Archdiocese at odds with gay marriage foes

A very wise decision from O'Malley. It is sacreligious to adulturate church service with cheap temporal political canvassing.
A church is for prayer and all catholics must be allowed in without hassles or politics or it is no church at all.
The proper place for canvassing church goers is behind the church, across the street on the public sidewalk. Nothing wrong with that.

The church has it´s laws based on the bible. Now if one does not want to obey the bible, that´s their right but they cannot consider themselves Catholic. That is simple logic. No fights just try to understand that the Church comes from Christ and if we do not want to follow Christ we cannot consider ourselves Catholics. We will always be brothers and love those who do not want to fillow Christ but Christians will be recognized by their love and pardon which Christ taught us.

3 words: Faith Based Discrimination

This is just another BS campaign by silly no matter people trying again separate humans from humans. Unless you speak the words "I am gay" you’re out otherwise lie and you’re in. What a bunch of hypocritical people they are! This just makes me so mad again - why are churches allowed to exist in Massachusetts tax free, lien free, mortgage free, and not taxed on the money they take. If these Items I listed were to be enforced I bet many churches would be out of business, remodeled for condo's or office buildings - which are more worth than they are now. Stop the churches and the church people from being so prejudice against humans.
Look at Palin for example when someone brought up same sex marriage – and when she was asked if she agreed with Biden just stated – she wouldn’t acknowledge – but what she would acknowledge was some like mumbling singing contracts or visitation rights in hospitals. Look how religion has got her thinking!! How can we treat people who love each other who happen to be of the same sex be treated as different? Wouldn’t you church goers and leaders be a lot happier if you were not constantly fighting battles and being enraged by two people in love and trying to create a family??? Our USA we would be so much better off as other countries are totally fine with love is love among humans no matter who it involves.
I honestly would love it for government to get involved and review the church rules of discrimination start cleaning up these infractions so we could all love more in harmony. Let’s face – the church is not a healthy place to take advice from nor learn from – so why go there????

I am sure the archdioceses doesn't want to risk losing it's tax free status. Once you start circulating political petitions at a church, it is a political organization, not religious. The anti-marriage fanatics will eventually destroy churches and other institutions just to satisfy their blood lust for maintaining bigotry. It is amazing to see how many lives these people will ruin for their own selfish gains.

O'Malley's signature should make the petition null and void, a total fraud made up by its confused hateful membership. Please go back to Rome!!!!

I believe this is a very wise decision on the part of O'Malley. The delineation here is sound... The Church is an organization focused on Christian ministry, and should not be a place for overt political activism. In recent times, the line between ministry and activism has been blurred, but this action reasserts that the Church is not a political lobby.

From a more instrumental perspective, that distinction is central to the Church's status as a Charitable (and therefore tax-exempt) organization.

This does not represent a contradiction, rather Cardinal OMalley's dual role as an individual who signs the petition, and as a leader of a Charitable organization that is not a political action committee.

Interesting comment from MassResistance - "It's as if the world is turning upside-down."

Yeah, perhaps their own intolerant world. I'm a heterosexual male and my world is just fine... I just can't understand all the fuss. Use this time, energy, and money for something that can actually make a positive change in the world - not for discriminating against others.

This to me is a non-issue. If you don't agree with marriage equality, don't marry someone of the same sex! As a school teacher, I don't ever recall reading/citing the words..."with liberty and justice for ALL" and seeing the word, "except". Separate but equal does not, has not and should not work. We can not "eenie meenie miney moe" through our neighborhoods and point to who is allowed marriage or not. As a christian and American, I am for equality, love, and acceptance to all human life. God bless, Stephanie

i, and many people, have HAD IT with the publicity and power that these freakshow "churches" have in this country to attempt to force their twisted and obsessive biases into our legal lives. keep your damn hands off of my body and OUT of my life. if i want to have an abortion, that is NONE of your business. if i am gay, that is NONE of your business. this o'malley is a vicious M.F., who like most of his old white male predecessors and contemporaries, is obsessed with gay men's bodies and what they do with them. same for women's bodies. they are profoundly creepy. preach your garbage from your pulpits, but shut up about your filthy beliefs in the public square. all people in massachusetts should start/sign a petition forcing these hate groups masquerading as "churches" to pay taxes.

Stay away from the church -- period. Not across the street. Not down the block. It is another reason for Catholics to join other non-Catholic, non-political congregations. Keep politics out of the Church!

You know, I have read through eleven comments and for people who suggest there is more love outside the church, perhaps you should re-read the tone of your comments. A Democratic Republic is based on dialogue and freedom of speech. I freely read your comments, and the most frightening of all is the comment that religious speech should be confined within church walls. Sounds a lot like forcing church-goers to become closet-Christians. If you don't agree with something, such as a Biblical perspective that indicates that sodomy is an abomination to God, that HE created them male and female, and the two shall become one flesh, then disagree. But if everyone must believe as you do, are you not the one being intolerant? Fear is what makes people intolerant. Fear of being made to comply against one's wishes. The Bible says that perfect loves casts out fear. Love the Lord our God with all your heart soul mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. On this all the law and the prophets rest.

God bless you all!

Just another reason for Catholics to consider the Episcopal Church. Yes, we have our issues, but have shown a huge degree of acceptance compared to the RC church.

None of you Catholic-bashers would ever take issue with the politicking that goes on in Black churches every Sunday. Why, that would be "racist" and "hateful." Proud "progressives" would never disagree with gays' hatred of all things faithfully Catholic. After all, you liberals stand with the 'oppressed."
But if Obama is selected President in the upcoming stolen election, you'll dance in the streets as his regime starts persecuting those people and churches of faith who refuse to change.
You people are the real haters. Your ideas are bankrupt, so you resort to intimidation and name calling. Truly sad.

WHAT? These monsters are still arguing over this issue? I'd been hoping they would have found someone fresh upon whom to spew their venomous hatred, intolerance, bigotry, and repression. I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised, after all, they were viciously attacking Jews right up until 1929 -- drawing up convenient lists of deportees to hand over to Mr. Mussolini. But I guess thousand years or so of abuse of that particular minority got tiresome. Especially now that the Jews are heavily armed and can retaliate! I bet if the South End and Jamaica Plain had tanks these Jesus Freaks wouldn't be so eager to sign petitions against basic human rights.

The parishoners of the Archdiocese support this petition. The world is truly upside down (and going to hell in a handbasket) when the Church, so hobbled by political correctness, is afraid to take a stand on this important issue.

Brian Camenker has made a career out of other peoples fears. I wish I was as successful at getting people to part with their money. Camenker is no different than Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell (God burn his soul).

Let them collect all the signatures they want. That will allow the IRS and AG to take away their tax exept status, and towns and cites as well as the state will increase revenues in a time of shortage. Seems like a deal to me!

52% (read: the majority) of Boston is Catholic. I find it interesting that many comments imply the Catholic Church is not mainstream here. Also, there are over 64.6 million Catholics in the US. Realize that when you make comments maligning Catholics, you are insulting the majority of your neighbors. You insult me, you insult all Catholics when you trash "the Church". Is that civil? Seems kind of "hateful" even:-)

Why do we Catholics stand by while our beloved Cardinal is insulted by left and right alike? Give me a break please. I for one am sure there is more to the story here. And before I would criticize my Bishop, I would pray for him, and find out the real deal. I think, dear fellow Catholics, you need to SPEAK UP in favor of your Bishop. He has a very difficult job and he needs out prayers and support. Do you let people insult your Mom and Dad and not defend them? Do you listen to half a story and pronounce judgment on your loved ones? The Church is our Mother. The Bishops represents a Father to you. He who hears Him hears Christ. If you are one of the 52%...even if you know every Bishop is not perfect, you know they give their life for your soul every day. And Boston Catholics, go to Mass on Sunday!!!!! We have Jesus in the Eucharist. He is there waiting for you. He loves you. Why do you stay away from HIM? :-) I am sure the minority viewpoint will remain quite vocal. as usual. while we take our faith for granted? and let them even insult a holy man? God have mercy.

It is rarely a good idea to set the rights of a minority to a popular vote.

It is an ever worse idea tangle up politics with worship any more than they currently are.

Anyone who decides an issue simply because what it says in some book put together by MAN over 2000 years ago have one problem its not real, its a collection of stories by humans. If you believe in such things then by all means...
I myself am a firm believer in nature and homosexuality exists in all spieces on the planet and thats a scientific FACT. Who knows why it exists in nature, but I'm positive there is a reason and maybe evolution requires it.

Okay I have to comment again because every time I see this blog it outright makes me mad - the archdiocese is upset booohoooo - get a new updated book to read will you and stop controlling people's thoughts. I'm gay and even if I wasn't I honestly wouldn't care who loved another person - same sex or not. And you jerks who say 'oh this means they could love/marry a dog’ get a freaking life. The church has as much right to deny my personal feelings than it has to deny my choosing of attending a church - which I won't btw because of the archdiocese and all higher up's that believe church is for everyone 'except for gay people' but allow all those horny sex priests to molest little innocent boys who didn't know what they were signing up for when they volunteered to be part of the church – by doing their duty. Do you think those parents of those molested boys would have let them be part of the church had they known what was going to happen to them? I guess that’s acceptable by the church to allow those parents worry about their sons and what might happen to them – it’s a gamble – either they are going to get raped or they may not get raped.
Again the archdiocese has more pressing things to worry about – “archdiocese is at odds with gay marriage foes.”
I got a kick out of one of the comments here from Scott Sherman “The Bible says that perfect loves casts out fear. Love the Lord our God with all your heart soul mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. On this all the law and the prophets rest.” What kind of crap line is this – if this were true Scott – the then “church” wouldn’t be at odds now would it?
Stop church – it hurts.

Did any of the posters here read the Archdiocese email. MassResistance did not go through the proper channels. This article is another non-issue Catholic bashing from the Boston Globe Socialist.

I'm here just to tell everyone some clear facts:

Homosexuality is not interchangeable with heterosexuality. I just left the homosexual lifestyle after thirty years. I know it inside and out. Homosexuality is all about rampant sexual addiction, perversion, drugs, mental instability and most of all unhappiness. If you want to know what homosexuality is all about, log onto gay.com's chat rooms. The most popular room is called "Dad/Son", a room all about incest. This is on the most popular gay site around.

Please don't buy the lies told by gay activists. To be against homosexuality is to be in favor of helping the whole society. You know, there's a reason that all societies have been against homosexuality since recorded time, and it's not prejudice. It's experience with it.

Above all, please do not believe what gay people tell you about what their lives are like. People won't tell other people in public what their private lives are like, particularly when their private lives involve all sorts of self-destructive, compulsive and deviant behavior. And they won't tell you what homosexuality is like if that would lead to your disapproval of it.

I know what the response to what I've said will be already, that my experience is not everyone's experience, or that your gay friends seem normal on the outside. Remember what I said - you don't know and they won't tell you what really goes on, and that they'll deny the truth in order to protect homosexuality.

But you can do some research on your own. Log on to gay.com's chat rooms, or to any gay chat room. Or look in the back of any gay newspaper for all the ads for male prostitutes, random sex with strangers, or for ads to repair the consequences of this life - ads for psychotherapy to deal with drug abuse, alcoholism, suicide and depression, loneliness, and sexually transmitted diseases.

It's not love to act as if homosexuality was just something that the Bible was against. It is against it, but it's against it for a reason, and that is that it's bad for us.

One of the few bright spots in O'Malley's tenure. But it is hard to forget his previous pathetic moves (firing Rev Walter Cuenin, locking children out ot Presentation School, the vindictive fight against gay marriage, etc). But I guess there is hope for us all.

#26- you're the perfect right wing, fascist republican...able to look someone straight in the eyes and tell lies as though they are words from jesus himself. you are no more gay than you are a decent, moral human being. so, your 30 years of experience as a "gay" have led you to announce that the dad/son chat room category on gay.com is where all of america's gay men can be found, huh? oh, and about that perversion, mental instability, alcoholism, etc. that you ramble on about. now that IS something that i believe you know a lot about- as a freakshow james dobson rightwing lying "christian" masquerading as a "former gay". you, like bush, palin, mccain, et al think people will believe anything and everything that spews from your dirty minds and mouths. think again. it's a new day

It's amazing to me to hear all of the vile, disgusting insults targeting Catholic Churches for playing their part in "Faithful Citizenship." Since when did our tax-exempt status prohibit free speech and political responsibility behind our church doors? It never seems to bother black churches who invite partisan candidates to preach from their altars and electioneer freely to the congregation. This happens frequently in Chicago black churches, which always favor Democratic candidates. Why do they get away with it without facing the same hate-filled rhetoric? I think you know the answer. The only problem I see here is that proper Chruch protocol was broken. Mass Resistance should have asked permission of the Bishop BEFORE starting the campaign. I don't know of one institution that doesn't require prior permission for this kind of activity. Let's remember that the National Bishops sponsored a gigantic post card campaign fighting against the Freedom of Choice Act - and it was successful, with millions of cards deluging legislative offices. I would recomment that the USCCB does this more often - it is their right and duty to take a lead on issues affecting the culture wars that we unfortunately are facing today.