5 replies
  1. DON E SIEGAL
    DON E SIEGAL says:

    “He is notable among even the conservative U.S. episcopate for his stances”

    How kind of you to use the term notable; I would have used the pejorative term notorious. I attended the World Meeting of Families in 2015 when Archbishop Chaput ejected LGBT groups from holding workshops on Catholic property. Ever since then, I have felt completely uncomfortable in my own Catholic Church in Philadelphia. So much so, that I attend another liturgical based denomination when I am in Philadelphia. They were a welcoming inclusive community. Imagine how I felt when we sang Marty Haugen’s great hymn “All are Welcome.” I couldn’t get through it without a lot of tears.

    At the same time, I realized that I had to find a way to forgive Archbishop Chaput. I had a long conversation with the pastor, and she affirmed that, yes indeed, I had to be able to do that. That forgiving process took two years. This is how it happened. While attending mass one day, just before the sign of peace, I particularly heard the words, “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles; Peace I leave you, my peace I give you…” I can’t say how many times I have heard those words, but on that particular day, it was the answer that I was looking for. I received the grace to forgive the Archbishop, and so I did.

    But I was soon to be tested about the meaning of the answer to Peter’s question about how many times must one forgive someone, and Jesus’ answer seven times seventy. In the very next week, Archbishop Chaput issued his statement, “[T]here is no such thing as an LGBTQ Catholic.” Since I am a catechist, and I teach these words of Jesus; of course, I had to forgive again.

    As for the Church in Philadelphia, here we are dealing with institutional or social sin. I’m still working on that one. Perhaps, that will be determined by further formation of my conscience.

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  2. John Hilgeman
    John Hilgeman says:

    I hope Archbishop Pérez does end the appeal. It is a scandal for Catholic Church agencies to put uninformed doctrines ahead of the welfare of children.

    Reply
  3. Friends
    Friends says:

    Scratch the skin of a vociferously anti-GLBT bishop, and you’ll often find a an emotionally repressed, closeted gay man. It’s a basic and verifiable matter of fact. At a certain level, you’ve got to feel sorry for them. But it’s entirely up to them to gain courage of being who they are. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

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  4. DON E SIEGAL
    DON E SIEGAL says:

    Withdraw the Case from the Supreme Court

    “Archbishop Pérez could end the Supreme Court appeal, withdraw the case from the Court’s docket, and help to prevent any possibility of further harming LGBTQ non-discrimination laws already under attack by the Trump administration.”

    Easier said than done. The Archdiocese is not technically a party to the suit, Sharonell Fulton et al. (petitioners) vs. City of Philadelphia et al. (respondents). Et al. is Latin for and others. The full list of petitioners are Sharonell Fulton, Toni Lynn Simms-Busch, and Catholic Social Services. All of these petitioners would have to withdraw from the case to end the litigation. The two individuals are two foster parents who share CSS’s beliefs. They are represented by counsel from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty an anti LGBTQ organization.

    More importantly, here is where the case stands with the Supreme Court as of 21-January-2020. The court has considered taking up the case a total of six times. The court has neither granted or denied a writ of certiorari. Instead, they keep relisting it for the next conference. Let’s hope that the court ultimately denies a writ of certiorari. That would mean that the decision and ruling of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the City of Philadelphia would stand within the Third Circuit.

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