The Washington Post has a rather slimy question with a poll concerning religious freedom and the US Military, especially in regard to “don’t ask – don’t tell”, which concerns the identity of homosexuals.
Here is the WaPo text: What beliefs ban gays?
UPDATE: Dec 2, 9:18 a.m.: Sandhya Somashekhar reported Thursday that among the findings in the Pentagon’s study of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, is widespread concern within the chaplain corps that permitting gays to serve openly may infringe upon the freedom of religious leaders to express their disapproval of homosexuality. Who will win when gay rights and religious freedom collide?
One example of those conflicting rights, articulated by Terry Mattingly at GetReligion.org is here: “What if a traditional Catholic priest hears the confession of a Catholic soldier — gay or straight — who is in a sexual relationship that violates the Church’s teachings and tells this believer that he or she must repent? Does the soldier have the right to protest, saying that the chaplain has declined to show proper care and respect?”
What do you think?
I know that was a bit incoherent. But there is a POLL you might want to look at.
The form:
The results at the time of this writing 1740 GMT:
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Baptist chaplains can object to drinking. Mormons to smoking and coffee as well. They can all object to porn.
This is not to say that teh gehs will not try to use this as a lever; but command would have to grant really, really disparate treatment versus other disapproved stuff for that attempt to work.
This whole thing confuses me. Why would someone confess their sins to a priest if they don’t believe they are sins that must be repented of? Is it just to test the priest and try to get him in trouble? Also, why would being in the military make any difference at all? Why would “gay rights” and religious freedom collide their any more than the would anywhere else? It is not as if homosexuality if legal in the military but illegal everywhere else.
Sally Quinn must be hopping mad about her poll results. Actually, she defined her religion as “Dancing with the Stars” last week in an anti-Bristol Palin rant. No one made gay persons join the military.
Fr. Frank Pavone made a brief comment, I see.
The poll shows acceptance of freedom of conscience, but the writings in the combox of the newspaper seem to be otherwise. Interesting.
“What Religion Bans Gays?” [You folks aren’t allowed to exist. Poof. Vanish.] It’s headlines like that that feed the whine about “oppression” and obscure the clear teaching of Christianity since St. Paul that homosexual ACTS (not persons) are sinful, and sin has consequences, whether I like it or not. I also noticed with yatzer that the combox is uniform in demanding that “nobody disagree with me!” but the poll results are staggeringly in favor of freedom of speech for Christians.
Hmmmmmmmm. The Archbishop of Baltimore, H/E Edwin O’Brien, just published a column today regarding the mandatory retirement of Catholic priests at the age of 62. This has been waived in the past by many services, but is now being upheld. The full story is here:
http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/storyworldnew-new.aspx?action=9168
Could there be some connection to the entire matter of priests and authentic Catholic morality?
With 477 votes, those in favor if religious freedom amount to 96%+.
I object to how the example singles out “traditional” Catholic priests as problem confessors, as if to imply that post-V2 priests would not express the Church’s teachings against active homosexual activity. I would hope (perhaps naively) that most/all Catholic chaplains would act properly in the stated situation.
I have a very good friend who was / is on the review committie and he has been under a lot of pressure over this whole ordeal. He is a wonderful traditional Priest (although novos ordo and I have been working on him on this). He has been a blessing to my family through out our journey to tradition. I ask that you please pray for him. He is a blessing to the Church.
What an odd poll. How does one protect a view? With a scenic easement on the abutting property? A journalist ought to be skilled at at formulating a question to elicit a clear response.
“Should religious freedom prevail?” It does in the negative sense in modern masonic America, and we are reaping the whirlwind called moral relativism. Since man, in his fallen state, constantly and naturally devolves back to the gutter without Sanctifying Grace, man constantly, hourly, falls away from the Trinity. We take communion at morning Mass and are already idiots by 3pm, myself not excluded of course.
Polls always report how religious and even Christian America is. Yeah right. What percentage of us (330 million) are in a state of Sanctifying Grace on a given day? I.e. what percentage of us are living according to how the Trinity requires? I would venture low single digits. What percentage of us actually acknowledge the Trinity?
Moral relativism vis a vis the military brings us a wiccan (luciferian gnostic magic) grove constructed at taxpayer expense at the once socially and politically conservative air force academy in CO.