Not One to Knuckle Under...
Well, it's been a long week and I'm tired; but even so, this article in the National Catholic Reporter energized me.
Apparently Fr. Michael Tegeder of St. Edward Parish in Bloomington, Minnesota has publicly challenged his superior, Archbishop Nienstedt! At issue is an 18-minute DVD from the bishop, sent to more than 400,000 Catholics, about the issue of gay marriage. The DVD calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage... BUT THERE'S NO SUCH AMENDMENT CURRENTLY ON THE BALLOT IN MINNESOTA! In fact, the Minnesota constitution defines marriage as "between one man and one woman." What there IS in Minnesota are three gubernatorial candidates...two of whom support gay marriage and one of whom does not. PLUS...the DVD was paid for by an "anonymous donor."
You can read a lot more about this from MPR's story, which includes a couple of slides, an interview of the Archbishop about the DVD, and some footage from it.
Oh: full disclosure, here ... I'm a long-time card-carrying member of the Knights of Columbus, which produced the DVD. Not that I voted for the project.
I have a long-time Jesuit friend who once said that reading the NCR is like going to the circus... he always made a batch of popcorn before he sat down to enjoy it. In one ring, you see the acrobats and tightrope walkers... in another, you might see a bunch of monkeys. Oh, and here comes the clown...
Kidding aside, I love my Church, but I happen to agree with Fr. Tegeder, not his archbishop.
posted by Deacon Denny @ 4:17 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Granted, I'm probably opening myself up by other comments, but if my relationship is so fragile that it needs to be "protected" from a couple who (in all likelihood) doesn't even know I exist, then I have no business getting married.
ARgh. Why did I read the comments?
Ah, yeah...reading the comments from the blog associated with NCR or other news outlets can really get to you. I sometimes leave a comment just to congratulate a writer on a job well done...but never in expectation of having a civil conversation. Thanks for stopping by, Garpu!
I don't understand - you voted for the anti-same-sex marriage DVD?
NO! Sorry you misunderstood! I happen to be a MEMBER of the Knights of Columbus...I joined over 25 years ago, after being asked by my friend George. I joined because I do think men's spirituality is a good thing, and the Knights are primarily a service organization, and besides (don't laugh!) I enjoy bowling on Thursday nights, in the Knights of Columbus bowling league...
I don't know exactly what Knights group produced the DVD for the archbishop -- it was probably done by a state or national body within the Knights organization, not the local Bloomington group or one of the small councils in Minnesota. It wasn't the sort of thing that anybody out here in Seattle would even have been asked about. (Bishops often ask the Knights of Columbus for help in funding things. Over twenty years ago, the national Knights paid for the renovation of the colonnade in the square at Vatican city.)
I was being a little flip about a serious thing -- I apologize!
Oh, I wasn't sure what you meant :) I remember reading something about the Knights when the proposition 8 thing in California was happening - they had come up with much of the money for the campaign against same-sex marriage. I think there's some dissent in the ranks, though, as this past post at dotCommonweal mentions - link
I've pretty much left the church here in Maine after finding out how much money the Diocese of Portland gave to out-of-state organizations fighting against gay marriage last election cycle. How many homeless people could they have fed instead of fighting against social justice?
Garrett Fitzgerald
Former St. Bridget's Parishioner, now living in central Maine
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