The Bishops of Victoria speak out against same sex 'marriage'

Low EF Mass at Caulfield North, Melbourne and the priest giving the sermon firmly backs up his Bishops in their stand against same sex marriage and goes on to ask for prayers for the success of negotiations with the SSPX due to reach a conclusion on April 12th.

It is Palm Sunday and flocks of cockatoos circle above the church and the raucous screeching echoes the demonic cries that must have emanated from the underworld when Our Lord rode in majesty into Jerusalem on the back of a white colt ass, unridden by any man, but the priest, this time aided by the sound system, makes himself heard above the hellish clamour and urges his flock to pick up a copy of the letter from the Bishops and to do more, to write and lobby their political representatives.

Here is the letter signed by:

Archbishop Denis Hart
Bishop Peter Connors
Bishop Leslie Thomlinson
Bishop Christopher Prowse
Bishop Peter Elliott
Bishop Vincent Long


Dear Brothers and Sisters

We Australians live in a democracy which rightly places great value on human rights and protecting others from unjust discrimination.

We Catholics also believe deeply that God loves human beings very much. He especially loves those who are wounded and suffering. God loves each of us so much despite the fact that we are all sinners, make mistakes and often do not live up to our responsibilities.

The Church takes seriously that we must live the Gospel itself in order to be a credible witness to others. Deeply aware of Christ's mission of compassion and justice - the Church cannot ignore the responsibility to speak the truth in love.
Sometimes reminding people about the truth of the human person is one such task for all of us.

Some now seek to alter the very nature of the human person through legislation. Our Australian society is now at a critical turning point where truth is at stake.

We speak of current debates about the nature of marriage in our public life. Often it seems as if this matter is simply about human rights and the removal of discrimination.
But in addition to 'human rights' there are also 'human responsibilities'.

We are all blessed by God with the gift of our sexuality.The design itself comes from the Creator of Life.
We all have a responsibility to follow that design.

The Church firmly believes that marriage is founded on the wonderful fact of sexual difference and its potential for new life. Without this there would be no human beings and no future. Bringing new human life into the world is founded on the loving union in difference of male and female.
Children are best nurtured by a mother and father.

As one theologian has put it eloquently: "The God of love can be present in every true love. But 'gay marriage' is impossible because it attempts to cut loose marriage from its grounding in our biological life.
If we do that we deny our humanity."

This will be a 'hard saying' for some. It in no way implies that the Church accepts discrimination against other's human rights. Nor does it mean we fail to understand the complex nature of human sexual identity and desire.
It implies no lack of respect for people who identify as 'gay' and 'lesbian'. As Cardinal Francis George of Chicago recently pointed out......'we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian......these are people we know and love and are part of our families'.

However as fellow citizens our concern is for the future of our whole society. We ask you to seriously reflect and pray about the ramifications for current and future generations, of legislation which completely redefines marriage.

A grave mistake will be made if such legislation is enacted. The Government cannot redefine the natural institution of marriage, a union between a man and a woman. The Government can regulate marriage, but this natural institution existed long before there were any governments. It cannot be changed at will.

The argument that same sex marriage supports marriage is wrong. The natural institution will not only be changed, it will be re-defined absolutely. It will become something different. Such a re-definition will undermine rather than support marriage.

Catholics, as responsible citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia, have a duty to remind their political representatives that much is at stake for the common good in this debate.
We urge you to exercise that right and make direct representation to your Members of Parliament.

We encourage you to respond to the on-line survey set up by the Federal Government at their website: www.aph.gov.au/marriage.
The closing date for responses is Friday April 20th 2012. The survey contains three statements with which you can agree or disagree. t then asks if you support the proposed changes to the two separate Bills, to which you answer yes or no. If you choose you can simply answer these few questions in less than one minute.
The survey also provides space (maximum of 250 words) for you to explain your views.
Some points that you might like to consider including are set out at www.cam.org.au/lifemarriagefamily/

Our Australian society will only flourish if the true meaning of marriage is preserved for future generations.


With every blessing.......



Hmm....it seems a little wordy to me and with not enough focus on the spiritual aspect of marriage; it would be good if Bishops could address their flocks as 'Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ' rather than the secular, "Dear Brothers and Sister"....but, hey, the Bishops have spoken and that must be for the good!

Was Orwell writing about Communism....?



Did he mean an Episcopal boot?


...or was it really Catholicism?

Extract from Animal Farm.....

".....And yet the animals never gave up hope. More, they never lost, even for an instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal Farm. They were still the only farm in the whole county-in all England!-owned and operated by animals.
Not one of them, not even the youngest, not even the newcomers who had been brought from farms ten or twenty miles away, ever ceased to marvel at that. And when they heard the gun booming and saw the green flag fluttering at the masthead, their hearts swelled with imperishable pride, and the talk turned always towards the old heroic days, the expulsion of Jones, the writing of the Seven Commandments, the great battles in which the human invaders had been defeated. None of the old dreams had been abandoned. The Republic of the Animals which Major had foretold, when the green fields of England should be untrodden by human feet, was still believed in. Some day it was coming: it might not be soon, it might not be with in the lifetime of any animal now living, but still it was coming. Even the tune of Beasts of England was perhaps hummed secretly here and there: at any rate, it was a fact that every animal on the farm knew it, though no one would have dared to sing it aloud. It might be that their lives were hard and that not all of their hopes had been fulfilled; but they were conscious that they were not as other animals. If they went hungry, it was not from feeding tyrannical human beings; if they worked hard, at least they worked for themselves. No creature among them went upon two legs. No creature called any other creature "Master." All animals were equal.

One day in early summer Squealer ordered the sheep to follow him, and led them out to a piece of waste ground at the other end of the farm, which had become overgrown with birch saplings. The sheep spent the whole day there browsing at the leaves under Squealer's supervision. In the evening he returned to the farmhouse himself, but, as it was warm weather, told the sheep to stay where they were. It ended by their remaining there for a whole week, during which time the other animals saw nothing of them. Squealer was with them for the greater part of every day. He was, he said, teaching them to sing a new song, for which privacy was needed.

It was just after the sheep had returned, on a pleasant evening when the animals had finished work and were making their way back to the farm buildings, that the terrified neighing of a horse sounded from the yard. Startled, the animals stopped in their tracks. It was Clover's voice. She neighed again, and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. Then they saw what Clover had seen.

It was a pig walking on his hind legs.

Yes, it was Squealer. A little awkwardly, as though not quite used to supporting his considerable bulk in that position, but with perfect balance, he was strolling across the yard. And a moment later, out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs, all walking on their hind legs. Some did it better than others, one or two were even a trifle unsteady and looked as though they would have liked the support of a stick, but every one of them made his way right round the yard successfully. And finally there was a tremendous baying of dogs and a shrill crowing from the black cockerel, and out came Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him.

He carried a whip in his trotter.

There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was as though the world had turned upside-down. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened-they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of-

"Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!"

It went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs had marched back into the farmhouse".

And Archbishop Nichols' statement this week?

"We would want to emphasise that civil partnerships actually provide a structure in which people of the same sex who want a lifelong relationship [and] a lifelong partnership can find their place and protection and legal provision,
............
As a Church we are very committed to the notion of equality so that people are treated the same across all the activities of life. The Church holds great store by the value of commitment in relationships and undertakings that people give. Stability in society depends upon the reliability of commitments that people give. That might be in offering to do a job but especially in their relationships with one another. Equality and commitment are both very important and we fully support them".

 And the Ten Five Commandments....

1. No Catholic shall practice homosexuality to excess

2. No Catholic school should teach explicit sex education  on Mondays

3. No Catholic should approve of euthanasia very often

4. No Catholic priest should celebrate a Mass for homosexuals except at
    Warwick Street

5. No Catholic should be deprived of the Latin Mass except in all parishes


A tip of the Biretta  to Fathers, Ray, Tim and Z and many other bloggers who have covered this subject.

This man has done more for Christianity than most of our Bishops

Adrian Smith, employee of Trafford Housing Trust in Manchester, made a statement to the effect that Churches should not be forced to carry out same sex weddings.

A Facebook entry crosses the divide
between public and private but, it was
an entry made in Mr Smith's own time

That statement was made privately (if Facebook entries can be deemed private) and it was done in his own time, not that of his employers.

As a result he has been demoted to a lesser position with a corresponding reduction in salary.

I do not know which Christian denomination Mr Smith belongs to, it does not actually matter in this context, he has offered up his livelihood for what he knows to be true - he has become a "dry" martyr!

I do know that his lead is a brave one; it takes courage to stick your head up above the parapet, especially if you believe that measures will be taken against you.
Before long I can envisage civil prosecutions being applied as a result of anyone swimming against the flow of sewage that society forces upon us.

Well done Mr Smith, you have my prayers and, I am sure the prayers of many others to support and strengthen you.

What can we as Catholic bloggers expect in the future? Much of the same I suspect.

Now, we await a move from our Church leaders. Will one or some of them (or, even 20% of them - see Ecumenical Diablog) stand up in front of the cameras and state that the Trafford Housing Trust and other organisations like them are wrong. That David Cameron is also wrong to pursue his goal of same sex marriage for homosexuals and lesbians and, before long, for those who might wish to wed their poodle or pet goat.

If Cardinal Heenan was alive I can assure you that every portal in the media would have been kicked open by now and the good Cardinal would have stated the position of the Church clearly and unequivocally - none of this "Who knows what's down the road?" nonsense.

As a matter of fact, I do know what is down the road if we continue along this path...it involves hellfire and damnation!