Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Authorities in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are showing no signs of caving to the demands of the LGBT “Catholic” community who have been complaining to the local press about not being allowed to contribute their dissenting voices to the World Meeting of Families (WMF) Congress.
Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Chaput is making it quite clear to the LGBT community that he won’t be bullied into allowing them to interfere with the upcoming World Meeting of Families celebration.
Two months ago, the Archbishop told the LGBT community that they were welcomed at the congress – but not to use the event as a “platform . . . to lobby for positions contrary to the life of our Church.”
Some members of the gay community, such as Sherrie Cohen, a former City Council candidate who is openly gay, responded by saying that “the church cannot deny us our right of protest and our right to demand that the church be fully inclusive of the LGBT community.”
Anyone familiar with the history of Catholicism would know that no amount of “demand” from a special interest group will make the Church change its teaching to allow sinful behavior just because it’s the politically correct thing to do.
To emphasize that point, the Archdiocese was not afraid to cause another dust-up in the LGBT community when it decided that a group of four dissident “Catholic” LGBT groups should not be permitted to use a Catholic church to stage a “supplemental conversation” about homosexuality and gender identity.
According to the blatantly anti-Catholic Philadelphia Inquirer, a coalition known as Equally Blessed has been tossed out of St. John the Evangelist Church in Philadelphia because they intended to hold conferences during the week of the WMF Congress which contained content that was not in line with Church teaching.
The coalition, comprised of the radical New Ways Ministry, Fortunate Families, Dignity USA and Call to Action, were planning a Sept. 25 workshop entitled, “TransForming Love: Exploring Gender Identity from Catholic Perspectives.”
Even though the pastor of St. John’s ultimately made the decision to oust the group, they are now complaining that the Archdiocese is forcing them to use space provided by a local Methodist Church instead.
As usual, the Inquirer treated the groups as victims and the Church as the villain, carefully leaving out essential information about the true nature of these groups that might give the public a more accurate picture of the situation.
For instance, as Catholic League president Bill Donohue pointed out, the leaders of New Ways Ministry were “permanently removed” from any “pastoral work involving homosexuals” under Pope John Paul II.
“Dignity USA has also been blasted by bishops. This year, to show what side it is on, it featured as its Keynote Speaker, Dan Savage, the most obscene anti-Catholic in the nation. The Inquirer would never dare print what he has said about popes, bishops, priests, and nuns,” Donohue writes.
Fortunate Families also refuses to accept Catholic teaching on homosexuality and marriage and Call to Action “is so crazy that its members have been excommunicated in some dioceses,” he adds.
He goes on to fault the local press for siding with the likes of this coalition rather than with the “loyal sons and daughters of the Church” – a kind of coverage we should all expect much more of as the Congress nears.
However, we should be careful to take our cues from the Archbishop and remain above the fray with our eyes focused firmly on Christ as we come together next month to celebrate the glorious truth about love, marriage, and family.
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