Posted on 04/28/2011 1:56:02 PM PDT by concernedAmerican1
In a new effort to adulterate Catholic moral teaching, a group of dissident Catholic intellectuals, activists and students plan to gather this Fall for a four-part lecture series themed: “More than a monologue: Sexual diversity and the Catholic Church.”
Two Catholic universities, Fordham University and Fairfield University, together with Yale Divinity School and Union Theological Seminary are sponsoring the event, which will feature speakers who oppose basic Catholic moral values. According to the invitation, “post-Catholics” will be in attendance.
Register your peaceful protest now
Details on the four events:
Fordham University, New York (Sept. 16)
Learning to Listen: Voices of Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church
Union Theological Seminary, New York (Oct. 1)
Pro-Queer Life: Youth Suicide Crisis, Catholic Education, and the Souls of LGBTQ People
Yale Divinity School, Connecticut (Oct. 22)
Same-Sex Marriage and the Catholic Church: Voices from Law, Religion, and the Pews
Fairfield University, Connecticut (Oct. 29)
The Care of Souls: Sexual Diversity, Celibacy, and Ministry
Who are some of the speakers?
Sr. Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, is scheduled to lecture at Catholic Fairfield University. As early as 1999, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a formal condemnation of Sr. Gramick, permanently prohibiting her from all ministry involving homosexuality. This dissident nun went so far as to blaspheme, stating that the holy friendship between Our Lord and Saint John is “for lesbian and gay people a hope for a blessing for same-sex relationships…”
Fr. Donald Cozzens, a Catholic priest whose published writings and interviews undermine priestly celibacy is another speaker. Celibacy is “burdensome and unnecessary,” his writings affirm. In a CNN commentary, Fr. Cozzens further states: “…it should be left to the individual priest and seminarian to determine whether or not he is blessed with the gift of celibacy.” He also received the “Priest of Integrity” award from Voice of the Faithful, a radical dissident group pushing for the destruction of the Church’s hierarchical structure.
Dr. Paul Lakeland is also listed to speak. Although he openly defies Catholic teaching, he runs the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University. A former Jesuit priest, Dr. Lakeland supports abortion, contraception, women’s ordination and same-sex “marriage.”
More dissident speakers are on the roster, but the point is sufficiently clear: the event is a brazen attempt to undermine God’s law and turn the truth upside down.
Who’s funding the event?
The Arcus Foundation, which works to “advance LGBT equality, as well as to conserve and protect the great apes” is bankrolling the endeavor. This foundation pours millions of dollars into programs that, according to its web site, promote the “moral equality” of “LGBT rights” and the protection of monkeys.
Call it sin, not diversity
The homosexual movement would like to “change” the Church because Its holy doctrine is a roadblock to their radical goal: same-sex “marriage,” adoption privileges, and eventually, complete and unrestricted sexual anarchy. “There’s an alarming effort to force teenagers and college students to accept homosexual behavior as normal, even on many Catholic campuses,” observed TFP Student Action Director John Ritchie. “Never has so much sin been promoted in the name of diversity.”
According to TFP research, 41% of Catholic universities and colleges allow pro-homosexual clubs to freely operate on their campuses. (See research report)
“It’s so basic, but worth repeating. God created male and female: Adam and Eve. Tampering with that reality – which is rooted in nature itself – only favors moral confusion and sinful activity,” said Ritchie. “Behavior against nature has a name. It’s called sin, not diversity.”
Proclaim the truth: protest and pray
For 2,000 years, the enemies of the Church have sought to overthrow Her. This lecture series is only an example. However, we must remember that the Church is Holy and Immortal, and as Our Lord Himself promised, the gates of hell will never prevail against It.
TFP Student Action invites its members to sign a peaceful online protest, urging the presidents of Fordham University and Fairfield University not to host “More than a monologue: Sexual diversity and the Catholic Church.”
Register your protest here
We do not intend to defame or disparage anyone with this campaign. We do not harbor personal hatred against any individual. By intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is to defend marriage, the family, Catholic education, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization in society.
Forgotten truths:
Saint Augustine (354-430)
“Those offences which be contrary to nature are everywhere and at all times to be held in detestation…”
(Book III, Chap. 8, no. 15)
Saint Gregory the Great (540-604)
“Sacred Scripture itself confirms that sulfur evokes the stench of the flesh, as it speaks of the rain of fire and sulfur poured upon Sodom by the Lord. He had decided to punish Sodom for the crimes of the flesh, and the very type of punishment he chose emphasized the shame of that crime.”
(Morales sur Job, Part III, Vol. I, book 14, no. 23, p. 353)
Saint Peter Damian (1007-1072)
“Truly, this vice is never to be compared with any other vice because it surpasses the enormity of all vices.… It defiles everything, stains everything, pollutes everything.”
(St. Peter Damian, Book of Gamorrah, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1982, pp. 63-64.)
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
“If all the sins of the flesh are worthy of condemnation because by them man allows himself to be dominated by that which he has of the animal nature, much more deserving of condemnation are the sins against nature by which man degrades his own animal nature...”
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Epistolam B. Pauli ad Romanos, Cap. 1, Lec. 8)
Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)
“No sin in the world grips the soul as the accursed sodomy; this sin has always been detested by all those who live according to God…”
(St. Bernardine of Siena, Sermon XXXIX in Prediche volgari, pp. 896-897)
Saint Peter Canisius (1521-1597)
“As the Sacred Scripture says, the Sodomites were wicked and exceedingly sinful. Saint Peter and Saint Paul condemn this nefarious and depraved sin. In fact, the Scripture denounces this enormous indecency thus: ‘The scandal of Sodomites and Gomorrhans has multiplied and their sins have become grave beyond measure.’ Those unashamed of violating divine and natural law are slaves of this never sufficiently execrated depravity.”
(St. Peter Canisius, Summa Doctrina Christianae, III a/b, p. 455)
Fordham University no longer describes itself as a Catholic university, but as a university “in the Jesuit tradition.”
Fordham is a fine university, ‘in the Jesuit tradition’. It is a place of dialogue, discussion, and the acceptance of dissenting points of view. Dialogue is important, so is some dissent. The history of the Church counsels is a history of dialogue and dissent.
Except when the dissenting points of view are orthodox.
The Church Councils did not debate the morality of sodomy, abortion, infanticide, sterilization or contraception. The fathers of each Council knew that each of these things in itself is irremediably evil. This is not a matter of “dissent” - discussing the advisability of following Satan isn’t a productive debate and one no Council ever countenanced.
"To be right in everything we ought always to hold that the black that I see is white if the hierarchical Church so decides it." St. Ignatius of Loyola.
There are many examples in history when the hierarchical Church lost its way. It is at this time that the Holy Spirit—working amidst the lay and the clergy—helps her to reset her course. It is too easy to see the sins: sodomy, abomination,etc. and condemn the person as opposed to the sin. But they—as we—are still children of God. We are all sinners. I’m reminded of our Lord’s words: “Let he without sin cast the first stone.” I see the cited conference as a reaching out, a healing process. It is an attempt to bring our brothers and sisters back into the fold, through dialogue and discussion. There is always a place and time for healing, as we know from Ecclesiastes. And the Lord knows that our U.S. Church—beset by its own scandals—can benefit from healing. In the end, I believe the loving words of Christ trump the wonderful and inspiring words of Ignatius and that too is part of the Jesuit tradition. God bless, ‘wideawake’...AMDG
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.