowe said he has been "observing and admiring" the censured group's outreach to LGBT Catholics over several years.
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"New Ways Ministry made me want to come here," he added.
The bishop told the LGBT assembly that the infinite value of the human person is "the touchstone and foundation for determining the morality of a given act or issue," not "rules, norms or commandments."
"The flack has been 'enormous' and 'vicious,'" Stowe said, speaking to his participation in the New Ways Ministry conference, describing detractors as "self-righteous strangers."
In a radio interview in which he attempted to manage the "flack," he denounced Church Militant as "self-appointed watchdogs of orthodoxy" akin to "the Pharisees and the scribes."
Stowe has not supported Covington Catholic High School students who attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. in January. In an op-ed, Stowe blasted the students caught in the web of fake news about their encounter with a Native American elder at the march.
I am ashamed that the actions of Kentucky Catholic high school students have become a contradiction of the very reverence for human life that the (March for Life) is supposed to manifest.Tweet
The LGBT advocate said he joined the diocese of Covington and other Catholic leaders "in apologizing in the wake of this incident."
The students wearing pro-Trump apparel at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., is problematic, he said.
"I am ashamed that the actions of Kentucky Catholic high school students have become a contradiction of the very reverence for human life that the (March for Life) is supposed to manifest," Stowe wrote.
"As such, I believe that U.S. Catholics must take a look at how our support of the fundamental right to life has become separated from the even more basic truth of the dignity of each human person," he wrote.
Even after Covington High School students were cleared of any wrongdoing after an independent investigation, Stowe did not issue a correction.
Ping
Aggressively promoting the mortal sin of sodomy is not seeking the Lord with good will.
welcoming them into the church, yes.
teaching or implying that they may continue homo behavior ...no!
no cleric has the right to teach against God’s Law
(finally, many people (homo and hetero) do successfully control their urges in this life, whether sexual or any other kinds of desires...either ALL the time or at least MOST of the time....so it does not matter one whit if a person’s sexual desires are born into his genes... or acquired...that entire discourse is a red herring!)
Bishop Stowe pushes stool?
Bishops actively encouraging others to sin, and then go to Hell. I don’t see how that’s helping anyone.
I’ve been watching this scumbag since the Covington incident. This guy is a complete POS.
I refuse to let this man shake my faith, so maybe I should thank God for giving our diocese the opportunity to overcome (or at least withstand) such a great threat from within.
But he was the "Self-appointed watchdog of Political Correctness" when he publicly trashed the Covington Catholic pro-life students, and even declared (my jaw dropped when I read this) that it didn't even matter whether they were guilty of wrongdoing or not, they deserved all the public condemnation that they got just for wearing MAGA hats.
Did he ever tell Nick Sandmann and his fellow students that they were welcomed with open arms? No, he welcomed them with a metaphorical kick in the shins.
He hasn't yet admitted that he was wrong! Proudly, publicly and aggressively wrong!
Maybe he'll have an attitude adjustment when the process server arrives at his door. Repentance and reconciliation would be better, but suing him into bankruptcy has its attractions as well.
certainly sounds like some sort of corrective action is needed
bump
The Catholic Church is headed for the waste bin, thanks to Bergolio and his ilk.
MAYBE a split where the African dioceses will keep the real Catholic Church alive.
But I doubt it. Malachy predicted Peter the Roman would be the last Pope. Given this clown’s actions, the prophecy may be fulfilled.
Welcoming LGBTQWUTDAFK I would think should be how they behave. If that leads them to censure scripture or accept sin, then they’re in trouble.
Saint Peter must be rolling around in his grave. The Catholic church is in the toilet
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