Some belated good news out of Minneapolis. This past weekend, the dissident Catholic group New Ways Ministries had planned a symposium on homosexuality and the Catholic Church in that city. New Ways openly promotes a belief on homosexuality contrary to the Church’s teachings, and its founders have received censures from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for their heterodox teaching. The theme for the event was “Outward Signs: Lesbian/Gay Catholics in a Sacramental Church”.
Many Twin Cities Catholics were concerned that the the mass media would portray this as a mainstream Catholic gathering, confusing other Catholics on what the Church actually teaches about homosexuality, so they petitioned Archbishop Harry Flynn to take action, which he did.
Flynn sent a letter to New Ways expressing his concern over heterodox speakers and celebration of the Mass at the event to prevent a scandal to the faithful.
Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the reason for prohibiting the Eucharist at the symposium was simple: “There’s certain rules of the church that are inviolate. The Eucharist is the heart of our faith. There just isn’t much elbow room there.”
Meanwhile, you have to wonder about the three US bishops who had been planning to attend this event. Considering that New Ways promotes heterodoxy, that its founders had received Vatican censure, and that the archbishop of the place where the symposium was being held had expressed his concern at scandal, why were retired Archbishop Francis Hurley of Anchorage, Alaska, and retired auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn attending? (Retired Bishop Leroy Matthiesen, of Amarillo, Texas, bowed out of the conference at the last minute.)
Does he know what orthodox means?
Technorati Tags: Catholic | bishops | doctrine | dissent | homosexuality | New+Ways | Minneapolis |
“Flynn’s decision “is a betrayal of the core of our Catholic faith,” Bayly said. “The church should be big and wide to support diverse opinions. For God’s sake, it’s Catholic — it’s universal.”
The Church is not some amorphous oceanic festival of feelings, of sentimetalities that get mistaken so very often for love itself. Jesus spoke to the fact that few would actually follow Him. Whether in the parable of the sower or in other instances throughout the Gospels, He knew that His way, His road was quite hard and always uphill till the very end. As he so firmly stated:
” Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat.
How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!” Matthew 7:13-14
And His next statement anticipates Mr. Bayly and those sad participants especially any attending prelates:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”
Matthew 7: 15-16
In a previous article on this subject they mentioned what happened in Kentucky.
“Archbishop Thomas Kelly told New Ways Ministry that he had been told by the Vatican not to allow the Eucharist”
They of course ignored him, but it is interesting if true that someone in the Vatican is warning bishops off.
http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/archives/007806.php
“It’s not about being orthodox or not being orthodox, it’s about being sensitively aware.”—That’s got to be one of the funniest lines I’ve read in awhile.