The Unfortunate Legacy of Governor Mitt Romney
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y Fr. Robert J. Carr
If there is anything Governor Mitt Romney can count on to be his legacy, it is that he is the Governor of the first state possibly (at this time) to approve "gay marriage". I am sure that is a reputation he just does not want; however, he has no choice.
Recently, Romney wrote in the Wall Street Journal a "how to" of sorts to other governors and legislators on how not to have the same legacy. It is an ominous warning that is too late for him. Yet, he is not entirely faultless in this case.
It became clear as the Crisis in the Church came about that there were several agendas behind the scenes here in Boston. "Gay marriage" was one; the green light for government supported embryonic, stem cell research was another. Silencing the Church and bringing down Cardinal Law were essential to make those agendas realities. You have read my accounts of the harassment and persecution suffered by innocent Catholics seeking to attend mass on Sunday. During that whole experience no politician had the courage to stand up to this anti-Catholicism. Yet, Romney went several steps further than just remaining silent during the whole ordeal suffered by his own Catholic constituents.
When His Excellency, Sean O'Malley was installed as Archbishop of Boston, Romney did not attend that installation mass at Holy Cross Cathedral. He was on vacation in another New England State. When twelve men protested the Catholic voice against "gay marriage" by standing up during a Catholic mass, kissing each other and then marching out to the waiting cameras of Boston's WB 56 and FOX 25, (a felony, by the way) Romney again said nothing. Yet, when the Massachusetts Attorney General's report came out stating that the bishops committed no indictable offense, Romney demanded that the state find a way to put them in jail. Finally, it was on his watch that the Massachusetts Department of Corrections saw the murder of John Geoghan in the most secure facility in the Commonwealth. Romney has yet to demand that anyone go to jail for that murder. The report has been turned over to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, we will look to see his reaction when that investigation ends.
It is one thing to be anti-Catholic, it is another to support the denial of the rights guaranteed under the constitution to innocent Catholics. Governor Romney and other politicians in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts turned blind eyes to their constitutional duty to protect the rights of citizens from January 2001 to the present. This attempt to silence the Catholic voice backfired. Now, the same groups who supported the harassment of innocent Catholics have become the same groups who have made him the Governor of the "Gay" State.
What makes it worse is that Romney is part of a legacy. Two of his predecessors, William Weld and Boston College Alumnus A. Paul Cellucci both liberal Republicans, made it clear they supported gay rights, abortion and the death penalty. In fact three of the four activist, supreme judicial court justices were appointed by Cellucci (Chief Justice Marshall and Justice Cowin) and Weld (Ireland). The Fourth, (Greaney) is a Michael Dukakis appointee.
Cellucci Appointee and Chief Justice Margaret Marshall made it clear in her opinion that Marriage was not about pro-creation, but "the exclusive and permanent commitment of the marriage partners to one another, not the begetting of children, that is the sine qua non of marriage."
Romney's silence, while innocent Catholics suffered persecution at the hands of professional protesters, gay activists and, of course, a few legitimate victims was to be a financial boon to the Commonwealth. Silence the Church and you open the door to stem cell, embryonic research and all the money it brings into state coffers. It backfired. Support the silencing of the Roman Catholic Church as did Romney and you become the Governor of the "Gay" State.
Make no mistake about it, there will be a flight from this state because its liberalism has become untenable to many citizens and companies. This flight will severely damage the Commonwealth's economy. The Boston Globe reported recently that Massachusetts now lags in receiving money for research. You may remember that Massachusetts is also the home of Harvard University, Boston College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University, each sporting elements which actively supported the attack on innocent Catholics.
This can serve as a warning to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the process designed to bring down Cardinal Law in Boston is now being used against Cardinal Mahoney in Los Angeles. Remain silent as the innocent are persecuted, Governor Schwarzenegger, and your political future will become a huge question mark too.
Romney chose not to defend the freedom of innocent Catholics. He and Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healy have made it clear that Catholic bashing is a right in Massachusetts. I have no idea what the two of them will do at the next Republican National Convention; however, they will be known as the team who left the barn door open so that Catholics would be silenced and gays can marry. I am not sure they will be well received especially by the practicing Catholics in that party. I am not so sure the Evangelicals will embrace him with open arms either, after all the gay community declared war at the UN on Catholics and Evangelicals. The Evangelicals in Massachusetts have for the most part been untouched because the Catholic Church is the first gay target here.
Clearly, Romney, is an improvement over Weld and Cellucci, but that is not saying much. He has been left with a legacy that began with a declaration of war against the very Church that Jesus Christ founded. It looks like the Governor, like Pilate, lost in the long run.
Contact
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
http://www.catholicismanew.org
MA, US
Fr. Robert J. Carr - Parochial Vicar, 617 542-5682
frbobcarr@catholicismanew.org
Keywords
Persecution Gay Marriage, Mitt Romney, Massachusetts
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