Remember Father Michael Rodriguez? He's the courageous priest of the El Paso [Texas] Diocese who has taken an active stand defending Catholic moral teaching and the Church's understanding of the sacrament of marriage. In a guest column for the Opinion section of the El Paso Times last december, Fr. Rodriguez wrote, "Jesus Christ’s praise of John the Baptist is without parallel, 'among those born of women, no one is greater than he' (Luke 7:28). Thus, in John the Baptist, a 'voice crying out in the desert,' we’re given the greatest prophet. Well, how did he meet his end? Faithful to God’s law, John the Baptist rebuked Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, and told him he couldn’t take his brother’s wife as his own. As a result, Herod had John arrested, bound, imprisoned, and eventually beheaded (Matthew 14:3-12).
St. John the Baptist suffered martyrdom for crying out in defense of the institution of marriage! Fifteen centuries later, in England, another saint and martyr, Sir Thomas More, was beheaded for witnessing to the truth about marriage. Another political leader, this time King Henry VIII, sought to redefine marriage in order to suit his own particular agenda. The king wanted to obtain a 'legal divorce' from his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Thomas More, lord chancellor of England at the time, and second in rank and power only to the king himself, courageously opposed Henry’s sin. This cost More his life.
St. Thomas More was beheaded on July 6, 1535. He shed his blood out of love and fidelity to Christ, the Catholic Church, and the sacrament of marriage. Today, in the year of our Lord, 2010, in El Paso, Texas, a number of our City Council members appear to be morally blind, if not depraved. They seem intent on abusing their political power and undermining the institution of marriage, all in the pursuit of an agenda which could, at best, be described as misguided.
If in the future, a majority of City Council members are adamant in seeking government recognition of same-sex unions under the cloak of 'toleration, fairness, and equal rights,' then every single Catholic must reject these machinations which are tantamount to a blatant corruption of public morality. Catholics can never permit a 'non-discrimination amendment to the city charter' which intends, or will allow, gravely sinful relationships to be equated with the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony.
Rome has been very clear in mandating that all Catholics must oppose any and all government attempts to legalize same-sex unions.
The U.S. Catholic bishops, in their November 2009 pastoral letter on marriage, have written, "One of the most troubling developments in contemporary culture is the proposition that persons of the same sex can ‘marry.’ “This proposal attempts to redefine the nature of marriage and the family and, as a result, harms both the intrinsic dignity of every human person and the common good of society.” They teach further, “to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman is itself a matter of justice.”
The Roman Catholic Church is categorically opposed to the legalization of same-sex unions, and with good reason. This position has nothing to do with discrimination. Discrimination is against persons; we Catholics are opposing sinful actions. It’s irresponsible and irrational to ignore the essential moral distinction between a person and his/her actions. No one has a “civil right” to redefine the institution of marriage! It’s an utter breakdown in basic logic to speak about “fairness and equality” without first settling the issue of right vs. wrong! The latter is the moral foundation of the former!
Dear Catholics, it’s in our blood to be voices crying out in the desert, witnessing to the truth with love! St. John the Baptist, pray for us. St. Thomas More, pray for us." (See here).
As I've said time and again at this Blog, the new humanitarian religion of Antichrist will embrace homosexuality and any other form of deviancy. Pleasure will be the ultimate principle. And children must be indoctrinated in the ways of Hell so that they may take their place in the New Satanic Society, the Moloch State where the only thing which will be forbidden is orthodox Christianity. Under this new satanic religion, all will be encouraged to create their own reality according to what feels right to them. This spirit is already infecting certain corners of the Church. See here for example.
Persecution is almost always very subtle at first. Today, those who oppose the homosexual agenda are gradually being ostracized. But the day will come when those who murder us will believe they are doing the will of God.
And they will do this because they have not received the love of truth. Today, increasing numbers of those who are only within the Church in a bodily manner [see Lumen Gentium, 14) are coming to embrace doctrines of demons. The day is quickly approaching [and in some corners of the world is already here] when orthodox Christianity will be deemed a "threat" to progress as men build a new Tower of Babel.
Showing posts with label Bishop Armando Ochoa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bishop Armando Ochoa. Show all posts
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Is it the position of the El Paso Texas Diocese that Pope Pius X's Catechism and the Catechism of the Catholic Church are wrong in calling sodomy a sin that cries to God for vengeance?
Rev. Michael Rodriguez, pastor of Saint Juan Bautista Church in Central El Paso, has written a series of advertisements published in four parts by the El Paso Times. These advertisements, entitled "The truth about homosexuality," denounce homosexuality and any encouragement of homosexuality. Sounds like something any serious Catholic would fall behind right? Unfortunately, the Diocese of El Paso insists that the advertisements do not represent the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and that, "These paid advertisements are the personal views and opinions of Father Michael Rodriguez." Readers of this Blog will recall that the Bishop of El Paso, Armando Ochoa, referred to Catholic teaching regarding same-sex "marriage" as "mere opinion."
In his 1910 Catechism, Pope Saint Pius X tells us that sodomy ranks second in gravity to voluntary homicide among the sins that "cry out to God for vengeance." According to this Catechism, crafted by one of the greatest Popes of the modern era - the Pope of the Eucharist, raised to the altars of the Church - "These sins are said to cry out to God because the Holy Spirit says so and because their iniquity is so grave and manifest that it provokes God to punish with more severe chastisements."
But officials of the El Paso Diocese apparently believe that the Holy Spirit is wrong and that Pope Pius X's Catechism is mistaken. If this is the case, then the diocese must also reject this authoritative teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church promulgated by His Holiness Pope John Paul II: "The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are 'sins that cry to heaven': the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner.'" (CCC, 1867).
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its document entitled Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, insisted that:
"If it is true that all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legalization of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians....The Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral." (No. 10). The CDF also emphasizes in this important document that, "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to considerations of homosexual unions." (No. 11).
It would appear that the Diocese of El Paso needs to be investigated by Rome.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Bishop Armando Ochoa: Catholic teaching regarding same-sex "marriage" constitutes mere opinion
Considerations makes it abundantly clear that, "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to considerations of homosexual unions." (No. 11). In other words, there can be no doubt that all Catholics have a moral duty to oppose the homosexual agenda.
Unless of course your Bishop Armando Ochoa. Referring in a column to one of his priests who has been actively opposing the homosexual agenda by advancing and defending the Church's teaching, Bishop Ochoa asserted that the priest was merely promoting his "personal opinion." In a recent editorial to the El Paso Times, Fr. Michael Rodriguez wrote:
Catholics must stand against all attempts to redefine marriage
By Michael Rodriguez, Guest Columnist
El Paso Times, Dec 26, 2010. Opinion section, page 9B
"Jesus Christ’s praise of John the Baptist is without parallel, 'among those born of women, no one is greater than he' (Luke 7:28). Thus, in John the Baptist, a 'voice crying out in the desert,' we’re given the greatest prophet.
Well, how did he meet his end?
Faithful to God’s law, John the Baptist rebuked Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, and told him he couldn’t take his brother’s wife as his own. As a result, Herod had John arrested, bound, imprisoned, and eventually beheaded (Matthew 14:3-12).
St. John the Baptist suffered martyrdom for crying out in defense of the institution of marriage!
Fifteen centuries later, in England, another saint and martyr, Sir Thomas More, was beheaded for witnessing to the truth about marriage.
Another political leader, this time King Henry VIII, sought to redefine marriage in order to suit his own particular agenda. The king wanted to obtain a 'legal divorce' from his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne Boleyn.
Thomas More, lord chancellor of England at the time, and second in rank and power only to the king himself, courageously opposed Henry’s sin. This cost More his life.
St. Thomas More was beheaded on July 6, 1535. He shed his blood out of love and fidelity to Christ, the Catholic Church, and the sacrament of marriage.
Today, in the year of our Lord, 2010, in El Paso, Texas, a number of our City Council members appear to be morally blind, if not depraved. They seem intent on abusing their political power and undermining the institution of marriage, all in the pursuit of an agenda which could, at best, be described as misguided.
If in the future, a majority of City Council members are adamant in seeking government recognition of same-sex unions under the cloak of 'toleration, fairness, and equal rights,' then every single Catholic must reject these machinations which are tantamount to a blatant corruption of public morality.
Catholics can never permit a 'non-discrimination amendment to the city charter' which intends, or will allow, gravely sinful relationships to be equated with the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony.
Rome has been very clear in mandating that all Catholics must oppose any and all government attempts to legalize same-sex unions.
The U.S. Catholic bishops, in their November 2009 pastoral letter on marriage, have written, “One of the most troubling developments in contemporary culture is the proposition that persons of the same sex can ‘marry.’
“This proposal attempts to redefine the nature of marriage and the family and, as a result, harms both the intrinsic dignity of every human person and the common good of society.”
They teach further, “to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman is itself a matter of justice.”
The Roman Catholic Church is categorically opposed to the legalization of same-sex unions, and with good reason.
This position has nothing to do with discrimination.
Discrimination is against persons; we Catholics are opposing sinful actions. It’s irresponsible and irrational to ignore the essential moral distinction between a person and his/her actions.
No one has a “civil right” to redefine the institution of marriage!
It’s an utter breakdown in basic logic to speak about “fairness and equality” without first settling the issue of right vs. wrong! The latter is the moral foundation of the former!
Dear Catholics, it’s in our blood to be voices crying out in the desert, witnessing to the truth with love!
St. John the Baptist, pray for us. St. Thomas More, pray for us."
Fr. Michael Rodriguez is the parish priest at San Juan Bautista Catholic Church.
Mere "personal opinion"? God help Bishop Armando Ochoa! For those of us who strive to be Catholic in more than just name, the Church is the "pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), and not the "pillar of opinion." The Church's teaching comes from a more-than-human authority. Vatican II, in Dei Verbum, No. 10, reminds us that, "..the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether in its written form or in that of Tradition, has been entrusted only to those charged with the Church's living Magisterium, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.."
Perhaps Bishop Ochoa should spend a little more time actually reading what Vatican II had to say?
Related reading: Homosexuality and false compassion.
Related reading: The Catholic Free Press [Diocese of Worcester, Mass] and homosexual agitprop
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