For all of the political drama in New York these past weeks, last night’s historic vote in favor of gay marriage by the NYS Senate was actually rather anti-climactic. It was a fight over political and philosophical nomenclature, not over new realities. As the losing side licks its wounds this morning, we should realize that we didn’t lose as much as we think we did last night. We’ve been losing it for decades.
What we call the lived reality that is marriage is important. The name indicates the reality. Nomen est omen, as it is said in latin. “The name is the sign.” What really happened here in New York last night was a recognition that for thirty years we have given the lived reality of marriage to gays and lesbians, by systematically giving them all of the goods and privileges reserved to married people.
There was little, if any, protest as sodomy laws were struck down, when gay/lesbian adoptions were legalized, when partners were entitled to shared employment benefits hitherto reserved for spouses, etc. Society used to reserve these goods for those men and women willing to make a lifetime commitment to one another. What were once rights became entitlements in a nation increasingly debilitated by narcissism and a faux egalitarianism.
We have allowed what was once a brush fire to build to a forest fire that is now raging across the American landscape. Fueling that fire has been the same surrender of marital goods and privileges to cohabiting heterosexuals as well. Add to that no-fault divorce and the all-out war on the greatest of all the goods of marriage:
The abortion of over 53 million babies, because people have been enjoying the sex, but were not prepared mentally, emotionally, or economically to embrace the obvious outcome. Children are the greatest of all the blessings of marriage, yet have been treated as mere accessories by people aping marriage.
This isn’t the fault of gays and lesbians so much as it is our fault for allowing it to happen. Consider the following.
Kansas is poised to become the first state in the nation that is abortion-free. They are down to their last one or two clinics. Juxtapose that with New York, the abortion capital of the nation.
In New York City, 41% of all pregnancies end in abortion (60% among African-Americans).
In New York City, we just passed a law (Bill 371) that targets crisis pregnancy centers, with NARAL NY’s stated goal of shutting them down.
In New York State from 2000-2010, we aborted three times as many babies as the state grew by, losing two seats in Congress as a result of the demographic decline.
New York State pays for over 45,000 abortions per year through Medicaid.
The Catholic Church has been largely missing in action since the death of Cardinal O’Connor. In the fight over Bill 371, there was one priest who showed to give testimony to the New York City Council, Father Peter Pilsner. No religious brothers or sisters. At a rally in Harlem over the bill, there were a few priests who turned out, and that was it. There was no mention of the bill by any bishops in Brooklyn, New York, or Rockville Centre, in the five months of fighting, until a joint statement by Bishop DiMarzio of Brooklyn, and Archbishop Dolan the night before the City Council vote.
To their credit, those missing in action over Bill 371 turned out to fight the gay marriage proposal. However, it was to little, too late. Catholic clergy have been loathe to engage these issues from the pulpit. “Too political,” is the mantra. It wasn’t too political for the Holy Spirit and His partner, Blessed John Paul II, who gave us all the tools we need to reclaim an authentic Christian civilization. Yet, I have never heard a priest discuss any of JP II’s teaching in any substantive manner from the pulpit, or in any adult education program. The disconnect has been breathtaking.
So, while last night’s vote was nothing new in the Rotten Apple, it does portend very bad things to come for the Church. As elsewhere, we will be targets of discrimination suits and run out of the adoption business if we refuse to place children with gay and lesbian couples. We will eventually be accused of bigotry for failing to do gay/lesbian weddings, and our clergy will lose their civil faculties to witness at weddings on behalf of the state. This will force Catholics into requiring two wedding ceremonies: one church, one civil.
If our clergy thought that fighting these forces was “too political,” in the past, the fight will now become one that is existential in the future. Our clergy now face a line drawn in the sand. Retreat from that line, and see the church continue to be coopted, as a majority of New York Catholics favors gay rights, or cross that line and fight for all we are worth.
We haven’t fought for all we are worth, because we have lost sight of our worth. Perhaps if there is a silver lining at all in last nights events, it’s that we have now opened the door to that discussion within the Church. It will be interesting to see how many bishops and their priests are willing to pursue that discussion.
Coming Home 
Excellent analysis. Thank you.
Blame the clergy? Where have the laity been through all of this? I speak of those who have a “well formed conscience” which can be nurtured by reading the Catechism, papal encylicals, etc. all of which are more easily obtained than in previous years.
Aren’t we as Catholics supposed to involve ourselves in the public square? How many of us have stayed silent over the decades while the issue of “gay rights” has grown to what you rightly describe as a forest fire in our lives? How many have copped out with the excuse “what happens behind closed doors between consenting adults is none of my business”?
I know I can certainly plead guilty as charged.
We ALL share the blame in this, and we ALL need to get active in defense of Church teaching. Waiting on the clergy to lead us will be fruitless, too many lack spine, too many others only move when prodded.
Our direction can be taken directly from the Catechism, we shouldn’t need any fiery sermons from the pulpit to energize us. It’s time to put down the television remote and pick up whatever means is available for our voices to be heard, whether it be pen, computer keyboard, bullhorn on the street corner, whatever and get to work.
When a voice such as John Corapi’s is silenced or leaves the Church, too often their loss is bemoaned as a setback for Catholicism. BALONEY! We all possess a voice, we all can speak on Church teaching, perhaps not as eloquently or as forcefully but we DO have the means and the responsibility to defend the Faith.
So let’s stop waiting for the clergy or someone else to speak, let’s start taking responsiblity on ourselves for speaking the Truth, both in season and out of season.
God’s will be done.
Well, we see what happens to preists and bishops when the speak up. The homosexuals and other effeminates in the church go after them..
I think the church has lost its moral authority because of the “pedophile” scandal that we all know was/is really a homosexual scandal. I feel very sorry for the many faithful priests left to navigate in the treacherous waters of this deliberate confusion.
We have only just begun to see the queering (as some gays call it) — the queering of marriage. Hold on New York, we are in for a bumpy ride.
.
Subvet,
I agree with you that we have all remained silent as this fire has grown. I’m guilty as well. If you go back through the article, I use a lot of we and our and us before I call out the clergy. However, there is a special culpability here, as many clergy have actively dissuaded the laity from getting involved politically. The great fear is the loss of our tax-exempt status.
This weekend, we either saw great hypocrisy on the part of the bishops, or men who got it way too late. That sort of political activism should have been encouraged decades ago, and rightly or wrongly, the clergy are our leadership. I hope that this marks a new beginning in the leadership of the Church, and involvement on the part of the laity.
The ACLU has done a fine job of terrifying everyone on tax-exempt status.
Check this out (if you haven’t already): http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/4360
Well said.
“…we have lost sight of our worth…”
God help us all.
Dr.Nadal,
Your article that was just sent to me was the truth.
It really scares me knowing we are on this terrible downward spiral of immorality and apathy.
Many of us know that our church is failing us as Catholics.
Will the church remain silent when all these new “rights” come knocking at their door forcing them to do things against our faith and moral beliefs? It will be interesting.
Many of us stand for our God, our faith and tell the truth.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all could believe that what is happening today is stripping us of our very moral foundation…………………so what will be left?
Do you have ideas?
Nancy
As soon as divorces and problems of gay and lesbian marriages increase, New Yorkers will find out the evil they have done. Gay marriage has not won the battle yet, it still has to be proven whether it works. Remember gays and lesbians do not procreate. They have no blood line descendants.
Nancy,
The Church will endure, even against a tin pot dictator like Cuomo and his evil agenda. The Church may well be a great deal smaller, but it will survive. The truth of the matter is that we have had it easy here in America, while even now the persecution of the Church around the world grows and intensifies. Now, it has taken deep root here in America, and the next twenty years will be like nothing we ever could have imagined.
We’ve been called to this time, and this place, to this battle. Jesus told us not to worry what to say at trial, that the Holy Spirit will give us the words. That’s enough for me.
[…] gloves. Yesterday, I posted an article by a Canon Lawyer who explored this in some detail. I also posted an article, wherein I opined that we have all, laity and clergy, waited too long and allowed too much […]