Comments on Advance Indiana™: Chicago Archdiocese Sued By Church Music Director Fired Over Entering Into Same-Sex Marriage

"On the other hand, I am sure that today many...

2016-03-08T19:34:41.658-05:00

"On the other hand, I am sure that today many people think that being gay is a matter of personal choice, which is quite different than one's race. In recent years that point of view has suffered serious challenges, with even a person's gender being something which has ambiguity about it."

How can being "gay" NOT be a personal choice? It is also a choice many people find morally offensive.

Very few people have any physical ambiguity with their gender. Some people CHOOSE to change their gender, but that is still a CHOICE. Get over the political correctness crap.

Anon 5:53 - I can answer your question. Catholic ...

2016-03-08T19:17:13.671-05:00

Anon 5:53 - I can answer your question. Catholic doctrine teaches that knowingly acting against God's wishes is sinful. It's not a sin to be gay. It is a sin to engage in gay sex, just as it is a sin to engage in heterosexual sex outside of marriage. The Church's position is fundamentally fair and totally consistent. Is Church law applied consistently across the board? No, unfortunately not, but neither is civil law and you know it if you think about it. In that way, the civil system is every bit as flawed as the Church.

The Church is also very clear about who can be married and who can't. I am talking Sacramental marriage, not civil marriage. Nothing has changed in that regard. The Church does not recognize same sex marriage and never will no matter how much the gays scream about it or otherwise threaten. The Church will simply go underground or cease to exist before that happens.

By openly flaunting sin (gay marriage), this man leaves the Church no choice. Of course, I suspect that was exactly the plan, whether it was his plan or his puppet master's, whoever that happens to be. Here's the problem he and those sympathetic to him face. There are millions upon millions of us who, when asked to choose between God's law and man's will choose God's. Every single time. They can threaten us. They can fine us. They can jail us. They can burn us at the stake. It will change nothing. I will never see it there way. I will never choose to validate someone who believes in recreational sex as a means and end to itself over God's law. The very thought of it is absurd and ridiculous.

Given the church's history with priests, perha...

2016-03-08T18:31:31.949-05:00

Given the church's history with priests, perhaps it's a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

I cannot be sure from the account above whether Mr...

2016-03-08T17:53:41.837-05:00

I cannot be sure from the account above whether Mr. Collette was a member of the church or simply its employee. If a member, I can understand the church refusing to perform his marriage, but does his marriage to his partner really prevent him from doing his job? If he is not a member, how does his legally marrying his partner change anything from the church's perspective? Was the church fine with hiring & employing a gay music director as long as his sexual orientation officially stayed in the closet?

I think the Little Sisters of the Poor have a faci...

2016-03-08T16:33:49.331-05:00

I think the Little Sisters of the Poor have a facility on West 86th street where they take good care of people who no one else will. These little old ladies don't want to pay for birth control for themselves or for their employees as contraception is not a biblically based value. Most Christians being informed of the teachings against contraception tend to agree that it is an introductory sin to a social structure of sinning. However, obama thinks differently.

I'm a die-hard liberal who supports same-sex m...

2016-03-08T16:15:20.553-05:00

I'm a die-hard liberal who supports same-sex marriage, but I agree with Gary's assessment. There are plenty of accepting religious congregations.

David, In practice, most churches are segregated. ...

2016-03-08T16:07:21.893-05:00

David, In practice, most churches are segregated. Their denominations may be accepting of all races, but individual churches within a denomination are often segregated. Should an all-black, inner city Baptist church be subject to a lawsuit if it only hires black ministers and choir/music directors? The Mormon church did not end its ban on blacks from full participation in its church until 1978 as a way of shedding its racist image without being forced by the government to change its ways.

I think you have one valid point of view. On the ...

2016-03-08T15:36:33.996-05:00

I think you have one valid point of view. On the other hand, it is often suggested as a mental exercise that one substitute the word `black' for `gay' and see how it fits. To the extent these are the same situation will help guide the way it appears to the reader. When I was a teenager there were many religious organizations which insisted that segregation is a natural state of life, and ordained in the Bible. On the other hand, I am sure that today many people think that being gay is a matter of personal choice, which is quite different than one's race. In recent years that point of view has suffered serious challenges, with even a person's gender being something which has ambiguity about it.

This is the craziest thing I ever heard of. What ...

2016-03-08T15:36:21.399-05:00

This is the craziest thing I ever heard of. What attorney would take it? Who paid for it?

Bottom line as usual: Gary is spot-on. If Collette has a problem with the Catholic Church's beliefs, then he should just leave the church, not expect the government to compel it to change its practices to conform to his personal beliefs.

Some of the founding principles of this country were the freedom of choice, thought, religion. The very idea of Government telling subjects what they have to believe is contrary to the principles of our country. That should be dismissed with punitive damages for the frivilous waste of filing & response.