By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
A Rhode Island bishop is calling upon Catholics to shirk their “abysmal” apathy because much can be done to check the advance of those who are “fiercely determined” to impose homosexual marriage on America.
Writing in The Rhode Island Catholic, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence addressed the “relentless” political march toward homosexual marriage in Rhode Island and across the nation, warning that same sex “marriage” will endanger religious freedom.
“They’re fiercely determined to impose their politically correct agenda on all the citizens of the state – human history, culture and moral principles not-withstanding. Anyone who opposes them is quickly labeled a bigot,” he wrote.
Despite these grave threats, the typical Rhode Island Catholic’s response was indifferent and cited rationalizations such as not wanting to judge people.
Bishop Tobin introduced what he called the “champagne principle.” Saying that not every wine has the unique characteristics of champagne, the bishop argued that someone who relabeled a bottle of Chianti and tried to sell it as champagne would be arrested for fraud.
Similarly, those who seek to redefine marriage and “to usurp the title ‘marriage’ for their morally bankrupt relationships,” are “committing an act of fraud,”he charged. “It’s insulting to those who have entered the authentic, sacred and time-honored institution of marriage over the years.”
“The gay culture continues to seep into our popular culture, cleverly claiming credibility,” he said.
He charged that President Barack Obama’s special invitations to homosexual families to participate in the White House Easter Egg Hunt was “just another not-too-subtle attempt to ignore the objective immorality of the situation and present gay couples as normal and happy as every other couple.”
He went on to say: “[G]ay marriage will affect you and you should be concerned. And there’s a lot we can do . . .”
He suggested that if just five or ten percent of Rhode Island’s Catholic population became involved on this issue “we could have an enormous impact and help Rhode Island maintain its moral sanity.”
He encouraged Catholics to become aware of political action on the issue, to write letters to the editor, and to encourage their representatives to “defend marriage and family values.
“And you can pray fervently that God will help us in this critical struggle on behalf of morality and common sense,” he added.
If the imposition of homosexual marriage happens in Rhode Island, the bishop concluded, “It’ll be our fault… simply because our abysmal apathy allowed it to happen.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com
