I have written before why I left the Catholic church. When Bishop Morlino fawns after hate talk radio host Vicki Mckenna, that defies the teachings of the week. After leaving the Catholic Church, we have settled in nicely at Messiah Lutheran, an ELCA Lutheran church on Cottage Grove Rd.
In a time when church membership is declining, we are on the precipice of war with North Korea, Gun violence is everywhere(another shooting today), our country and state more divided than ever, the Catholic Church still needing to get its own house in order, poverty in Wisconsin still a major problem, too many people in Wisconsin still without health care and Wisconsin ranking #1 in racial inequity in the US.
Yet the 71 year old Bishop is sitting in his office, trying to figure out a way that we can punish LGBTQ people from the alter!
A weekly newsletter to priests in the Madison Catholic Diocese by Bishop Robert Morlino’s top aide spelled out a series of “considerations” to use in deciding whether to provide funeral rites for people in same-sex unions, angering gay advocates who slammed it as offensive.
The confidential email, sent Saturday by Vicar General James Bartylla with Morlino’s backing, said rites “may be denied for manifest sinners” if providing the services would cause unavoidable “public scandal of the faithful.”
In Catholic doctrine, the word “scandal” can refer to something that is believed will lead others into sin or cause a confusion or weakening of others’ faith. Other parts of Bartylla’s message, published Sunday in a progressive Minnesota religious blog called Pray Tell, said “general considerations” priests should keep in mind if asked to perform Catholic funeral rites by the deceased’s family or same-sex partner include whether “the deceased or the ‘partner’ was a ‘promoter of the gay lifestyle.’ ”
The “attitude” of the deceased’s family members, especially toward the Church, and whether the deceased person showed “some signs of repentance before death,” also were cited as prominent considerations.
The newsletter said any surviving partner “should not have any public or prominent role” at any Church funeral rite or service. It also stated “there should be no mention” of the surviving partner’s name and no reference to “the unnatural union” in “any liturgical booklet, prayer card, homily, sermon, talk by the priest, deacon, etc. …”
The email also said it “may be wise” to keep priests involved only as minimally necessary to perform the funeral rites in any such service that does occur.
And it warned that listing the name of any priest who celebrates such a service and his parish in any public or semi-public obituary that also mentions the surviving partner carries a “great risk for scandal and confusion.”
“This can’t happen for obvious reasons,” the email said.
Lastly, if a priest goes through the considerations and still can’t decide what to do, Bartylla said, Morlino should be consulted and then “his judgment is to be followed.”
Actual letter can be read here!
We also know from history, that Bishop Morlino’s judgement is not something that should be followed!
In Case you were wondering, what does Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church have to say on this subject?
Well, there is this:
“Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?” the pontiff said, speaking in Italian. “You can’t marginalize these people.”
And This:
“I think that the Church not only should apologise … to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons.”
“We Christians have to apologise for so many things, not just for this (treatment of gay people), but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologise; forgiveness. Lord, it is a word we forget so often.” he said.
And even more information here!
Looks like Bishop Morlino is going Rogue!
In the (paraphrased words) of Ricky Ricardo:
Bobby, I know you want to “Make Wisconsin Great Again” but you have some splaining to do!
