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Bishop Joseph Cistone




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 Pleasant when an earlier invitation to speak at commencement extended to Dominic Sheahan-Stahl, a gay alumnus, was rescinded.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.