The Point
November 2006
Separating Church and State?
"Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate,
nor sodomites, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners,
shall possess the kingdom of God." (1Cor. 6:9)
Signs of a radical homosexual agenda first appeared in America more than forty years ago. Both State and Church were targeted but especially the stronghold that would be the harder to overcome—The Catholic Church. Appealing to the virtues of charity, compassion, and tolerance, homosexuals were presented as victims who could not help themselves. They are merely what God made them and they appealed for understanding so that they could live ordinary lives just like anyone else. The leaders hiding behind this mask of meekness however, were militant and active homosexuals, whose aim was to infiltrate, recruit, and revolutionize the sexual mores of society.
If anyone knew the intensity of the battle, it was Saint Paul who warned, Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. (Eph. 6:12)
Rejecting the wisdom and militancy of Saint Paul, many church leaders opened wide the doors of the Church, let the enemies in and accepted them as they were. The need for conversion in faith and morals was put aside for “we are all God’s people.” Catholic seminaries failed to discriminate against candidates and even welcomed men with homosexual inclinations. For decades the strong voice of the Church was silenced, first by subversion then by the shame of scandal. Left without a voice for moral guidance, the state abolished laws based on Christian principles. In effect there was a clear separation between Church and State, of morals and law, of faith and reason. The result is “same sex marriage.”
Compassion
It is often said that this issue must be handled with compassion. Well, the Catholic bishops of the United States could never as a body be accused of lacking compassion for sinners no matter who they are or what crime they have committed. If homosexuals need compassion, it follows—they thought—that homosexual priests need it more so, even if they are attracted to children. Out of this compassion came policies that shuffled homosexual priests from one parish to another. They were treated with all kindness, not looked down upon or made to feel inferior. And after repeated offences when all seemed lost, they were sent to special psychiatric treatment centers for rehabilitation. There was always hope for a change but no results.
Nor can the bishops be charged with discrimination, for apparently a priest’s weakness did not bar him from being assigned to work where he could give full reign to his inclinations.
Yet, these policies are now rightly considered criminal and have been abandoned. Obviously, charity, compassion, and tolerance were misplaced, giving rise to untold harm. Shouldn’t the bishops’ compassion have been to the innocent and have driven the wolves from the flock? Shouldn’t they have been more discriminate in choosing priests and in giving assignments?
A Sign of Hope
Destructive and devastating as the scandals were, the Church is now freed from the threat of blackmail and once again can openly express the teachings that Christ entrusted to it. Christ is both human and divine and so is the Church. The men that make it up are human but its doctrines are divine.
At the recent Catholic Bishops’ meeting in Baltimore, the bishops approved documents describing homosexual activity as immoral. They also stressed the Church’s teaching which condemns birth control—another unnatural vice—asking anyone who disagrees to refrain from receiving Holy Communion.
According to Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe: “The statements mark the first time the bishops have attempted to explain and offer guidance on longstanding Church teachings, in light of recent controversies.”
Why should the bishops speak out? Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas said: “As teachers, we have an obligation to teach not just about the things people agree with, but the difficult things as well…” As successors of the Apostles, the bishops are obeying the command of Christ to, “Go forth and teach all nations. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe will be condemned.”
In his epistle to the Ephesians, Saint Paul explains how God, looking upon His fallen creation, wished to “re-establish all things in Christ.” According to Pope Leo XIII, the term “all things” encompasses not only the spiritual order but the temporal as well, in other words whatever concerns living well and happily in this mortal life. Chief among temporal issues is the family union of which marriage is the very foundation.
Strong Doctrine
Pope Leo wrote in his encyclical on Christian Marriage, “He (Christ) bore witness to the Jews and to His Apostles that marriage, from its institution, should exist between two only, that is between one man and one woman; that of the two they are made, so to say, one flesh: and that the marriage bond is by the will of God so closely and strongly made fast that no man may dissolve it or render it asunder.”
In this encyclical, Leo was addressing the problems of his day: divorce and the usurpation of Church rights by the state regarding marriage. He makes no direct reference to the evils referred to by our bishops, contraception and homosexual “marriage.” These sins, along with abortion, were unthinkable at the time—still belonging to that category which Saint Paul said should not so much as even be named among you as becometh saints. (Eph. 5: 3)
From the Gospel we see Christ restoring marriage to its original purity among the Jews who at one time had become accustomed to take multiple wives and send them away at will. By doing so he restored the dignity of women and made families stable. For Him, too, there was no need to mention what is facing us today. Contraception was especially odious to the Jews who expected the promised messiah from their race. Moreover, it was the duty of every couple to help increase the “chosen people.” And then there was the example of Onan who prevented conception, And therefore the Lord slew him, because he did a detestable thing. (Gen. 38:10)
Sodomy also was horrific in the eyes of the Jews of the Old Testament: And the Lord spoke to Moses saying: If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. (Lev. 20:13) And there were still signs of God’s wrath for the city known for that sin: “And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. …And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. (Genesis 18: 20, 19:24)
Saint Paul however witnessed these evils as he traveled to pagan places. To the people of Rome he wrote of the heathens and the wicked ones of the world who would not honor God: “God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature. And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts, one towards another: men with men, working that which is filthy and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error. And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient.
Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity: whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute: without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death: and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them. (Romans 1: 26-32)
Solomon’s Sword
Christ having renewed the dignity of marriage for the good of the propagation of the race and producing fellow citizens with the saints, (Eph. 2:19) entrusted its safe keeping the Catholic Church. According to Pope Leo, “The Church always and everywhere, has so used her power with reference to the marriages of Christians that men have seen clearly how it belongs to her as a native right, not being made hers by any human grant, but given divinely to her by the will of her Founder.” In a Christian country, therefore, the Church has a divine right to speak out against any encroachments by a secular state.
In the story of Solomon’s Wisdom, two women were fighting over the possession of one child. Solomon, not knowing whom to believe, said, “Bring me a sword. ‘Divide,’ said he, ‘the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other’.” The true mother exclaimed, “I beseech thee, my lord, give her the child alive, and do not kill it. But the other said: Let it be neither mine nor thine; but divide it.”
Currently the State and the Church are fighting over one body. But who is looking out for the peoples’ best interest? The Church says, “If you would have life and happiness now and in eternity, follow Christ, obey the Commandments.”
On the other hand, the state says, “Pull down the commandments from all public places. You have the right to commit adultery, fornication, contraception, abortion, and now the deviancy of sodomy.” This is the death blow to society and to many souls. Likewise, spiritual death comes to anyone who thinks he can follow both Christ and the State by separating his private belief from his civic duty.
The state left to itself will commit genocide. We see it before our very eyes. How can the human race survive on contraception, abortion, divorce and now “marriage” that produces not life but its own deadly scourge, the AIDS epidemic?
What To Do
The people of Massachusetts have found out that the state will only ignore them on these crucial issues. Now that the bishops are beginning to speak out it is time to give them our support. You can help by calling your parish priest—instead of your local representative—and asking him to get in line with the unchanging teachings of the Church. You can write to your bishop and offer your support if he will come out publicly against evil and promote the traditional morals of the Catholic Faith.
When David came onto the battlefield to face Goliath, he looked around and saw the fear and helplessness of the professional soldiers. But he, untrained though he was, took courage and boldly stood against him. The wickedness of the world may well seem like Goliath but with strong faith, prayer and courageous action, all things can be restored in Christ.