The University of San Francisco
Personnel/Institutional Flowchart
Is any of this important? Does it matter? Why do we do this?
We think it does. We accept that the Church is divinely inspired, and was created for our salvation. We accept the Church's teaching.
So we think it matters because we think our same-sex attracted and "transgender" brothers and sisters matter.
The Catholic Church
teaches that sexual relationships between people of the same
gender are sinful, and thus never to be encouraged. The
“Gay Culture” of USF, of Catholic Charities and of
MHR assert that sexual relationships between people of the
same gender are not only OK, but to be celebrated. These two
positions cannot be reconciled.
•
When Faculty at
the highest level of the (Jesuit) University of San
Francisco teach (in a "Catholic" University) that the
Church's teaching on homosexuality is wrong, we think that
matters.
•
When Catholic
Charities staffs an organization that actively recruits
homosexual and "transgendered" persons to be adoptive
parents, and staffs itself at the highest level, with
persons who are openly defiant of the Church's teaching on
homosexuality, they are giving an implicit blessing to that
lifestyle and saying: it's not sinful. We think that
matters.
•
When the entire
community orientation at Most Holy Redeemer revolves around
homsexuality, when parish staff members are willing to quite
openly defy Church rules when the issue is the goodness of
homosexuality, we think that matters.
Again, we think
this matters because we think our same-sex attracted and
"transgender" brothers and sisters matter.
We think Jesus was
born, suffered and died to heal the breach between man and
God caused by sin. He established his Church to carry on
that work. So when the Church of God allows institutions
under its jurisdiction to take actions that instead of
healing that breach, widen it, and put the souls of our
brothers and sisters at risk, we think it is important.
We also realize this question should rightfully be asked: why do we do this?
Because our Bishops haven't.
(Note: we are
happy to be able to amend this statement. Today, June 11,
2008, Lifesite
News reports
that the Archdiocese of San Francisco has finally (after at
least 10 years) asked Most Holy Redeemer not to participate
in the "Gay Pride" parade. We believe this could only have
come from Archbishop George Niederauer, and we thank him for
his action in preventing this scandal. But, as we have
documented, there is plenty
of other scandalous behavior going on at MHR.)
All of us are
sinners. We all need, constantly, to amend our lives. When
we sin the Church gives us the sacrament of confession,
which rights us with God, and allows us to properly rejoin
our Christian community.
But suppose one
is a same-sex attracted man who is struggling to follow the
teaching of the Church. Then what is one to do when one
sees Catholic Charities saying, by its actions, that
homosexual acts are acceptable? Or when one reads a lecture
from a Professor of Theology or hears a homily from the
President or Director of University Ministry at USF,
teaching homosexuality is a gift from God? What is one to do
when the entire community at Most Holy Redeemer Church
teaches that sin is not sin? How does one judge? Which
community is one to join? Which is the Catholic
Church?
At that point
(actually, long before such a question could be asked) the
proper ecclesiastical authorities, the Bishops of the
Archdiocese of San Francisco, must fulfill their duty by
loudly and publicly proclaiming the true word of God.
Further, they must dismiss from positions of authority in
the Church those who would teach otherwise.
In San Francisco, as
we have documented, this has not happened. On this issue,
our Bishops have not fulfilled their duty to their brothers
and sisters, to their sons and daughters, to the Church, and
to God, despite overwhelming evidence of the need to do
so.