This is how is starts. A group of 12 parishioners at a Catholic Church in Canada wrote letters to their bishop complaining that an adult altar server was openly homosexual. The bishop responded by removing the man from that role.
Who knows the full story? Not me.
But the story doesn’t end there. Nowadays there’s always more. Because no perceived injustice fails to be blown out of proportion. No self described victim fails to lawyer up.
Now, the allegedly openly gay altar server has brought the case to a Human Rights Tribunal in Canada.
Uh-oh.
The moment you get the government involved you go from a minor community dustup to establishing nationwide precedents.
And let’s face it, these human rights tribunals are primarily a vehicle of the radical left which has shown some measure of antipathy to the Catholic Church.
Michael Coren of the National Post writes:
This latest nonsense should outrage honest atheists, statists and gay people just as much as it does Catholics and other Christians. Nobody is demanding that Corcoran not be gay and nobody is denying him a home or an income or even preventing him from attending a church. Those given authority within the Catholic Church are daring to act as people given authority in the Roman Catholic Church — to govern and decide regarding internal issues as they are obliged by oath and faith. For a non-Catholic body to interfere at all in such a manner is disgraceful; for an obviously politically driven human rights tribunal to potentially smash the barrier between church and state is terrifying.
The eyes of Canada will surely be on this case.
The man bringing the case has announced his demands, according to thePeterborough Examiner:
Corcoran wants the 12 parishioners to each donate $20,000 to a charity of his choosing and he is seeking as much as $25,000 from the diocese to cover his legal costs.
Corcoran also wants the bishop to restore his role as a server, to apologize and to preach a sermon at St. Michael’s on the consequences of discrimination and spreading rumours, hate and innuendo.
This isn’t about the money, Corcoran said.
“I don’t want their money, I just want their attention,” he said. “I kind of want to hold them to the same public scrutiny that they were holding me and the priest in this case.”
If the man wins, he may have moved the ball down the field for leftists who would like nothing more than to transform the Catholic Church into some kind of “faith community” with “inclusive” hiring practices.
The thing is that all these Human Rights Council still seem to be finding their way about. As of yet, many of them are still unsure how much power is allotted to them. This case may clarify that for us all.
July 17, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I pulled out an old "Knights of the Altar" handbook, and noticed that one of the traditional qualifications for altar service is:
The Knight of the Altar, first of all, should be of superior
character, pure of heart and soul. He should have a special love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He should show this love in a practical way by often visiting Our Lord as He waits in the silence of the tabernacle and by receiving Him frequently in Holy Communion.
I then had a look at what Redemptionis Sacramentum had to say on the matter. At paragraph 46:
The lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them. It is fitting that such a one should have received a liturgical formation in accordance with his or her age, condition, state of life, and religious culture.[117] No one should be selected whose designation could cause consternation for the faithful.[118]
So morals, fidelity to the magisterium, and not "causing consternation" are important qualifications for lay liturgical service of whatever kind…
This appears to be nothing short of a decision to attack the moral teachings of the Church in the civil Courts. If the Church doesn't fight this tooth and nail, we are in real trouble.
Now, I've seen altar servers who appear a little "light on the loafers" (if you get my drift), but I think charity requires us to presume chastity and obedience to the magisterium unless there is evidence to the contrary. I don't know what "allegedly openly homosexual" is supposed to mean. Is he celibate? Does he march in "pride" parades? Work in the cloakroom at the local gay bar or bath-house? Challenge settled doctrine in the press or on the internet? Work the docks as a rent boy? Perform in drag? Appear with his boyfriend in Catholic Queer Monthly? I dunno. What are we talking about here?
It would be an injustice if the allegations of "open homosexuality" were false and a faithful Catholic man was denied the opportunity to serve because of spite or malicious gossip. I suspect however that this is a case where the "open homosexuality" is admitted, because there would be other avenues open to the man if his claim was that the Bishop had unfairly overlooked the fact that he was married with 10 kids…
The problem arises when people publicly and obstinately flout the rules. You can't work for Planned Parenthood and be an EMHC, lector, altar boy or whatever. You can't burn crosses for the Klan on Saturday night and then rock up to Sunday Mass looking all Holy, ready for service in the Sanctuary (even if the alb would make a nifty robe for the aforementioned cross-burning.
Coren is right. All we ask is that you stick to to the rules as to holiness of life if you want to exercise a liturgical function.
If you can't do that, you still have a place in the Church.
It's called the Confessional.
July 17, 2009 at 4:43 pm
He sums up the entire gay agenda in a nutshell: "I just want their attention."
July 17, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Not just attention but approval as well.
July 17, 2009 at 5:39 pm
During the French Revolution they forced priests to marry, nowadays they are forcing the Church to accept homosexualists. Viva la Revolution.
July 17, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Well done, David! Beautifully put. Thanks.
July 18, 2009 at 3:40 pm
There is no right to be an altar server. His case has no legs whatsoever, but given the kangaroo nature of the CHRC, we might be in for a destructive fight.
July 18, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Anthony,
Maybe they plan to force homosexual married priests.
What a life for an activist gay couple – male or female.