Matt C. Abbott
More 'gay' Catholic controversies
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By Matt C. Abbott
November 23, 2011

More "gay" Catholic controversies. Golly gee.

First, the East Coast — specifically, Boston.

Dr. Jeff Mirus, president of CatholicCulture.org, writes:
    'Something is very wrong when priests join forces with gay activists in any cause whatsoever. The presumption must be that the priests in question are sympathetic to gay activism, and this constitutes scandal. That's why I was glad to see Cardinal Sean O'Malley stand by the editor of his diocesan newspaper when some priests joined gay activists in demanding his dismissal.

    'You may recall the incident that occasioned the outcry. The editor, Antonio Enrique, failed to catch problems with a column by Daniel Avila which attributed same-sex attraction to Satan. Avila repudiated his column and, unfortunately, ultimately lost his job with the USCCB....'
Click here to read the rest of Dr. Mirus' commentary.

My own two cents: Even though Avila could have, and probably should have, made a better theological argument — Dr. Mirus rightly asserts that "Avila should have had the good sense to realize he was in over his head in the first place" — it's still extremely unfortunate that his apparent theological error cost him his job.

That's where Enrique comes in. Since Avila has been thrown under the bus, why is his now-former editor getting a vote of confidence from the cardinal? Why did Enrique run Avila's column, on a highly sensitive topic, without first making sure that everything was theologically airtight, thus not giving any ammunition to the hissy-fit-prone lavender lobby and its politically-correct posse?

Not that I want to see Enrique lose his job — God bless him and his wife for having 11 children — but I think he owes Avila a few steak dinners, at least.

As for the priests who, in support of the homosexual activists, have been demanding Enrique's dismissal, well...I guess the most charitable thing to say is that we should pray for them.

Now to the West Coast — San Francisco, specifically.

From California Catholic Daily:
    'Most Holy Redeemer Church, San Francisco's notoriously 'gay-friendly' parish, has invited a retired Episcopalian bishop who left his wife and family to 'marry' a man as guest speaker at a Nov. 30 Advent Vespers Service.

    'The invited guest is Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, who in 2005 provided a biographical statement to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Religious Archives Network, which said in part: 'Since 1979 he has been among a growing number of bishops who have spoken out for full and complete inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church without restriction, recognizing their calling to ministry and rejecting the notion that a baptized homosexual must live a celibate life. Whether in an informal gathering or the pulpit, he characteristically begins, 'I am a gay man, an Episcopal (Anglican) bishop, a queer who only just mustered the courage to publicly acknowledge the truth of my life.''

    'Not included in the statement is that Charles divorced his wife of 42 years, and has five children. It also does not include the fact that, on April 24, 2004, he 'married' a man named Felipe Sanchez Paris in a ceremony at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco....'
Click here to read the rest of the article.

While most dioceses have at least one parish that promotes heresy, dissent and even moral perversion (some dioceses are riddled with such parishes), Most Holy Redeemer has to be among the worst in the U.S., and it's been that way for years.

What a shame.

On the subject of homosexuality, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
    '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.' [2357–2359]


Pertinent links:

"Homosexuality and the Church Crisis"

"Chicago priest decries homosexualist agenda"

The Courage Apostolate

© Matt C. Abbott

 

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Matt C. Abbott

Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic commentator with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, media, and theatre from Northeastern Illinois University. He also has an Associate in Applied Science degree in business management from Triton College. Abbott has been interviewed on HLN, MSNBC, Bill Martinez Live, WOSU Radio in Ohio, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 2019 ‘Unsolved’ podcast about the unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz, Alex Shuman's 'Smoke Screen: Fake Priest' podcast, WLS-TV (ABC) in Chicago, WMTV (NBC) and WISC-TV (CBS) in Madison, Wisconsin. He’s been quoted in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and other media outlets. He’s mentioned in the 2020 Report on the Holy See's Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making Related to Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930 to 2017), which can be found on the Vatican's website. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.

(Note: I welcome and appreciate thoughtful feedback. Insults will be ignored. Only in very select cases will I honor a request to have a telephone conversation about a topic in my column. Email is much preferred. God bless you and please keep me in your prayers!)

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