Well, hopefully you can, but I know about 75 people who just sent a letter to a Catholic Archbishop, who can’t handle the truth.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is holding a march and rally in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2014. The goal of the march and rally is to raise awareness that marriage has been defined once and for all, by God, as a relationship that involves only one man and one woman. While this seems like a pretty simple concept to most people, there is a small group of Americans who refuse to accept God’s definition of marriage. Therefore, what would seem like an unnecessary rally and march, is actually quite necessary.

This is because there are two groups which hold completely contradictory understandings of the very same teaching of Christ. There is a small group that says marriage should include same-sex couples and another group which is larger, but not overwhelmingly so, which says marriage only includes relationships in which there is one man and one woman. The rest of America, and by far the largest group of the three, is undecided, doesn’t care, or at best, flip flops between the two smaller groups.

Since the Catholic Church is and has always been the major champion of Christ’s teachings, including His teaching on marriage, it makes sense that many of the speakers scheduled to speak at and participate in the march and rally are Catholic. One of those Catholics is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. As you may imagine, Archbishop Cordileone’s participation in such an event has ruffled the feathers of the small group of people who want same-sex marriage. Upon learning of Archibishop Cordileone’s intent to speak at the NOW rally and march, they have penned him a letter, asking that he change his plans. The list of characters at the bottom of this letter include people who cannot even live up to their own standards of tolerance, acceptance and relativism, including at least one laicized priest (which means he isn’t a priest anymore) Roy Bourgeois, a female priest wannabe, Mary Hunt and one dude (Jim Fitzgerald) who claims to be Catholic but worked for Planned Parenthood for over 10 years but still claims that Planned Parenthood has done more to prevent abortion than Planned Parenthood. He also claims that abortion is a, “tiny part of Planned Parenthood’s services”. Of course he probably thought he could get away with that lie five years ago. But we know much more now that tougher safety regulations are forcing abortion clinics to either employ safety procedures for abortions or get out of the abortion business. Since this new legislation has been introduced in various states, abortion clinics are going out of business left and right. If abortion only a tiny part of Planned Parenthood’s services, you wouldn’t see this. In short, Fitzgerald is either a world class fool or a liar. But back to the letter. The rest of the people listed are simply anti-Catholic and non-Christian LGBT advocates who do all they can to keep away from the truth when it comes to homosexual behavior and the actual teachings of the Catholic Church.
Below is the letter, with my perspective and observations in bold:

June 10, 2014
Dear Archbishop Cordileone,
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that you cancel your participation in the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) march and rally in Washington, DC, on June 19, 2014. (Because they can’t handle the truth)

We understand that people of good will may have genuinely heartfelt differences on the question of civil marriage for same-sex couples. (They have to designate themselves people of good will because most of America won’t do it for us.) Moreover, while not all of us agree with official Catholic teaching on marriage and family, we appreciate the many statements from Catholic leaders defending the human dignity of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, especially the recent words of Pope Francis: “If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” (Actually, like the Pope Francis quote they use out of context here, they really only “appreciate” the statements they can take out of context. They especially like the statements that they can paint as new and accepting when all the Catholic speaker was doing was speaking from the Catechism and longstanding Catholic teaching. To the contrary, they absolutely hate it when they are confronted with the truth and can’t somehow misinterpret it or twist it into something that doesn’t challenge them to live a moral and holy life. When that happens, they ignore the statement.)

Pope Francis’ words echo the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that lesbian and gay people “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (While that is part of what the Catechism says in paragraph #2358, the Church also points out that there is an enormous difference between an individual’s choices, inclinations, desires, behaviors, etc… and the person himself or herself. The Catechism does not say that we are to accept or tolerate behavior that is contrary to the teachings of Christ and His Church. We are to respect each individual because each one of us is created in the image and likeness of God and we are to help each other live out the plan that God has specifically designed for us. Pope Francis did not simply say that homosexual behavior was good. Consistent with the Church’s teaching, he said he recognized that there are same-sex attracted people who are searching for the Lord. He said he will not Judge the individual who is searching for the Lord. As a loyal son of the Church, Pope Francis knows that he has no right to judge an individual, for that would be to condemn someone who is living with serious sin on his or her soul. That right is reserved for God alone. But Pope Francis knows and believes the rest of the Catechism on the issue of homosexuality which includes,

They despise the parts of the Catechism and the parts of the bible that talk about repentance and holiness because they know this means that a person who has a same-sex attraction must resist acting on that attraction by engaging in homosexual behavior. The thought of sacrifice, struggle and anything less than conveniences is painful to all of us, but it is the LGBT activists who claim the right to be totally free from this Christian obligation of placing God ahead of self.)

We respect freedom of religion and understand that you oppose civil marriage for same-sex couples. (Well, they only respect it if we hold it quietly in our hearts and never speak about it or act in a way that exhibits our beliefs. If we speak in favor of God’s design for marriage, all respect, understanding and tolerance evaporates in the blink of an eye and we are immediately labeled as a bigot, an idiot, hateful and oppressive.) But the actions and rhetoric of NOM, and those of the event’s speakers and co-sponsors, fundamentally contradict Christian belief in the fundamental human dignity of all people. (The LGBT definition of the dignity of the person focuses on feelings, and has nothing to do with natural law or with the fact that we are all created in the likeness and image of God. Therefore, NOM and any other person or organization that disagrees with the goodness of homosexual behavior is assailing the dignity of the homosexual because the homosexual doesn’t feel appreciated, accepted or liked. The fact is, there is no “good” in homosexual behavior. At least not in the true definition of goodness, which is an unchanging truth that transcends all time and space. If any LGBT advocate speaks about the “good” of homosexual behavior, he or she is speaking about physical and emotional feelings, not a transcendental goodness that brings a person closer to God. When the Church teaches about the dignity of the person, she teaches that the dignity is due to God’s creation, and goes way beyond the emotional feelings of the person. In fact, respecting the dignity of the person often requires that we risk hurting someone’s feelings because, due to original sin, our feelings can easily lead us away from Christ, away from God’s plan for us here on earth. It is human nature to react emotionally to being corrected, disciplined or reprimanded, even when we know our behavior warrants it. But in all cases, the consequences of engaging in bad behavior without correction are way worse than the consequence of having our sensibilities offended (hurt feelings) when we are informed of the wisdom of changing our path. This difficult step of correction is painful, but it is an authentic love that truly respects the dignity of the person. It is a call to holiness.”

NOM has a long and well-documented history of publishing material that connects homosexuality with pedophilia and incest and falsely suggests that gays and lesbians are trying to “inculcate children.” (Although the allegations in this sentence are quite vague, let’s look at the part that talks about inculcating children. One of the most devious tactics of the LGBT activists is their approach to indoctrinating children and the young parents of those children. One of the first things a local LGBT group does upon the passage of laws that redefine marriage to allow same-sex marriage or a law that adds gender identity to the protected class in the state, is to put LGBT authored books on the bookshelves in elementary school libraries. Sometimes the reading curriculum of an elementary school will include books that portray same-sex parents as normal, harmless, good and happy. There is a traveling LGBT exhibit that promotes the normalcy of same-sex parents and that exhibit focuses on churches, children’s museums and other places where children and young families are likely to spend time. Groups like Planned Parenthood promote heterosexual and homosexual experimentation when they present to young kids in Girl Scout meetings and conferences. In fact, Americans in their teens and twenties are the most tolerant and accepting segment of our society when it comes to homosexual behavior. So, the LGBT advocates know they have an easy audience in grade school, high school and colleges across the country. If anyone speaks up about the evilness of this tactic, they are shouted down by angry and aggressive LGBT advocates.) Likewise, the Family Research Council, which is co-sponsoring the event, has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center because of their vitriolic rhetoric; recently, a spokesperson for FRC blamed the growing acceptance of marriage for same sex couples for the Isla Vista mass shootings. (Here, they are referring to Ken Blackwell who didn’t actually say the shootings were caused by same-sex marriage. That’s right, the familiar misinterpretation or twisting of words so the LGBT advocate can mislead and misrepresent. What Blackwell did say was that we are seeing a crumbling moral foundation in our country and same-sex marriage and the LGBT’s advocacy for homosexual behavior is part of the decay. But instead of dealing with the problems caused by moral relativism, people look for ways to treat the symptoms. He was really talking about gun control and reactionary responses to violence. He’s saying, reaction is too late. By then the damage has been done. He’s advocating for a return to the basic teachings of Christ which requires parents to raise their children instead of leaving that job up to popular culture.)

Other individuals with whom you would be marching and sharing the podium have repeatedly denigrated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: (Not really. At least that isn’t the intent of most people who advocate for traditional marriage. Unfortunately, the LGBT advocates get all emotional and full of hate if anyone says anything that challenges their desires for how the world should work. Once they are all upset, they can’t seem to think critically or understand common sense or reason.)

Marriage for same-sex couples “would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them.” –Mike Huckabee (His analogies do not say homosexuals are drug users or practitioners of incest. He’s simply saying that accommodating one person’s choice to behave in a certain way lends a hand to other people who choose other behaviors that are currently unacceptable in their effort to gain acceptance and tolerance.)

“The ultimate goal of homosexual-rights activists is not to legalize same-sex marriage. Rather, it is to silence those who disagree with them and, if necessary, to throw them in jail.” — Gary Bauer (This is fairly true, except it stops a littel short of explaining their real reasons for seeking the legalization of same-sex marriage. The real reason is that they want to feel accepted and a law that recognizes their relationship as valid will help them feel that way. It may go a little too far with regard to jail in the near future, but jail is a possibility and certainly financial ruin for traditional marriage advocates is a goal of the LGBT agenda. Look up the news stories regarding: Elaine Huguenin, Jack Philips and Masterpiece Cakeshop and David Parker.)

“Folks who cannot reproduce want to recruit your kids”. Marriage for same-sex couples is part of “a satanic plot to destroy our seed” . . . “an assault” which “corrupts, perverts and pollutes.” — Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. (It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but same-sex adoption is being actively pursued in many states right now. If they think they can indoctrinate your child by including LGBT friendly books into your child’s school and classroom, just think how excited some LGBT advocates are when they consider the teaching opportunity a same-sex couple can provide to a child who lives in the same home as the same-sex couple. But this isn’t focused solely on adoption and parenting. They want your children to see same-sex couples and same-sex parents on t.v., in magazines, in the news, at the movies and in novels, so that your child believes such behavior is common, normal or even expected.)

“Well if it’s a civil right for a man to marry man, and a woman to marry woman, what’s the difference of a man deciding he wants to have sex with a dog?” — Rev. Bill Owens, Sr. (Just as with their quote from Mike Huckabee above, the authors take Rev. Owens’ words out of context and employ the logical fallacy of feigning to misunderstand the meaning in order to attack the speaker. Rev. Owens does not say homosexual behavior is the same as bestiality. He’s simply saying that accommodating one person’s choice to behave in a certain way lends a hand to other people who choose other behaviors that are currently unacceptable in their effort to gain acceptance and tolerance. You would think that one of the authors of this letter has the brains to argue their position with much more skill than to resort to fallacy. But you have to keep reminding yourself that they have to use weak, inflammatory and unfair tactics because they don’t have any truth on their side.)

Moreover, NOM’s promotional video for this event – which includes your image – uses incendiary rhetoric about those who support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples:

“[Their] goal is silence and punishing anyone who disagrees. … This is not tolerance, it’s tyranny. You have a choice. You can remain silent in the face of oppression or you can stand up and fight for the truth. … These same sex advocates wish to silence anyone who disagrees with them.” (If this is what the video says, it is simply the truth. Because the LGBT advocates don’t have the truth on their side, their only defense is to feign offense, mischaracterize their opposition and otherwise promote dishonesty and misinformation as though they have facts to support them. They don’t have facts that support them though.)

By standing alongside these individuals and organizations, you appear to be endorsing their troubling words and deeds, which directly contradict the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral teaching that “God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual. God’s love is always and everywhere offered to those who are open to receiving it.” (Always Our Children, 1997) (The words and deeds of NOM and other organizations that educate Americans about the truth, goodness and beauty of God’s plan for marriage is only troubling to the LGBT advocates because they can’t defeat the truth with their lies and they want their lifestyle accepted, tolerated and justified in spite of the fact that we all know their behavior and choices are wrong, based in flawed reasoning and harmful.)

Many people of faith who have different opinions on the question of civil marriage for same-sex couples have come together in respectful dialogue and discernment to discuss those differences. Sadly, the actions of NOM and its invited speakers push us farther apart rather than bringing us together. (Groups like NOM only push the LGBT advocates further away from people of faith is because people of faith accept the teachings of Christ as Christ taught, without twisting anything into some strange and disjointed justification for choices and behaviors that are totally contrary to the Gospel. Anyone who advocates for same-sex marriage, and homosexual behavior fails to be a person of faith in Christ. Such a person is only faithful to their self and has created a god in their own likeness and image. It is a distortion that will lead to ruin.)

We ask that you will reconsider your participation and join us in seeking to promote reconciliation rather than division and hatred. (Ah, reconciliation. I wonder how many of these “authors” have a copy of the Queen James bible lying around their home. The reconciliation they need is a reconciliation with the truth. Until then, they are just living in a self-induced dream world of self-worship.)

Sincerely,
(Signed: approximately 75 clueless progressives who can’t handle the truth)