Also visit the |
Ten Challenges for Catholic Leaders In the Aftermath of the Presidential Election 1. Divisions exist within our Church that are deep and that jeopardize our ability to build community at the parish level and to be communities of salt and light to the larger society. (There is a great deal of alienation that needs to be addressed). 2. A creeping fundamentalism within the church provides space for some to demonize others (i.e. the notion that you cant be a good Catholic and vote for John Kerry). 3. Outside organizations with significant resources are extremely well organized and energized. They are well situated to serve partisan purposes. They can and will exploit the divisions within the Church. 4. The independent statements of a few bishops has had a negative impact on the unity and teaching authority of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 5. Reflection and dialogue are required about how our faith should influence our politics. 6. Teaching on the consistent ethic of life needs to be strengthened not diluted. (Too much of the Presidential campaign was reduced to jingles and slogans). 7. More than ever there is a need for clarity in our teaching and messaging. 8. Greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the proper formation of ones conscience. 9. Catholics are more than ever politically homeless. There is much work to be done among the laity to reform our political system. 10. A great challenge of our Church is to penetrate a national media that seems solely focused on the Churchs position on sexual and family matters while ignoring Church teaching on war and peace, social justice and human rights. Where Do We Go From Here: Recommendations for Action · Redouble our efforts at educating our parishioners and students on Catholic Social Teaching and the demands of the Gospel. · Offer opportunities for clergy education on Catholic Faith, Political Responsibility, and the Common Good · Engage Catholic Public Officials in dialogue about their unique vocation as a politician · Provide greater attention to educating our lay people about developing a well-formed Christian conscience · Develop national and diocesan strategies about changing the manner in which the media views Church teaching and our positions on public policy · Create opportunities in our parishes for respectful dialogue among parishioners with diverse perspectives on how faith should inform ones politics Prepared by: Tom Allio, Senior Director
|
|
|
©2005 - Catholic Diocese of Cleveland - Secretariat for Education and Catechesis
Last Updated: 01/24/05
Contact the webmaster.
http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/rnbwtile.gif
http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/tooosgif.gif
http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/images/glfmlogo.gif
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
_________________________________________________________
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
The official logo for the Diocese of Cleveland Gay and Lesbian Ministry
_________________________________________________________ ---------------------------------------------------------
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
I enjoy seeing the bishops stick it to Kerry last year; however, now I'm thinking that the whole thing was unwise. It hurt the Church by injecting it into U.S. politics, and I don't think that it helped Bush. Bush was already going to get the very conservative, Opus Dei people to vote for him just as they did in 2000; his gains among more moderate Catholics, people who might go to Church but sometimes ignore Catholic teachings, and among Hispanic Catholics are what put him over the top.
How appalling.