The Black Blessing and the Moral Dissipation of the Episcopal Church

By Andrew M. Greenwell, Esq.
7/16/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

A same-sex union is to marriage what a Black Mass is to the Mass.

On July 9, 2012, at the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Indianapolis, the House of Bishops voted 111-41 to authorize a trial rite for same sex unions for use for the next three years. The next day, by a 171-50 vote, the House of Deputies approved the measure. This means that the rite, entitled "Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant," presents an alternative liturgical rite for same-sex couples in addition to the standard liturgical rite which involves a marriage between a man and a woman.

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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt if the salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." (Matt. 5:13).

On July 9, 2012, at the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Indianapolis, the House of Bishops voted 111-41 to authorize a trial rite for same sex unions for use for the next three years. The next day, by a 171-50 vote, the House of Deputies approved the measure. This means that the rite, entitled "Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant," presents an alternative liturgical rite for same-sex couples in addition to the standard liturgical rite which involves a marriage between a man and a woman.

With about 2 million members, the Episcopal Church of the United States is the 14th largest religious denomination, but it is the largest of the denominations in the United States to approve such a ritual. The U.S. Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion.

The new liturgical rite is not forced upon the bishops, and the mandate specifically says that no one should be punished if he (or she) elects not to use it in his (or her) particular diocese. Moreover, the liturgical rite is to be used only where such same-sex unions are, under civil law, allowed.

This represents another chapter in the moral dissipation of the Episcopal Church as it relates to active homosexuality. The salt began to lose its savor in 1976 when it vaguely declared that homosexuals are "children of God" and are "entitled to full civil rights." At the time, however, the Episcopal Church taught that it expected chastity and fidelity to be the norm in human relations, and that "physical sexual expression" was appropriate only within a monogamous "union of husband and wife."

However, by 1991, some bishops in the Episcopal Church had begun to bless monogamous same-sex unions, and in its 1991 convention, the church was asked to "continue to reconcile the discontinuity between this teaching and the experience of its members." It was unlikely that by this coded language the 1991 convention intended the "experience of its members" to conform to the teaching that "physical sexual expression" should occur only within a monogamous union of husband and wife. Rather, the writing was on the wall.

By the 2000 convention, the Episcopal Church recognized that there was a "variety of human relationships in and outside of marriage," and also recognized that there was "disagreement over the Church's traditional teaching on human sexuality."

By 2006, the homosexual agenda had taken over that church, and in the convention that year, the Episcopal Church called on legislatures to provide civil benefits to same-sex unions and called on its members to oppose any state or federal constitutional amendments intended to prohibit same-sex "marriages" or civil unions.

In 2009, homosexual men and women "in a lifelong committed relationship" were allowed to be ordained, and Episcopal bishops were given the authority to decide whether or not to bless same-sex marriage in their particular dioceses.

By 2012, any effective opposition had collapsed, and an official liturgy to bless same-sex couples and their "marriages," entitled "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant" for use at the various dioceses was approved.

The Episcopal Church shows the truth of Virgil's words, facilis descensus averno. It is easy to walk downhill to the nether-world.

Apparently, in its slow and steady dissipation, the Episcopal Church has plum forgot the Sixth Commandment, which traditionally has been seen as governing the requirement of chastity among all mankind.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (� 2357) teaches, "homosexual acts" are presented in Sacred Scripture as "acts of grave depravity." It references the traditional loci classici: Genesis 19:1-29 (the story of Lot and Sodom), Romans 1:24-27 (homosexual acts involve "impurity," an improper expression of the "lusts of their hearts," the "mutual degradation of their bodies," "degrading passions," and exchanging "natural relations for unnatural"), 1 Cor. 6:10 (practicing homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God), and 1 Tim. 1:10 (it is ungodly and unholy to be a practicing homosexual).

Additionally, the Church cited to Christian tradition which, as anyone with any historical sense knows, "has always declared that 'homosexual ...

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1 - 10 of 26 Comments

abey
11 months ago
Strange people & strange times but not the least surprising for the Bible says it all , even unto them set for condemnation.
FMZ840
11 months ago
What a shame that this part of the Body of Christ has decided to cut itself off from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, rewrite, reinterpret, reinvent a New Gospel for All according to the mindset of the modern age (the world)... but as a Roman Catholic I will say, in my opinion, many of our own Catholic Bishops (past, present and most likely future) are NOT Shepherds but blind CEO's who have lost their moral authority as well... I can name names and bring up 100's of examples but why... we know about the dirty laundry revealed and I am sure more skeletons will be unearthed to make our church the center of attention AGAIN. And yes, many of our bishops will make a public stance or do the over kill after the fact - when all the horse have fled the stable.

So let us pray for the Body of Christ (regardless of body part) especially for the Episcopal and Roman Churches that have lost sight of the Master Jesus Christ!
Judy Claar
11 months ago
Indeed the World Is Changing........But Christ and His Word, Does Not Change. Blessings....
Michael D. Mann
11 months ago
I think, the Episcopal Church, is failing. I think it's leaders have embraced the modern world rather than God's world. It's sad that so many decent people go along with such empty teaching.
Diane
11 months ago
Greg- the Episcopalian church is being destroyed from within, and there is no shepherds cry.Pray for them then turn them over to God. To Gail Finke-The Holy Spirit draws people to worship together as a group, with the same beliefs To see oneself only as an individual and not a believer of all the beliefs of the church you attend is to be spiritually isolated. The Holy Spirit calls no one to that. Even some of the early church saints, called hermits, believed as the rest of the church body believed and united their prayers with the rest of the Church. They did not live in spiritual isolation from God OR the other believers.
Linda Rowland
11 months ago
The people who are attacking the Catholic Church for not agreeing to homosexual couples adopting children or to homosexual marriage are the same people attacking the Church for the abuse of children which was almost completeley homosexual. How is that for hypocracy?
Theresa H.
11 months ago
May God deliver us from entertaining such depraved ideas--and the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah! It is, indeed, fearful! Yes, there are people who have these "inclinations," but there is also help for them (e.g.,the "Courage" apostolate). Sadly, this is what happens when the mind is "darkened," when one turns away from the Word of the Lord and prefers the darkness to the light. The Episcopal Church will come to its end in due time.
Andrew M Greenwell
11 months ago
@Joe: I certainly agree with you that we always be charitable and always inviting others into full communion with the Church. I have a great fondness for the Anglican liturgy, was once a member of the Episcopal Church, was very supportive of the Anglican use and visited those parishes in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. I also concur that we must love all persons, certainly not excluding the homosexual person. Here, I follow St. Augustine who (in his City of God) said: "For this reason, the man who lives by God's standards and not by man's, must needs be a lover of the good, and it follows that he must hate what is evil. Further, since no one is evil by nature, but anyone who is evil is evil because of a perversion of nature, the man who lives by God's standards has a duty of "perfect hatred" (Psalm 139:22) towards those who are evil; that is to say, he should not hate the person because of the fault, nor should he love the fault because of the person. He should hate the fault, but love the person. And when the fault has been cured there will remain only what he ought to love, nothing that he should hate." Sapientia et pax et amor omnibus.
Diane
11 months ago
A sad day for the Episcopalian Church indeed. They have changed a basic doctrine. For 500 years they taught that homosexuality was gravely wrong. Now they say they were wrong before and are now "enlightened". If that's the case then what were they for 500 years, wrong and in the dark? My, my, such hypocrisy. Pardon the cynicism, but I think they are trying to line up to be the theocracy religion of this country, just like they are in Britain. You know, the official State religion.They are lining up their new doctrines to comply with the Socialist Obama. What else can be expected from a "religion" founded by the British States head, Henry VIII, in order to serve the State? How hypocritical and appalling! Anyone who values separation of Church and State should beware. Satan's at his old tricks again. Let's get the Socialists out and the so-called Episcopalian "Church" will fall like the house of cards it really is.
DLL
11 months ago
As a sinner,I would love a Church to confirm me in my sins,to tell me that if I just keep justifying them,then one day the Church will come around to my way of thinking and acting,to confirm that fact that they must be wrong and in the end,I was right. This is a wonderful reason to be a member of the Episcopal Church and to leave the Catholic one for good? This is why the Catholic Church must stand by Orthodox teachings and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Flip flopping on moral issues and principles of Christian doctrine and dogma,creates cult communities of believers,not a community of the faithful Christians in communion with God and with each other.

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