Chicago's Cardinal George came out swinging Wed. in a local throwdown between a Catholic parish and the organizers of the upcoming Gay Pride parade in June 2012. Asked by a local television news reporter to comment on the complaint of the pastor of a parish on the parade route that parishioners would be unable to gt through the crowd to get to Mass on the Sunday when the parade throngs arrived, George offered a comparison that clearly startled the reporter.
“You don’t want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism,” Cardinal George said.
“That’s a little strong analogy, Ku Klux Klan,” Fox Chicago’s Dane Placko responded after a moment.
“It is,” the cardinal agreed. “But you take a look at the rhetoric, the rhetoric of the Ku Klux Klan, the rhetoric of some of the gay liberation people. Who is the enemy? The Catholic Church.”
The 2012 parade has been moved from Saturday to Sunday, and the route has been altered because of overcrowding and general rowdiness last year—its size has also been considerably scaled back in the hope that this might reduce the overall craziness. The change in route and time came after last year's parade drew nearly 800,000 people and public safety became a concern. The new route is longer, which organizers hope will relieve street and sidewalk overcrowding, and now directs the parade down Belmont Ave. on Chicago's North Side toward Broadway, both major neighborhood arteries. If the route stands, that means the parade will go right past Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and Sunday morning churchgoers will likely have trouble getting through the front door.
If George was worried that something worse might be in the offing at Mt. Carmel by way of expression of antipathy to the church from gay priders turned protestors, his unfortunate comparison seems likely to assure such a confrontation now.
Mt. Carmel pastor Father Thomas Srenn seems to have followed a far more circumspect course in explaining his concerns regarding the proposed Pride route. In a statement posted at the parish Web site, he writes:
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel has been part of the East Lakeview neighborhood for 125 years. From its founding as an immigrant parish until today, our parish has witnessed many demographic changes. Parishioners, indeed, are proud of their local history and particularly proud of the current diversity that exists in our church and school communities.comments seem to assure....
The annual Pride Parade is one of the hallmarks that make Lakeview unique and we in no way wish to diminish its place in the community. The petition simply asks the City and the Chicago Pride Parade planners to consider our concern that the impact of the new route and time would have on the ability of people to participate at Sunday morning Masses
Attempts to provide other access to our church will in no way enable our parishioners to navigate the anticipated crowds or to be able to celebrate Mass in the reflective, contemplative atmosphere that is so important to us.
Parishioners, the residents of our diverse community, the many visitors who will enjoy our neighborhood that weekend, all want to have a safe, peaceful and enjoyable Pride Sunday.
Members of Chicago's gay community are predictably outraged by Cardinal George's comparison of them to the odious KKK. The parade is still months away and cooler heads appear to already have prevailed somewhat.
Forty-fourth Ward Alderman Tom Tunney and organizer Richard Pfeiffer meet with church representatives last week to discuss the parish's concerns about the route and proposed start time of 10 a.m., which is one hour before the church's morning Mass.
Tunney is both Chicago's first openly gay alderman and a Mt. Carmel parishioner, so he may have been especially motivated to find a resolution. Parade organizers now say the start time will be pushed back to Noon to help accommodate Sunday services along the parade route.
"After consulting with the various City departments, we believe this is an agreeable compromise to help keep the parade safe and manageable while respecting the diversity of our neighborhood," Tunney and Pfeiffer said in a joint statement.
If they wanna play rough they have met their match.
Cardinal George may not be any great shakes in the intellectual stakes but he is a Christian and has staked the Christian claim clearly.
They thought he would lay down and take their agression but the found a different kettle of fish.
We are dealing with mystery but they are dealing with certainty.It is they who are dogmatic.Cardinal George has defended the Church and I salute him for doing so.It is late here in Sofia and the beers have been many but I still recall this as a cardinal who described his retiremnent dream to be in the confessional.Cardinal George is not a homophobe or a narrow-minded catholic but a man who is looking for the good of souls.If others want to paint him in a negative light let them have their pallette full.
The cardinal is obsessed with anti-Catholicism, a subject where he exhibits profound ignorance. It's as though he fails to realize the impact of John Kennedy's election, when much anti-Catholicism lost its force. Isn't a majority of the Supreme Court Catholic?
In his ad limina around 2002, George wrote,
''The Church is an arena of ideological warfare rather than a way of discipleship shepherded by bishops. ...The Church’s ability to evangelize is diminished.''
An outstanding critique by Anthony Massimini, a former priest who was in Rome during Vatican II, notes:
''Here he (George) denies that any arguments in the church have any theological or spiritual value. To him, they are all expressions of ideology, which of course, must be expunged.
Either he doesn’t know his faith and theology, or he doesn’t care to know them. All he seems to know and care about is his episcopal authority and power. His idea of “discipleship” seems to be that of a church of sheep who are shepherded by himself and his fellow bishops, and not a church of adult, thinking, discerning, spiritually mature, prophetically active Catholics.''
Anecdote: George reminisced a few years ago about his meteoric rise in the hierarchy: it involved simply receiving a few phone calls about his new appointments. He told priests at a reunion (per one present) that should they be called, it would be equally uncomplicated - quote ''unless they had a couple of kids stashed away in the attic.'' A little light humor or flippant mindset?
Read more…http://votf.org/vineyard/Nov19_2008/survivor.html
Arrogant, dismissive, a clerical narcissist to the core. And not above seriously compromising the truth, as IL Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke learned firsthand. For another day...
The analogy is imperfect and it was certainly impolitic of him to use it. These sorts of demonstrations are indeed known for public displays of behavior most people would not want to have to explain to their children. However, the threat of violence and vandalism is probably minimal; in a confrontation, the Chicago police will sympathize with the Church.
Liam 2009-11-18 09 Comment # 165
http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=81913739-3048-741E-5405178212524077#comments
It is comment number 163 not 165.
165 was written by the Ghost of Wojtyla.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/12/29/Full_Page_Ad_Calls_for_Cardinals_Resignation/
Perhaps the wrong guy is wearing a red hat. Papal Infallibility does not extend to appointments of officials.
Lord, save us from ourselves, please!
Merry Christmas, everyone.
And he’s supposed to be one of the most intelligent of the US episcopacy?
Future News Network (FNN) - June 2012, Chicago, IL, USA
A record 850,000 people came to Chicago today to watch or take part in the Annual Gay Pride Parade. By all accounts, it was loud, fun, quirky, colorful, at times bordering on the ourrageous and risque, and a great success, according to parade organizers. ''It's all about pride,'' said the President of the organizing committee for this year's event. ''It's about pride in ourselves, our friends, our community, and in Chicago for being a great city of tolerance and inclusion.''
Only six months ago, there was concern about the reaction of the Catholic Church. Our own Cardinal Francis George likened the rhetoric of some members of the GLBT to that of the KKK. The Cardinal said that to them, the Catholic Church is the enemy.
The Cardinal was prompted to make his remarks, because the parade route was changed and would pass right in front of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, RC Church, on West Belmont Avenue. The local pastor was very concerned because Sunday morning church goers would find it very difficult to get through the crowds and cross the parade route to get to Sunday Mass.
Predictably, there was an outcry over Cardinal George's remarks. What seemed like an inevitable confrontation between the Catholic Church and the parade organizers, was transformed into a cooperative display of community spirit. It began when the Cardinal apologized for what he described as intemperate and uncharitable remarks.
The Cardinal, himself, negotiated with the city and the parade organizers. Local parishioners organized themselves as escorts and path makers through the crowds, and crossing guards to get church goers safely across the street. The whole thing was supervised by the police so that there would be a minimum of interruptions for church goers and the parade.
The real news was not the agreement on escorts and crossing guards, but a large sign put up by Cardinal George, in front of the Church. It had the schedule of Masses.
''SUNDAY - 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
AGLO Mass - Sunday 7:00 p.m. - Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach''
In addition, the sign read, ''After the parade, come back for Mass, or for private prayer and meditation in our Church. All are welcome.''
We learned that both Cardinal George, and pastor Father Thomas Srenn officiated at the 7:00 pm AGLO Mass. No one expected the overflow crowd for the AGLO Mass. The only problems were two people who tried to disrupt the Mass, but they were quickly excorted out by plain clothes police.
The Cardinal was asked if the Church would do the same for next year. ''Of course,'' he said. ''That is why the Church is here.'' When asked if he would do anything different, he was quick to say, ''Yes. Next year we will have two AGLO Masses, and sufficient time and priests to hear confessions beforehand.''
A CNN reporter asked if there was anything else he would like to say. He said, ''Bless all gay Catholics, all gay people, and all children of God!'' The reporter was heard to say, ''Amen.''
I am not sure of America Magazine's position but it seems that they are (like an abused woman who thinks her rape was her fault) blaming themselves (that is the Catholic Church). In general, the Media has huge blinders on if they can not see the systematic aggression against the Catholic Church.
Notice the threat in the article that the Gay Pride people may get confrontational because of Cardinal George's comments, that is their way of saying that it is the Catholic Church's fault for any future confrontation. This is like blaming the victim for the crime.
Let me make my position more clear than Cardinal George did (I think he was diplomatically evasive): The route of the Gay Pride parade in front of the Catholic Church on a Sunday morning is an act of aggression. He has a right to complain and he does not have to be dismissive about this offense.
Thank you for the article.
Merry Christmas.
“Catholics are made to suffer more from the church than for it.” Flannery O’Connor
"Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. " Marcus Tullius Cicero
It is Protestant in origin and therefore probably heretical but I wanna remind everybody here and Cardinal George and myself "Jesus Loves You ".
Mi devi portare anche una mela una volta!!!!!
Bad analogy, Cardinal George.
And, I might add, it should not go unnoticed that the issue raised in that comment continues to be elided. Not that we should be surprised. But noticing and paying attention to things not done is part of the foundation of spiritual maturity.
I'm not going to argue with that quote one iota!
David P: I'll change my archives accordingly.
For years I have been archiving comments with which I agree - and some with which I disagree.
I have used this one of yours more than once!
Thank you for making it.
Mass e-mail reply from Cardinal George:
"Statement from Francis Cardinal George, OMI
Archbishop of Chicago
December 27, 2011
The Chicago Gay Pride Parade has been organized and attended for many years without interfering with the worship of God in a Catholic church. When the 2012 Parade organizers announced a time and route change this year, it was apparent that the Parade would interfere with divine worship in a Catholic parish on the new route. When the pastor's request for reconsideration of the plans was ignored, the organizers invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940's, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate.
It is terribly wrong and sinful that gays and lesbians have been harassed and subjected to psychological and even physical harm. These tragedies can be addressed, however, without disturbing the organized and orderly public worship of God in a country that claims to be free. I am grateful that all parties concerned resolved this problem by moving the Parade's start time so as not to conflict with the celebration of Mass that Sunday."
Translation:
You're right, we don't care about you at all and we ARE trying to get you to leave the Church. If calling prelates out for defamation offends anyone, we the prelates will simply repeat the defamatory remarks. Sucks to be you. Just go join a Protestant church, why don't you?
The Cardinal wrote: ''...[T]he organizers invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church.''
And from the formal invitation issued by the parade organizers:
''Dear Cardinal,
''We, the organizers of the Gay Pride Parade, request the honor of your insensitive, inflammatory, and uncharitable comparison of us to the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK is certainly an obvious choice to which we should be compared.
''Please be assured that we will not regard the odious comparison as ''...terribly wrong and sinful...'', nor will we feel that we are being, ''...subjected to psychological...harm.''
''Pridefully yours,
''Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals, Transgenders, and Queers''
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cardinal-defends-comparing-gay-parade-organizers-to-ku-klux-klan-20111228,0,5334065.story
HOWEVER:
Anti-gay rhetoric and anti-Catholic rhetoric are not at all the same sort of thing. People who identify as gay or lesbian are approximately 2% of the population; self-identifying Catholics are approximately 25%. It is a far more noxious, dangerous and un-Christian thing to disparage a small minority than a large plurality. More likely to lead to violence, more poisonous to public discourse and a more profound offense against charity.
And it is preposterous to suggest the Church is in any way endangered by a few isolated (albeit vulgar and offensive) demonstrations. The Church has perdured for two millennia, still enjoys a multitude of special legal protections and privileges in many developed countries and is a wealthy and influential political power-broker in America.
The mere fact that one must reach back to 1989 to find examples of this supposed persecution speaks for itself. It does not require heroism to defend the Church against the gay movement.
We are none of us born in any meaningful sense Gay/Catholic.We are human beings.
Persons.
If somewhere in our minds we see gays as an enemy or catholics for that matter then we have been warped by ideology.
There is ideology in the Church and in the Gay Rights movement.
The church is overflowing with homosexuals ,especially in the hierarchy.Homosexuals or gay people that I have known come usually in two varieties.Only two.Shrill and bitter ideologues intent on spreading a little misery and wise and discerning people with huge dollops of understanding and compassion.
Can you imagine if the church decreed that to be American or Irish was inherently sinful?Nah you will say "only to act upon being that way" is sinful.If the Church taught that heterosexual desires were off limits the show would be over in about the time it takes to say the Rosary.
Homosexuality is a mystery .A freak of nature just like rainbows.
How can we account for it?We cannot.Be humble and accept that.
St Augustine said "Love and do what you like", do homosexuals love?I have changed my mind.They do.No more and no less than heterosexuals.
How many catholic Saints were homosexuals?God alone knows and he has probably forgotten already.
What should get our knickers in a twist if not the gays?Well the fact that about 20 per cent of the clergy are homosexuals.Either the Holy Spirit has a serious liking for these guys or else the church needs to consider it's own behaviour.
The Lord never once in His life uttered the word homosexuals but was almost obsessive about hypocrites. Would we complain about persecution if we were Christians?I left my Bible in the car what did Jesus say?
The saints and martyrs of this Church have been fed to lions, flayed alive, burned at the stake, roasted on grills, drawn and quartered, impaled, dismembered, beheaded and garroted. In recent weeks two score were burned to death in Nigeria, another two score were imprisoned in Hanoi, and hundreds have been murdered in Egypt. And you're carrying on about "persecution" and "heroism," about what? A few pickets, a few condoms and one consecrated host momentarily on the floor?
Can't you see how all this overwrought, hyper-sensitive self-pity about "religious persecution" disgraces the Church and thwarts evangelism? At the General Judgement, won't the Church Triumphant be ashamed of us? When we get to Purgatory, won't Cato Uticensis say, "Oh, look, here comes the Catholic Complainer Generation! You'll fit right in here! You've sure been working on your screaming, haven't you?" And all Purgatory will shake with the thunderous laughter of the Church Suffering.
One Catholic League is at least two more than we need (IMHO.) Why would anybody perform for free the degrading, embarrassing role they get paid 400k a year to do?
OK, fair point. You did not mention "persecution." I guess I was responding mostly to the original analogy that this is like the KKK. My point is just: a "gay pride" demonstration is not like the KKK; it's more like mosquitos. Let's lose the bombastic rhetoric. Chicago is a big town; there's room for people to disagree.
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/The-Cardinal-and-The-Klan-136262868.html
The gay community would certainly argue that bigotry practiced by the Catholic Church is a more powerful force than bigotry practiced against the Catholic Church.The fact that we have a Catholic governor, with whom the Catholic archbishop can meet privately for two hours, is proof that the church has nothing to fear from the Klan, or any other anti-Catholic movement.
The gay community is not the enemy and we are beyond tired of being a convenient target for the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-cardinal-20111230,0,1589078.story
Be careful about signing that petition if you're a gay Catholic who doesn't want any more negative emotional feedback from the hiearchy, as I signed the online version of the petition with my e-mail address and got some pretty strident e-mail back from the archdiocesan offices.
I consider it to be a badge of honor to be on those kinds of *hit lists.
For all the agonized hand-wringing, wailing and gnashing of teeth about groups being "marginalized" and "dehumanized" in the Church, has anybody else noticed that it is invariably only women who are sent <i>rursus in nihilum?</i>
It's kind of like that Star Trek Next Gen Episode ("The Next Phase") where Geordi and Ro can only communicate by leaving chronoton emissions by running through the buikheads. Well, I also have learned that opining while female incurs irrevocable latae sententiae excommunication.
I think I see Kevin headed your way with a disrupter, so let me take this brief opportunity to wish you (and all) a happy and prosperous new year. Dominus illuminet faciem suam in nos et miseareatur nostri.
And God bless Nancy Danielson, wherever she is.