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lemonbeam
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**Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)
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Read more: catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=34752
Archdiocese: Homosexual Marriage in D.C. Could Close Catholic Institutions
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Discerning2
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Meanwhile in Spokane:
Spokane Catholic Diocese gets more abuse reports
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Catholic Diocese of Spokane has received 21 additional allegations of clergy sex abuse, all by adults who contend they were sexually abused by clergy years ago.
Attorney Greg Arpin said the diocese will fight some of those claims in court, on the grounds they do not meet the legal threshold from a settlement with victims that brought the Spokane Diocese out of bankruptcy several years ago.
“We want to make sure the strict criteria of the settlement plan for allowing future claims is followed,” Arpin said Tuesday.
Seven of the claims have been allowed by a court-appointed reviewer who weighs the merits of the allegations and then decides how much money a victim receives. Kate Pflaumer, a former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, denied five of the claims, and the remaining nine are pending.
The diocese will challenge some of Pflaumer’s decisions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In a letter to parishioners, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane said the diocese contends that some of the seven allowed claims should have been denied.
“We believe we have strong legal arguments in this matter,” Skylstad said.
As part of the initial $48 million settlement to 184 victims, claims had to be filed by March 10, 2006. But the settlement set aside $1 million to handle what were expected to be a small number of subsequent claims.
If that fund is depleted, the diocese and its individual parishes are on the hook to keep a minimum of $200,000 in the fund until 2016 to deal with future claims. The parishes have put up property as collateral for that obligation.
“The parish properties might well be at risk,” Skyslstad said.
An advocate for victims of priest sex abuse said the new allegations show that the issue is far from resolved, despite the past settlement.
“It’s just immoral and impractical to try to force deeply wounded victims of horrific child sex crimes to meet some arbitrary deadline that’s set up to benefit the wrongdoers,” said Barbara Dorris with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
“Traumatized victims step forward when they can, not when church bureaucrats and lawyers try to tell them they must,” she said.
The diocese declared bankruptcy in late 2004 to deal with scores of claims of sex abuse. The diocese and its 82 parishes agreed in 2007 to pay $48 million to 184 victims of sexual abuse. The deal forced the diocese to liquidate nearly all of its assets.
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CHRISTINE77
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Yes and more and more homosexuals are making and enforcing laws. There are more and more homosexual judges, lawyers and lawmakers. It’s sick.
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Discerning2
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I don’t think the amount of homosexuals has increased or decreased. The amount of openly homosexual people, however, has greatly increased. I guess we’ll just have to live with it & pray. I really don’t think it effects me or marriage anyway. Let’s go take care of our community’s needs, then we may have the luxury of dealing with same-sex marriage.
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garysibio
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The point is that Catholic institutions will not be able to function under laws which force them to recognize “gay marriage.” We won’t be able to take care of anyone’s needs until this issue is defeated.
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PAboy57
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I guess we can voice our opinion to our elected officials and pray.
ACT OF FAITH
O my God, who are infallible Truth and can neither deceive nor be deceived, I firmly believe all that you have revealed and propose to my belief though your holy Church, because you have revealed it. I believe that you are one in nature and three in Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe that you are the Creator of all things and that you reward the just for all eternity in heaven and punish the wicked for all eternity in hell. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, that he suffered and died for my sins and rose from the dead in glory, and that it is only in him through the Holy Spirit that eternal life is given to us . I believe in all that your holy Church believes. I thank you for having called me to the true faith, and I propose that with the help of your grace I will live and die in this holy faith. Amen.
ACT OF FAITH
O my God, who are infallible Truth and can neither deceive nor be deceived, I firmly believe all that you have revealed and propose to my belief though your holy Church, because you have revealed it. I believe that you are one in nature and three in Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe that you are the Creator of all things and that you reward the just for all eternity in heaven and punish the wicked for all eternity in hell. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, that he suffered and died for my sins and rose from the dead in glory, and that it is only in him through the Holy Spirit that eternal life is given to us . I believe in all that your holy Church believes. I thank you for having called me to the true faith, and I propose that with the help of your grace I will live and die in this holy faith. Amen.
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CHRISTINE77
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The trouble is that people are too tolerant of this unnatural sexual behavior. It’s not normal and it’s nothing people need to hear about constantly as being okay. Sex is a private matter, it belongs in the bedroom, and it should be about procreation, not impure acts. (this goes for heterosexuals too
) I for one have just about had it with all this homosexual agenda. To me it is very immoral and not something people should be proud of or flaunt. Just my :twocents:!!
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DOShea
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Well if that’s what Washington DC wants, why not let them have it? If they are looking to pass a law like this because they weigh gay marriages as more important than caring for the needy, then let them assume the burden for their care. The church can use that money elsewhere in another city if DC wants to make a hostile environment for faith-based charities.
Maybe it’s time to get out of the established charity business and let the government do it. Maybe that money could be spent on spreading the gospel or paying for the education of priests.
Maybe it’s time to get out of the established charity business and let the government do it. Maybe that money could be spent on spreading the gospel or paying for the education of priests.
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Discerning2
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No one ever forced the church to marry divorced couples. Further, I can not believe that the massive mandate of the Corporal Mercies should be help up to persecute people as you imply. There is no basis in logic for that sentiment. I think the church has gone too far into politics & it is embarrassing. Let’s clean our own house, bring more people to Christ’s love & become active in charities before we play useless parlor games about whether or not homosexuals should be able to marry. They, thankfully, will not be married in our church, & that is as far as I am going to go. I am really content with that knowledge. Go volunteer at a hospice for a year, then come talk to me.
I am not a rainbow flag waving liberal. I want to be clear about that one. I do, however, live in a large city & count a few homosexuals in my circle of VERY devout Catholics. One is even celibate as called. He is very hurt that his sexual orientation is being used as a political football and his beloved church seems to be piling on for no good reason.
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PKinsale
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Er, if they are homosexuals who are devout Catholics, they would then be celibate. All Catholics are called to chastity and only those who are married should be having sexual relations. Call them something else, but don’t call them devout.
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Discerning2
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They are respected in our parish & you are right, I should not call them devout. It is between them & our priest.
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Tomb54
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One city forced the Catholic institutions to shut down for something very close to this. The City found out all what the CC did in their city when the Church shutdown all its’ public functions and the city had to pick them all up at the tune for several million dollars worth. The city had to increase taxes so everyone in the city paid for those closings. I wish I can remember the name for you but was a while back but I think we may see more of this.
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Discerning2
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Please site this.
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Discerning2
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cite
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Havard
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An “edit your post” option exists for mistakes that you want to correct so that you don’t need to double-post. 
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CradleCath
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So true. The “love that dare not speak it’s name” has become the “love” that refuses to shut up.The trouble is that people are too tolerant of this unnatural sexual behavior. It’s not normal and it’s nothing people need to hear about constantly as being okay. Sex is a private matter, it belongs in the bedroom, and it should be about procreation, not impure acts. (this goes for heterosexuals too
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CradleCath
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No! It’s between them & God, Who has already spoken regarding homosexual sex acts through the Scriptures AND through His creation of two sexes. Since, you say that “one of them is even celibate”, it leads one to think that the other two aren’t??
What worries me most about all of this, is the fact that our children are beginning to see gay relationships as “different but normal”. They are not normal…one only has to be cognizant of the differences in the anatomy of the two sexes to realize that homosexuality is not part of God’s plan for His universe.
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Discerning2
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Okay, okay. Take a deep breath. Just for the heck of it, what if anything, would you do if you were me? Now, I lead with compassion & offer spiritual nourishment & friendship. I just don’t know why people are so fixated on sex as the needy get passed by.
Your dire warnings are a thing of your brain. Move outside of yourself to Christ’s love.
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PKinsale
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How are these people respected in your parish? Given the fact that they apparently live openly homosexual lifestyles, does that mean they are not receiving the sacraments and are not in any sort of leadership position there? When did sodomy stop being a grave sin that cried to heaven for vengenance?
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Discerning2
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I was asking for practical advice. I guess a lot of people have a strange fixation on sodomy. But, believe it or not, there are many Catholic communities that welcome everyone. I mean, what do you want? Should Father ask these people to no longer come to Mass? I was going to tell where I was from, but I fear your charity begins and ends with sodomy.
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