This Sunday at Mass, see if you can spot the "c"atholic dissenter in the pews

From article, read it in full here (gay website):

Yellow Ribbon Campaign Seeks Catholic Support for Gay Rights

A new campaign from the Las Memorias Project, which works to prevent HIV among Latinos, asks Catholic parishioners to wear yellow ribbons to support LGBT rights.

The Yellow Ribbon Campaign seeks supportive Catholic leaders who will show support for LGBT people and opposition to the Catholic church's antigay policies by wearing a yellow ribbon during Sunday services throughout the summer. In an open letter, Las Memorias Project's Richard Zaldivar writes, "[T]here is a campaign by conservative bishops to challenge our movement for wellness and equality for members of our community. [They] are using the pews of the Catholic Church to promote a political agenda. Church should not be used for politics nor should it be to prevent wellness in our community.

So it seems that the big, bad, judgmental, Catholic Church is at it again and needs to be called out for their abusive anti-gay and hate filled policies! NOT! This type of foolishness really makes me laugh and yet, I can’t help but to have pity when I read this about movement's analysis of Catholic teaching. You see, I laughed because it’s almost comical that the people behind this whole “yellow ribbon” campaign haven’t the slightest idea nor an inkling of, what Catholic doctrine is, nor what it says. And that’s part that also makes me sad...Let me explain.

This article says that the group, Las Memorias Project, is campaigning against the conservative bishops challenge to their movement for wellness and equality. A look at Las Memorias’ website, will reveal that they mostly deal with the GLBT Latino community and devote much of their time to HIV/AIDS related work. According to their mission statement, they are:

“...dedicated to promoting wellness and preventing illness among Latino populations affected by HIV/AIDS by using the inspiration of The AIDS Monument as a catalyst for social change.”

Truth be told, I can admire this group for its outreach into the HIV/AIDS cross-section of America in order to help them through the difficulties that they encounter due to the disease. Honestly, a more noteworthy reason, I cannot find. But, to use that as the soapbox from which to slam the Church because it doesn’t agree (nor will it ever) with the homosexual lifestyle, well now, it seems I should clear a couple of things up. To begin with, let’s address, the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about the Catholic Church and homosexuals. That’s right, I went there.

If no other document was to be mentioned, one only need to look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2358-2359 where it says (with my emphasis):

“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

In these 3 paragraphs, the Catholic Church lays out not only what the official teaching for homosexuality is but, it also states unequivocally that homosexuals 1) cannot be ignored, they too are children of God, 2) should not be unjustly discriminated against, 3) that they are called to live chaste lives (like all non-married heterosexuals) AND 4) to bind themselves to Christ’s sacrifice so that they may be able to attain the gift of eternity with God. But we also have other sources, let’s see what the Church said in 1975 when the document Persona Humana, which looked at sexual ethics from a Christian point of view – was published. In Section 8 we find (with my emphasis):

“In the pastoral field, these homosexuals must certainly be treated with understanding and sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and their inability to fit into society. Their culpability will be judged with prudence.”

So, once again, the Catholic Church is reiterating that homosexuals MUST be treated with respect. Yup, sounds distinctly anti-gay to me.  >insert sarcasm here<

This is the reason that the pro-gay anti-Catholics really do crack me up. They start out by calling the Catholic Church intolerable and unaccepting of their agenda without ever having done any homework on WHY the Church teaches what it teaches. Indeed, how ridiculous! Do cut down the Church – if you must – only AFTER you know why it is that She states what She states, at least then there’s room for discussion and, perhaps, elucidation but, to unabashedly look down upon a religious institution’s teaching without ever really knowing or respecting why it teaches so is not only ignorant but cynically evil.

The director of this group also states that the Church is “using the pews of the Catholic Church to promote a political agenda.” Ok, let’s examine that accusation. What issues is the Catholic Church against that pro-gay activist might have a gripe against? The only two political hot buttons that come to mind that involve the Catholic Church are: the contraception mandate and gay marriage. So then, since contraception can’t be gripe of homosexuals, the main issue that they must have here has to do with same sex marriage. Another indicator that this is in fact the grievance that will manifest itself at a pew near you this upcoming Sunday is the fact that the heretical group Catholics for Equality and Social Justice are officially sponsoring this campaign against the truth. Let’s click on the link mentioned in the article for this group and see if they can shed some light on this matter.

 

Hmmmm…“Fortnight for Freedom?”

Sounds distinctly homophobic to me!!!      

Oh well, would you look at that. A pro-gay Catholic group. Just for fun, let’s see what their mission statement says (my rebuttal in red):

Catholics for Equality empowers pro-equality Catholics to put our faith into

ethical and effective political action on behalf of the LGBT community and their families.

Drawing on the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teachings, grounded in the Gospel message of Love (what about Divine Judgment for going against God’s Word? Methinks whoever wrote this mission statement forgot that close to 90% of the teachings we have of hell, damnation, Gehenna, etc., come directly from the mouth of our Blessed Lord Himself) , American Catholics are among the strongest supporters of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people of any religious group in the U.S. (so then, this makes it okay to go against Church teachings, right?)

Yet the official voice of the hierarchy increasingly advocates discrimination (uh, actually it doesn’t. What it does oppose is unjust discrimination and homosexual acts as quoted above) and opposes reasonable measures to secure basic freedoms for LGBT Americans (because homosexuals aren’t on T.V., in the music industry, nor are they in politics. They also can’t vote, can’t drive, can’t own a home, can’t start their own business, and they certainly can’t find jobs, right?).  Far too often, the anti-freedom voice of the hierarchy is portrayed as representing the moral values of American Catholics. (Far too often, the anti-Catholic voice of American “c”atholics is portrayed as represent the moral values of the Church’s hierarchy)

We believe this trend is a repudiation of Catholic belief (really? This repudiation is by-product of horrible catechesis coupled with heretical groups, such as yourselves, injecting venom into Christ’s One True Church) in the inherent dignity of every person. It further contradicts the American values of fairness and equality for all citizens under the law enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Well, okay, so they didn’t reflect ANY of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality. Let’s check their FAQ and see…

Okay…Nothing really overtly Catholic here, let’s have a look over here…

Indeed, this IS the problem

AHA! There it is! These people are not Catholics, they’re just heretics who think gay marriage is a good thing and, in accepting that intrinsic evil, they’re promoting homosexual acts. Sorry, not Catholic. This group couldn’t be further from the Catholic Church’s teachings on sexual morality; instead of preaching chastity, they encourage “safe” sex for homosexuals via condoms and free clinical services. Instead of telling a person who has same-sex attraction to pray and join themselves with Christ’s message and suffering, they tell them that they have the right to THE SACRAMENT of marriage. What a joke.

So, now you know. If this weekend, you happen to see a fellow parishioner wearing a yellow ribbon, do ask them if they stand for or against the Church’s teaching on THE SACRAMENT of marriage. Quote them all of the aforementioned sources as well as Matthew 19:3-12 & CCC #1603. Ask them why they disagree with the AUTHORITY that Jesus invested upon His Church. Keep them on the subject and don’t let them wander into some other topic and, above everything else, do so with charity and kindness in your heart. Remember, this nominal Catholic that you are talking to is a fellow brother/sister-in-Christ and deserves respect. Also, you are doing this in order to correct them not to anger them, as 2 Thessalonians 3:15 states:

“Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

Pray for our misguided brothers and sisters that they may have, not only the strength, but the courage to fight evil and truly proclaim the truth found in Jesus. As well as to be humble enough to acknowledge the fact that the Catholic Church was the only Church that was solely entrusted to advance His message.