“This is about prayer,” he said inside the cathedral. “I sort of needed a good dose of the Lord’s grace and mercy because I’ve been down a little lately as you can imagine.”
Archbishop [Timothy] Dolan said he was disheartened that the same-sex marriage bill was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
“I would have to say I was sad because it’s not good for the common good,” the archbishop said. “I think society and culture is at its peril.”
I agree that it shouldn’t have been mentioned in the sermon.
What’s done, is done.
Instead of preaching about it after the fact, it’s time to be writing letters of excommunication to legislators who voted for the bill. Not to be vindictive or punitive, but to bring about repentance. That’s a sermon, writ large.
Also, the Bishop of Brooklyn [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/06/26/2011-06-26_passage_of_gay_nuptials_in_new_york_state_is_another_nail_in_the_coffin_of_marri.html]continues[/url] the fight in today’s Daily News:
[blockquote]As the chief shepherd of the Catholics in our City’s two most populous boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens, the decision of our Catholic Governor and State Legislature to overturn the common understanding of marriage that, despite many developments over thousands of years, has always been understood between a man and woman. That there was virtually no public debate on the issue and that the entire matter was concluded in just over thirty-minutes late on a Friday evening is disgraceful.
As a protest, I have asked my collaborators not to bestow or accept honors, nor to extend a platform of any kind to any state elected official, in all our parishes and churches for the foreseeable future.[/blockquote]
Money certainly corrupts. According to the NY Times account about the insane vote to devalue and debase marriage, it was a group of millionaires behind the scene that provided the leverage (bribes?) to pass the legislation.
The same thing happened here in Ma. to keep voting on Gay Marriage off the ballot. One Gay leader was even brazenly quoted on the front page of the Boston Globe as saying that their biggest problem was keeping the politicians bought until the vote was taken. No wonder the last 3 Speakers of the Mass. House are now convicted felons.
Of course, bribery is a course of action those most against trashing marriage– genuine Christians–can’t follow. So those in favor of traditional marriage are at a big disdavantage–especially in states where corruption is endemic.
I have no doubt that even if [b]Republican[/b] Senators lose their positions through the electoral process over this matter, they will be amply rewarded with other well-compensated places in the Cuomo administration.
Claims about corruption are easy to make–and easy to dismiss. But I live in NY, in the county represented by one of the Republican senators who voted in favor of this travesty. His predecessor, and longtime political boss of this county’s Republican party as well as the Republican majority leader in the last Senate, is now making every plea he can think of to stay out of jail on corruption charges. One of his proteges, from my little rural village, the lawyer who represented the seller when we bought our home here 25 years ago and later became county executive, is also a convicted felon. Our county is known for two things: backwoods rusticity and corruption. The state of NY is the same, writ large. It is a disgrace.
I haven’t the slightest doubt that money played a large part in this vote. We’ll see in the next election how many votes these tainted millions can buy.
I don’t see a problem with mentioning this in a sermon. The broader issue is whether a bishop speaks out at all, whether in a sermon or through other media. The primary duty of a christian leader has always been to speak.
The RC bishop of Brooklyn is to be commended for his willingness to speak out publicly, in such a way that his flock as well as the general public have no doubt about where he stands
Here in Sydney, both Roman Catholics and Anglicans are blessed with bishops who are prepared to speak out on public issues that impinge on spiritual affairs. I wouldn’t say they are quick to speak, but where there is an extreme effect (as here) both Cardinal Pell and Archbishop Jensen (and the Anglican assistant bishops) are prepared to speak out strongly, and their words carry weight.