Anti-Family, Anti-Catholic Activists hosted at Most Holy Redeemer

Today's California Catholic Daily reports on SF's Most Holy Redeemer Church's January 22 hosting of a town hall meeting for the LGBT political action group Equality California. The article is aptly titled "Is this a Catholic Church?"

Of all the anti-Catholic events hosted at MHR, and there have been many (drag show, obscene bingo, years of sado-masochistic gatherings, etc.) this is the most obscene and the most anti-Catholic. No group that MHR has hosted, not the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, or the S/m Golden Gate Guards or the Inter-Club Fund are worse than EQCA.

The meeting was sold as focusing on access to health care. But that took up only a small part of the meeting. The majority of the discussion covered Equality California's broadening political agenda. That political and legislative agenda is diametrically opposed to the Catholic Church, That agenda will also target individual Catholics and Christians who attempt to uphold the truth of the faith.

The transcripts of some of the items under discussion, taken from the California Catholic Daily article are reproduced below in red. The speaker is Executive Director Rick Zbur.

On EQCA's opposition to religious exemptions to laws that the Catholic Church and its members could not obey without violating their faith, the moderator asked: "Do you see some of these religious liberty laws they’ve tried to get started in other states over the last year or so? And they did have an effort in California that I don’t think went anywhere. Do you see this happening again in the legislative session, and if so will Equality California oppose that?"

“Well, we definitely would oppose it. You know, I haven’t heard very much about them doing that, I think they’re focus is on unraveling AB 1266, that’s what we we’re hearing their focus is, but in California I haven’t heard anything recently, but obviously we would oppose it. The thrust really though, I think is at the federal level with the version of ENDA that passed the Senate that included a broad religious exemption that we were very very uncomfortable about, and most of the LGBT organizations that weighed in expressed a lot of nervousness about the decision to pass it with that broad religious exemption, and so we’ve already spoken out against that. 

“I think the thing that makes me nervous is the fact that it passed with that version and we’ve got a lot of states now that I don’t think that the next phase of us earning civil rights protection is going to happen at the federal level with Republicans in control of both houses of Congress. It’s really going to happen, as it has in California, in the states that don’t have that. So I’m really nervous about this religious exemption being used to sort of weaken civil rights laws that pass in the states. So that’s, we’ll continue engaging on that where we see it.”

This means EQCA opposes an exemption for, say, a photographer or a baker who refuses to participate in a same-sex 'wedding.'  They will work to prevent a Catholic from being faithful to the Church. They are announcing this intention in what calls itself a Catholic Church.

Note that in his answer, Mr. Zbur brought up AB 1266. The California Catholic Bishops were very clear about that bill: "If signed into law by the governor, AB 1266 will require public schools to allow a child of any age 'to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.'"

What the bill means is that if a second grade girl (who is biologically a female) decides she wants to be a boy, she can use the boys’ bathroom if she chooses. She can insist on being called 'he' instead of 'she'. If a twelve year old boy (who is biologically a male) self-identifies as a girl, he—or 'she'—must be allowed to play on the girls’ softball team and share the locker room with the girls.

Explain that to your eight or ten year old, or your six year old."

The moderator followed up: "You just mentioned AB 1266, which is the law that went into effect last January, that provides that all students have access to the same facilities [bathrooms], including transgender students too, athletics and other things too. What do you see in different parts of the state around implementing that and how can Equality California help with that. You did mention earlier you were working on some school issues." Zbur responded:

“We’ve been partnering with other LGBT organizations, not us alone. The ACLU, one of our partners, has been really taking a lot of leadership on this. For example, I think it’s next week we are participating in a pretty big convening meeting in the Coachella Valley in which I think there is something like 8 or 9 smaller school districts that the ACLU and Equality California are helping provide some training for members of the school district and administrators and the school board on AB 1266 implementation. 

“What we’re finding is implementation is spotty, that a lot of districts really don’t want to do it, that AB 1266 is one of those laws that there is a fair amount of controversy on. We saw a member of the California Assembly who lost re-election in Orange County and one of the key issues that was raised in her political campaign was the fact that she voted for AB 1266. So I think our opponents know that is an area where the public, where there is a lack of full understanding among the public. And they’re using that as a bit of a wedge issue.

“So we think that we need to really engage in education ahead of a potential ballot measure that they may very well try to put back on the ballot in the 2016 election cycle. They did try to gather signatures for 2014 and just fell short in gathering enough signatures to get on the ballot but we’re hearing that they are going to try again and so that’s an issue that we’ll be working on with the Transgender Law Center & the ACLU & National Center for Lesbian Rights and all of our partners”

AB 1266 is a vastly unpopular law, certainly opposed by a majority of Californians. As Zbur admits even "a lot of (public school) districts really don't want to do it." And we repeat: it was publicly opposed by the California Catholic Bishops. But EQCA announces, in what calls itself a Catholic Church, that, working with the ACLU, will be forcing compliance with this idiotic and immoral law in direct opposition to the Catholic Church.

EQCA's actions corrupt the minds of California's children by teaching them that it is simply their decision which determines whether they are a boy or a girl. But AB 1266 is not the only attack EQCA is making on children, the family, and reason in the public schools.  The moderator asked Mr. Zbur what EQCA's priorities were for the coming year. Zbur listed three, one of which was:

“We are talking to the ACLU about co-sponsoring a bill that would update sex-education criteria that are imposed in the schools, and there are requirements now that sex education programs in a very general way address and educate kids about the diversity of what a family looks like and because the standards are so general most school districts don’t really do what was intended by the existing legislation. So that the curriculum is being updated, the ACLU really wants more standards than that, so we’re really going to be focused on that as well.”

So the propaganda that goes under the name of 'sex education' in the public schools does not go far enough in Mr. Zbur's (or the ACLU's) opinion. To 'educate kids about the diversity of what a family looks like' is simply propaganda against the family, what Pope Francis himself called on January 16 the 'new ideological colonization that tries to destroy the family.'

Once again, Zbur announces that he will attack the fundamental teaching of the Church (exemplified by Pope Francis words) on the reality of man and woman and the family. Once again he announces his attack on the faith, (and the Pope), in what calls itself a Catholic Church.

Mr. Zbur is also seeking clerical allies in castrating the Churches. (He has two--two priest were in attendance at the meeting, probably Frs. McClure and Link of MHR). He unveiled EQCA's 'Faith Initiative'--apparently made public for the first time, at Most Holy Redeemer.

The moderator asked: "I know that when we talked you had mentioned something about Equality California planning a faith initiative. What would that entail?"

Mr. Zbur: “So we’ll be announcing the details, but I’ll give you a little bit of a preview. We’ve been in discussions with a group of faith leaders throughout the state who’ve actually already been engaging in work to both educate and outreach to the faith communities about the LGBT community and to advance LGBT equality and acceptance in the faith community, talking with them about providing a home and support for that and part of their ministry. 

“The group of faith leaders are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, includes a large group or them, so for us it recognizes the fact that some of achieving our goal of full acceptance of LGBT people will require us I think to have more outreach and education within faith communities and so that’s a priority for us and we are hoping that this new initiative is completed, but we’re hoping soon to announce the details of the faith initiative that is sort of really aimed at more outreach in the faith communities in California. 

“I think that other than that what makes me really excited is that you look at where the opponents of full equality are coming from, they’re using faith based arguments and religious exemptions to try and carve away the legal rights that we have already earned here in California and in other parts of the country, so having a group of faith leaders who are standing with us in our fight for full equality and acceptance, I think will be something that’s going to be important for us all as we engage in the political advocacy that we need and in the public education to sort of protect the rights that we have already earned.”

Equality California is at war with the Catholic Church. Inexplicably, the Archdiocese of San Francisco provided them with a beachhead. That Most Holy Redeemer would provide aid and comfort to the enemies of the Church will surprise no one who has been paying attention. As far back as August 28, 2007, in the post 'MHR and how it got that way,'  I argued that, existentially, Most Holy Redeemer is not a Catholic Church, it is a gay spiritual institution. I wrote at that time:

"The moral credibility of the Catholic Church, then, will be determined (by the members of MHR) by the extent to which it supports, or fails to support, the community-forming experience of the gay community. If...the sexuality is experienced as more important than the doctrines of the Catholic Church, one would expect the doctrines of the Church to be discarded when they come into conflict with the community-forming experience. And this is exactly what happens...And this leads to the acceptance of blasphemy in an ostensibly Catholic Church. But such events will not be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous, because they validate the community-forming experience...Indeed, at this point, what will be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous is that which denies the value of the community-forming experience." Such as the teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman.

I also wrote at that time that the fault does not lie with MHR but with the Archdiocese.

Hundreds of thousands march for marriage and family in France

Wow! Check out these pictures, as the French stand for the rights of children. Marches took place today in Paris and Bordeaux.

And very interesting commentary at English Manif.

"The gay rights movement has devolved into a big lie factory"

No one has written or spoken more passionately and knowledgeably about the destruction of the family by homosexual activists than Robert Oscar Lopez. Here is another home run column of his at American Thinker:

Excerpts:

Like an obsessive-compulsive one-note Charlie, my refrain has been, for years: children have an inalienable right to a mother and father, cannot be bought or sold, and are entitled to know their origins. Whether it is straight people or gay people using divorce, surrogacy, trafficking, or any other means to deny people these rights, I oppose it.

This is a teachable moment because it reveals a great deal about what makes the Human Rights Campaign tick. They’re after your kids, plain and simple; all their other issues are mere window dressing.

They have convinced themselves that gays are a tribe unto themselves, so their consuming goal is to populate the tribe so they don’t disappear.

Parenthood is their great white whale. They want to have children to love them and call them Mom and Dad. They need to get those children from you because biology prevents them from siring them naturally. Gentlemen readers, these folks are trying to find a way to get the sperm out of your testicles and into their laboratories; lady readers, these folks need to find a way to implant an embryo of their sperm in your womb, keep you obedient during the gestation, and take your baby away forever.

The main item on the gay lobby’s agenda is patently insane. People don’t generally want to let lesbians milk sperm out of their testicles. People don’t usually like the idea of gay men gestating babies in their wombs and then taking them away. (And no, “visitation” plans where these gamete donors get to see their progeny a few times a month are not a good arrangement; that stuff’s really creepy.)

And at least with me, these HRC lackeys cannot pull the old “are you saying my children are worth any less?” routine. Just because you control a human being doesn’t mean that’s your child. Even if someone is your child, criticizing you is not the same as insulting your child. This is basic, but somehow the HRC manages to whitewash the complexities. Despite all the choreographed photographs of happy gay couples with children, people generally do not like growing up and knowing that half of them was sold to a gay couple...."

Mr. Lopez's website is English Manif. He is under no illusions, and he tells the truth unflinchingly:

"The gay rights movement has devolved into a big lie factory. The movement always did have a self-deluding component, especially during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, but in those days they were truly oppositional, even in NYC – now they are a monstrous force to be reckoned with, supported by all the power of law – and corporate America. There isn't a corporation that doesn't offer a diversity program, and a university that doesn't offer a “Diva University” webpage (I didn't make this up). The claim that the ligbitists are poor little victims is 100% false. The ligbitist movement has all the brute force of capitalism and Uncle Sam behind it. It is an establishment, oppressive, and coercive force. And it lies 24/7."

Part 3 of Valerie Schmalz blockbuster series is up at Catholic San Francisco

This should be an example for every diocesan paper in the country.

Part 3 of Valerie Schmalz's must-read series describing the attack by homosexual activists on the Church continues in the September 26 issue of Catholic San Francisco. The digital version of the paper is already online. The series has been on the paper's front page for 3 weeks straight,  and quickly reached #1 on the website's "Most popular news stories" list. Faithful America, whom Schmalz has exposed, has used the series as a fundraising tool.

This week Ms. Schmalz tackles the phony "hate group" tactic used by homosexual activists. The story begins:

FBI does not support ‘hate group’charge by Faithful America
Pro marriage advocates say ‘hate’ charge a tactic to marginalize

VALERIE SCHMALZ
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Many Catholics and other San Francisco Bay Area residents were taken aback when Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone was accused of allying with a “hate group” and others who use “hate speech” by speaking at the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. on June 19.

“Hate group” and “hate speech” are phrases that conjure images of skinhead attacks, Ku Klux Klan lynchings or beating up people because they are gay – all actions that would certainly be serious sins to Christians who believe in Christ’s command to “love one another.”

Because that charge was so incendiary, Catholic San Francisco took a closer look at the charges leveled by Faithful America against the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage, organizers of the June 19 March for Marriage. Catholic San Francisco also examined the groups which leveled those charges…."

Later in the article, Schmalz continues:

‘Hate group’ charge

"The 'hate group' label used in the Faithful America petition and letter was devised by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group with no official government standing.

Based on interviews with a federal law enforcement official and others, the Southern Poverty Law Center lumps those who oppose same-sex marriage with racist supremacists.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not track “hate groups,” but investigates crimes, according to FBI spokesman Chris Allan. 'We are limited to investigate what a federal violation would be. It is not a crime to be part of a hate group it is only the action itself' of a hate crime which the FBI would investigate, said Allan, who also said the FBI had not investigated the Family Research Council for hate crimes…

The Southern Poverty Law Center official who spoke with Catholic San Francisco also said that the Family Research Council was placed on its 'hate map' for what it believes and what it says, not for any crimes"

The Southern Poverty Law Center are phonies with a political agenda. A simple example illustrates this: every year on Easter Sunday in San Francisco the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence conduct the Hunky Jesus contest, an event that mocks the torture and murder of Jesus Christ. That is a expression of hate of Christianity on the holiest day of the year for Christians.

You'd think a group that professes to be "teaching tolerance" might have something to say about this. But I just did a search for 'Hunky Jesus' on the Southern Poverty Law center's website. Here's the result:

Nothing. Nada. I doubt they would be so quiet if someone mocked the murder of, say, Matthew Shepherd. As I said the Southern Poverty Law Center are phonies with a political agenda.

Ms. Schmalz's article closes with two reflection on the ubiquitous lying that is part and parcel of the counterfeit marriage movement

"David is a member of Courage, the faithful Catholic group that ministers to people who experience same-sex attraction. Because he wishes to remain anonymous, in this article he is given a generic first name. He told

Catholic San Francisco the emphasis on hate speech is part of a strategy to demonize those who promote chastity. 'The trick of the enemy is to say the opposite of the truth,' said David, who said Courage relies on anonymity much as Alcoholics Anonymous does. 'The ones who are talking about bullying are running the big bully networks.'

The issue is a fundamental disconnect in world view and of each other, said Robert Reilly, author of 'Making Gay Okay' (Ignatius Press, 2014). 'People who are ruled by their passion which they think is love can only imagine opposition coming from another passion. The opposite is hatred,' Reilly said, but the supporters of marriage between one man and one woman are animated by a belief in a truth, not by hatred, he said.

Reilly quoted George Orwell, author of the novel '1984' which describes a totalitarian future where all thought is controlled and recast: 'The more a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.'

This is the best work Catholic San Francisco has ever done. It should be a model for every other diocesan paper in the country.

Important: SF Archdiocese Exposes LGBT 'Catholic' Groups

This week's Catholic San Francisco, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco has an important and comprehensive expose of the motivations and funding of 'Catholic' homosexualist groups seeking to undermine the Church. The article begins:

Gay rights money funds archbishop’s critics
Faithful America part of national progressive advocacy network

September 10th, 2014
By Valerie Schmalz 

"Many Catholics in the San Francisco Bay Area were surprised by the strong negative reaction to Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone’s decision to give a talk about traditional marriage at a June 19 Washington, D.C., rally organized to support marriage.

A national online petition from Faithful America and a nationally publicized June 10 letter from 78 politicians and others urged the archbishop to withdraw from the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. The letter and petition citing “hate” speech by the National Organization for Marriage and the labeling participant Family Research Council as a “hate group” created a media storm and disturbed many local Catholics and pastors.

Most are used to attacks on the archbishop for his strong advocacy of the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and family, but the reaction seemed disproportionate to the event – which was a talk at a rally by a Catholic Church leader who has given many talks in support of marriage and family across the country and in the media.

 The cause for surprise among Catholics may be they assumed the powerful reaction was spontaneous. Now there is abundant evidence the reaction was both well planned and financed by Faithful America, an organization that is supported directly and indirectly by politically powerful and wealthy men and by grant-making foundations who have devoted millions of dollars to promoting acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) behavior...."

Flowchart showing funding behind the "Open Letter" to Archbishop Cordileone.
Courtesy Catholic San Francisco.

The article is part one of a three-part special report. It is very heartening to see this in an Archdiocesan newspaper. Not only that, the Archdiocese has a number of its ministries involved in the special report. Ms. Schmalz's article quotes Jesuit Father John Piderit, the Archdiocese's new moderator of the curia and vicar for administration. Fr. Piderit says:

“Similar to other groups, Faithful America is a well-funded pressure group that espouses a variety of viewpoints contrary to Catholic teaching. Informed Catholics are aware that such groups regularly promote their viewpoints in the media.... Catholics should treat these people with dignity, but Catholics also should be aware of their agenda and their tactics." 

Fr. Piderit adds:“The message is part of a larger strategy, and the appearance of open letters and demonstrators is planned, not spontaneous.”

In addition to Ms. Schmalz's expose, the paper also contains two related pieces by Mr. Ed Hopfner, the director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Archdiocese. His first piece articulates the Church's teaching on marriage--what it is and what it isn't:

"The marriage vows reflect the love of God shown us in the person of Jesus Christ – freely given, faithfully and completely given, and fruitful (life-giving). Furthermore, through his life, death and resurrection, Christ has elevated marriage to a sacrament, which gives us the grace to overcome our lust – our disordered desire, our tendency to use others, even our spouse, instead of love them – and love our spouse in the way they deserve.

No other kind of 'love relationship' (parent-child, sibling, friendship, same-sex couple, polygamous ... ) has these features – thus no other kind can be a marriage in our understanding. While many states have legalized same-sex marriage, the church cannot recognize them as such. Pope Francis, while reminding us that we cannot judge the heart, only actions, with his famous 'Who am I to judge?' quote, has reiterated the church’s teaching on the unique character of ‘traditional’ marriage, calling same-sex legal marriage a 'destructive attack on God’s plan,' since it omits a key element of marriage, openness to new life."

Mr. Hopfner's second contribution articulates the Church's teaching on conscience:

"The Catholic Church does teach the primacy of individual conscience. It’s like a compass God has given us, to make moral decisions. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that we must always obey our consciences.

However it also tells us we have an obligation of proper formation of conscience, since we are all 'tempted by sin to prefer … (our) own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.' Just like a compass can point in the wrong direction if a magnet is nearby, so our conscience can be pulled in the wrong direction, and make errors in judgment. The catechism tells us this is particularly true when we are subject to 'bad example by others ... (by) a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, (or) rejection of the church’s authority and her teaching.'”

SF Politicians try to dissuade Archbishop Cordileone from attending Marriage March

Good luck with that.

A group of San Francisco politicians is trying to convince Archbishop Salvatore Cordleone, the USCCB's point man for the defense of marriage, from attending June 19's March for Marriage in Washington, DC. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about it this morning, and NBC Bay Area News did a segment on it, too, in which reporter Mark Matthews interviewed me.

They cropped my segment radically, which is a pity. They asked what the feeling about same-sex marriage was at Saints Peter and Paul, and I said that “the feeling here is the feeling of the Catholic Church in general: That marriage is only between a man and a woman, anything else is not marriage.” They only aired the last sentence. You can watch the story below.

They did not air the part where Mr. Matthews said he'd spoken to people at "100 Diamond Street" (which is the address of Most Holy Redemeer) who had said that the Holy Father said not to worry about marriage, and "Who am I to judge?" I put that in context for Mr. Matthews, and added that the Holy Father had said same-sex marriage is a tool of the devil, and that Holy Father, the Bishops of the Church, and Archbishop Cordileone are all on the same page.

NBC's lack of objectivity is non-existent: their text version of the story contains a link to the petition that asks the Archbishop not to attend the March. You can learn more about the March for Marriage by visiting www.marriagemarch.org/

UPDATE: His Excellency is promoting the march in New Orleans.

From LifeSiteNews:

Defending marriage tops agenda on first day of US Bishops spring meeting

Much of the opening day of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops 2014 Spring General Assembly on Wednesday was devoted to the defense and promotion of marriage.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, led the charge by telling his brother bishops: “We are at a critical point in this country as it comes to defense of marriage in the law.”

Archbishop Cordileone outlined the rave situation for the defense of traditional marriage and resulting threatsto religious freedom. He noted that if the Supreme Court takes up one of the state marriage amendment cases, by next June 2015 we could have a decision.

“A negative decision by the Supreme Court would undoubtedly have a profound impact on the nation,” he said. The archbishop ended by promoting the March for Marriage in Washington, DC on June 19.

Pope Francis: The Devil Wants to Destroy the Family

All on the same page...

In our last post, Bishop Paul Loverde quoted Pope Francis on the defense of marriage and the family. And here is what the Holy Father said on June 1 to 52,000 Catholics in Rome, from Vatican Insider:

Francis at Rome’s Olympic Stadium: “The devil wants to destroy the family”

"'Married couples are sinners just like everyone else, but they want to continue with love, in all its fecundity. They continue in the faith, bearing children.' This was Francis’ response to the words pronounced by a young bride who greeted Francis on behalf of all families. 'Let us pray to the Lord and ask him to protect the family in the crisis with which the devil wants to destroy it,' the Pope said. 'Families are the domestic church where Jesus grows in the love of a married couple, in the lives of their children. This is why the devil attacks the family so much,' Francis explained. The devil doesn’t want it and tries to destroy it. The devil tries to make love disappear from there.'”

The family is the image of the Blessed Trinity. We've all heard that at many homilies. That's why the devil hates it so much. He can't do anything about the Trinity, so he tries to destroy it's image, the family. And Pope Francis has been very clear from the beginning on the demonic nature of counterfeit, same-sex "marriage." Remember what he said in 2010, when same-sex "marriage" was being debated in Argentina:

"In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family…At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”

Cardinal Bergoglio continued: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

People don't like to hear that, it hurts, but it is true, despite those who have attempted to spin his "who am I to judge" statement. Let's also remember that in 2009, a year before then-Cardinal Bergoglio's statement our own good Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (then-Bishop of Oakland) said:

"'The ultimate attack of the Evil One is the attack on marriage,' he said. 'If you take marriage apart, everything comes unraveled. It's been frayed at the edges, and now moving more and more toward the center. But you take marriage out, it all comes unraveled. It all comes tumbling down. And again, the evangelicals, they understand that. They understand this is an attack of the Evil One at the core institution.'"

Pope Francis, Archbishop Cordileone, Bishop Loverde, Archbishop Chaput, Bishop Paprocki...they're all on the same page.

Bishop Loverde of Arlington on Marriage and the Defense of the Family

Our Catholic Bishops (including the Bishop of Rome, our Holy Father Pope Francis) are united in defense of marriage and the family, God bless them! Here is a May 28 column by Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington, VA:

Stand for Marriage, Stand for Faith

"Eight years ago, the will of the people of Virginia was expressed clearly and decisively as citizens cast their ballots to safeguard in the state constitution the age-old definition of marriage as between one woman and one man. At that time, along with Richmond Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, I wrote to you about 'the unique and vital role the institution of marriage has in society' and how the result of the referendum would have 'profound significance for the future of the family, the most fundamental social structure of our society.' We noted that marriage 'had a design and purpose long before any nation, religion, or law was established,' and that 'the proper role of both church and state is one of stewardship, to preserve our Creator's great gift of marriage from one generation to the next.' Now, these words are all the more true as the challenge seems ever greater.

In the time since the vote here in Virginia, when only Massachusetts, under pressure by state court order, had redefined its marriage law, seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized marriage between individuals of the same sex. It is true, we have seen public opinion shift to some degree under the relentless advocacy of those who would change marriage from its basic meaning and purpose. This is all the more reason for us to make the case for marriage and its importance to children, society, and, yes, God’s plan for us.

St. John Paul II spoke of the transcendent role of marriage this way:

'In a marriage, a man and a woman pledge themselves to one another in an unbreakable alliance of total mutual self-giving. A total union of love.

Love that is not a passing emotion or temporary infatuation, but a responsible and free decision to bind oneself completely, 'in good times and in bad,' to one's partner. It is the gift of oneself to the other.
The love of husband and wife in God's plan leads beyond itself, and new life is generated, a family is born. The family is a community of love and life, a home in which children are guided to maturity.'

And Pope Francis affirms this basic teaching:

'Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. But the indispensable contribution of marriage to society transcends the feelings and momentary needs of the couple,' (“Evangelii Gaudium,” n. 66).

These words truly convey the Lord’s plan for those called to marriage. It is the ideal, yes, and one we pray that all who enter into this union may achieve. Of course, there are failings sadly visible all around us — adultery and high rates of divorce, broken and suffering families — but that does not change the intrinsic worth of marriage and family willed by the Lord and proclaimed by the Church. Further, we know that traditional marriage bolsters society and is best for children. The social science is clear that children do best when raised by a mother and father in a stable marriage.

I know that some of you have resigned yourselves to the redefinition of marriage, or perhaps are not convinced that defending the true definition of marriage is essential to the well-being of society, but I urge you, by example and prudent and thoughtful words, to stand for marriage at this critical time in our history. This is a fight worth having, and the time is now! As I wrote to you when we voted on marriage here in Virginia, 'Preserving and promoting marriage is an integral component of our shared civic responsibility.'

Finally, I would encourage you to participate in the March for Marriage 2014 in Washington, D.C., being held this year on June 19th. The unchanging reality of marriage is being tested right now, perhaps to the point of no return, and our diocesan participation is very necessary. To learn more, go to marriagemarch.org."

California: "Mother" and "Father" Too Discriminatory

One of our ongoing themes at A Shepherd's Voice is the flight from reality that is central to contemporary society. We've even created the blog post tag "Equality at the expense of sanity" to categorize posts covering this pathology. The flight expresses itself in many ways, but no group is more guilty than homosexualist activists. That particular aspect of the flight is covered extensively in Robert Reilly's new book "Making Gay OK," which I have not yet finished. Reilly explores how the acceptance of homosexuality inevitably becomes a war on the family and requires the upending of society.

Here's a recent example, from Breitbart News:

"In the most recent California effort to 'modernize' family convention, the state Assembly on Thursday passed AB 1951, a new bill that would allow all California parents to list themselves as 'mother,' 'father,' or 'parent' of a child in order to reflect same-sex marriages, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The bill passed by a vote of 51-13, with several Republicans voting in favor. No Republicans spoke in opposition."

Equality California describes the bill as "...allowing parents to choose to self-designate as 'father,' 'mother' or 'parent, eliminating inaccurate designations and confusion for same-sex parents."

We see the wholesale lying required to maintain the fantasy world:"eliminating inaccurate designations and confusion" when the truth is the precise opposite. Also the Satanic attempt to dominate reality:"Self-designate." And of course, while the adults in these households fool themselves, the children will see through it soon enough.

Will the Holy Father be called a bigot? You bet.

By the disordered standards of this day and time, the Holy Father is a bigot. Why? Because he thinks it best that a child be raised by a mother and a father:

"Pope Francis also spoke about the importance of defending children's right 'to grow in a family with a mother and father able to create a healthy environment for their growth and affective maturity,' which includes 'maturing in relationship to the masculinity and femininity of a father and a mother.'"

It's called reality. His Holiness also took aim at the indoctrination of children in government run (and, scandalously "Catholic") schools:

"Parents have a right to determine the appropriate 'moral and religious education' of their children, he said, and should not be subject to school curriculums that are thinly veiled courses of indoctrination into whatever ideology is strongest at the moment.

The pope said he wonders sometimes whether parents are 'sending a child to school or to a re-education camp' like those run by dictatorial governments."

I don't think he really "wonders" if that's the case. He knows it is, he's just choosing a nice way to say it.

He also reiterated Catholic/Natural Law teaching on abortion, calling it an unspeakable crime:

"Pope Francis on Friday reiterated human life is sacred and inviolable during a meeting with Italy’s Pro-Life Movement (Movimento per la Vita), adding every civil right is based on the 'first and most fundamental right,' the right to life: which is not subordinate to any condition, neither qualitative, nor economic, much less ideological.

The Holy Father said one of the most serious risks of the present age is the divorce between economics and morality, so that as the market gives us every technical innovation, it neglects more and more elementary ethical standards.

'It is must be therefore reiterated the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless life, and the unborn child in the womb is the most concrete example of innocence,' said Pope Francis. 'Let us remember the words of the Second Vatican Council: From the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.' ( Gaudium et Spes, 51).

"Heather Has No Daddy" is Just Fine with President Obama

On June 13, marking "Homosexual Pride Month," President Obama hosted two little girls being raised in a household by two women.You can't expect little girls to be familiar with social science data, but that is part of the job description of the President of the United States.

Here is some of the data on children being raised in a household without  a father, from a column today at Christian Post, called "From Father Knows Best to Father Doesn't Matter":

"The U.S. Department of Health notes that 63% of youth suicides come from fatherless homes – five times the normal average. The Center for Disease Control notes that 85% of all children who have mental or behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the normal average. The Journal of Family and Culture once noted an over 100% increase in juvenile self-identification as "homosexual" once a father leaves the home. Pediatrics journal noted in 2011 that homosexual teens are five times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual teens. Fatherless teenage girls are 711% more likely to have children as a teen, 53% more likely to marry as a teen, and 92% more likely to get divorced. Over 50% of women in prison came from fatherless homes. Over two-thirds of teens in chemical dependence programs come from fatherless homes. And, according to the National Principals Association, some 71% of high school drop-outs come from fatherless homes."