So it's Sunday morning and I wake up to this news: "San Antonio Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu, who ordered a local parish to stop hosting a weekly Mass for gay and transgender Catholics and their families. The letter, dated October 13, 2010, ordered the liturgies to end as of October 18, 2010."
As reported in the publication DignityUSA, the bishop most likely believes he is upholding the church's teachings. Instead, he is casting out LGBT singles, couples, and families (some with children) who have used the church as their spiritual home for more than 15 years.
This is Christian?
The article goes on to quote Fred Anthony Garza, who was a member of the ousted church group, who says: "Our community was shocked to arrive for Mass and discover this was the last time we could meet at the parish that has been our home for more than 15 years. It's like being kicked out of our home. We are all very sad. It's especially sad for the members of our community who have children, who could not find Catholic parishes who would baptize or provide First Communion for them. Those children have grown up in our community, and can't understand why their family cannot go to Mass here anymore."
This is Christian?
I'm posting this now because, as I said at the start, it's Sunday morning. For me, raised in a staunch Italian/Catholic family, Sunday mornings once meant getting ready to go to mass, to share in communion, to smell the scent of incense, to watch the priest lift the host high and say, "Take this, all of you, and eat it, for this is my body..."
If it sounds like I'm a little nostalgic for those Sunday mornings, you'd be right. I miss the traditions and the beauty of a Catholic mass, but it's been many years since I've felt welcome in a Catholic church, precisely because of human elements like Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu.
I feel sorry for my LGBT brothers and sisters who wanted to stick with the Catholic church and to be excluded like they have been is, sadly, not shocking, but revolting.
I just don't know how that bishop can honestly answer that often bandied question: "What would Jesus do?" with "Throw 'em out!" and believe he's answering it truthfully.
Shame on you, Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu! And thank you to the Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, who has opened their arms to the group.
Take the 'a' out of Cantu rearrange the other letters and there the Bishop stands exposed for what he is, a mean spirited, small minded un-Christian c**t!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Rick, I sincerely apologise for leaving my very rude profanity on your blog,but this kind of thing makes my blood boil, it also makes me want to weep with despair. I personally think Jesus would be deeply disgusted by some of the things done in his name.
Are you really surprised. The Church of Rome is all about power, not faith and certainly not "Christianity" as it appears in the four gospels. It relies for its authority on
ReplyDelete1) An apostolic succession that includes the Borgias, the Inquisition, licensed terrorists (even as recently as 20 years ago), kidnapped children and castrated young boys, let alone buggering them right up to the present day;
2) The "Donation of Constantine" — a notorious and clumsy medieval forgery;
3) A concept of papal infallibility that was only promulgated in the 19th century;
4) Threats of hellfire and damnation used to extract every penny from a poor populace; and
5) Shaky biblical quotes taken out of context similar to those that supported black slavery.
I think that the "outcasts" have a lot to thank Bishop Cantu for and they should encourage their friends and relatives still within the pale to migrate as soon as possible.
I'm proud to be "catholic" as an Anglican (Episcopalian) and object to the "so-called Bishop of Rome" hi-jacking that word.
We must also appreciate that the Roman Church has basically abandoned the USA for the greener pastures of South America. It is that audience that the hierarchy is addressing, not liberal North America.
Wow. I am stuned how can these so called children of God be so unluving and uncompassionate to their fellow christian. I was raised in a stritct irish catholic household and over the years I have become so fed up with the church. I hope the clergy realised that the bible was written not for modern man and modern times. But was written for the times is was concieved in.
ReplyDeleteThe catholic church needs to wake up as the old saying goes "he who is wothout sin cast the first stone" . My dear bishop you are not without sin when you cast out more of God's children like lambs to the slaughter.
"Love one another as I have loved you"
ReplyDeleteUnless you're gay, or a single mother or....
That's shameful.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't raised Catholic but my husband was, and I'm sad to say the more I learn of the church the less respect I have for the religion as a whole. My father-in-law is a deacon and refused to attend our wedding because I was previously divorced, and my sister-in-law's partner (who used to be a nun, btw) was not allowed in the home until hey adopted a child together and had her baptized. My friend's sister was denied a Catholic burial because she chose to be cremated, even though she made a large donation to the church shortly before her passing...the list goes on.
Christ would be appalled. Above all, he was tolerant and loving to all. This bishop is a heartless, cruel man who in no way upholds the teachings of ANY religion. And people wonder why I turned Agnostic....
ReplyDeleteThat Presbyterian Church deserves a lot of thanks and credit.
T D McKinney
My first thought was, this can't be true. Why isn't this bishop happy to have ANYONE attending mass? Those people are families, singles, men and women just like everybody else, and they want to live their lives as Christians, and Catholic Christians at that, so why can't he let them? Over here,(I'm in Germany) Catholic parishes die everywhere from lack of "sheep". I think most urban priests here would be thrilled to have anyone at all coming to their churches and fill them, let alone integrate the church into their lives. No wonder churches stand empty if the Catholic church can't overcome their outdated ways, rather hurting people than welcoming them in all their variety like Jesus did.
ReplyDelete