Has Secularism Conquered the St. Patrick's Day Parade? Cardinal Dolan Should Clarify Church Teaching

We are up to our waists in the muck of secular quicksand and, slowly but surely, it is trying its best to suck us all deeper into its godless abyss.  This insidious secularism has permeated so much of our lives, it has become the norm for many, especially the Millennials (those born from 1980 and after). Marriage has been relegated to an afterthought; after living together, having sex together, and having a baby together, then MAYBE marriage is considered.  The Affordable Care Act has gone so far as to demand that we Catholic/Christians leave our faith and morality inside the church door, and shed it when we leave. Once outside of church, we MUST accept abortion and contraception, because they are now LAW and therefore,we cannot reject them. What our church teaches matters not. Is this NONSENSE?  Nope, it is the law of the land. 

In New Orleans, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed a lower court,and has ruled that a priest can be “made” to testify as to what he was told in the confessional,and violate the "seal of confession", something a priest can NEVER do. The court also empowered the trial court to DECIDE  “whether or not a sacrament took place”. Imagine the hypocrisy of a court that rejects the very Constitution it is sworn to uphold, and determines that it can decide when a Catholic sacrament is or is not a sacrament.  

These few examples are the tip of the iceberg.  Who needs to be defended are all of those Catholic/Christians standing tall and speaking out against the attacks against the faith.  Many of them are being stifled as Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech are being shoveled into the secular trash cans that are filling up with the freedoms that we so recently took for granted, as we lived our lives in the greatest country ever founded.  I want to mention one Catholic priest in particular. Monsignor Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C.  

Monsignor Pope has been a Catholic blogger for some time and his clear explanations and teachings and defense of the Catholic faith have been a refreshing joy to many.  However, the other day Monsignor wrote a column criticizing Timothy Cardinal Dolan and his defending the gay agenda being accepted into New York City's annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  The powers to be did NOT like it,and Monsignor Pope was forced to remove the blogpost. On September 8, the Church celebrated the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I did NOT see a post by Monsignor Pope.  I feared he may have been pushed off the cliff by the PC Gendarmes, simply because he told the truth. Praise the Lord, that never happened. We need defenders of the faith such as Monsignor Charles Pope and more people like him.

My non-theological explanation of Church teaching on this topic is this: Homosexuals are permitted to be in full communion with the Church...but they must remain celibate. This also applies to single men and women engaging in sex, whether living together or not. This is NOT new. This is how it has always been.  and it will not change.  Embracing a sexually active homosexual lifestyle is NOT permitted.  The fact is, Cardinal Dolan, standing as the Grand Marshall of the parade, will be giving credence to the lifestyle of the "gay agenda". It will appear that the LBGTQ lifestyle is acceptable to the Catholic Church.  It is NOT.  End of story.

When you are a "parent', there are times you MUST stand firm and say to your children "NO!"  Cardinal Dolan is the spiritual parent of the Catholics in the New York Archdiocese.  In addition, his name recognition is worldwide. He must teach, guide, nurture, and protect his children, especially from the forces of secularism. He also must stand tall, and set an example for everyone beyond his diocesan borders. As a parent, I know that often times saying "NO!" is hard to do. Oftentimes, your children DO NOT LIKE IT. But it comes with the territory, and you are obliged to do so, or you are failing in your responsibility. Right now I, too, am very disappointed in Timothy Cardinal Dolan.  I am praying that before the parade in March, he clarifies his stance, and explains Catholic Church teaching to all concerned.