….In a statement released on the Diocese of Phoenix’s website on August 10th, Bishop Olmsted wrote that the “misguided decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, striking down as unconstitutional the California Marriage Law called Proposition 8, cannot be passed over in silence.”

“Labeling ]]> Amazingly clear teaching on homosexual marriage from Bishop Olmsted in Phoenix, AZ.

….In a statement released on the Diocese of Phoenix’s website on August 10^th, Bishop Olmsted wrote that the “misguided decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, striking down as unconstitutional the California Marriage Law called Proposition 8, cannot be passed over in silence.”

“Labeling homosexual ‘marriage’ as ‘a right’ is not an enlightened idea of the 21st century,” the bishop asserted. “It is a novel form of a resurrected falsehood from more than 2000 years ago. It will not stand the test of time, just as it cannot withstand popular opinion now.”

“In every state in our nation where this issue has been put to a vote of the people (31 of the 50), traditional marriage has won,” Olmsted noted. “It is only some activist judges, exercising raw judicial power over and against the will of the people, who have pushed their agenda of so-called ‘homosexual marriage.’” 

The bishop also warned that what “is at stake here is cultural sanity and viability. Defending the clear nature and purpose of marriage is not discrimination against homosexual persons.”

“Why did God create both men and women, not just one sex?” the bishop asked. “Is it really all that difficult to fathom that God had a plan for marriage, which He wove into the very fabric of human nature? This plan is so deeply embedded in our human nature that every culture in history has recognized it and enshrined and protected it in law and custom.”

“Marriage being exclusively between a man and a woman was not an idea created by these cultures but, rather, a truth received by them as something handed down from a higher authority,” the prelate underscored.

“We need to again recall the key distinction, when considering homosexuality, between the homosexual inclination on the one hand and homosexual acts on the other,” Bishop Olmsted said.

The Phoenix bishop also clarified that although Scripture and Christian tradition hold that homosexual acts are sinful, “persons with homosexual inclinations but who do not engage in homosexual acts are not guilty of sin at all. No more or less than other persons, Christ calls them to holiness of life, inviting them as He invites us all to take up our cross each day and follow after Him.”

“All who follow Christ are given the grace to live the virtue of chastity; and they can joyfully do so with a clean heart.”

Seeking ‘true happiness’ for those with same-sex attraction

“Love and truth go hand-in-hand,” the bishop continued. “Everyone who experiences true love knows this – we want those we love to know the truth. As Catholics, we want to love people authentically and not in a mediocre way that would ignore dangers in a person’s life out of a shallow concern for political correctness.”

“We need never worry that speaking the truth clearly and charitably is a violation of love,” he stressed.

“Both Church teaching and the study of reality, the natural law, show that homosexuality is an objective disorder – that is, it does not correspond to the God-given reality of the sexually differentiated human being.

“Therefore, to condone the homosexual lifestyle is never a move in favor of a person’s true happiness,”  Bishop Olmsted wrote. “Moreover, to change the legal and societal definition of the fundamental institution of marriage in order to suit an adult sexual preference is a selfish and irresponsible corruption of the truth.

“The truth is that the reason why the state cannot redefine marriage is because it never defined it in the first place; it is a truth received, not created. It is God who defined marriage.

“For the state to redefine marriage will certainly have a negative impact on love, especially for children, who suffer most when marriage is weakened,” he warned.

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=121057189&m=121063933

Over the weekend Patrick Kennedy, a Congressman from Rhode Island and son of Ted Kennedy, made public that he had been requested by his Bishop, Thomas Tobin, to refrain from receiving Holy Communion, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, due to his stance on abortion which is directly opposed to ]]>

Over the weekend Patrick Kennedy, a Congressman from Rhode Island and son of Ted Kennedy, made public that he had been requested by his Bishop, Thomas Tobin, to refrain from receiving Holy Communion, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, due to his stance on abortion which is directly opposed to the teaching of the Catholic Church.  The recent public feud has been in the news for a few weeks now after Kennedy attacked the church for the Bishop’s view of the House Healthcare bill but the issues of receiving communion had not been brought up until now.  While the Bishops support healthcare reform and have for some time they could not support the bill as it was originally written due to its funding of abortion with taxpayer dollars.  Bishop Tobin publically rebuked Congressman Kennedy for his comments, but stopped short of mentioning his prior request of Kennedy back in 2007 to refrain from receiving communion.  It was just a week ago that Kennedy had mentioned he would no longer discuss his faith publically and yet he brought this fact out to the press over the weekend.   Just think if such a rebuke had happened with his father Ted Kennedy back in the 70s.  How many abortions could have been avoided had clear and firm Catholic teaching been made public back when Patrick’s farther started going down this same path.  Personally I think it would have stopped people like Nancy Pelosi from even being in office.

 It is good that Kennedy had been instructed not to receive the communion for his own soul and I think it’s even better that this information is now public.  The Catholic Church will continue to have the issue of Catholic politicians supporting abortion while claiming they are Catholic as long as there are no public repercussions.  It is absolute scandal for abortion supporting Catholics to appear to the public as though they are Catholic’s in good standing even with their pro-abortion voting record.  They consistently claim they are personally opposed to abortion but need to represent the views of their constituents.  As long as this dance with the devil is allowed to happen publically pro-abortion Catholic politicians will exist in Congress.  It’s time for Catholic Bishops to stand up and do their jobs, and to do them publically, when it comes to rebuking pro-abortion Catholic politicians.  The faithful need to know pro-abortion Catholics are not Catholics in good standing, and that his viewpoint risks one’s salvation.