My head is spinning from it all...
"Hi, I'm Father Norman. Would you like to be an Altar Girl?
Posted on 05/20/2002 3:06:17 AM PDT by kattracks
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," the Roman Catholic bishop of Australia's largest city told his congregation Sunday morning, minutes after refusing to give communion to homosexual and lesbian activists.
"Homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law, they close the sexual act to the gift of life," Archbishop George Pell told Catholics gathered for Pentecost Sunday Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.
In an orchestrated move, 20 members of a group campaigning for the church to give full recognition to homosexual Catholics had earlier gone forward for communion, while another 12 did the same St. Patrick's Cathedral in another major city, Melbourne.
Each member of the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) wore a rainbow-colored sash over their clothing. In both churches they were denied communion, although in Melbourne, Archbishop Denis Hart did offer the sash-wearers a blessing.
Although the bids failed, a spokesman for the group said Monday they were heartened to hear that similar attempts made by RSM members in several cities in the U.S. Sunday had met with success.
In New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Rochester, spokesman Michael Kelly said, homosexual and lesbian members wearing the sashes said they had received communion. RSM was formed in Australia, but now has chapters in a handful of U.S. cities, too.
Kelly, a former Franciscan seminarian, attributed the discrepancy to "confusion" in the church hierarchy about how to handle the issue of homosexuals.
Because some priests had knowingly given communion to homosexuals, while others had refused to, the organization was now considering "an appeal to Rome."
"Refusal to give communion is the second most serious sanction in church life, after excommunication. So it's a very rare and very important sanction that's been imposed on us."
Kelly, who was part of the Sydney group in Sunday's protest, said the group had donned their sashes during the introductory hymn, as a symbol of their desire to "embrace our sexuality as a sacred gift."
They then participated in the service as usual, but when they had approached the altar for communion, Pell had told them, "I can't help you."
The bishop had not offered them a blessing either. If he had done so, it would have been seen as a "token gesture," Kelly said, but nonetheless one that would have said to the group: "We don't completely reject you."
They then returned to their pews, where they stood "in silent protest" while other communicants returned to their places and knelt, as is traditional.
A short while later, Pell read out a prepared statement, he said.
In the statement, a copy of which was provided by the Archdiocese of Sydney Monday, Pell said he deeply regretted that people professing the Catholic faith would mount "an ideological demonstration" during Mass, and particularly at communion time.
Any Catholic who publicly defined himself as "supporting or practicing activities contrary to church teaching in a serious matter is not entitled to receive Holy Communion."
The same would apply to a married person living in adultery, he added.
Pell said church teaching on sexuality was "clear and unequivocal, and derives from natural moral law, which we believe is unchanging ... God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and important consequences follow from this."
Kelly said Monday he found the comment "childish" and "unhelpful," not something worthy of a major church leader.
He charged that the current child-sex abuse scandal in the church in the U.S. and elsewhere was the result of the church hierarchy's refusal to bring matters of sexuality out into the open.
The RSM would continue to campaign to be allowed to participate fully and openly in the life of the church, Kelly said. Homosexuals had been involved in the church for centuries, he added, but their participation had taken place under a "code of silence and invisibility."
Although Kelly said church leaders had ignored nine written appeals for dialogue over the past five years, Pell in his statement said he would "continue to dialogue privately and publicly with those who think differently" about church teaching on marriage and family.
He also said he would pray for the protestors.
"Although human weakness is universal and God's mercy infinite, the path to happiness and heaven for a Catholic does not lie in seeking to re-interpret what is right and wrong," the bishop said.
"Rather, one should commit oneself, in good faith, to the church and its teachings and work towards following these teachings as closely as possible."
E-mail a news tip to Patrick Goodenough.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
My head is spinning from it all...
"Hi, I'm Father Norman. Would you like to be an Altar Girl?
And after receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
This is INCREDIBLY GOOD NEWS. Vox Clara (Clear voice) is a dope-slap to the Liturgical Bastards that are the ICEL AND the AmBishops who have STOLEN OUR BIRTHRIGHT. I am one damn happy Irish-Algonquin Catholic militant right now.
"The Wanderer" has an lengthy column in the latest issue that recapitulates the important events since the 1970's when the Liturgical Bastards (I mean that in a nice way) decided THEY would take control of the Liturgy and the ICEL would ignore Rome's commands. That Wanderer issue is worth owning and saving forever.
It is OVER for the Liturgical Bastards.....ALL over....Vox Clara, in their refusal to accept the monstrosity the Liturgical Bastards called The Sacramentary (they hate to use "Roman Missal") Vox Clara went out of their way to rip them a new one. They trashed their methods, intent, competence, translations etc. It is OVER for those Liturgical Bastards.
Why call them Liturgical Bastards? Because they have no legitimate Liturgical "father." Read Mediator Dei to see whether it is the Pope or some Liturgical Bastards that have the authority to take decisions about the Liturgy.
As you can see, I harbor a LOT of anger about the Roman Rite being destroyed. I have spent a LOT of time dealing with Bishops and Chanceries trying to get them to be obedient to Rome and the competent authorities and in return, my rights under Canon Law (yes, we DO have a Canonical Right to Authentic Liturgy)were trampled and I was called "insane" a "trouble-maker" - you know the routine.
But, finally, at long last, ROME IS ACTING and it is OVER for the ICEL and the AmBishops.
Did I mention I think they are Liturgical Bastards?
Enjoy.
This last part should have read, "...that we've chosen to impose on ourselves by rejecting the teachings of the Church."
..the group had donned their sashes during the introductory hymn, as a symbol of their desire to "embrace our sexuality as a sacred gift."
Sacred gift? You mean the one that God called an abomination?
The bishop had not offered them a blessing either. If he had done so, it would have been seen as a "token gesture," Kelly said, but nonetheless one that would have said to the group: "We don't completely reject you."
He clearly said that it was their sin, the very one they were choosing to celebrate, that he was rejecting.
Any Catholic who publicly defined himself as "supporting or practicing activities contrary to church teaching in a serious matter is not entitled to receive Holy Communion." The same would apply to a married person living in adultery, [Bishop Pell] added.
The church could use about a thousand more like Bishop Pell.
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