Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Response to Archbishop Timothy Dolan's Letter to President Obama by Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP,
is a Roman Catholic Woman Priest
ordained in Lexington, KY. in 2008
As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan wrote in a September 20 letter to President Barack Obama that the Obama Administration’s fight against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, will undermine marriage and create a serious breach of Church-State relations.
Is Archbishop Dolan saying that marriage will become less of the sacrament it now is if it’s a marriage between gays or lesbians?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Procreation cannot be the main point of marriage considering that many people marry after the age of childbearing and have sacramentally blessed marriages.
Procreation cannot be the main point of marriage considering that many people marry after the age of childbearing and have sacramentally blessed marriages.
Ask those who have taken the vow to married life and faithfulness in the sacrament of marriage rather than male priests who have never been married or who have never been involved in intimate relationships. While bringing children into the world is a blessing and responsibility, the heart of marriage between two people is their respect and treatment of one another...which can enhance the community or take away from it.
What is the heart of marriage – except the spiritual journey of two people growing closer to Christ, each other and their community. That, in my mind, is the essence of the sacrament. And, that grace and blessing can be lived and given to two people of the same sex.
What is the heart of marriage – except the spiritual journey of two people growing closer to Christ, each other and their community. That, in my mind, is the essence of the sacrament. And, that grace and blessing can be lived and given to two people of the same sex.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan lies when he says the Church recognizes “the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals including those with same sex attraction.” He compounds his dishonesty when he says “we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person.”
The Church puts same sex couples in harm’s way when it limits the sacrament of marriage to a man and a woman. It attempts to make the sanctity of their human connection less than that between a man and a woman. When their love is not valued and honored by society and the church, then it follows that they are looked at as scapegoats or lepers. The sacrament of marriage takes place between two people who are committed to each other and publicly vow their love and lives to one another. It has nothing to do with gender. Rather, it is about the universal love to which the liberating Christ calls us to in the Gospels – to journey together in bringing about the Kin-dom.
Dolan further states “While all persons merit our full respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what marriage between husband and wife provides. The law should reflect this reality.”
Our Church violates the inner lives of gays and lesbians when it denies them the sacrament of marriage. Jesus goes to the heart and is in search for the love that will grow and endure. Is this not the model that we as Church, as the people of God, are to follow?
Archbishop Dolan’s time would be better spent getting bishops to report pedophile priests, in promoting the ordination of women priests and to help homosexual priests within the church to step forward, name their truth and be accepted by the faithful who will love them more for their courage.
Dolan further states “While all persons merit our full respect, no other relationships provide for the common good what marriage between husband and wife provides. The law should reflect this reality.”
Our Church violates the inner lives of gays and lesbians when it denies them the sacrament of marriage. Jesus goes to the heart and is in search for the love that will grow and endure. Is this not the model that we as Church, as the people of God, are to follow?
Archbishop Dolan’s time would be better spent getting bishops to report pedophile priests, in promoting the ordination of women priests and to help homosexual priests within the church to step forward, name their truth and be accepted by the faithful who will love them more for their courage.
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
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