September 17, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – The German bishops continue their march towards schism. Today, on their own website, they published an apologia for same-sex “marriage,” crossing a whole new line in their battle to reform the Church’s basic moral teachings.

In an essay titled “Love Counts” on Katholisch.de, theology student Simon Linder argues that since the “societal climate” in Germany has changed, one does not have to justify oneself anymore when defending the idea of “marriage for all.” Rather, says Linder, those kopposed to same-sex “marriages” have to defend themselves. And he asks: “Where does the Church have the idea … that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity is a burden for male and female ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs? And more fundamentally: Who gives the Church the right to declare ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs as people who are to be pitied?”

In his six-page long essay, Linder criticizes German Bishop Stefan Oster, who oversees the diocese of Passau, for defending the traditional moral teaching of the Church on sɛҳuąƖity, claiming that to say it is a scandal to ask to bless ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ couples “is a scandal” itself. With reference to Ireland, Linder insists that people are now demanding “more rights for the male and female ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs.”

He also refutes the argument that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ unions are to be opposed because they cannot be fertile and have children. Linder says:

It is a fact: In earlier times, having children was necessary for being cared for in old age. Today, there is a social system in Germany for retired people who do not have children of their own. Partnership and marriage, therefore, do not need any more to be defined by having children. That is good and important for those who – for whatever reason – are not able to have children. That means: Love counts. Could it be a little less cramped?
Linder proposes a local solution to the question of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity, allowing Germany to go its own way. “'Think globally, act locally,' only this way, we could start to relax,” claims the young man. He also insists that by “merely” repeating the Church's teaching and tradition, one cannot reach people anymore.

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With reference to the interdiction of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity in Holy Scripture, Linder quotes from the recently published German book edited by Stephan Goertz. According to the quoted passage, the Old Testament only condemned ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs – “which were then not yet known [sic]”  – because one needed to secure offspring for the survival of the Jєωιѕн people. Linder writes: “The Bible did not condemn love between ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs – one did not even yet know those at the time – but the act itself for the sake of the interest of society. Anyone who wants to interpret the Bible, has to know and consider the circuмstances under which the texts were written. Anyone who does not do this, does not do justice to Holy Scripture.”

These comments by a young student, as published by the German Bishops' Conference under the leadership of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, are in opposition to the traditional moral teaching of the Church. In June 2015, Bishop Athanasius Schneider repeated this continual teaching in an interview with LifeSiteNews, saying:

Practicing ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs are persons who, in a grave manner, sin against the will of God the Creator, because, by their acts, they reject the fact of the Divine Order of the sɛҳuąƖity. However, the order of the sɛҳuąƖity consists now only of two sexes, the male and the female, and this order has been created and declared as being good by God's infinite wisdom and goodness. If someone revolts consciously in his acts against this order, then he revolts against God's wisdom and love and finally rejects the Will of God in a very important area.
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CATHOLIC CHURCH, FAITH, FAMILY, MARRIAGE, SPECIALTY PAGES, VATICAN SYNOD ON THE FAMILY
Fri Sep 18, 2015 - 2:38 pm EST
625,000 Catholics ask Pope Francis to dispel moral confusion at Synod

LifeSiteNews staff
 
 Catholic , ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity , Pope Francis , Same-Sex 'Marriage' , Synod On The Family

September 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- Catholics are asking Pope Francis to reaffirm traditional Church teaching on marriage and family at the Synod in Rome next month. A coalition of 58 pro-family groups is promoting a worldwide petition called Filial Appeal to His Holiness Pope Francis on the Future of the Family.  So far the petition has been signed by 8 cardinals, 170 bishops and more than 625,000 concerned Catholics from a total of 160 countries.

Sign the petition to Pope Francis here.

"Catholics in general are deeply perplexed," said HIRH Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza, one of the prominent petition signers. "As the sɛҳuąƖ revolution continues to claim the innocence of our children and rip the family apart, we find shepherds within the sacred walls of Holy Mother Church who issue statements that contradict and undermine 2,000 years of sound Church teaching."

Some prelates slated to attend the upcoming Synod have openly challenged Church moral doctrine.  For example, in a recent interview with La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit periodical, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna spoke approvingly of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ unions. “We can and we must respect the decision to form a union with a person of the same sex," the prelate said, "[and] to seek means under civil law to protect their living together with laws to ensure such protection.”

However, many high-ranking Church leaders disagree with Cardinal Schönborn, a delegate at the upcoming Synod.

Cardinal Raymond Burke declared in a video interview released by Polonia Cristiana that, "It is heresy to teach that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ relations...are not disordered, to teach that they have positive elements."

In the same docuмentary video, Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga added: "... if we believe that ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖs brought something into the Church, it is nothing but debauchery and licentiousness. ... The Holy Scripture beautifully says that such people will not get into Heaven."

Meanwhile, concerned Christian families -- including non-Catholic ones -- who signed the Filial Appeal petition are praying that Pope Francis will set the record straight, dispel the confusion, and reaffirm the Church's unwavering fidelity to divine and natural law.

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Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza concluded: "In times like these, we must recall God's promise to Saint Peter, 'That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' (Matt. 16:18).  It is our duty to remain faithful, knowing that God has already won against the forces of darkness."

On September 29, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, the worldwide pro-family petition to Pope Francis will be officially presented in the Vatican.

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Those who wish to sign the petition may still do so, here.

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CATHOLIC CHURCH, POLITICS - U.S.
Fri Sep 18, 2015 - 1:51 pm EST
Vatican objects to Obama’s controversial invites for papal visit: report

Lisa Bourne
 
 Catholic , Obama , Pope Francis

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- The Vatican is reportedly taking offense to Barack Obama’s decision to invite a bevy of controversial guests -- such as a pro-abortion nun, an openly ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Episcopal bishop, and gαy activist Catholics -- for next week’s papal visit to the White House.

The Wall Street Journal reports that an unnamed senior Vatican official said the Holy See fears that any photos of Pope Francis at next Wednesday’s White House welcoming ceremony with Obama’s guests that openly flout Church teaching could be taken as support for their actions.

Among the Obama administration invites are dissenting, activist Catholic nun Sister Simone Campbell, openly ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ retired Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, a transgender woman and a ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ Catholic blogger.

Sister Campbell is executive director of the social justice group NETWORK and pro-abortion leader of the "Nuns on the Bus" campaign. She is seen as having undermined the U.S. Bishops’ concern over Obamacare’s abortion component when the controversial health care takeover was being debated five-and-a-half years ago.

Her Network organization, widely regarded as having radical feminist leanings, was investigated by the Vatican over the group’s refusal to observe Catholic teaching on abortion, human sɛҳuąƖity and women’s ordination. The investigation concluded earlier this year, resulting in minimal repercussions for the group.

Robinson, who “divorced” his ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ partner last year, and is a senior fellow for the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, has been invited to religious events in the past by Obama, leading a prayer at the president’s 2009 inauguration and taking part in the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast.

Also invited are Mateo Williamson, a biological woman who identifies as a man and a former co-chair of the Transgender Caucus for the pro-ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ activist group Dignity USA; and Aaron Ledesma, author of the blog “The gαy Catholic.”

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The invitation organizer for the White House papal event is Vivian Taylor, executive director of the national LGBT advocacy arm of the Episcopal Church, and a biological male.

The unease caused by the guest list demonstrates Catholic concerns, including that of many bishops, the WSJ report said, that the Obama administration is using Pope Francis’s visit to underplay its differences with the Church on controversial issues such as ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ “marriage,” abortion and the Obamacare contraception Mandate.

U.S. Vatican Ambassador Ken Hackett, named by Obama to his post in June 2014, said last month that Pope Francis and Obama are not going to waste time discussing any differences they may have. Rather, they will choose to focus on issues where they see eye-to-eye.

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According to Hackett these areas are poverty, religious freedom, concern for persecuted Christians and minorities, and peace.

“Then climate, of course,” Hackett said.

“We agree to differ on things like gαy marriage,” he said, “but really there are not a lot of other such issues.”

Pope Francis will visit the U.S for the first time September 22-27. In addition to visiting the White House, he will address a joint session of the U.S. Congress and the U.N. General Assembly, before appearing at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

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For Pope’s visit, Obama invites a pro-abort nun, gαy Episcopal bishop, and LGBT ‘Catholic’ activists
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ABORTION, POLITICS - U.S.
Fri Sep 18, 2015 - 1:16 pm EST
U.S. House votes to make it a first-degree murder to kill babies after botched abortions

Dustin Siggins  Follow Dustin
 
 Abortion , Planned Parenthood , Planned Parenthood Organ Harvesting Scandal

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WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- The House has passed a pro-life bill that makes it a first-degree murder for abortionists to kill children born alive through botched abortions.

In a nearly party-line vote of 248-177, with one Member voting "Present," the House passed H.R. 3504, the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act." The bill was introduced and debated in light of the Center for Medical Progress' videos that indicate Planned Parenthood clinics may be killing babies post-birth.

The bill makes killing a baby born from a botched abortion first-degree murder, and requires reporting of violations of the law. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-VA, and Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Trent Franks, R-AZ, said in a statement that "this legislation sends a strong message to those who are in the horrific business of abortions that there are real consequences for those who would kill or abandon children after they are outside a mother’s womb."

STORY: Aborted baby’s heart was beating as we harvested his brains: worker in new Planned Parenthood video

The statement called the bill "a somber reminder of the horrors of abortion" and of the actions of convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell.

The bill was one of two pro-life bills passed by the House today. The other was H.R. 3134, the "Defund Planned Parenthood Act," which eliminates federal funding for abortion for one year and transfers $235 million to Federally Qualified Health Centers -- which do not conduct abortions.

STORY: ‘This is so hard. Oh, God, it’s so hard!’: nurses tell of aborted babies born alive

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