Some things never change and one of those things is the Roman Catholic Church's never ending efforts to make the lives of LGBT Americans miserable and to conform the nation's civil laws with the Church's religious based bigotry against gays. The concept of a separation between Church law and the secular civil laws is lost on the U.S. Catholic Bishops, some of whom ought to be under criminal indictment for their roles in the enabling and/or protection of pedophile priests (a new story out of New Jesey is reporting that Newark Archbishop John J. Myers shielded 4 predatory priests in the 1980's). The arrogance of these bitter old men knows no limits and Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, is accusing the vote to extend civil unions to Illinois same sex couples as being part of the "gay agenda." As if the Church doesn't have its own bigoted and discriminatory agenda. As the Chicago Tribune reports, the bishops have their panties in a wad and are using the tired "slippery slope" rant against this positive step towards equality under the CIVIL laws. Here are some highlights:*
Both before and after Illinois lawmakers voted in favor of a civil unions bill, opponents argued that such a law would create a "slippery slope," sending the state sliding unhindered toward the legalization of same-sex marriages.
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"There's absolutely a long-term strategy here," said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. "I'm sure they are assessing every state in the country for possible opportunities. They are well-funded, they are well-organized, they are very aggressive and they don't take no for an answer."
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Firedog Lake has additional analysis of the anti-gay Catholic Church in a post that looks at the Illinois situation and where the Catholic Church is headed nationally in its efforts to bar LGBT equality. Personally, given the Church's efforts to effect legislation and indirectly elections, I can't help but wonder where is the IRS. These anti-gay efforts fly in the face of the requirements of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and ought to result in a lose of tax-exempt status. Here are some highlights from Firedog Lake:
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In 2008, the Roman Catholic church was instrumental in two major battles against marriage equality — Maine’s Prop 1 and California’s Prop 8. Leading the fight nationally for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz was elected Vice President of the USCCB, after giving a powerful address reporting on the USCCB ad-hoc committee’s work to defend marriage (a committee he chairs). About halfway through his remarks came this: . . . in a sense, today is like 1970 for marriage. If, in 1970, you knew that Roe v. Wade were coming in two or three years, what would you have done differently?
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Equating marriage equality with abortion tells you how Kurtz views same-sex relationships. . . . Fast forward one month to Illinois. Governor Pat Quinn worked hard to get a civil unions bill passed in the Illinois Legislature, with help from Speaker of the House Michael Madigan — and both Quinn and Madigan are Roman Catholics.
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This did not sit well with Springfield Illinois Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who released this statement to the media: After the Illinois House of Representatives approved legislation that would require the state to recognize same-sex unions, Governor Pat Quinn was quoted as saying, “My religious faith animates me to support this bill.” He did not say what religious faith that would be, but it certainly is not the Catholic faith.
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[T]he USCCB is bent on pushing some of its in-house concerns into the public debates — something they have a clear right to do, but which ought to concern people who do not subscribe to Catholic doctrine.
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Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin pushed back on all this quite nicely: Nothing prevents prelates who believe homosexuality is a sin or that civil unions violate natural law from preaching or teaching it. But the state doesn’t serve a church or a religious doctrine. It serves its citizens who deserve equal justice under the law.And that’s what Illinois just did.
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Under the leadership of Archbishop Kurtz, the USCCB seems determined not simply to stand against marriage equality, but to work just as hard against anything that might lead to it. . . . 2008′s marriage battles were a preview of this, and 2010′s battles over abortion in the health reform discussions were the warm-up act. The Illinois civil unions bill, on the other hand, is the opening shot of the main event: the 2012 culture wars. It’s not going to be pretty.
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In 2008, the Roman Catholic church was instrumental in two major battles against marriage equality — Maine’s Prop 1 and California’s Prop 8. Leading the fight nationally for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz was elected Vice President of the USCCB, after giving a powerful address reporting on the USCCB ad-hoc committee’s work to defend marriage (a committee he chairs). About halfway through his remarks came this: . . . in a sense, today is like 1970 for marriage. If, in 1970, you knew that Roe v. Wade were coming in two or three years, what would you have done differently?
*
Equating marriage equality with abortion tells you how Kurtz views same-sex relationships. . . . Fast forward one month to Illinois. Governor Pat Quinn worked hard to get a civil unions bill passed in the Illinois Legislature, with help from Speaker of the House Michael Madigan — and both Quinn and Madigan are Roman Catholics.
*
This did not sit well with Springfield Illinois Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who released this statement to the media: After the Illinois House of Representatives approved legislation that would require the state to recognize same-sex unions, Governor Pat Quinn was quoted as saying, “My religious faith animates me to support this bill.” He did not say what religious faith that would be, but it certainly is not the Catholic faith.
*
[T]he USCCB is bent on pushing some of its in-house concerns into the public debates — something they have a clear right to do, but which ought to concern people who do not subscribe to Catholic doctrine.
*
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin pushed back on all this quite nicely: Nothing prevents prelates who believe homosexuality is a sin or that civil unions violate natural law from preaching or teaching it. But the state doesn’t serve a church or a religious doctrine. It serves its citizens who deserve equal justice under the law.And that’s what Illinois just did.
*
Under the leadership of Archbishop Kurtz, the USCCB seems determined not simply to stand against marriage equality, but to work just as hard against anything that might lead to it. . . . 2008′s marriage battles were a preview of this, and 2010′s battles over abortion in the health reform discussions were the warm-up act. The Illinois civil unions bill, on the other hand, is the opening shot of the main event: the 2012 culture wars. It’s not going to be pretty.
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