Indignant Archidocese of Washington exhibits schizophrenic policies over gay marriage
”It has been my usual experience that people who stridently accuse others of things are themselves often most guilty of the attitudes they most decry in others. And now today we see just such an example in the looming actions of an increasingly extreme contingent of the DC City Council in reference to same sex marriage. The crafters of the Bill have chosen to significantly narrow religious exemptions and thereby force religious organizations into the untenable position of accepting and even promoting so-called same-sex marriage….
“But the true fact is that the Bill would force us out since to accept or administer even $1.00 of DC money would put us under a whole series of unacceptable rules requiring us to recognize or even facilitate aspects of Gay “marriage.”… By severely reducing religious exemptions members of the City Council and their allies are simply bullying and forcing their will…. It is also an example of intolerance toward the traditional religious community….
“It is an irony that many who have marched under the banners tolerance and open-mindedness, now that they have power, show that it never really was about either of those things. It appears it was really about power and imposition.”
Angry blog entry from Monsignor Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington. You’ll have to guess at what the spin is on what he’s saying here. First, he says all accusers are likely guilty themselves, then he immediately tosses out numerous accusations that the Council is forcing religious organizations into accepting gay marriages. Unsurprisingly, his claims are both false and misleading. No one in the government ever forced Catholic Charities or the Archdiocese to request money from the government or to agree to any government contract. Nowhere in Mr Pope’s commentary is there a mention of this. His fiery argument appears to be written in a way that makes it seem like the government is taking money away from the church — money that they somehow deserve. Nowhere in his article does he mention that Catholic Charities has an extremely well-paid president, Ed Orzechowski, who testified that his “nonprofit” organization refuses to share any type of spousal benefits with its own gay and lesbian employees even after they get legally married. (Archdiocese of Washington Blog)
”Under the bill, religious organizations would be exempt from participating in ceremonies or from teaching about same-sex marriage in religion classes and retreats in accord with their faith beliefs, but they would be required to recognize and promote same-sex marriage everywhere else, including in employment policies, and adoption and foster-care policies, against their beliefs…. Despite the headlines, there has been no threat or ultimatum to end services, just a simple recognition that the new requirements by the city for religious organizations to recognize same-sex marriages in their policies could restrict our ability to provide the same level of services as we do now….
“Since Catholic Charities cannot comply with city mandates to recognize and promote same-sex marriages, the city would withhold contracts and licenses….
“This legislation won’t end Catholic Charities’ services, but it would reduce unnecessarily the resources available for outreach. We recognize that the council is likely to legalize same-sex marriage. It is the hope of the Archdiocese and Catholic Charities that council members will work with us to find a way to better balance interests so religious organizations that have served this city well for many decades may continue to provide services without compromising the tenets of their faith.”
Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl‘s op-ed for the Washington Post. Though his tone seems more conciliatory when compared with many other statements that have come out of the DC Archdiocese and the Catholic Church in the last few days, Wuerl still appears to plays the victim card here. He never once states in plain terms either of the two main options that his religious organization has in their disagreement with the DC Council over gay marriages: 1) Don’t ask for the millions of taxpayer dollars that they have apparently come to rely on, or 2) Offer equal treatment to their own married gay employees and to gay couples who are willing to foster or adopt wards of the city. The Council has already made a huge change to the bill after listening to days worth of testimony from the Archdiocese and other organizations. Yet, the US Council of Catholic Bishops responded to all this by issuing a bizarre pastoral letter that strongly condemns same-sex marriage and homosexuality, and instructs gay Catholics to remain chaste and relate to one another in nothing closer than neighborly ”friendship.” Catholic Charities is the Church’s nonprofit organization that admitted to getting 75% of its funding from governments. And its president, Ed Orzechowski, testified in blunt terms that he will not provide equal services to married gay and lesbian employees or to gay and lesbian families in the District. (Archdiocese of Washington Blog)
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