[Phx_RC]

Bingo!!!

Note: Bolds and underlines added for emphasis.

[NeoCaveman]

The people of Phoenix are truly blessed to have Bishop Olmsted.

[Unam Sanctam]

It's so nice to hear some good news once in a while -- a bishop who stands up for what the Church teaches!

[heyheyhey]

Wideman said such positions cause the gay community to respond "to hell with the church, you're really not there for us."

Man... the gay community is so hard to keep gay!

More "outreach" is needed.

;-D

[saradippity]

This is such good news. the battle is reaching fever pitch here in Phoenix. We are so fortunate to have a Bishop who is intelligent,humble and holy. There certainly has been years of praying,and we have had 24/7 Adoration at several churches out here for years.

Eastsider,our ex-bishop (Always Our Children,O'Brien) was preparing to go to Rome for his ad limina visit,can you believe his chutzpah? Anyway,because he is on probation the judge denied his request to leave the country.

[old and tired]

Thanks for posting this article. We need a pick me up in Pennsylvania after Toomey's heartbreaking loss last night.

I suppose we all could have worked a little bit harder and come up with the 2 percentage points to have beaten Specter. But I also know that the Catholic Church bears a good deal of the responsibility for not teaching more forcefully and faithfully these last few decades. Poorly catechized Catholics felt no sin in pulling that lever for pro-abortion, pro cloning, pro sodomy Arlen Specter.

[johnb2004]

I love this Bishop!! What an authentic man and Shepherd.


"Are we going to jump on the priests signing this letter or is the real issue the violence against people because of their sexual orientation?" he said.

The real issue is dissent and promoting sin.

[Conservative Iowan]

Meyer said the letter is troubling because its reflects a renewed "push for orthodoxy on social and sexual issues."

He says that like this is a bad thing.

"Donovan added that concerns were raised among church liberals by the bishop's activism on the abortion issue, his reinstatement of the Latin Mass and other issues."

Awwww...the poor liberals don't like the fact that this good and holy bishop actually takes the Church's teachings seriously. Tough! Gee, I'm starting to wish I had never moved away from the Phoenix area, now that they actually have a bishop with some spine.

[NYer]

Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, the momentum is picking up!

Bishop Olstead ping!

Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list

[Phx_RC]

From The Arizona Republic Page A14, April, 28, 2004:

Signers of Declaration

Nine Catholic priests signed the Phoenix Declaration, prepared by a Phoenix organization called No Longer Silent, Clergy for Justice.
They are:
--The Rev. Andre Boulanger, retired.
--The Rev. Scott Brubaker, pastor, St. Bridget, Mesa.
--The Rev. Chris Carpenter, pastor, Christ the King, Mesa.
--The Rev. John Cunningham, pastor, St. Mary Magdalene, Gilbert.
--The Rev. Hugo Gonzalez, pastor, St. Charles Borromeo, Peoria.
--The Rev. Matthew Mampara, associate, St. Mary Magdalene.
--The Rev. Vernon Meyer, Sunday associate, St. Patrick, Scottsdale.
--The Rev. Ray Ritari, pastor, St. Matthew, Phoenix.
--The Rev. Ken Van de Ven, pastor, St. James, Glendale.
--Also signing: Brother Doug Zlatis of St. Matthew.

---------------
Note: Bolds and underlines added for emphasis.

[ArrogantBustard]

Has Bishop Olmsted received a DZ (Doctor of Zottage) degree from the Viking Kitty School of Troll Zapping?

[Phx_RC]

Church views don't lean left or right

The Arizona Republic -- Opinions online print edition
May. 3, 2004 12:00 AM -- Link to the Opinion Article

Regarding the Wednesday article "Don't back gays, bishop tells priests": There are several points that require clarification.

First, the original draft of the document "Always Our Children" was not "watered down by the Vatican," as stated in the article. The original draft of that document contained inaccurate representations of Catholic teaching. Thus, the Vatican restored (not watered down) the document so it could be useful and instructive.

Second, you reference church "liberals" and "conservatives." These descriptors suggest that there are different philosophies or viewpoints, as with, say, a political party. However, in the Roman Catholic Church, they do not exist; there is only orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

Third, your article says Father Vernon Meyer argues "the document was ambiguous enough that it did not conflict with Catholic teaching." For 2000 years, the church has labored against ambiguity, and strove to make her teachings clear and unambiguous. Ambiguity can lead the faithful astray, and no Catholic, let alone a priest, should ever endorse anything that is not a clear reflection of the magisterial of the church.

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted understands this principle and is working diligently to clarify matters such as these.

Finally, the phrase "in obedience to him" contained in his confidential letter to the priests might suggest to some that power and ego are involved.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Allowing members of the clergy to persist in error would be a failure of leadership on the bishop's part. And isn't it just this sort of episcopal failure in other recent issues that is something that all Catholics seem eager to remedy? -
Michael J. Malone, Phoenix

[Phx_RC]

Jesus taught mercy, compassion

The Arizona Republic -- Opinions online print edition
May. 4, 2004 12:00 AM -- Link to the Opinion Article

Church teaching is very clear in its condemnation of any discrimination, violence or prejudice against anyone regardless of their race, gender or orientation.

This condemnation is based on the teaching that all people are made in God's image and likeness. This means that whether conservatives and fundamentalist like it or not, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered human beings are made in God's image and likeness!

Secondly, church teaching is also clear that those who have been divorced and remarried, those who practice birth control, those who support the death penalty and those who support the war in Iraq also stand in conflict with the church. If we are going to condemn some for immoral behavior, let us also be consistent in condemning everyone's immorality.

But let us also remember that Jesus taught us to love our enemies and taught us not to judge, lest we be judged. Anyone's rush to orthodoxy must not at the same time negate the teachings of Jesus about compassion and mercy to be shown to everyone regardless of their orientation. -
The Rev. Vernon Meyer, Scottsdale

---

Note: Underlines added. Meyer seems to believe orthodox Catholics are "fundamentalists". There was a letter to the editor of the Catholic Sun some years ago in which Meyer blasted the "fundamentalists". Orthodoxy seems to be a source of irritation to him.

As of this moment Meyer has not yet removed his name from the Current NLS List.

FYI: An article from 2002 involving Meyer follows this post.

[chatham]

It is truly about time that a Man with courage and a moral Compass reset the the path these priests and others are on.
There is no place in the clergy for "Homosexually Oriented Priests" since their thinking is already clouded.

Someone posted the following:
"Church teaching is very clear in its condemnation of any discrimination, violence or prejudice against anyone regardless of their race, gender or orientation."
"This condemnation is based on the teaching that all people are made in God's image and likeness. This means that whether conservatives and fundamentalist like it or not, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered human beings are made in God's image and likeness!"

Isn't the Singling out of conservatives and fundamentalists
just another form of prejudice which the writer states is against the Teaching of the Church.

If it's my job to care for my children then I do not want the teaching of the Homosexual Lifestyle treated as normal in the public schools much less the Catholic Church and the Clergy.
Maybe the writer hasn't heard of the Homosexual Priest Sexual Abuse crises in the Catholic Church over the last 5 or 6 Decades.

[Coleus]

`

[johnb2004]

"But Tom Donovan, 66, of Phoenix, who attends services at the Franciscan Renewal Center, said the bishop's action "creates an issue of conscience for those few priests who signed on, some of the finest clergy I know."

Hey dissenter, conscience is a pupil not a teacher.