In aftermath of Maine, gays step up their attacks on the Church

American Papist ^ | November 5, 2009 | Thomas Peters

[NYer]

Last night, by a comfortable margin of 53-47%, the citizens of Maine became the 31st state to vote down gay marriage (as has every single state that has given its citizens a chance to vote on the issue).

Not surprisingly, the mainstream liberal press is beside itself with frustration, especially because it drives yet another nail in the "inevitability" and "wrong side of history" arguments we are often fed.

As I wrote on National Review this morning, Maine voted for traditional marriage "despite it being a liberal state, despite a 2-1 funding disadvantage, despite aggressive legal action against traditional-marriage defenders, despite unusually high voter turn out, and despite Rachel Maddow and the elite press running interference."

And unlike in California's Prop 8 victory for traditional marriage, proponents of gay marriage can't blame this Maine loss on "Mormons, on African Americans who turned out for Barack Obama, or on confusing ballot wording."

They can however, blame it on Catholics, and some angry members of the gay marriage movement are already doing so.

As I wrote back in September, the Catholic Church in Maine - with the strong leadership of Bishop Richard Malone - effectively and institutionally supported efforts to preserve traditional marriage. I have been told the Catholic Church contributed upwards of $500k to the final $2 million or so that was raised by defenders of traditional marriage.

Now, like what happened to the Mormons in the wake of Prop 8, some gays are calling for a systematic attack on the Catholic Church and her freedoms in retaliation for Maine. In case you have any doubts about what happened to supporters of Prop 8 after that was decided, the Heritage foundation has posted a summary:

Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry.

Now read what one gay blogger wrote today in the wake of the Maine referendum today:

"[Maine voters] have bowed their heads to the nameless, faceless financiers of campaigns which continue to sew bigotry, hatred, and suspicion of their fellows. They have bowed their knees to potentates in the Catholic and Mormon Churches and claimed that this was about their freedom of religion.

... The day will come very soon when Maine will regret turning its back on equality. It is time that the legislature of Maine strip the Catholic Church of all its exemptions. It is time to force the National Organization into the light. It is time to purge their dens of iniquity and shame and to force them into the light.

It is time to dismantle those who seek through deception and fraud to repress others."

Nor is such out-in-the-open hatred of the Catholic Church confined to isolated individuals - no less a figure than Andrew Sullivan, an openly-gay and widely-read author for The Atlantic Monthly - and who still claims to be Catholic - wrote today:

"After Maine, where the Catholic church actually organized a second collection to raise money to prevent gay people from having civil rights, the situation shifts again. Using a tax-exempt church to raise money to defeat the civil rights of fellow citizens is not too shocking in the age of Benedict. It is shocking if one believes in a separation of politics and religion, and if one believes that the church of Jesus should stand in solidarity with the marginalized, rather than seeking to marginalize and demonize them still further.

It is time to acknowledge that the Catholic church hierarchy can no longer pretend that it isn't the active enemy of gay people and our families. That this church hierarchy - especially in its more conservative wing - is disproportionately gay itself and waging war against their fellow gays through the cowardly veil of the closet, is not new. But it is, as we flinch with the sting of defeat, harder to take than ever.

It is time to demand that gay priests who are actively fighting against the dignity of gay people own their enmeshment in injustice, stigmatization and cruelty."

The Atlantic is a major publication, Andrew Sullivan is a significant figure. This is serious. And authors such as Sullivan are getting a free-pass for legitimizing lies and hatred against the Church.

All this is especially ironic when one considers how the gay marriage movement tries to cast itself as one that is seeking tolerance and acceptance of all. Well, apparently the Catholic Church isn't a legitimate recipient of such treatment. I would be more encouraged if leaders of the gay marriage movement would call out or apologize for outbursts against the Church like the ones I've cited above.

Nonetheless, in the coming days and weeks, we need to be vigilant for anti-Catholic rhetoric and attacks. Don't be surprised if a lot of damning stories about the Church are published in the short term. Even if the issue of gay marriage isn't mentioned, you can bet reporters who have something against the Church are dusting off their old file folders right now.

Now of course, this oft-repeated smear that the Catholic Church hates gay people and hates equality is completely without foundation. Just look at a portion of the statement Bishop Malone released today:

“These past few months have served as a teaching opportunity to explain to parishioners and the wider community about how and why the Church views and values marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It has also been an opportunity for listening, and I trust that those who voted for such a radical change did so out of concern for our gay brothers and sisters. Respect and acceptance of all people regardless of sexual orientation is not a point of controversy — indeed, it is a teaching of the Church. While the Catholic Church will continue its commitment to work for the basic human rights to which all people are entitled, it remains devoted to preserving and strengthening the precious gift of marriage.”

That sure doesn't sound like hate speech to me. {update: neither does the statement just issued by the US Bishops - for those stumbling across this post, please read it before attacking our position. It has been compassionately thought through.}

For our part, meanwhile, we have to be charitable and confident in the teaching of the Church and be consistent in our own witness to it. Defining marriage as between one man and one woman is not to treat gays as inferior or unequal. This definition has overwhelming historical, cultural, sociological, and religious support.

Such anger and retaliation from the gay community are a sad indicator that they have no more arguments. Nonetheless, whenever the Church is attacked, we must defend ourselves and the Church we love, continuing to articulate the truths of the human person which reason reveal and faith confirms.

Truth, after all, is the foundation for equality, and for every valid social justice movement. So it should not surprise us that the only way the gay community is now attempting to establish its legal "right" to marriage is through power and intimidation.

update - I won't clutter my post with more examples, but I'll add just one more. There are many others:

The Bishop of Maine, Richard Malone, must be quite pleased with himself. He ran a campaign of lies, hate and distortions -- and convinced enough Maine voters to vote with him. It's going to take me a couple days (or more) to get my head around this one. But, for now, suffice it so say: HATE was the winner in Maine. Hate and the Catholic Bishop. But, this isn't over. Time and justice really are on our side.

Luke 6:22.

[NYer]

It’s amazing how ignorant the average person is about the ramifications of gay marriage on their own families. They float through life with the “why shouldn’t they be married”, pie in the sky mentality. Relativism, as Pope Benedict XVI has often said, is the greatest threat to our christian faith.

[livius]

I think folks in Maine have awakened from their stupor - and not just the Catholics. One of the gays said that they wanted to know the name of every person who voted for it, implying that some retribution was going to be taken. But I’d bet that when a bunch of university gay folk show up at a dairy farm out there - they’re going to be outgunned, literally.

These political gays live in their own stupid little world.

[wbill]

The Catholic Church is still fairly powerful in Maine. Protesters likely don’t want to poke that particular sleeping lion.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[2banana]

Such is the tolerance of the left...

[the invisib1e hand]

just imagine how “comfortable” the margin would have been if every gay couple’s dogs and dead parents didn’t vote!

[RobRoy]

Hey, what ever happened to the ERA?

;)

“Wrong side of history”, indeed.

[fatnotlazy]

Too bad these folks don’t channel their energy to solving the world’s problems, such as hunger and war, to name two.

The Church (all faiths) must keep on keeping on. Maybe some day these “activists” will get the message that most people don’t want gay marriage.

[CatQuilt]

Great article!

[massmike]

What part of “NO” don’t the gays understand.....the “N” or the “O”?

[1776 Reborn]

After Maine, where the Catholic church actually organized a second collection to raise money to prevent gay people from having civil rights, the situation shifts again. Using a tax-exempt church to raise money to defeat the civil rights of fellow citizens is not too shocking in the age of Benedict. It is shocking if one believes in a separation of politics and religion, and if one believes that the church of Jesus should stand in solidarity with the marginalized, rather than seeking to marginalize and demonize them still further.

Say what? Separation of politics and religion? Haaaa, Haaaaa,Haaaaaa Jesus supporting gays? Haaaaa,Haaaa,Haaaa

[RobRoy]

I love the ending with Luke 6:22

It nails it.

[massgopguy]

Threads on this subject always have a post from a Gay who says time is on their side and they gleefully anticipate the demise of The Greatest Generation. The problem is, they’ll be too busy celebrating that generation’s grave in front of them, to notice the Islamic generation behind them.

[RobbyS]

Their brains are located below their belts.

[massmike]

Yeah!What “bigots” they must be in Maine to see anything wrong with THIS......

What same-sex “marriage” has done to Massachusetts
It’s far worse than people realiize.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html

Boston Globe celebrates homosexual school clubs persuading kids to “come out” as teenagers (and earlier).
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/07d/globe_mag_111107/index.html

Horror stories in the schools
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/info/kbase/horror_stories.html

Brutal fascist tactics against citizens
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/info/kbase/facist_tactics.html

Depraved ‘Gay Pride Week’ in Boston supported by politicians and corporations.

Part I: Mayor of Boston holds ceremony to raise rainbow flag over Boston City Hall
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/events07/pride_week/city_hall_flag_0601/index.html

PART II: Friday night - “Boston Dyke March”.

The “Boston Dyke March” was about as raunchy as it gets . But that didn’t stop our Governor from participating the next day and giving “Pride” his official approval.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/events07/pride_week/dyke_march_0609/index.html

Entire day of madness . . .
Homosexual “Youth Pride Day” activities with kids — supported by your tax dollars

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09b/youth_pride/index.html

Mass. tax-funded GLBT Youth Commission issues chilling report of its activities
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09a/gaycomm_report/index.html

Radical homosexual / transgender handouts given to kids in MA schools. Your tax dollars at work.
HANDOUTS: At high school’s “Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Appreciation Day”.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09a/NNHS_gayday09/index.html

Ma. man fired from job over Christian belief in traditional (real) marriage
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen/09d/vadala/index.html

[max americana]

Maine is much smarter than the other blue state I live in: Mexifornia.

The mass last weekend at my L.A. parish church was a mother who was pleading for tolerance after discovering his son was gay and was ironically, demonizing other states for not accepting her views.

I had to walk out while the lemming idiots were clapping afterwards. No wonder I really dont give money to this parish no matter how much they beg.

[fish hawk]

Who else would they attack but the church. Even though the general population voted them down, they know what GOD said about their life style. By attacking the church they are attacking God. Not a fruitful venture in the long run.

[Wee-Weed Up]

Last I checked, 31 states have voted down gay marriage. Why aren’t they complaining and attacking the churches in those states as well.

[GunsAndBibles]

“Too bad these folks don’t channel their energy to solving the world’s problems, such as hunger and war, to name two.”

That’s difficult when you think with your genitals and rectum.