3 Catholic churches refuse anti- same-sex marriage petition drive (Seattle)

KOMO News ^ | April 13, 2012 | Tracy Vedder

[Stoat]

Three Catholic churches and counting are refusing to be part of the petition drive to overturn the state's new marriage equality law.

St. Joseph's parish is one of at least three local Catholic churches deciding they don't want the fight over gay marriage to have a place there during Sunday services, in spite of a strong message from the Seattle Archbishop.

Earlier this year, Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain testified against the gay marriage bill in Olympia.

"I urge you to uphold the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman," he said then.

And when the bill passed, the Archdiocese put its weight behind Referendum 74 to overturn the gay marriage law.

But now it's stepping into politics with a letter to area parishes authorizing them to get behind the referendum.

"The Archbishop made it very clear he supports placing Referendum 74 on the ballot," said Archdiocese Spokesman Greg Magnoni.

The Archdiocese says the majority of churches in Western Washington will start collecting signatures this Sunday.

[olezip]

altar — Thanks, never noticed the misspelling.

[aimhigh]

It looks more like “Gay priests”.

[ElkGroveDan]

Probably several wealthy major-donor homo parishioners. I’ve seen it before.

[LomanBill]

>>What??? Something isn’t right.

Eunuchs are as Eunuchs do - and have been doing - throughout their history at the occult center of virtually every manifestation of theocratic tyranny that has ever been imposed upon the human race.

Per Romans 1, these are just the birth pangs for the Abominations to come — until the created submit to their Creator again.

[LomanBill]

It looks more like

"...who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men eunuchs, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time;

 

...

 

 that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them. "

 

"I HAVE SWORN UPON THE ALTAR OF GOD ETERNAL HOSTILITY TO EVERY FORM OF TYRANNY OVER THE MIND OF MAN"

--The Virginia Act For Establishing Religious Freedom
--Thomas Jefferson, 1786

http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/vaact.html

 

[Salvation]

Whatever happened to obedience to one’s bishop?

Darn, Here we get a good bishop and the priests are rebelling.

Stay tuned to see what happens.

[texanred]

The bishop said that parishes CAN collect signatures - not that they must. This wouldn’t seem to be a conflict with that vow unless or until they challenge the bishops prerogative to say that this is a valid option.

Subsidiarty is the principle that decisions such as this are made at the most local level possible. Bishops tend to provide options for activity rather than spending their time contriving lists of must-do’s (usually covered in the canons) and must-not-do’s (likewise).

There are a whole lot of reasons why a bishop might not want to set a precedent demanding partition in an essentially political and civic activity.

The pastor is responsible for determining if such an action would be a net positive for the parish, a divisive act, a neutral act that wouldn’t engage most of the parishioners, and if it is the best possible use of limited resources.

[texanred]

This is neither the dark ages nor a gulag church. We don’t cloistrate people against their will. We don’t force people to take unwilling vows of silence to shut them up if we dont like them. We especially don’t close down parishes with families in need of absolution and the most blessed sacrament because the pastor elects not to participate in a voluntary political petition. These are immortal souls starving for sacraments - not a civic matter.

[texanred]

This is neither the dark ages nor a gulag church. We don’t cloistrate people against their will. We don’t force people to take unwilling vows of silence to shut them up if we dont like them. We especially don’t close down parishes with families in need of absolution and the most blessed sacrament because the pastor elects not to participate in a voluntary political petition. These are immortal souls starving for sacraments - not a civic matter.

[texanred]

Sorry for the double post. I don’t recall clicking twice.

[SamuraiScot]

This is neither the dark ages nor a gulag church. We don’t cloistrate people against their will. . . We don’t force people to take unwilling vows of silence to shut them up. . . These are immortal souls starving for sacraments - not a civic matter.

Fr. Marcial Maciel, Founder of the Legionaries of Christ, was pulled from his post as Director General of the order in 2006. He was ordered to cease all public ministry (i.e., "shut up"), and devote the rest of his life to prayer and penance. This was on account of his long history of moral problems, which included sexual misbehavior. You may not agree with this course of action (I don't have a problem with it), but "this" is indeed what the Church sometimes does to enforce moral discipline and protect her flock from abuse and bad example.

The homosexual "marriage" campaign, like Obama's insisting on Catholic subsidy of abortion and contraception, is part of Leftists' cultural and political campaign to silence their opposition. Priests with no stomach for the fight are unworthy to act in the Person of Christ. They have signed on as priests to defend the Faith to the death, if called upon. The occasional petition drive on a clearly moral issue seems a pretty small mortification by comparison.

If a priest has drawn souls to his parish based in part on his unwillingness to raise certain issues and lead his parishioners amend their lives, he is not helping them. By creating an environment that confirms them in their errors and sins, he is leading them to moral and psychological ruin in this world, and worse in the next. These parishioners can and should be absorbed by other parishes, where there might be priests who are less timid and less concerned for their own comfort.

Today, we are being ordered by the secular State and its culture to sacrifice to its gods of abortion, sexual deviance, and divorce. As in ancient Rome, the State will eventually harass and execute some of us for having the nerve to disagree. If we face this fact, things become clearer. And God wins in the end. It's His game.

[texanred]

To be removed from a public post and retired from pastoral duties does not require vows or cloistration that are involuntary and thus invalid. It simply doesn't compare with your original comments or my objections to those comments.

You appear to assume nothing but bad faith on the part of pastors of parishes that are not participating. In at least one parish it was a decision taken up by established parish council - not the pastor. Another parish said they wanted no political intrusions of any kind into their churches - to segregate the sacred from the profane has very old foundations. Most of the parishioners will likely sign but do it elsewhere. They go to church to receive the gospel and the sacraments - not to sign petitions of any sort.

[SamuraiScot]

You appear to assume nothing but bad faith on the part of pastors of parishes that are not participating. . . Most of the parishioners . . . go to church to receive the gospel and the sacraments - not to sign petitions of any sort.

I'm familiar with the phenomenon. You see it in abundance in wealthy, liberal, urban areas with concentrations of homosexuals. The parishioners are the biggest drum-beaters and petition-signers in the world—but the petitions tend to be for socialism or diversity or whatever is irrelevant to, or at odds with, normal moral life. That's why I assume bad faith until shown otherwise. Liberal areas are littered with pastors and parishioners who are hijacking the name of Catholicism to steer it toward self-important dissent.

Your post before touched on the core of the issue:

These are immortal souls starving for sacraments - not a civic matter.

It's no longer a distant civic matter when the civis is coming to get you. For a Christian, not to stand and fight is cowardice or treason.

[4woodenboats]

The Navy did not say if the number designation was on purpose due to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, but it appears to be a coincidence.

At least they didn't name it after Tent City or Fremont Lenin!