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Everything
has Been Fine
Up Until Now...
An Editorial
By Philip D. Ropp
Radio New
Jerusalem
April 30, 2012 |
There's
an old joke about the boy who never spoke. His parents didn't
know
what to do about him. They took him to one doctor after another,
and
each one reported that the tests showed nothing physically wrong.
They
had him analyzed by child psychologists and each one said the same
thing: He was a very contented child and his silence wasn't
caused by
any emotional or mental troubles. Then one morning at the
breakfast
table, the boy suddenly blurted out his first words: "This oatmeal is
terrible!" The parents stared at him open mouthed and finally
the
mother was able to say, "You can talk! Why haven't you ever said
anything before?" And the boy replied, "Everything has been fine
up
until now!"
In the years
that we have published Radio New
Jerusalem as a
Catholic oriented web site, I have purposely shied away from regularly
commenting on the local church scene in our diocese. Our focus is
on
reporting the national and global Catholic news and, frankly, there is
usually
not that much that happens here in the Diocese of Saginaw that is
newsworthy at this level. And we get very little attention
locally.
Thanks largely to our friend from the Philippines, Father Allan Fenix,
whose "A
Few Minutes with Father"
segment is about to be published in book form by St. Paul's Publishing,
we get more hits from the far east than we do from the Diocese of
Saginaw. And I should mention that we are an independent web site
and unaffiliated with the Diocese of Saginaw, or any other Catholic
organization or institution. We just happen to live here.
Our local Catholic media does a fine job of
communicating
Catholic news locally, and the local secular press mostly publishes
public notices and press releases from the diocese that represent
Catholic happenings in a fair and balanced manner. I have found
no
need to comment on any of this because everything has been fine -- up
until now.
Last week, an
unnecessary and (apparently)
purposely
sensationalized situation arose at Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant
when an earlier invitation to speak at commencement extended to Dominic
Sheahan-Stahl, a gay alumnus, was rescinded. According to the Morning
Sun,
the local daily newspaper that serves central Michigan, this was solely
because Sheahan-Stahl is a gay man and, along with Sacred Heart
principal Denny Sarnes, the Morning
Sun seized
on this opportunity to misrepresent and misstate Catholic teaching on
the subject of homosexuality, misrepresent the position and role of
Bishop Joseph Cistone in this incident, and in general portray the
Diocese of Saginaw and the entire Catholic Church as an unloving and
homophobic institution, out of touch with the modern world, and bent
upon
discrimination against homosexual individuals. As I write this on
Sunday morning, this spin on this story has found its way
into the national media as evidenced by this article in the Huffington
Post, and in local media as far away and as far apart
as Virginia
and Arizona.
The Saginaw
News has even
provided a links
page so that all of its articles on this subject might be more
easily accessible.
While it is not
surprising that the secular
media would take
advantage of this situation in such a way as to discredit the Catholic
Church and attempt to embarrass and humiliate a bishop in public, the
most disturbing aspect of this story is the way that it has been used
to muster and incite a rebellious faction within the Church around the
hot-button issue of homosexuality in general, and Catholic teaching on
the subject in particular. Should it have been Mr.
Sheahan-Stahl's intent to speak to the
graduating class at Sacred Heart Academy in support of the Church's
teaching that those of a homosexual inclination are called to a
celibate lifestyle in the same way that unmarried heterosexual
individuals are, it is difficult to believe that his invitation to
speak would have been rescinded. To the contrary, I suspect that
the
Diocese of Saginaw and Bishop Cistone would have encouraged and blessed
his appearance had this been the case -- hardly the homophobic
attitude portrayed in the media. The issue, therefore, is not
that
Mr. Sheahan Stahl is being discriminated against for being a
homosexual. He is prohibited from speaking precisely because it
can be
safely assumed that, given his highly publicized "engagement" to
another homosexual man, and his oft stated pride in living an open and,
one presumes, active gay
lifestyle, that his appearance at Sacred Heart Academy was for the
purpose of dissenting against Church teaching and advocating for a
lifestyle that the Church does not recognize as valid.
While the
secular press has every right to advocate for such an open
and active homosexual lifestyle, the Catholic Church, in the person of
the local bishop, has not only the right, but the responsibility, to
see that the stated and understood teachings of the Catholic faith are
upheld within our Catholic parishes and institutions, and in
particularly in our Catholic schools, where correct and proper
formation in the faith is both expected and essential. That the
administration at Sacred Heart Academy has wandered so far afield from
its responsibility in this regard that it would arrange for, condone
and promote the appearance of an individual whose purpose is to
discredit Catholic teaching is a betrayal of every parent and every
student enrolled -- and paying tuition -- for what is expected to be a
Catholic education true to the Catholic faith. That this same
administration would then use the secular media in such a calculated
and contrived way to rally a rebellious faction within their own faith
community, and even those beyond the diocese, against a faithful bishop
in such a way as to discredit his integrity and so dishonor him
personally, as well as professionally, is unconscionable.
And while the
secular press has the right to advocate for the
homosexual
lifestyle and in favor of any number of other issues that contradict
Catholic teaching, the press also has the responsibility to understand
and represent what this teaching is in a manner that is both fair and
accurate. Thus it is also worth noting that in taking up this
cause,
the Morning
Sun,
in an opinion piece appearing on Sunday, April 29, 2012, chose to
take scripture and an uncredited excerpt from the Catechism of the
Catholic Church out of context in an effort to lecture the Church and
Bishop Cistone (who is incorrectly referred to as "Robert" rather than
by his given Christian name of "Joseph") on Christian love and
acceptance. A statement issued by the Diocese
of Saginaw
in which Bishop Cistone is quoted extensively and expresses his own
heartfelt concern for all involved, including Mr. Sheahan-Stahl, and in
which he clearly and concisely explains the compassion towards, and
teaching of, the Church concerning homosexuality is much more
instructive and helpful in
understanding the truth of the situation.
Small voice
though we are in the world of Catholic media, we
nonetheless want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our
ordinary, his excellency Bishop Joseph Cistone, for the courage,
patience, compassion and sincere Christian love that he has shown in
what has been a tempest purposely spilled from the Sacred Heart Academy
teapot. He has stood up for and has, in no uncertain terms,
defended our
Catholic faith, yet he has done so in a way that is respectful to all
involved. And when the emotions and media attention have died
away,
those involved will find that he has planted seeds of faith and love
that have the potential for the healing of all. In the long run,
we
will be a stronger and more unified diocese, and we will all be better
Catholics for it.
Circumstances
like these make it hard to imagine a more lonely and
thankless job than that of a Catholic bishop. Today, we wish to
not
only speak for ourselves but for what I am sure is the majority of
Catholic Christians in the Diocese of Saginaw: We have found our
faith
in our bishop justified, and our prayers for him answered. Thank
you, Bishop Cistone: for the way you lead us and love us --
all of us -- and for the guidance you
provide. Since you have been with us, everything has been fine up
until now. Thanks to you, this will soon be so once again.
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