Pray for Courageous Bishop Thomas Tobin, the Defender of Marriage and Family

5/12/2012

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violation of the moral law and, thus, seriously sinful. A civil union can never be accepted as a legitimate alternative to matrimony."

The Bishop was correct, courageous and prophetic. He was also pilloried by the media. Horrid efforts were made to ridicule and marginalize him. I covered the incident in a series of articles. He was simply being a faithful bishop. On June 3, 2003 the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger issued a directive entitled "Considerations regarding Proposals to Give Legal recognition To Unions Between Homosexual persons." It clearly rejected any effort to give equivalent legal status to homosexual unions. It restated the unbroken tradition of the Catholic Christian Church for two thousand years. It sought to help all Bishops to direct Catholics in Public Life:

"The present Considerations do not contain new doctrinal elements; they seek rather to reiterate the essential points on this question and provide arguments drawn from reason which could be used by Bishops in preparing more specific interventions, appropriate to the different situations throughout the world, aimed at protecting and promoting the dignity of marriage, the foundation of the family, and the stability of society, of which this institution is a constitutive element. The present considerations are also intended to give direction to Catholic politicians by indicating the approaches to proposed legislation in this area which would be consistent with Christian conscience"

The recent events leading to President Obama announcing his intention to undermine marriage and become the de facto head of the Homosexual Equivalency Movement, reveal the serious risk we face as a Nation. There is a cultural revolution underway led by those on the fringes of the homosexual activist community who will stop at nothing less than legal "equivalency" between homosexual unions and true marriage.

Having learned from the verbal engineering of the movement to make the taking of innocent life in the womb through abortion "a right", they are master manipulators of the language. They have reframed their anti-marriage movement as a movement for "marriage equality" much like the proponents of abortion succeeded in calling killing the unborn a "choice."

Catholics must be honest about some in our own house. Some Catholic Politicians undermine the Church, do violence to the truth, cause scandal, and put their own souls in jeopardy. They hide behind a self erected "public/private" dichotomy in rejecting their duty to defend the right to life and protect marriage and the family and society founded upon it. They engage in sophistry to explain away their flagrant error. They are not only being unfaithful to the truths proclaimed by their own Church, they are undermining the common good. The 2003 directive spoke forcefully to these folks:

"If it is true that all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians. Faced with legislative proposals in favor of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are to take account of the following ethical indications."

"When legislation in favor of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral."

The directive addressed the whole of civil society: "Since this question relates to the natural moral law, the arguments that follow are addressed not only to those who believe in Christ, but to all persons committed to promoting and defending the common good of society."

The document presents a lucid, solid, powerful defense of the truth about marriage and family. Yes, it presents this truth from within biblical revelation and the Christian Tradition. However, like all of the Church's Social Doctrine, it also does so from the order of right reason, the natural law, the biological and anthropological order, the social order and the legal order. That is because truth is truth. Every serious Catholic should read it and learn from it how to defend the truth about marriage.

The Prefect for the Congregation, who issued the directive, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, is now Pope Benedict XVI. He continues to insist that Catholics in political life defend marriage and family. Just as Catholic politicians must support the right to life for unborn persons they must also support true marriage.

On May 10, 2012, the day after the President of the United States announced his "evolution" to a position which undermines marriage and the family and society founded upon it, Bishop Tobin issued the following statement. It can be found on the Diocesan website here.

"The decision of President Barack Obama to endorse same-sex marriage is extremely disappointing, but not at all surprising. This is a very divisive and devious president who, from the beginning of his administration has actively pursued a liberal, secular agenda that discards fundamental moral values including respect for human life, and religious freedom. This is a sad day in American history. Even the President of the United States does not have the authority to redefine the sacred institution of marriage that has been given to us by God."

Once again we see the mettle of this good man and witness the heroic example of one more Bishop. I ask every reader of Catholic Online throughout the whole world, to pray for courageous Bishop Thomas Tobin, the Defender of Marriage and Family. We need to learn from him to be strong in the struggle ahead.

- - -

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: Bishop Thomas Tobin, orthodoxy, Diocese of Rhode Island, marriage, homosexual marriage, gay marriage, Obama, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 20 Comments

Kathy
1 year ago
Oh boy, my favorite subject......yikes!!!! KarlVDH, while this may not hurt you directly, it does hurt the institution of marriage itself. Our faith and family centers around marriage, and for that to be somehow made meaningless by having two women or two men...or one man and several women...whatever it may be....instead of one man and one woman, who come together as a couple to raise a family in the traditional mannor, dishonors
God and what He has joined together in Holy matrimony. In the long run it does hurt us all, because its not right for one, and sinful for another to not be married as a man and a women. We either believe in Gods law, or we don't. I choose to believe that God is right in all things.
KarlVDH
1 year ago
Jane, respectfully, that's nonsense. It doesn't hurt my kids, my neighborhood or my family at all. Know why? because I'm a responsible parent, and I CAN handle teaching my OWN kids if there's something around that's contrary to our beliefs. I CAN make sure I know who they're around, where they are and what they're doing. I CAN teach them that above all, they're to treat people with dignity and respect, even if they cannot agree with or personally participate in what they do or say, and I can ABSOLUTELY be a grown-up and take responsibility myself for what comes into my home.
So, in short, the answer is obvious: we're Catholic. There's no threat. Nothing about gay marriage threatens me or my family at all.
Unless I'm a lazy, good for nothing and expect the Church, the Government, the schools or simply society to be responsible for my family and our values... instead of ME.
jane
1 year ago
TO KarlVDH:

It hurts your family by causing spiritual and psychological harm to your children and the community’s children by being exposed to a sinful and depraved lifestyle, and perpetuating the lie that homosexual acts are normal, healthy, and good. Gay/lesbian couples live in our neighborhoods; their children go to school with our children. Families commonly socialize with one another. The children of the homosexual “marriage/union” are being exposed to and indoctrinated into a sinful and depraved lifestyle. Whenever sin is committed, the whole community and society at large are affected. Because the GLBT community is asking for their disordered lifestyle to be given legal equivalency to marriage, we, individually and as a society, are being asked to participate in their sin. And by supporting the legislation to validate their lifestyle, we are providing the occasion for them to continue sinning. If the issue is going to be brought to the community to be voted on, I am going to vote according to my conscience informed by my Catholic faith, and support those running for office who do the same.
KarlVDH
1 year ago
I have to ask, because I see the rhetoric all the time. Here, marriage is being "defended." So is the family. Often, we read about how the family and marriage are "threatened" by gay marriage.

May I ask HOW?

I'm married with kids. Fine family. If a gay couple gets married, how exactly does it affect my marriage or family? What exactly is the threat here to my family? What are we being "defended" against? Specifically? What happens to my family and my marriage if a gay couple gets married?

Anyone?
billbob
1 year ago
Somebody tell me if Joe Biden's remarks are enough to bring excommunication. Please.
ANNE
1 year ago
Yes, pray for this good Bishop, and all Catholic Bishops.
Please also pray that they actively encourage and promote the reading and studying of the "CATECHISM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH, Second Edition" so all will accurately know the truth of what the Church teaches and what Catholics are required to adhere to.
All sexual activity outside of marriage (- defined as being between one man and one woman) is a Mortal Sin.
If all Bishops in the USA make all their Priests and Nuns and Laity read the CCC - there will be no room for disagreement on matters of Faith and Morals.
Both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict want us to read the CCC.
“….the Catechism has raised throughout the world, even among non-Christians, and confirms its purpose of being presented as a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life.” – Pope John Paul II (pg xiv)
abey
1 year ago
To the day when man thinks himself to be God in the "feel good" of Liberals except that unto God it becomes the Abomination of desolations which in the literal sense mean the height of Pride far surpassing the truth, in simple understanding how can a person be God if they need help to find their own own back & Obama's way is to define it through a civil which in the truth is a backdoor to a (spiritual) illegal union, illegal because by the origin it does not exist which is to a fiddle hole way that does not go to heaven, for nothing does go to its required destiny other than The Word . A complacent Catholic/Christian to the word thinks his Church to be a Club like the masons to the Biblical words of the great falling away., when the flood be against, dip your oars.& hold the boat against the tide, done in the faith.
j
1 year ago
Thanks for your article Deacon Fournier! I agree wholeheartedly. We need more courageous bishops and clergy standing up in the pulpit and elsewhere, willing to defend life and marriage. Men like Tobin, Chaput, and Dolan have the wisdom, intelligence and foresight to see where we are heading. Would that more join them. I have some observations regarding our response to the recent stance our president took on gay marriage and before that the HHS ruling and even before on abortion. I have just finished reading Apostoli's Fatima for Today. I found a reference to it here at catholic.org and am grateful for the lead. To those who have yet to read it, please do so. Read it while keeping in mind what we are now experiencing in our country. Upon reading Fatima for Today, it seems to me that what Our Blessed Mother said to the children back in 1917 is as relevant now as then. She called the children and really all of us to prayer and penance. Remember when the HHS ruling was first announced? It seemed as though all priests and bishops were united in calling for the laity to pray and fast in response to the ruling. Since then little has been said, at least in our church, in regards to how best to respond to this crisis, other than the usual call for letters to our representatives in congress. There has also been an announcement about a fortnight of action beginning on July 4, but can't we be doing something now? I can't help but see that there is little or no notice of the Religious Freedom Rally being held before the 4th of July. The next rally is scheduled for the 8th of June in cities throughout the country. The first was March 23rd. Can't we publicize these more and urge more Catholics and other folks to participate? It also seems to me that faithful Catholics in the pews are hungry for direction. As one example of what can be done, isn't it time that we took to heart what Our Blessed Mother called for way back in 1917? Please allow me to make the following suggestion. We can start with public recitation of the Rosary both before and after daily Mass, in small as well as large groups. Some who are reading this may be saying, we do recite the rosary in our parish. My response is if you do, then why not in all parishes throughout this great country of ours?
Robert Burford
1 year ago
Hard to follow the sermon of John Paul II. Interesting how the daily reading for today hits home for the topic. Today 05/11/2012. reading from Acts 15:29 reads." you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from ILLICIT MARRIAGES. Avoid these, and you will do what is RIGHT. Farewell. "
KarlVDH
1 year ago
Maybe someone could show me where Jesus promises us a happ, comfortable place to live while in this life... or the part where we ought to trust one political leader over another... or the fact that politics should even be the sphere in which real Christians live and move to make a difference in this world.
Anyone? Any scripture reference would be great. Otherwise, we spend way, way too much time whining and moralizing about Caesar and politics, too precious little DOING anything to improve lives around us.
We have it way too easy in America. And it shows.

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