Editorial in Catholic college’s newspaper declares bigotry to be a threat

Sometimes it takes only a single voice to shed light on the ills of our society and the realities of the world around us. This week, this “little voice” was Bryant West at St. Mary’s College of California, a Catholic college in Moraga, California. In an editorial titled “Bigotry anywhere is a threat everywhere,” West declares the negative influence that bigotry has on our society. To emphasis how threatening bigotry is, West explains how such has been manifested in recent years:

The Montana GOP party has, since 1997, run on the platform that homosexuality is illegal and any homosexual acts should result in arrest. For a country that is shifting its opinion on gay marriage, with five states and Washington D.C. now performing gay marriages, it’s shocking that any political party could still run on such a stance of intolerance and ignorance.

However, the ingenuity of West’s editorial is not only in his accurate account of the Montana GOP’s discriminatory platform, but also his commentary. In responding to the prevalence of bigotry in the United States, West writes:

Take any other minority of race, religion, nationality, color, or creed. African American, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Buddhist, etc. If anyone ran on a serious political platform making being that minority illegal, they’d be a political pariah before you could say “bigotry.” So why do we still stand idly by while this kind of political bigotry against homosexuality is propagated? Anyone, of any creed, of any political party or religion, no matter their views on gay marriage, should see the folly and frank stupidity in making homosexuality illegal.

West concludes:

With the issue of gay marriage so prevalent in today’s society, one would think the status quo for gay couples would have been raised over the past decade. But apparently, we still have a long way to go. No minority of any creed should find themselves the victims of such blatant bigotry.

We, here at QfN applaud Mr. West for his thoughtful editorial and for his courage. Read the entire article on the college newspaper’s website.

Dr. Mirus argues homosexuality is an example of the “deficiencies, defects and disorders” that humans encounter

Dr. Jeff Mirus, President of Catholic Culture

It is of course to no surprise that Catholic Culture features an article that attempts to paint homosexuality as a deficiency, defect, and disorder. Wait! Deficiency? Defect? Disorder? Are you serious Dr. Mirus? Lets look at each of these “descriptive” words in some depth:

A deficiency refers to a lack of something. What are gay and lesbian people lacking? Ah, that’s right equality. Okay, so far I agree with your observation.

A defect refers to a shortcoming, a lack, or imperfection. Yes, on this descriptive word regarding homosexuality, I must agree. I am sure that you apply this word as it applies to the anti-gay laws that exist in particular states and areas regarding the ability of GLBT people to adopt children or perhaps you are drawing attention to the lack of benefits that GLBT people have regarding visiting their spouse in the hospital.

Lastly, you claim that homosexuality is an example of a disorder. This word refers to a state of confusion. I hope you are not referring to my living room! On this application of a descriptive word, I must disagree. The only disorder I see, is your own confusion in somehow thinking that gay marriage will affect your own marriage (if you are indeed married) or society at large.

These explanations are far from what Dr. Mirus actually presents in his article on Catholic Culture. Mirus’s article is instead an attack on gay and lesbians that relentlessly argues that homosexuality is a deficiency, disorder, and a defect. It is a very sad day when a man that purports to be a Catholic, spends his time criticizing and condemning other human beings. It’s intriguing how Dr. Mirus thinks he is worthy to condemn those who were created as homosexuals by God in His image and likeness.

So what does Dr. Mirus present in his article? Here is a very telling excerpt:

He or she must not merely integrate, control and channel sexual inclinations, but must largely deny them altogether, not only in their physical expression, but also in a far broader range of affectivity which is conditioned even in small ways by sexual interplay: Heightened interest, a sense of romance, a special tenderness. It is true that a celibate priest must be very careful of what we might call sexually-tinged affectivity, on the altogether sound theory that one thing leads to another. But the person with persistent homosexual inclinations must suppress or redirect such inclinations to an even greater extent. This is an enormous challenge.

And here is an excerpt from the section where he tries to explain why homosexuality is disordered:

In a cultural vacuum, it ought to be relatively easy to understand intellectually that homosexual inclinations are disordered. It ought to be fairly clear that the sexual faculties are both naturally ordered to the propagation and preservation of the species and supernaturally ordered toward a kind of union among man, woman and child which mirrors the essential fecundity of Divine love. When one notices that one’s own sexual inclinations do not tend toward this sort of union and fecundity—or even this ability to reproduce—then one can perceive a very definite disorder in those inclinations. There may be something one can do to alter them; they may be a very confused set of inclinations which are bound up with past experiences or habits, and so amenable to change as one comes to terms with these experiences or habits. Or there may be no way to eliminate the inclinations at all. Nonetheless, that they are disordered can be intellectually grasped.

Read the entire “analysis” by Dr. Mirus online at Catholic Culture’s website.

Feel free to contact Dr. Mirus with your thoughts at http://www.catholicculture.org/contact/.

Gay Catholic Priest to speak at Rally against Pope in London

Pope Benedict XVI

Fr. Bernard Lynch, a Roman Catholic Priest in the United Kingdom, is to speak at the “Protest the Pope Rally.” According to a press release sent out announcing the priest’s presence at the rally, Alan Knowles of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association’s leadership stated:

“As humanists we welcome the opportunity to work with those from all religions – and none – to protest against the State visit of Pope Benedict who has attacked and undermined LGBT Rights on so many occasions.”

So why is Fr. Lynch protesting against the Supreme Pontiff, Benedict XVI?

Father Lynch says he is still proud to b a Roman Catholic priest, but that he regards the Vatican’s policy regarding HIV/Aids and contraception as “evil and anti-gospel.”

Read the entire release online at UK Gay News.

Students rally in support of lesbian Dean at Catholic School

CBS 3 in Springfield, IL, provides coverage of the continuing situation with Cathedral High School in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield regarding the Dean, Christine Judd, who was recently removed from her post after marrying her same-sex partner. Here is a link to the article on the television station’s website including a video of the newscast.