…So the question is: what's "natural" or "unnatural?" That, in turns, leads to a more overarching question: Is homosexuality a status or a choice?
Some thinkers, including several members of the Supreme Court, seem to reason that homosexuality is an inborn status.
Catholicism--and, indeed most religions--teach that while homosexuality exists, homosexual activity is a "disordered" choice against the laws of nature.
If homosexuality is indeed a status rooted in biology or genetics, then homosexuals, like left-handed people, act according to their nature. But if homosexuality is a choice rooted in behavior, then homosexuals act against nature…
In terms of civil rights, individuals deserve and are afforded protections for both status (say, skin color) and choice (for example, religious affiliation).
In terms of morality, status is neutral, while choice has implications and consequences.
Catholicism argues that homosexuals deserve legal protections, but not because homosexuality is a status. Catholicism says homosexual activity is a choice. So while bishops support non-discrimination policies, they won't agree that homosexuals are protected because of their genetic makeup.
Catholic thinkers have grappled with this question for ages. Creighton University professors Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler are the latest voices on the Catholic circuit, Their 2008 book, "The Sexual Person,"…
Salzman and Lawler's dense academic argument turns traditional Catholic teaching on natural law on its head…
Salzman and Lawler argue that what is "natural" for a heterosexual is not "natural" for a homosexual, and therefore homosexuals and heterosexuals must act in accord with their personal "natures".
Read complete article:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/overturning-catholic-mora_n_744641.html
The Sexual Person: toward a renewed Catholic anthropology
By Todd A. Salzman, Michael G. Lawler 2008
http://books.google.com/books?id=p8nrAR3Oi1QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Todd+A.+Salzman+and+Michael+G.+Lawler,+%22The+Sexual+Person,%22&source=bl&ots=GO9aPON40w&sig=DHIE7CBUEz7DKeqCNdlN_tktVhc&hl=en&ei=QA-lTOSJFMOjnAe9mdGQAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
The Sexual Person
Toward a Renewed Catholic Anthropology
Todd A. Salzman, Michael G. Lawler
Georgetown University Press
2009 Catholic Press Award: First Place in Theology
"Todd Salzman and Michael Lawler's new book...is among the most important works in Catholic sexual ethics to emerge in the last two decades...Their book will be noticed because of its controversial positions on contraception, same-sex relationships, cohabitation and artificial means of reproduction. However, its contribution is its clear articulation of a person-centered natural-law ethic that offers Catholics an authentic way to think about sex in relation to their faith."—National Catholic Reporter
"Salzman and Lawler are accomplished theologians with the stature to confront questions that have become highly inflammatory in the too-often polarized Catholic environment. The result is a piece of extensive, well-researched, and carefully argued scholarship. The authors are respectful, intelligent, honest, thorough, and courageous. They will alarm a few people, enlighten many, and hold all to a new standard of rigor in approaching this very personal and politicized subject."—Lisa Sowle Cahill, J. Donald Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College
Two principles capture the essence of the official Catholic position on the morality of sexuality: first, that any human genital act must occur within the framework of heterosexual marriage; second, each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life. In this comprehensive overview of Catholicism and sexuality, theologians Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler examine and challenge these principles. Remaining firmly within the Catholic tradition, they contend that the church is being inconsistent in its teaching by adopting a dynamic, historically conscious anthropology and worldview on social ethics and the interpretation of scripture while adopting a static, classicist anthropology and worldview on sexual ethics…
Read complete list of reviews:http://www.press.georgetown.edu/detail.html?id=9781589012080
Archbishop John Nienstedt on
Catholic Church's opposition to same-sex marriage
by Tom Crann,
September 22, 2010 - Minnesota Public Radio
Quotes Nienstedt:
“Marriage isn't something that we create as human beings. It's already a given from the work of creation by almighty God.”
“We've been labeled as discriminating against gay people. There's no discrimination when there isn't a basic right to something. And those who have the right to marriage are men and women who want to enter into a life-long, mutually supportive and procreative relationship.”
“Marriage came long before there was any government.
And so this is a natural reality, and it's defined by the natural law, what we call the natural law. And so it precedes any government. And government is meant to support marriage between a husband and a wife in order to give it a context for the raising of children and the protection of children.”
“Audio excerpt from Nienstedt's remarks: The archdiocese believes that the time has come for voters to be presented directly with an amendment to our state constitution to preserve our historic understanding of marriage. In fact, this is the only way to put the one man, one woman definition of marriage beyond the reach of the courts and politicians.
Crann: Is that, in fact, a political statement?
Nienstedt: I don't believe so, no. I think that's a reasonable, common sense thing.”
Read more:http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/22/archbishop-nienstedt-same-sex-marriage-dvd-qa/
Anti-gay marriage DVDs - UNSUBSTANTIATED - Nienstedt (Minnesota) & Benedict XVI, gay marriage, like Galileo Against Nature law – “It is Common Sense” ??? -> Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
John Nienstedt's anti-gay marriage crusade draws another protest
by Hart Van Denburg,
September 29, 2010 - Minneapolis City Pages
California Prop 8, Aug, 4, 2010 - Deep misunderstanding - "We the People" means - US Constitution – DANGERS of majority rule - a reflection of prejudice, intolerance, ignorance, panic and crude self-interest…
by Geoffrey R. Stone - Chicago Tribune
Geoffrey R. Stone is a law professor at the University of Chicago.
Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature
by Paul Axel-Lute - Rutgers School of Law–Newark
Gay Marriage & Galileo:
Pope described as …"so averse to anything intellectual that everyone has to play dense and ignorant to gain his favor"
The Trial of Galileo - by Douglas O. Linder (2002)
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY (UMKC) SCHOOL OF LAW
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
California - Prop 8 judgment, August 4, 2010 - Gay marriage
“Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
Judge Vaughn Walker
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/gay-marriage-religious-beliefs-that-gay.html
On Prop 8, it's the evidence, stupid
By Lisa Bloom - CNN.com
and related links:
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-prop-8-its-evidence-stupid-by-lisa_18.html
American Academy of Pediatrics
The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on
the Health and Well-being of Children – 2006
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/118/1/349
Gay marriage -> Restoring "Hope of Love" To Children In Early Childhood -> Marriage Equality – March 23, 2010 – Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Marriage Equality, like Galileo, is the truth about the facts of growing up gay. Marriage Equality will not become a reality until people learn that its most vital purpose is that it restores the “hope of love” to children in early childhood – essential to their development and well-being for life. Without Marriage Equality we teach children how to hate love and how to be mean and indifferent to people as adults. With all due respect, without Marriage Equality we would teach them in much the same way as has been shown by Benedict XVI and the hierarchy, especially in their lack of care and protection of children for decades.
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/03/restoring-hope-of-love-to-children-in_23.htmlSEXUAL CONVERSION THERAPIES
Jack Drescher, M.D.
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/sexual-conversion-therapies-jack.html
The Power of Marital Love – Marriage Equality – Maine 2009 – Minnesota 2010
It must be remembered that the importance and meaning of marriage is more than procreation. Two people pledging their love to each other is not just for themselves, because that is not a marriage. By being in love, two become one and they are better equip to be the best for everyone in world their families, friends, co-workers and beyond. In this way all marriages are contributing to the procreation of children by their enriching the social environment that children will be born into. I think that love; true love like energy is never lost, a bit like Einstein, maybe.
Gay Marriage - Truth Will Set Us Free Not Ignorance and Fear
by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/power-of-marital-love-marriage-equality.html
"For Richer, For Poorer:
Same-Sex Couples and the Freedom to Marry as a Civil Right,"
DMI E-Journal, by Wolfson, Evan,
(Drum Major Institute for Public Policy) 2003
Excerpts: Introduction
On the historic, horrific morning of September 11, 2001, John kissed his wife, Rosa, goodbye before heading to his job as an office-cleaner in the World Trade Center’s North Tower. Rosa never heard from her husband again. After searching frantically for days, Rosa accepted the reality of his disappearance. She filed for a death certificate and arranged her husband’s memorial service. Rosa received Workers’ Compensation from the state and a small Social Security death benefit from the federal government. She contacted John's former employer, who arranged for receipt of his pension. Because John and Rosa had few assets, they had never seen the need for a will, nor did they have the financial means to hire a lawyer to prepare one. Nonetheless, John's assets, which included a small savings account, their home and a car, were given to Rosa by law.
That same morning, Juan kissed Ryan, his partner of 21 years, goodbye and headed to his job as a file-clerk in that same North Tower. Like Rosa, Ryan never heard from Juan again. Ryan applied for Workers’ Compensation and Social Security, but, unlike Rosa, he was told he was not eligible for those benefits because he was not Juan’s legal spouse. Even though Juan and Ryan had taken some precautions to protect their commitment -- such as registering as domestic partners, designating one another as beneficiaries on insurance policies, and executing health care proxies and powers of attorney -- and even though Juan paid the same taxes as John, Ryan was not automatically entitled to any of the compensations given to Rosa. In addition to his emotional devastation, Ryan was financially devastated as well.
Why did Rosa have an economic safety net, while Ryan did not? The answer can be summed up in two words: “I do.” ...
Marriage Makes Life Together More Affordable
Marriage makes almost every aspect of a relationship less expensive. Without money, a lawyer or any forethought, married couples receive the benefits of a complex set of legal rules that create default choices most couples would select anyway. Thus:
Spouses are allowed to make life-saving decisions for each other without drafting powers of attorney or other complicated legal documents;
Spouses presumptively inherit each others' estates without the need for intricate wills; …
Read complete article: http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/article.php?ID=5518
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/for-richer-for-poorer-same-sex-couples.html
“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.”
Erik Erikson
…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:6
Protect children and the entire world will be safe.
Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
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