Do you know why the official name of the Catholic Church is actually the Roman Catholic Church? Because thanks to the Emperor Constantine, it was built on the vestiges of the Roman Empire. And it is still run like an empire; an empire that punishes dissidents among its people.
I previously praised my neighbor Tom Suozzi for courageously announcing in a New York Times OpEd that his position on Marriage Equality has advanced to the point where he fully supported civil marriage rights for LGBT persons.
The reason I described that OpEd as courageous, as opposed to merely good common sense, is because Tom is a practicing Roman Catholic. I know, from conversation with him, that he takes a good portion of his self identity from his faith. I know, from being active in his political campaigns for Nassau County Executive, that he takes a good portion of his political identity from his faith as well.
Therefore, such a change in position had little personal or political upside for Suozzi and was bound to attract the notice of Long Island’s own Bishop Murphy. And it has.
Bishop Murphy penned an editorial of his own in the Long Island Catholic the house organ of the his diocese, attacking Suozzi directly and by name. The last paragraph is a bit intense coming from a man in a mitre.
Gee, I wonder if the good bishop is afraid that Tom’s outspokeness will be the thing that puts the Marriage Equality legislation, currently held hostage in Albany, over the top.
Now, Newsday is reporting that the Bishop’s attack is working to hurt Suozzi with Catholic voters. He is accused of being a “buffet Catholic” one who focuses on the positions taken by the Church with which one is in harmony and not those positions with which one is in conflict.
I would remind those Catholic voters that the Church’s position on marriage equality is NOT dogma. It cannot be found in Christ’s teachings, so this is merely policy made by men. God made LGBT people and God loves all of us. If God does not discriminate against LGBT people, why should God’s children do so?
And Tom? Hang in there.
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The Catholic church doesn’t define “dogma” as “what’s found in Christ’s teachings”. The church thinks it has full rights to add more rules. They do use Jesus’s statement to Peter (according to Catholics, the first Pope) “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” to justify this. They say this gives the leader of the church the power to set binding rules.
But Bishop Murphy would also appear to be a cafeteria Catholic, because he does not attack politicians who disagree with church positions on the death penalty (the church opposes it) or the Iraq war (the church opposed that too) or doctrinaire free-market capitialism (likewise).
I was raised Catholic, but I got better.
Don’t believe I’ve seen that sort of courage in a Long Island politician since Allard Lowenstein. God bless Tom Suozzi.
Thank you Cynthia.
great comment. Thanks for adding that arrow to my quiver when talking to the hardliners at our church.
I married a lifelong Catholic and being a PK myself, I view any religious institution as well intentioned but flawed by its humanity. Any religious organization is going to have the same behavior, power struggles and miscommunication as a non religious one. This colors all my thinking about “men of the cloth” of any stripe.
And thanks Cynthia. This Catholic is indeed a brave one.
AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Cynthia Kouril and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
I remember back early in the first (IIRC) Reagan term when Saint Ronnie established diplomatic relations with the Vatican, I was certain that the axis of a “new world order” was gunna cut through Rome…diplomatic fuckin’ relations with Vatican City, what a great idea!!!
Now that we have diplomatic relations with a city state whose ruler is an ex-Nazi, it kinda puts Reagan’s appology to the SS troops buried at Bittberg in perspective…Jesus H keeeRIST on a fuckin’ crutch, Aristophanes wrote a play about the world we live in today, it’s called “The Birds”.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, IT’S GUNNA GET EVEN CRAZIER!!
Welcome to the world of the Ex-Catholic, Tom. Cause that’s where you’re headed.
I gave up at confirmation. The church is like a Broadway show failing out of town: Lovely sets, gorgeous costumes, beautiful music — but the book needs work.
The Vaitcan loves its pedo priests and nuns. Will go to the ends of the earth to protect them. But out gays and lesbians?
Forget it. We’re “objectively disordered” doncha know.
It is not possible to be involved in a religion and expect to be treated like a normal human being. You have given up your right to sanity by listening to the crap they feed you to start with. You have given up your right to free speech because it is not allowed.
Hope the poor man gets wise and realizes what kind of scam he is a part of now that he is again, the victim.
If the Church keeps butting into politics, they should lose their tax exempt status.
Seems not a lot has changed with the Roman Catholic Church since it was only the Universal, or Catholic, Church and Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (late 2nd century) was calling the texts found at Nag Hamadi (in 1945) heresy and that the 4 gospels (MMLJ) were the true gospels because they were written by the disciples of Jesus.
Nice bit of early Christian history in The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels.
Does the holy Bishop have a policy on molesting altar boys?
Bishop Murphy is wrong, of course. It is the state that has created the right to marry and then limited that right to heterosexual couples thus discriminating against same sex couples who would like to marry and enjoy the multiple social and economic benefits that marriage entails.
The state has no legitimate interest in marriage that would justify such discrimination or, put another way, none of the interests that marriage promotes are negated or nullified because marriage becomes available to couples that cannot naturally procreate like a heterosexual couple. Nor can anyone’s love for his or her partner or his or her family be altered one iota by the fact that a same sex couple can wed. These notions are plainly alarmist and absurd, and Bishop Murphy should be ashamed of himself and his Church for resorting to such arguments.
As far as the tax exempt status of the Church is concerned, it should be challenged at every turn where a religious official interjects religion into politics. Any one instance should be sufficient to repeal the tax exemption for the entire religious organization nationwide.
Here’s Betty Bowers on all the different types of Biblical Marriage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFkeKKszXTw
hackworth, thank you. Ms. Bowers is great.
Seconded.
It’s no problem, as long as you’re ordained.
I agree, Suozzi is one of my heroes. But there are some other courageous LI congresspeople. Caroline McCarthy comes to mind. Her husband was killed, and son severely injured, by the LIRR gunman. That drove Rep. McCarthy into politics and she won a seat in a traditional GOP stronghold, while becoming a fierce advocate for gun control.
How many pols have taken on the NRA and lived to tell about it?
I don’t know that Tom is heading toward being an ex-Catholic. many pro-choice Catholics–like John Kerry–have been attcked by high ranking clergy and even denied communion. They simply soldier on, hew to their faith and do their best to ignore those who use relgion as a sword instead of as a comfort and a blessing.
Bishop Murphy came to LI from Boston, were he worked for Cardinal Law. There is an explanitory blogpost about him here
I’m a Caroline McCarthy fan, too.