Posted on 04/25/2013 2:19:05 PM PDT by NYer
Retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man to become a U.S. bishop in the Episcopal Church, has written an nasty piece of opinion attacking a Catholic Archbishop as well as the Catholic Church in its entirety for defending marriage.
Robinson, writing for The On Faith blog at The Washington Post, attacked Abp. Allen Vigneron for having said Catholics who support gay unions or marriage should not receive communion. And not only does he say that the Church is wrong on gay marriage, he says the Church has "lost its way" and has no right to even discuss the issue. I'll give you one guess why. For those playing along at home, the answer is easy. It's page 1 of the anti-Catholic playbook: "Anytime the Church says something you don't like you should always YELL and SCREAM about....THE SEX ABUSE SCANDAL!!!"
Robinson wrote:
I believe that using Communion as such a manipulative tool surely profanes the sacrament. Perhaps these Catholic leaders should revisit their church’s theology of the Eucharist. Reception of the body and blood of Christ at Communion is God’s gift to God’s people, not a reward for right behavior. We receive Communion not because we are worthy of it, but because God’s offers us the body and blood of Christ despite our unworthiness.Robinson is not understanding or he's pretending to misunderstand the facts here. The fact is that we are all sinners is true. That doesn't make sin acceptable. And it certainly doesn't make sin non-existent.
While some are seeking to withhold Communion from pro-choice and pro-marriage-equality Catholics, I have heard no call to withhold Communion from priests and bishops who have engaged in horrific sexual abuse against vulnerable children, nor their enablers. Bernard Cardinal Law, whose administration actively facilitated the moving around of known pedophile priests to other unsuspecting parishes, has not been denied Communion, but instead been rewarded with a prestigious church in Rome.
It seems that the church hierarchy is sending the following message: two gay men or lesbians (not to mention their supporters) who want to vow a lifetime of commitment, monogamy and love should be denied Communion, but those who exploit vulnerable children (and those who facilitate their abuse) for their own sexual gratification are still welcome. Those who make the excruciating and gut-wrenching decision to have an abortion (not to mention those who understand why this might be a moral choice) are barred from receiving Communion, but those prelates who live a lavish lifestyle far from the real-life, harsh circumstances some women face that might make such an abortion morally permissible are accepted at the Communion rail.
American Catholics have a long and honorable history of discerning their own consciences in matters of human life and dignity. For instance, 98 percent of Catholic women have gone against church law and used birth control. Indeed, individual conscience is a core value in Catholic teaching. It seems that Catholic laity are refusing to be treated like morally ignorant children who cannot think for themselves. At a very minimum, Catholic laity (and many of their local clergy) know that these issues should be discussed in an open and faithful way. They also know that people of faith will disagree on some of the ramifications of trying to live out the Gospel.
More detailed, ping!
Ah, the irony of a dying church that people are deserting in droves telling a growing church with over 1 billion members that its “lost its way”. Will the last person to leave the Episcopalian Church USA please turnout the lights?
To the headline: they may have as you are a “priest” and an adulterer.
There was a time when Episcopalians, doctrinally wrong though they might be, were perfect models of English social graces and courteoisie.
The utter gall, rudeness, smartassity, classlessness of this piece of excrement that calls himself an Episcopal “bishop” amazes one.
Will the wonders never cease??
Well if he is talking about himself and his church , the HELL YEAH!
A “False Prophet”. We were warned over 2,000 years ago about them.
P.S. Give it up, Vickie Gene. You had your 15 minutes of notoriety. It’s over. You are now almost the most meaningless little pieces of human debris anywhere in the cosmos, second, perhaps, only to the mother of the Boston Massacre lowlifes.
The Episcopal Church has degenerated into a gay cesspool. Gay bishops and priests are everywhere it seems as each year sees more parishes desert the national church membership.
This is what happens when gays take over otherwise respectable organizations from Boy Scouts to the military and rot them from within.
Try reading the Bible again, heretic spawn.
You want action taken against those who sexually abuse children, which is right, but you seek to justice for those who KILL children? You’re a joke. And let’s not forget, the majority of the abusers were homosexuals. They molested boys.
Once the spirit has departed, there is nothing left to do but get the lights and close the doors.
CC
That is the most moronic statement ever to come from Robinson, reaching a new level of arrogance and error that I would have thought he had exhausted his ability to achieve. I take communion, knowing that I have fallen short of God's word but sincerely regretting those failings. To take communion while celebrating ones refusal to defer to God strikes me and I suspect most real Christians as sacrilege. While I am not Catholic, I am proud of the Church for following God's Word in the area of communion and in so many other areas.
Robinson’s words should be considered inspirational to any Catholic who has lost his/her zeal for the Catholic faith.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
—John 8:44
Robinson’s only choices are to say traditional Christianity has lost its way or to admit that he lost his way because of Daddy issues, abuse, or problems with lust. He obviously still lacks the humility to look inward and so he points outward.
“What’s wrong with the world? I am.” -G.K. Chesterton
He's been thankfully out of the news, and I've forgotten his other failings as a "cleric".
I still don't know what the NH Episcopalians were thinking putting him in charge.
Respect for marriage and family apparently weren't high on their lists of qualifications.
A quick glance at the “Early Life” section of Robinson’s Wikipedia page probably tells you where his gender confusion and unresolved conflicts come from.
“Robinson’s parents were young ... and they were hoping for a girl. ... Much later in life, Robinson’s father would tell him he couldn’t take any interest in the boy’s development because he always thought every step was going to be his last.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Robinson
So a joyless, probably distant father who wanted a girl and didn’t want to get too close to his sickly son. And a mother who also wanted a daughter.
When did he become a Catholic?
The thing is . . . we will still pray for Bishop Robinson and that he might receive some divine inspiration to change his ways.
Those who hate the church need the most prayer of all.
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