On August 4th, I reported about a priest, Father Rodriguez of El Paso Texas who wrote clearly about a Catholic's duty to oppose abortion. Someone commented that he hoped his bishop wouldn't try to "silence" him. Sadly and outrageously, this is precisely what is now happening to Father.
Bishop Armando Ochoa of El Paso has rebuked him publicly. Read the bishop's column in the El Paso Times. I'll pick apart the bishop's column just a little, because it is chock-full of moral equivalancy. One plumb example is, "When we talk about abortion and homosexuality, we are talking about human beings dealing with all kinds of concerns and unresolved challenges." When His Excellency "talks about human beings", is he thinking, even for one split second, about the tiniest of human beings whose overwhelming concern is whether they'll be allowed to draw the breath of life or be violently ripped to shreds in their mothers' wombs as they're aborted? I suspect not, to be frank.
He seems to (not so) tacitly accuse Father Rodriguez of "harsh words of condemnation" and "arrogant intolerance". Here is Father Rodriguez's column; read for yourselves. He writes, "I urge all of the Catholic faithful to treat homosexuals with love, understanding, and respect. At the same time, never forget that genuine love demands that we seek, above all, the salvation of souls. Homosexual acts lead to the damnation of souls." Where, oh where, does the bishop see "condemnation" or "arrogance"? I don't see it. I see the genuine love, charity if you will, that will warn the sinner of the inevitable doom towards which he/she is heading if they don't change course. That's not "personal opinion"; that is the teaching of the Magisterium, inspired by Christ Himself.
You can bet that Father Rodriguez is being taken to the woodshed. This is a disgrace. We need to speak up, not only in defense of Father Rodriguez, but in defense of Church teaching (as opposed to "pastoral" fuzziness) regarding abortion and homosexual sins. Contact information for the Diocese of El Paso can be found here.
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