From Norman Lower.I am writing to express my concern over what I perceive to be an inacceptable statement by Archbishop Anthony Meagher of Kingston on January 23, 2005: "Although we (Catholics) believe that same-sex sexual relationships are immoral, we respect the freedom of others who may not hold these beliefs. If the Government (sic) believes it has no choice but to acknowledge such unions, legislation could be drafted which would protect the rights and benefits of two men or two women who choose to enter into such a relationship without encouraging these relationships by equating them with marriage." (Rory Leishman, "Confusion over marriage issue, Catholic Insight, March 2005, p.8) Does Archbishop Meagher not realize that he is in reality lending support to the Government's acknowledgement ("if ... it has not choice") of a kind of union that is intrinsically disordered? Is it one of the roles of a Catholic bishop to suggest alternatives to God's laws for those people who do not abide by them? I perceive in Archbishop Meagher's comments a "Winnipeg Statement The Winnipeg Statement is the Canadian Bishops' Statement on the Encyclical Humanae Vitae from a Plenary Assembly held at Saint Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba. " kind of skewed skewed curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean. skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data reasoning. In the dissenting paragraph n.26 of this 1968 statement by the Canadian bishops on Humanae vitae Humanae Vitae (Latin "Of Human Life") is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and promulgated on July 25, 1968. Subtitled "On the Regulation of Birth", it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding abortion, contraception, and other issues , the bishops give the green light (erroneously) to a married couple's subjective defence of the use of contraception, even though contraception is intrinsically evil: "[T]hey may be safely assured that whoever honestly chooses (emphasis mine) that course which seems right to him does so in good conscience." Archbishop Meagher, in similar fashion, is giving the green light (erroneously also) to the Government to "protect the rights and benefits of two men or two women who choose (emphasis mine) to enter into such a relationship ..." which, the Catholic Church teaches, is immoral. Furthermore, Archbishop Meagher is seriously out of step with Vatican teaching: "When legislation in favour of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favour of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) (Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei), previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. , Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons, June 3, 2003; document approved by Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born Karol Józef Wojtyła ). This ethical indication applies not only to Catholic politicians but to all Catholics. If Archbishop Meagher's line of reasoning Noun 1. line of reasoning - a course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating a truth or falsehood; the methodical process of logical reasoning; "I can't follow your line of reasoning" logical argument, argumentation, argument, line is carried still further, what is to prevent the green light from being given to a government to "protect the rights and benefits" of men who "choose to enter into ... a relationship" involving incest or pedophilia pedophilia, psychosexual disorder in which there is a preference for sexual activity with prepubertal children. Pedophiles are almost always males. The children are more often of the opposite sex (about twice as often) and are typically 13 years or age or younger; ? Archbishop Meagher needs to retract TO RETRACT. To withdraw a proposition or offer before it has been accepted. 2. This the party making it has a right to do is long as it has not been accepted; for no principle of law or equity can, under these circumstances, require him to persevere in it. his statement just as the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to retract its 1968 "Winnipeg Statement." Quebec, PQ |
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