Another situation crying out for top-down action from Rome.
bttt
DISGUSTING!
I wonder if any of them had the presence of mind to respond with calling him "apostate" and "heretic".
"Joe Murray, who identifies himself as the U.S. Convener of the Rainbow Sash Coalition..."
Should read: Covener. Out with the pagans!
So I think we should contact them, but I think we should also be very careful to recognize their subjectively good intentions, even if they are distorted. It's a delicate thing, but that opens the door to communication, I think. Something like this:
"I've been following the difficulties you've been experiencing a St. John the Baptist School concerning the inclusion of children whose parents are in scandalous living arrangements. I can fully appreciate your desire to serve the educational and spiritual needs of the children in question, while not acceding in the 'normalization' of objectively sinful situations.
I think you are to be applauded for your decision which was, as I understand it, to allow such children to be enrolled at St. John's, while requiring that the adoptive parents, who practice and advocate homosexuality, must not present themselves at school functions as a "couple."
In the Catholic classroom---- even in Kindergarten and the earliest grades ---- there are so many opportunities to emphasize God's plan for families based on the sacred union of a man and a woman for life. This is a crucial lesson which can be revisited again and again in a gentle and clear manner when teaching little children about a Creation-Centered Spirituality (Genesis), the Commandments, the Sacraments, the Virtues, the Beatitudes, and the Lives of the Saints.
All children, especially those who come from seriously disordered households, can benefit from this teaching, to which I am sure you and all your teachers are committed.
The parents who voiced strong concerns about the enrollment of these children have been wounded as much as anybody else in this situation, not least by being called "pharisees" and "hypocrites" -- stinging terms. Extend the hand of fellowship to them, too, since they, too, love the children and the Truth of the Faith.
OK, folks, here it is: how you can get in touch with these 'good fathers,' with your constructive suggestions on how to achieve Solomonic justice, avoid giving scandal, show sincere love for the children, and remain both Catholic and hetero-normative:
"Call the phone number to leave voice mail. Please keep in mind that most of us have no office or secretary, so messages left for us are usually not received until the evening or the following morning when we get a chance to go check such things."
St. Michael’s Abbey
19292 El Toro Road
Silverado, CA 92676 - 9710
Voice-mail system: (949) 858 - 0222
FAX: (949) 858 - 4583
Rt. Rev. Eugene Joseph Hayes, Abbot
Abbey: (949) 858-0222 ext 216 San Pedro: (310) 521-1930 ext 111
V. Rev. Hugh C. Barbour, Prior
Abbey: (949) 858-0222 ext 222
Rev. Stephen Mark Boyle, Rector of Generalate House in Rome
Rome: 011 39 [06] 571 766 224
Abbey voice mail: (949) 858-0222 ext 223
Rev. Martin Benzoni (the pastor quoted in article)
St. John the Baptist rectory: (714) 540-2214 ext *814
Abbey voice mail: (949) 858-0222 ext 321
Rev. Norbert Jeffrey Wood (the "school Rector" quoted)
St. John the Baptist rectory: (714) 540-2214 ext *820
Abbey: (949) 858-0222 ext 291 (Room 204)
They noted that according to Pope John Paul II's 2003 "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons," Catholics have a duty to oppose same-sex domestic partnerships, and refrain in every way from co-operating with or supporting such a lifestyle.
Bill Donohue is opposed to the teaching of the Church and John Paul II's teachings. I know I will be criticized for criticizing him, but I am only doing what Donohue claims to do. The fact is, he is just like those he attacks. Even if he only opposed Church teaching on one issue, he should not be in the positions he is. I was a support of the Catholic League and have nothing against Donohue, except that he is fighting against Church teaching.
*Jack is dealing with a red fag. He ought to match his behavior to meet the threat staring him in the face.
Wow, this is an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Ai-ya! This is too much!
The school was trying to be oh so tolerant. These were their 'token' homosexuals.
That parent sounds like your typical liberal Catholic; can't imagine that anyone would have an adverse opinion from his or her most wonderful one. If someone disagrees, they must be hateful. The one thing this letter writer couldn't see was the irony in the statement about the privacy of the bedroom. This couple was flaunting their lifestyle; there was nothing private about it, and the school was celebrating it.
bump with no comment
"Nixon was concerned that the same-sex couple was going out of its way to be a visible presence at the school. "I object to children seeing this sort of thing," he said of the double fathers fetching their children together after school. "It's not a sexual issue so much as it is a political one," he emphasized. "It seems to me that these two had a political agenda to make [same-sex family arrangements] acceptable at a Catholic school."
Give the man a prize!
Another in a long list of articles detailing why parents should very carefully look at the schools they send their children to, with a view toward homeschooling them anyway.