Archbishop Dolan Defends Fathers, Marriage and Western Civilization

By Deacon Keith Fournier
6/22/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Government presumes to redefine these sacred words at the peril of the common good

While one searches the Constitution in vain to find any "right" of two people of the same sex to marry, one immediately locates the right of people of faith not to have intrusive government interfere with the free exercise of religion as the first of the Bill of Rights.Our strong convictions are not anti anybody, but simply pro marriage.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York

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NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - In the aftermath of the horrid display of vularity and perversion called the "Folsom Street Festival" in New York, it is increasingly clear that there is a struggle for the future underway in the West.

The leaders of the homosexual equivalency movement are committed to a future where homosexual sexual practices are considered "morally equivalent" to the sexual expression of marital love between a man and a woman.

They are seeking to enforce in law a future where the positive or civil law of the Nation will force us all to call to be a marriage what can never be a marriage - or face the police power of the State. They are using the courts and the legislatures to enforce a cultural revolution.

Marriage is not simply a "religious" construct. The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life.

Marriage is the foundation for the family which is the privileged place for the formation of virtue and character in children, our future citizens. The family is the first society, first economy, first school, first civilizing and mediating institution and first government.

In his apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Charity, Pope Benedict summarized the duty of the Catholic faithful when confronted with this assault on authentic marriage: "Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church wrote in 2003, "The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose.

"No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives."

As the State Senate in New York threatens to commit a form of legislative alchemy by calling what can never be a marriage to be one and then tries to compel all of the people of New York to pay homage to a new Edict from a New Caesar, Archbishop Dolan defends marriage, and the family and society founded upon it. In the words of the Archbishop of New York, "You are claiming the power to change what is not into what is, simply because you say so."

The Catholic Church and the message of authentic freedom and true humanism which she proclaims is the only hope for this age being ravaged by a growing counterfeit vision of culture. With great courage, Archbishop Dolan is defending Marriage and the family and society founded upon it.

On Fathers Day he published this wonderful affirmation of the Truth about family on the "Gospel in a Digital Age". This is a great Bishop who deserves our full support and constant prayer:

*****

A Father's Day Reflection

June 18th, 2011 Along with so many other people of faith - and of no particular religion at all - we Catholic pastors and citizens persevere, on this Father's Day, in our prayers and efforts to defend the timeless definition of marriage as the loving, faithful union between one man and one woman leading to a family.

At the conclusion of tomorrow's 10:15 Sunday Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, I'll ask for prayers that this noble endeavor, at the heart of nature's understanding of the common good, and historically protected by our country's normative principles, will succeed.

We appreciate and encourage the legitimate concern of some of our thoughtful elected officials to make sure religious freedom is always guaranteed, but still in principle will oppose any radical bill to redefine the very essence of marriage.

One has to wonder why the proponents of this radical re-definition, who claim overwhelming popular support, would not consider, for example, a referendum to determine the people's will on such a drastic departure from traditional values?

Please let me once again resist the caricature that we are "anti-gay." Our strong convictions are not anti anybody, but simply pro marriage. We would just as vigorously defend marriage from a demand by a heterosexual, or anybody else, to redefine the very nature of marriage to accommodate a relationship beyond that of one man and one woman.

We celebrate Father's Day. The sacred word "father" implies "mother." The terms "father and mother" presume "husband and wife," and imply "children."

These words are so basic that they're the first ones a baby says; so foundational that they're among the first words of the Creator recorded in the Bible.

Government presumes to redefine these sacred words at the peril of the common good.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Fatherhood, Marriage, homosexual, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 18 Comments

Bill
1 year ago
Mr Mann's posting is profoundly disturbing on many levels. First, by suggesting that it is time for the Catholic Church to get out of the health services and adoption business, he ignores the vital role the Church plays in providing these services to this nation. 615 Catholic hospitals account for 12.5% of community hospitals in the United States, and over 15.5% of all U.S. hospital admissions. In 20 states, Catholic health care facilities account for more than 20% of admissions. Catholic health care systems and hospitals are present in all 50 states. The nation is already short of health care systems and providers with even greater demands coming with OBama care! It is astonishingly ignorant to suggest the Catholic Church get out of this business. Moreover, Catholic social service agencies help millions in the United States each year by providing services ranging from pregnancy care, adoption services and foster care to drug and alcohol awareness and prevention services through programs operated by the Catholic Church in every state. Mr Mann's suggestion would deny these services to current beneficiaries.
What is most frightening is the implication for the Catholic Church if it does not heed Mr Mann's advice. Would he be willing to suggest that laws be passed to shut down the Catholic Church's right to provide these vital services to our nation? If that tactic did not work, would he be willing to suggest that the Church's facilities and resources used to provide these services be seized by the government? Having read this posting and his other anti- Catholic rants, my guess is that is exactly where his logic would lead.
Finally Mr Mann, the Catholic Church is not going away. You and those of your ilk may attempt to use legislation, the courts and executive fiat to block the Church from providing vital services to the nation, but you will be met with fierce oppostion. When you take on the Catholic Church you take on our Founder - good luck with that one!!!
Chris Vogel
1 year ago
This is typical of religious people: using the power of the state to impose your beliefs on everyone else--a violation of the Constitution. Happily though, modern secular government no longer permit you your traditional response to difference: torture and mass murder.
Rob
1 year ago
vance, I would argue that Clinton signed that law not because he believe in the sanctity of marriage (his conduct in his own marriage probably supports that), but that was back when the religious right was brand new to the scene and weilding a lot of power. Personally, I think it was a consession to the GOP....a chess move so to speak. Personally, I think just about everything these politicians do is a chess move in the big game they call our country. They only care about votes. I will say this until I'm blue in the face, if our church focused more on ensuring that it's faithful had strong, vibrant, Christian marriages, we probably wouldn't be here. But if we are going to act like the pagans, then what do we expect. We have put our light under a bushel basket. The politicians are going to do whatever they think will get them votes. If we change people's hearts, they will vote that way, if we don't, we get what we see now. It's pretty simple actually.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
Everett Mann

People of faith have already been sued in court over the same sex argument.
vance
1 year ago
Everett, You are right about 'Marriage' not being in the constitution. This is why Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act that your Dear Leader refuses to enforce. You are wrong about laws that mandate Homosexuals as a protected class. If a theologian quotes God from the Bible, he is subject to a fine or jail time or both. If a straight appearing man is hired as a Catholic School Teacher and decides one morning to show up in drag, the law says that the School Principal must allow him to stay on the job. This is the whole idea behind the sick anti-Christian agenda of the Liberal Establishment. This is culture war on Christianity and our nation. We have the benefit of thousands of years of human history that tells us that corrupt societies collapse into disarray. Apparenting you've learned nothing from history.
Everett Mann
1 year ago
While one searches the Constitution in vain to find any "right" of two people of the same sex to marry, one immediately locates the right of people of faith not to have intrusive government interfere with the free exercise of religion as the first of the Bill of Rights.Our strong convictions are not anti anybody, but simply pro marriage.

With your JD, Deacon, please find in the US Constitution where the right for ANYONE to marry exists. I will save you the time; it simply does not exist.

Worse, is you and AB Dolan equate a law addressing same sex marriage as being an attack on the Church. Why? Nothing in NY's law mandates the Catholic churches- or any other churches for that matter- to sanction same sex marriage.

With your law background, you should know that the courts have routinely found in favor of private institutions to not serve people with whom they disagree. A carpenter can refuse to work for a black man. A Baptist can refuse to serve a Catholic. Mens' clubs can exclude women. Only during the hiring phase does an employer have to make decisions based on qualifications not race creed etc. So the Catholic Church will not be forced to do anything.

And I believe this to be the issue here. AB Dolan is concerned that if the gay parishoners decide they want to marry, they will leave the Church and go elsewhere. The tithe from these parishoners will be gone and he will and other ABs will somehow have to find a way to live with less money. Another problem is the Catholic Hospitals will have to serve same sex couples and treat them the same as heterosexual couples; We have already seen the Chicago family services give up adoption.

Maybe the Catholic Church should not be involved in these things any more.
Dennis
1 year ago
Saying "yes" to marriage and "no" to sodomy is fair and equal for everyone. Absolutely no one's rights are diminished. There is no such thing as a moral "right" to do what is morally wrong.
SaraPalen
1 year ago
Nino, the law may sleep, but not forever. We know who wins in the end. We must get back to the times when even the pagans would say, see how they love each other, despite how the early Christians taught against homosexual acts. Rome may burn while the governor in New York fiddles and some may say, bring back the lions, but in the end the truth will not be hidden.

Who is saying gays are inferior?
The Church acknowledges equal dignity in all human beings. That doesn't mean everyones actions, desires and propensities are equal.

then, pedophilia is equal
polygamy=,
bestiality=,
incest=, and so on-

Everything is equal and morality means nothing in the eyes of the law
If morality means nothing, then why should anyone be equal in the first place?
what kind of morality is that? (That 14th amendment, why it must be at odds with Christianity, right? Yeah, most of those guys that made up our laws were a bunch of white guys over the age of 55 spewing their religion on their sleeve. Fanatics, one and all).

except what people of religious conviction believe.
now, that's most inferior. how unenlightened

now the state knows better than I? I think not
that is unAmerican
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
Anyone interested can read more from the book at The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property:

Their book is called: Defending a Higher Law: Why We Must Resist Same-Sex "Marriage" and the Homosexual Movement. I recommend it to anyone including our elected officials. I have asked them to send a copy to some of my elected officials. Hope they did. The book is about $13.00 but worth reading and informative to anyone. It helped me understand more.
Nino Baldino
1 year ago
I suggest everyone concerned about the above to pick up a copy of Orwells..1984 and also the book Brave new world..they both predicted and warned us years ago of a wealthy elite that hates truth,and beauty and innocence and thus Jesus and His Church. We as Jesus warned are the enemies of the establishment..this earth is not Jesus' kingdom. Notice how the more evil we have in office the more money they make afterwards.Prez.Clinton makes millions a year talking on college campuses..the pension of this recent naugthy little boy from NY and his puter messages is enormous ..on and on it goes.as in China we will soon become the outlawed religion while secular humanism will be on the throne,we on the scaffold...have a nice day..................

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