Here is something you can do about this: WRITE!
At 1:37 PM -0400 9/6/14, Bob Marshall wrote:
Friends,
This letter was Faxed today to the Apostolic Delegate who holds Ambassador rank from the Vatican to the United States.
Please share it as you wish.
Delegate Bob Marshall
September 6, 2014
H. E. Most Rev. Archbishop Carlo Vigano
Apostolic Nuncio
3339 Massachusetts Avenue N W
Washington, DC 20008
Your Excellency Archbishop Vigano:
New
York's Cardinal Dolan, appointed as Grand Marshal of the 2015 St.
Patrick's Day Parade praised the decision to allow an openly gay group
to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. ''I have no trouble with the
decision at all ... I think the decision is a wise one.''
His
action leaves many Catholics, including elected officials like myself,
puzzled and disheartened when we measure Cardinal Dolan's new policy
with his predecessor, John Cardinal O'Connor.
In
1993, when GLBT groups and government officials demanded that openly
homosexual groups be included in the Parade, Cardinal O'Connor vowed in a
St. Patrick's Day sermon that he "could never even be perceived as
compromising Catholic teaching." "Neither respectability nor political
correctness is worth one comma in the Apostles Creed." (New York Times, 1/20/93)
At that time, the New York Times
also noted that, "The Hibernians and Cardinal O'Connor have said there
is no place for a gay contingent in the parade because it is a Catholic
event and the church teaches that homosexual acts are sinful."
Yet,
Cardinal Dolan claimed, "Neither my predecessors as archbishops of New
York nor I have ever determined who would or would not march in this
parade," adding that "the parade would be a source of unity for all of
us." (NYTimes 9/3/14)
Would
Cardinal Dolan, as Parade Marshal, applaud the inclusion of Irish
abortion clinic owners or Planned Parenthood employees in a Parade
honoring Saint Patrick? On what logical grounds does he applaud openly
GLBT marchers and reject openly pro abortion Catholics, including some
"Catholic" nuns?
Perhaps
organizations which advocate to legalize prostitution and pornography
should also be permitted to march? What about promoters of euthanasia
for the elderly and disabled or advocates of physician assisted suicide?
Where does Cardinal Dolan draw the line?
The
St. Patrick's Day Parade sponsored by the Irish Catholic Ancient Order
of Hibernians under the auspices of and with the blessing of the
Catholic Archdiocese of New York, is not a purely secular event, despite
the fact that secular politicians participate. It honors a Catholic
saint who converted pagans to the Faith and away from immoral behavior.
Promoters
of homosexual behavior take part in many "gay pride" marches and
parades, but these are not events sponsored by the Catholic Church or a
Catholic organization. Therein lies the problem.
Same
sex "marriage" advocates say they feel marginalized by the Church, yet
the Church has been very clear that it is a hospital for sinners, and no
one is sinless. Jesus saves us from being "marginalized" by our sin, so
long as we seek Him and seek to do His will.
Everyone
who rejects God's word, or who ignores or violates the Ten Commandments
(and we all guilty of that) feels "marginalized" at times, but we don't
re-write the Commandments to make us feel less marginalized.
News
reports indicate that NBC which televises the Parade, New York's Mayor,
Guinness Brewery and others were pressuring the Parade sponsors to
include openly GLBT groups. Choosing money over truth is never a good
choice.
This
situation is not about judging individual souls. God loves all his
children, and fortunately He is the only one who can judge men's hearts,
but we live in a world of actions that have individual, social and
legal consequences.
Equality
of persons is not the same as equality of behavior. What message does
Cardinal Dolan's decision give? The U.S. Supreme Court is considering
whether to hear challenges to state laws allowing only one-man, one
woman marriage. Cardinal Dolan's statement and actions here are most
untimely.
I
grew up in Washington DC, worked in Congress for six years, have been
privileged to serve the people of Virginia as a member of the Virginia
General Assembly since 1992, was chief co-sponsor of the 2006 Virginia
Marshall-Newman, voter approved one-man, one woman Marriage Amendment,
and pro life legislation. I have overridden Governors of Virginia on
abortion and GLBT issues, beat the ACLU in federal court on pornography
prohibitions, and in 2008 won a precedent setting law suit overturning a
tax law supported and defended in court by the Governor, Attorney
General and Speaker.
I
know from a lifetime in and around politics that federal judges and
Members of Congress read newspapers. They are influenced by the actions
of moral leaders. They gauge what they can "get away with" by what Catholic prelates "tolerate."
We
do our brothers and sisters no service by pretending that God's
teaching or the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God" are not important
today. No one can change Natural Law or the Word of God, written in the
blood of Our Savior for our wellbeing and redemption.
I
haven't talked to one Catholic who thinks that what Cardinal Dolan did
was prudent or helpful in defending the Faith, marriage or morals.
Converts, especially, are distressed.
Some
contemporary American Catholics falsely think that "tolerance" is
exercised by maintaining indifference towards ideas, opinion or even
error, or holding that all points of view are equal. For a Church
authority to embrace political correctness at such a time will have
consequences which extend far beyond the parade route.
Cardinal
Dolan's actions will make enacting legislation in conformity with the
Natural Law immeasurably harder to defend especially for lay Catholics
or Catholic legislators.
Please pass my letter on to the appropriate Church officials. Thank you. You can contact me at 703-853-4213, delbmarshall@house.virginia.
Sincerely,
