A reader, Tom Luce, has drawn my attention to a petition in response to Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s plea to President Obama to “push the reset button on your Administration‟s approach to DOMA.” We know that the majority of Catholics in the US (and elsewhere) in fact support gay marriage, and disagree with the CDF on homosexuality. In appealing for Obama to support the discrimination which is inherent in DOMA, Archbishop Dolan and the other bishops who have waded into this debate, are out of step with the Catholic Church ( as represented by all the baptized, not just the oligarchy). The petition, which will be presented to both the President and Archbishop Dolan, calls for Catholic support for the President and against DOMA. I particularly like the clause which reminds the bishops of canon law ( Canon 212 par. 3), on the right and duty of Catholics, for the good of the church, to draw the attention of their pastors to their opinions on actions which they disagree with.
I believe this petition is worth supporting.
I place here the full text of the petition. Go to the website, DOMA: We Catholics Support President Obama to sign it - and share the link with your friends and associates.
DOMA: WE CATHOLICS SUPPORT PRES. OBAMA
We, the undersigned members of the Catholic Church:
-wish to express our conscientious support of President Barack Obama as he moves to have DOMA declared unconstitutional;
-believe in conscience that same gender-oriented people (SGO’s) are equal morally and civilly to opposite oriented people (OGO’s);
-consider the relentless campaign of our church leadership and their supporters not only continues to condemn SGO’s as “intrinsically disordered” if they follow their God-given nature, but also seeks to deny their civil rights to marriage;
- regret that this campaign is not a neutral campaign but carries with it moral condemnations that add to the public damage to SGO’s, leads the young to suicide and abets violence against so many;
- firmly believe that like so many fundamental issues that our church has vehemently fought against, homosexuality will become an accepted, natural way of being, endowed with the capacity for holiness as valid as OGO’s;
- assure our bishops of our respect for their position and their right to bear witness to it in the public arena;
- publish our opinion invoking Canon 212 par. 3, stating that the faithful, “have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to their sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church…”, in no way intending to rend any of the fabric of our communion, but rather intending to bring our communion to a fuller, open examination of the issue;
- request all church authorities to respect our consciences and to find a just process for all the faithful to dialog about this issue without fear of retaliation as we seek now to do the least harm to our SGO’s, sisters and brothers, and eventually find salvific unity on this issue.
Sincerely,-
Related articles
- Obama Expects DOMA Ruling ‘Soon’ (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
- Gay / Lesbian Church Weddings for Denmark, 2012. (queeringthechurch.com)
- In the News: U.S. Catholic Bishops Blast Obama re: DOMA, Pavone’s Finances (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)
- “On This Issue, Archbishop Nienstedt, You Are Wrong” (thewildreed.blogspot.com)
- Mr. Dolan Writes His Fellow Bishops: Can’t Let the Label “Bigot” Stick to Us (bilgrimage.blogspot.com)
- “Wrong and Impractical” (thewildreed.blogspot.com)
- Progressive Perspectives on Archbishop Nienstedt’s Anti-Gay Activism (thewildreed.blogspot.com)
