Hooray! Catholics and Mormons have made common cause in the Great State of California to (pop quiz)...
- Help the homeless find safe, decent, affordable housing?
- Open up a statewide network of food pantries and health clinics for the poor?
- Lobby the state government for greater state assistance to California's burgeoning immigrant population?
- Engage in a Constitution-based version of Smear the Queer?
So, the Catholic Church is perfectly comfortable making common cause with the Mormon Church against the right of gay people to enter into a civil marriage, the same Mormon Church whose teachings are otherwise rejected lock, stock and barrel by the self-same Catholic Church. Given the important Constitutional ramifications of this particular Proposition and related court challenges, and given the faith-based nature of this blog, I think it's important to point out the blatant hypocrisy and cynical opportunism represented by these two religions teaming up for the express purpose of codifying discrimination against an embattled minority. I mean, excuse me, but it's not as if Catholics or Mormons have never experienced state-sponsored discrimination at any time in American history. Given the respective histories of these two faiths, you would think that their leaders (and their followers) might be more empathetic and open-minded to the issue of the legal rights of homosexuals. Oh, well. Never mind. So much for, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I don't know how any Catholic can blithely ignore this command which cuts to the heart of the Gospel message of Jesus. Does this edict not count for Mormons since Jesus wasn't in North America when he said it? (Publisher's Note: That last comment is nothing but pure sarcasm.)
While the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco (o, irony of ironies!) worked directly with the Mormon Church to campaign in favor of Proposition 8, other faith-based buttinski's also sounded off in favor of state-sponsored discrimination, including:
- The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America;
- The American Family Association; and (of course)
- Focus on the Family
As a nice post-script to this whole mess, James Dobson's Focus on the Family has had to lay off over 200 employees as a result of dumping almost three-quarters-of-a-million dollars in organization funds into the pro-Prop. 8 campaign. Talk about instant karma! Let's hope- no, let's pray- that the good karma keeps on rolling, as the California Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments challenging the validity of Proposition 8. Shalom.
- Doug L.
"Prop 8 - The Musical" (Funny or Die)
See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE (UPDATED, November 24, 2008):
California to investigate Mormon aid to Prop 8 (San Francisco Chronicle, November 24, 2008)
Mormons' Uneasy Victory, by Stephen Stromberg (The Washington Post, November 24, 2008)
Bigotry on the Bus, by Dan Wentzel (The Washington Post, November 24, 2008)
Proposition 8 (2008 Voter Guide, California Secretary of State)
Catholics, Mormons allied to pass Prop. 8 (San Francisco Chronicle, November 10, 2008)
Human Rights Campaign
Advocate.com
Newt Gingrich, Divorced Lover of Family Values, Warns America of "Gay Fascism" (Gay.com, November 17, 2008)
Christian Group Lays Off Hundreds After Spending All Money on Prop 8 Passage (Wonkette.com, November 17, 2008)
Ted Haggard Opens New Business Blocks from Old Church (PageOneQ.com, November 23, 2008)
GOP leader: Rebuild party on 'sanctity of marriage' (RawStory.com, November 9, 2008)
1 comment:
Amen my brother, Amen....or AWOMEN for that matter !!!
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