"Gays and lesbians . . . fulfilling the call to live genuine Christian lives"

"In response to Archbishop William E. Lori, Catholics like myself who support passage of Question 6 to legalize same-sex marriages in Maryland by no means disagree with the Book of Genesis and Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark, which were read last Sunday in support of the Church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman ("Same-sex marriage foes argue case from the pulpit," Oct. 8). We simply believe application of this sacred truth must be expanded. 

"As the Church itself acknowledges the existence of gays and lesbians and has thereby freed them of the burden of sin, so too the time has come to acknowledge that gays and lesbians can find partners with whom they can live a sacred life of love, and raise children together with love and compassion, fulfilling the call to live genuine Christian lives.

"Question 6 does not state that the Church must marry gay and lesbian couples; therefore, there is no need for it to take such a vociferous stance against its passage."

Jeff Konyar, Linthicum

Source: Baltimore Sun Oct 11 2012

YOU are invited to the Party, Oct 20 2 PM Lutherville - RSVP

Vote FOR Question 4 - Defend the Maryland DREAM Act

Vote FOR Question 4 - Defend the Maryland DREAM Act

Photo: WJZ CBS Baltimore

Vote YES on Question 4 - DREAM Act about fairness - Maryland's Catholic Bishops

“Fairness” is at the heart of Maryland bishops' support for the Maryland DREAM Act.

Said Archbishop Lori:

“We consider it (the DREAM Act) a matter of affirming the dignity of these young people, who are here through no fault of their own,” Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori told the Catholic Review. “Educating these young people and making them productive citizens of our country is something good – a source of strength for our country.”

According to a recent article in the Catholic Review, by Maria Wiering, 

"A recent poll found that 60 percent of likely Maryland voters support the DREAM Act, with 26 percent opposed and 14 percent undecided, according to Educating Maryland Kids, a coalition working to protect the law."

"Under the DREAM Act, students must meet clear criteria to be eligible for the in-state tuition rate: they must attend a Maryland high school for three years and graduate, earn college acceptance, attend a community college for two years before transferring to a four-year institution, and promise to pursue citizenship when eligible."

"The Maryland DREAM Act is not the same as the DREAM Act first introduced in Congress in 2001, although they share a name – an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors."

"Unlike the federal legislation, which includes avenues for establishing permanent residency for undocumented students, the Maryland DREAM Act only affects the price an eligible undocumented student pays for higher education in Maryland."

For more about this important ballot issue, come to an ecumenical presentation on the DREAM Act:

Morgan State University

Baltimore

Wednesday

Oct. 10, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Source:

The Catholic Review: DREAM Act about fairness for taxpaying immigrants, say state’s bishops

A Letter from Maine

Dear Friends,

This Sunday is the 30th in Ordinary Time – the plain-living-days minus the seasonal anticipation of Christmas or celebratory energy of Easter. These are days of reality: interacting with real people struggling to “do what’s right” for our families, friends, local communities and larger world.

This week, into this ordinary time, four U.S. bishops inserted extraordinary political demands. All abrogate Vatican II assurances of the primacy of individual conscience over Church dogma, particularly in matters of civil law and liberty.

400,000 Minnesota Catholic households received a letter from their bishops asking for donations to Minnesota for Marriage. It is a secular, political organization seeking a state constitutional amendment that would forever ban same-sex marriage.

San Francisco’s Archbishop-designate degreed that, “gay men and lesbians who are in a sexual relationship of any kind should not receive communion.” In New Jersey, the Archbishop of Newark’s “Pastoral Letter,” said that supporters of marriage for same-sex couples who “continue to receive Holy Communion while so dissenting [from his view on marriage] would be objectively dishonest” and should refrain from the sacrament.

Lectors in Maine received the Bishop’s mandate that the Prayers of the Faithful in every Mass until the November 6th election close with the priest praying:

Lord God and Creator,In the beginning you made man and woman so that they might enter a communion of life and love.We commend to your mercy the citizens of this State that we may be blessed in the knowledge and observance of your holy law.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Also in Maine this week, another delivery of Catholics for Marriage Equality/God is Love buttons arrived. That’s 7,000 buttons distributed since our 2009 founding! C4ME’s ministry supports those who are harmed by the hierarchy’s politics and encourages Catholics to heed their hearts and vote their consciences for marriage for same-sex couples. Let us recommit ourselves to praying together and acting together over the next forty days to bring justice to our gay and lesbian family and friends and sanity to our church.

Thank you for your part in this healing work of advocacy,

Anne Underwood

Preach the Truth as if you had a million voices. It is silence that kills the world. St. Catherine of Siena

______________________

SOURCE: Anne Underwood, a mentor and friend, works with Catholics for Marriage Equality Maine

Pediatrician Group: "no relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and any measure of a child’s emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment"

The Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics announced earlier in September 2012, that Academy pediatricians oppose a Constitutional amendment in Minnesota that would ban marriage equality.

“This amendment would be harmful to the health and well-being of children and adolescents in Minnesota,” the group said in a press release.

The physician group said the passage of an amendment that bans civil marriage equality could lead to an increase in bullying and violence against LGBT youth.

The pediatrician group said:

“More than 25 years of research has documented that there is no relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and any measure of a child’s emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment. Rather, children’s optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationships and interactions within the family than by the particular structural form it takes.”

Source: Pediatricians Support Marriage Equality

On Marriage Equality - The Catholic Church - incl the hierarchy - Holds Diverse Views

Berlin Cardinal Re-Affirms His Support for Lesbian and Gay Relationships

In Catholic on July 10, 2012 at 9:34 am

Cardinal Rainer Woelki of Berlin has re-affirmed his support for same-sex relationships which he made at a German conference of Catholic lay people back in May.

London’s Tablet magazine, an international Catholic periodical, reports:

“The Church must rethink its approach to remarried divorcees and gay relationships, the world’s youngest cardinal has said.

“Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, 55, made his comments in an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit and said that while the Orthodox Church considers only the first marriage sacramentally valid, divorce and a second marriage is tolerated. Asked whether this could be a model for the Catholic Church, he replied that the Church should talk about it.

Commenting on gay men in relationships he said he tried not to see them as just violating natural law but as people trying to take responsibility for each other in lasting partnerships. ‘We must find a way of allowing people to live without going against church teaching,’ he said.”

SOURCE:

Berlin Cardinal Re-Affirms His Support for Lesbian and Gay Relationships

NEW WAYS MINISTRY - BONDINGS 2.0