Catholic public figures and officials must RESIST! Some are resisting already.

The other day I posted the 2003 document from the CDF Observations about important CDF document on “Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons”.  In that document we read…

“In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty. … If all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians.” CDF 2003 and HERE

 

Now I read that a clerk in Texas has refused to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples and that the Texas AG has backed up the refusal.

Clerks have rights too, for example, the right not to be forced to violate their religious values and consciences.

The office of Bp. Thomas Tobin of Providence sent me this statement, to add to the other statements of bishops which are being released:

Bishop Tobin Encourages Conscientious Objection in Response to the Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage:

Bishop Tobin stated that he wanted to offer support and encouragement to those who are deeply troubled by the ruling. On a posting on his Facebook page, Bishop Tobin wrote….

A county clerk in Hood Texas isn’t going to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples because, she said, she has rights too. “I will not be issuing same sex marriage licenses due to my religious convictions,” Katie Lang wrote. Lang said that the Constitution guarantees her freedom of religion too. (CNN)
Congratulations to Ms. Lang for her courageous stand! We need many more conscientious objectors – public officials, private businesses, advertisers, religious leaders, and family members – people of courage who will abide by their conscience, protect their religious rights, and not support or enable the furtherance of this moral aberration – so called, “same-sex marriage.”
As the American Bishops said, “the Supreme Court decision allowing “same-sex marriage” is “a tragic error that harms the common good.” Catholics, and other citizens of goodwill, should oppose this misdirected innovation and steadfastly proclaim the unchanging truth about marriage as we have received it from God!

Fr. Z kudos all around.

We must resist.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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23 Comments

  1. Kathleen10 says:

    There is some remedy for bad law, that I don’t know much about, except if enough people refuse to go along with a law, that law is then somewhat null, etc. I do not know if this applies at the federal level. It would be interesting to know. Now is the time to resist, which could gain momentum. The Catholic world and the evangelical protestants should work together on this.
    I anticipate pressure coming to bear in education, where the staff will be subjected to “sensitivity training” and some kind of signal of allegiance to support and/or promote LGBTQXY issues.
    Bishop Tobin is in absolute liberal central. He has certainly shown himself to be a godly man of principle. I hope he is receiving some support from good people.

  2. vandalia says:

    Dr Peters said it well on his blog. If Justice Scalia writes that the State can define marriage in any way it wants, how can you expect some low-level clerk to know the correct course of action.

    To quote the good Justice from his dissenting opinion,

    The law can recognize as marriage whatever sexual attachments and living arrangements it wishes … It is not of special important to me what the law says about marriage.

  3. Supertradmum says:

    Sometimes, I feel like we are being sucked into The Borg. But, God bless all the good bishops who have made courageous and necessary statements supporting Christ’s teaching and His Church. Thank you to Bishop Tobin.

    Has the Cardinal in New York made a statement? I think I missed this…

  4. JonM says:

    Father Z, in your opinion and guidance, what are our next actionable steps as Catholics?

    Should laymen organize counter marches/demonstrations and double down on public rejection of the Obergefell mandate? Do we await instruction by the USCCB? Or, does this signal that our time to go underground is near?

    I ask this because for many, to openly oppose the homosexual agenda is grounds for termination in employment/business shuttering by the modern brownshirts.

    Many of us are looking for clear leadership in order to respond, as Catholics should, to this terrible decision.

  5. L. says:

    I don’t see how a Catholic court clerk would now have a moral duty to refuse a civil marriage license to a same-sex couple, since I don’t think that the same clerk would have had a duty to refuse a civil license to an opposite-sex couple that had been granted civil divorces from their spouses so as to get married again. I don’t agree with the supreme court’s absurd homosexual marriage decision, and oppose such marriages, but it seems to me that a clerk must either issue the civil marriage license, or resign.

  6. LOTH says:

    This has made me wonder if it’s time to create some kind of Christian party? Perhaps this would separate the sheep from the goats in the two dominant political parties. There are good people of faith in both of them and perhaps they need some encouragement to define themselves and come out of the darkness.

    This said, I don’t know how well “Christian” parties have fared in Europe.

  7. pfreddys says:

    How much time will elaps before a homosexual “couple” appears at the local parish and demands to be “married”? I give it 30 to 90 days.

  8. FL_Catholic says:

    Kudos to the clerk for resisting. That said, I hope her and her family are prepared. The Rainbow Nazis will move to crush her and all who resist their march through the institutions. They destroyed pizza shops and bakeries for less, does anyone seriously think that they will accept someone in government refusing their “marriage” application”? The DoJ will be all over Texas and in such a brutal way as to make sure other clerks don’t get the idea to want to resist too. Poor woman has the right intentions, but the the Gaystapo will make sure her, and the AG’s, heads roll for their resistance.

  9. brhenry says:

    The issue here is much more fundamental than sodomite “marriages” or political parties. Recent bad laws(and those from years past) are only bad fruit of a flawed constitutional system. The fruit will only get worse and worse. The fundamental issue is the US Constitution itself. The principles on which the Constitution and Bill of Rights are based are humanistic (man centered). The US Legal system is fundamentally flawed. No legal system can long stand without recognition of a “Power/Authority” higher than man. Even pagan systems of old feared and respected their “gods.” A purely secular, man centered system is certainly doomed. A formal recognition and respect of a specific false “god”(higher than man) would be better than what we have in the US Constitution. Our current legal system is, for all intents and purposes, atheistic. We must formally recognize a specific(not generic) “Religion” higher than man(humanism) in the legal system. Ideally, of course, this would demand a formal legal recognition of the Authority of King Jesus and the Roman Catholic Church which is His Divine Instrument on Earth. This can only happen by a miraculous outpouring of Grace resulting in the mass conversion of American souls to the True Faith.

  10. MariaKap says:

    Supertradmum, I just called the Archdiocese of New York Communications office to find out if the Cardinal has made a statement about the SCOTUS decision and if so where could I find it. The cardinal has NOT made a statement. So you haven’t missed it.

  11. jacobi says:

    The time for silence, for meek acceptance is over. It never was particularly Catholic, verging as it did on handing victory to the enemies of the One True Church.

    Catholics have got to fight back using the same weapons as the enemy. The Press, TV, the courts, demonstrations and clear example to friends acquaintances and anyone else we come in contact with.
    Court cases will result. These cases must be financed from our pockets. It is important that money, the weapon behind the success of our enemies is made available to our fellow Catholics.

    And we must continue to use clear language. Remarried divorcees are adulterers. Active homosexuals are not “Gay” (a word that means cheerful and lively, they are usually actually confused and unhappy), they are active homosexuals, sodomists. Being merciful to Catholic sinners does not mean being “nice”. It means explaining the nature of their sin so that they can avoid eternal damnation.

  12. Supertradmum says:

    MariaKap,

    I am afraid I fell into the sin of sarcasm….something to add to the Confession list.

  13. Brian Cannon says:

    I’m sure these clerks are also refusing those who are divorced and trying to “re-marry.” You know, something Jesus actually talked about.

  14. wmeyer says:

    Mississippi and Alabama both seem determined to get out of the license business. A reasonable approach, I think. The state should never have been involved.

  15. lmgilbert says:

    Jacobi, You wrote,

    “Catholics have got to fight back using the same weapons as the enemy. The Press, TV, the courts, demonstrations . . .”

    Right. Jacobi with all respect, you are suggesting that we fight the enemy 1) on his ground; 2) on his terms; 3) using the weapons of his choice— the same failed policy we have energetically pursued since Jan 22, 1973 to little effect. What is this strategy really but amusement for demons?

    Even the editors of the New York Times and the Washington Post must laugh till they cry at our complaining that they do not cover our demonstrations. What naifs we are.

    Do we not understand, will we never understand that TV, the Press, the Courts are populated by demons, or to put it more scripturally, have been demonized (?????????)?

    We have much better weapons at our disposal, loathe as we are to use them.

  16. lmgilbert says:

    Had I known how to do it, the question marks in the parenthesis would have been Greek text for “daimonika,” the Greek word for demonized. [Use unicode.]

  17. The Masked Chicken says:

    “I don’t agree with the supreme court’s absurd homosexual marriage decision, and oppose such marriages, but it seems to me that a clerk must either issue the civil marriage license, or resign.”

    Why? There is a hierarchy of obedience. Until God or a proper representative in authority tells her to resign, she has no moral obligation to do so. Her boss, pushing an immoral law, is not exercising proper authority. He or she can push her out by force of arms, but not by the force of any morally proper stance.

    The Chicken

  18. WYMiriam says:

    LOTH: There is a legitimate political party that is opposed to all the trash we get from the ruling One Party (the “demlican/republicrat” party) — the Constitution Party. One of its co-founders was Howard Phillips, a Catholic (now deceased). The preamble to the CP platform, at least in my state, clearly and unambiguously states where our roots are located and where our loyalty lies: in Christ Jesus.

  19. Ben Kenobi says:

    “The state should never have been involved.”

    Imagine if those on our side fought as hard for the civil institution of marriage as those attempting to destroy it.

  20. Pingback: Obergefell v Hodges: legal analyses | Law & Religion UK

  21. comedyeye says:

    Fr Michael Pfleger in Chicago is quite successful and skilled in civil disobedience. Perhaps he can teach us how it is done.

  22. DanielG says:

    “The DoJ will be all over Texas and in such a brutal way as to make sure other clerks don’t get the idea to want to resist too. Poor woman has the right intentions, but the the Gaystapo will make sure her, and the AG’s, heads roll for their resistance.”

    Good call, it’s already begun. The Chicago Choom Machine is cranking up to destroy any and all forms of protest to the homosexual brownshirts. God Bless Texas; fight back with all you’ve got.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/02/us-usa-texas-paxton-idUSKCN0PC1VS20150702

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