Squashed wedding announcement disappoints gay couple

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Two graduates of Marian Catholic High School, an all-female Catholic high school in Omaha, Nebraska, were “married” in Iowa, and, according to the news articles on the story, were approached by a staff member from Marian to publish their “wedding announcement” in the alum newsletter. The Archdiocese blocked the publishing of such an announcement as the Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex unions as a marriage (or the active homosexual lifestyle as moral).

The same-sex couple is upset that their “marriage” is not being published in the newsletter and started an online petition, asking the Archdiocese to allow their “celebration” into the newsletter. At the time this message is being posted, their online petition has 1804 signatures. (You can view their petition here: signon.org/sign/get-lizz-and-katies-wedding)

Various news sources picked the story up as well:
msnbc.msn.com/id/48144309/ns/local_news-omaha_ne/t/squashed-wedding-announcement-disappoints-gay-couple/#.UAbZqXDctdg

huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/12/omaha-archdiocese-denies-gay-couple-wedding-announcement_n_1666428.html

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172207/Archdiocese-CENSORS-lesbian-high-school-sweethearts-wedding-announcement-Catholic-schools-newsletter.html

ketv.com/news/local-news/Squashed-wedding-announcement-disappoints-gay-couple/-/9674510/15457902/-/5hose9z/-/index.html

As you can imagine, the “news” coverage of a Catholic Archdiocese refusing to publish a same-sex couple’s wedding announcement has been very one-sided. A petition in support of the Archdiocese of Omaha has started, and I ask that you consider signing in solidarity with other faithful Catholics in support of Archbishop George Lucas. If you support Archbishop Lucas’ decision to stop the printing of a lesbian couple’s “wedding” in the alum newsletter of their Catholic high school, please visit the following link, add your name to the signatures, and pass on the link to others: signon.org/sign/we-support-the-archdiocese?source=s.em.mt&r_by=5153286

Thank you, and God bless Archbishop Lucas for his faithful leadership!
 
Signed. I’m not going to let anyone bully the Archdiocese into giving in.
 
I signed - to show support to Archbishop Lucas and the Catholic Church:thumbsup:
 
I think I signed it, Here we go again, Militant Homosexuals, pushing their agenda on our Faith, persecution is next, i’m tellin ya. And before anyone attempts to twist my words, I mean Militant homosexuals, the kind that are activley commting sexuals sins with the same sex, not the kind that are attempting a CELIBATE and CHASTE lifestyle.

Dont let the Archdiocese cave in!

Its our time now Catholics!! No more namby pamby secular garbage telling me what to believe!!

VIVA CRISTO REY!
 
Whoa, wait, stop, think.

Does this same newsletter publish the weddings of alumnae who marry outside of the church? Most likely it publishes notices about civil and non-Christian weddings. If it does so, there’s no reason to single out same sex unions. If it has a policy to only publish notices about weddings that are recognized by the Catholic Church, then, they have a right to refuse in this case.

I’m getting mightily tired of Catholics who seem to think that living a homosexual lifestyle is somehow a graver sin than any other. I think if the Catholic Church expects people who are attracted to their own gender to live a celibate life, the the onus is on Catholics to treat these people (who are being asked to make a huge sacrifice) with the utmost respect. Dialogue and civilized debate is what’s required, not the drawing of battle lines.

So, if you’ve never masturbated, had extra or premarital sex, looked at porn, go ahead and cast the first stone (in the eyes of the Church all of these things are no less sinful than having a same sex partner). By all means, engage with this issue, but please do so with love & respect.
 
Catya said:
Whoa, wait, stop, think.

Does this same newsletter publish the weddings of alumnae who marry outside of the church? Most likely it publishes notices about civil and non-Christian weddings. If it does so, there’s no reason to single out same sex unions. If it has a policy to only publish notices about weddings that are recognized by the Catholic Church, then, they have a right to refuse in this case.

I’m getting mightily tired of Catholics who seem to think that living a homosexual lifestyle is somehow a graver sin than any other. I think if the Catholic Church expects people who are attracted to their own gender to live a celibate life, the the onus is on Catholics to treat these people (who are being asked to make a huge sacrifice) with the utmost respect. Dialogue and civilized debate is what’s required, not the drawing of battle lines.

So, if you’ve never masturbated, had extra or premarital sex, looked at porn, go ahead and cast the first stone (in the eyes of the Church all of these things are no less sinful than having a same sex partner). By all means, engage with this issue, but please do so with love & respect.
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If I sent them an announcement about the last time I’d looked at porn and asked them to put it in the newsletter, you’d have a point.

The diocese is not in the habit of publicizing any sin. AGAIN, the reason homosexuality appears to get more attention is because homosexuals make stands like this and force us to react.

People having affairs to expect the diocese to put their picture in various bulletins, now do they?
 
Catya said:
Whoa, wait, stop, think.

Does this same newsletter publish the weddings of alumnae who marry outside of the church? Most likely it publishes notices about civil and non-Christian weddings. If it does so, there’s no reason to single out same sex unions. If it has a policy to only publish notices about weddings that are recognized by the Catholic Church, then, they have a right to refuse in this case.

I’m getting mightily tired of Catholics who seem to think that living a homosexual lifestyle is somehow a graver sin than any other. I think if the Catholic Church expects people who are attracted to their own gender to live a celibate life, the the onus is on Catholics to treat these people (who are being asked to make a huge sacrifice) with the utmost respect. Dialogue and civilized debate is what’s required, not the drawing of battle lines.

So, if you’ve never masturbated, had extra or premarital sex, looked at porn, go ahead and cast the first stone (in the eyes of the Church all of these things are no less sinful than having a same sex partner). By all means, engage with this issue, but please do so with love & respect.
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Catya, a few thoughts:
  1. The high school is a Catholic High School, so they are bound to the rules of the Catholic Church. With the proper permission, Catholics may marry non-Catholics outside of the Church. A marriage between a Christian man and a Christian woman is considered a sacramental marriage. A marriage between a man and woman (one Christian and one non-Christian) is considered a valid marriage. Therefore, yes, these sacramental and valid marriages may be published licitly in the alum newsletter. In the eyes of the Church, there is no such thing as a “marriage” between a woman and a woman. Therefore, a Catholic high school may not publish a “wedding announcement” of a same-sex couple in the alum newsletter.
  2. Living out a homosexual lifestyle is a grave sin, and there are all kinds of other grave sins. Pointing out when a loved one is living in a state of mortal sin is the definition of charity, so long as it is done with genuine love and compassion. Unfortunately, our country seems to think that having religious beliefs and sharing them with others in a civilized dialogue is the equivalent of hate speech. So long as sharing these beliefs results in accusations of hate, the dialogue you desire will be difficult to achieve.
  3. I’ve never participated in any of the above listed activities, but I’m no more worthy of “casting the first stone” than anyone else. We can never judge the state of another’s soul, but it is our Christian obligation to warn others out of love when they are participating in sin.
 
He_Man said:
The diocese is not in the habit of publicizing any sin. AGAIN, the reason homosexuality appears to get more attention is because homosexuals make stands like this and force us to react.
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I was referring ONLY to their policy on which types of weddings they publicize and whether or not it’s consistent. I merely asked people to be familiar with the issue & get some context before they dash off and sign petitions.

My reference to porn and affairs (please do not twist my words to score a point off me) referred only to the spirit with which people enter into this debate.

If you think gay people are overly militant and force the issue, do you really think it justifies getting all combative with them? Shouldn’t we be setting the example - at least trying to take the higher road?
 
HappyAtHome said:
Catya, a few thoughts:
  1. With the proper permission, Catholics may marry non-Catholics outside of the Church. A marriage between a Christian man and a Christian woman is considered a sacramental marriage. A marriage between a man and woman (one Christian and one non-Christian) is considered a valid marriage. Therefore, yes, these sacramental and valid marriages may be published licitly in the alum newsletter. In the eyes of the Church, there is no such thing as a “marriage” between a man and a woman. Therefore, a Catholic high school may not publish a “wedding announcement” of a same-sex couple in the alum newsletter.
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Thank you for your respectful response.

I need to point out, however, that non-Catholic Christian to Christian weddings are recognized by the Catholic Church but are not sacramental. Many marriages outside of the church are civil and therefore not recognized by the Church. Marriages between Christians and non-Christians can be (but not always) considered valid, but again not sacramental.

I guess my badly-expressed point is, no one would question the validity of the above-mentioned marriages should they be publicized in a Catholic school alumni newsletter, provided one party’s name was recognizably male and the other female. I wonder if we single out same sex couples because it’s impossible to ignore that their unions aren’t recognized by the Church.

I guess my points can be restated this way:
  1. It’s too easy to single out the issue of same sex unions whilst turning a blind eye to other transgressive relationships.
  2. We need to treat other people with respect, regardless of whether or not we agree with them.
 
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