Catholic Voters Not Listening to Bishops

According to the site Washington Blade, Catholic Bishops spent $2 million dollars in a failed attempt to change the minds of Catholic voters on the issue of same-sex marriage. In the article, it stated that 60% of those who claim Catholicism as their religion voted for same-sex marriage, while 83% of respondents stated that the views of the Bishop did not influence their vote at all. This actually isn't news. It's been the state of affairs for a while now, and is a reflection of years of weak and watered-down teachings from the Bishops and the pulpits in America.

It is a reflection of the very poor state of catechesis in our parishes and Catholic schools, so that someone can successfully graduate from a Catholic high school without understanding the Church's teachings. It is a reflection of Catholic parents who, not really understanding the teaching themselves, have been left to form their own decisions with guidance by a media who is anti-Catholic and pro-homosexual marriage. In other words, the Bishops are so far disconnected from their people that there can really be no surprise about this turn of events.

The Human Rights Campaign President, Chad Griffin, had this to say, "The American people went to the polls and affirmed one of the core values of the Roman Catholic Church: the belief that all humans are worthy of dignity, respect and love."

Unfortunately, that's a distortion of Church teaching. Yes, the Catholic Church does affirm the belief that all human beings are worthy of dignity, respect, and love - and that's exactly why she stands opposed to homosexual unions.  She believes in the dignity of the human person, that there is no person who is unable to control their urges and that all human beings can choose to restrain themselves.  The media demeans the same sex attracted by telling them they can't help themselves, they are their genes, there's no hope for them to do better. 

The Catholic Church loves her children enough to want better for them than an early death due to suicide, drugs, alcohol abuse, or disease - which is the fate of so many who engage in homosexuality.  The media doesn't love them. It's using them to push through destructive changes to the fabric of our society because it knows that if you can destroy the family and isolate the individual, then man becomes easy to manipulate and control.

Instead of spending $2 million dollars on a campaign at the last minute to change a voter's mind, the Bishops need to spend that $2 million dollars on a Public Relations campaign to change the hearts and minds not only of those who are Catholic but of those whose only catechesis comes from the media.  Roll up your sleeves, gentlemen.  It's time to start protecting your sheep from the wolves.