Original post below:
A reader local to the area alerted me to this, asking for my support. After doing some research, I share her concerns.
The matter concerns Immaculata School in Durham NC. Please go to their website and then to their drop-down event calendar to the right. Go to Feb 8, to the African American Heritage thing. You'll see that the guest speaker is Vernetta Alston. She is a member of the Durham City Council. She also pretends that she is "married" to another woman. The venue for this event appears to be on school property. No Catholic institution is permitted to honor one who lives in manifest mortal sin.
For all across the country:
- The contact information for the school is on their webpage. The principal should be called to ask that the invitation to Alston be rescinded.
- The school is in the Diocese of Raleigh. I have linked to the diocesan website so that we may contact the offices of Bishop Luis Zarama.
For faithful Catholics in the locality, particularly parents of students in that school:
- If the invitation is not rescinded, consider a picket of that event or a protest from inside it.
- Make sure your children don't attend it by keeping them at home that day, explaining to the principal why they are absent
- Network with others like-minded so you can be informed about future problems to take corrective action.
We don't have a whole lot of time so we need to move quickly. Spread the word of this around, particularly to any contacts in the Durham area.
Hi Janet, Have you heard anything about this? Is it still in the works?
ReplyDeletehello! I am a parent at the school and would like to dig deeper to understand this outcry and how it fits into Christianity. Is Janet or any other parent perhaps even you Mary avaliable to meet for coffee?
ReplyDeleteI am in Maryland and Mary Ann is in Virginia, so distance would prevent such a meeting. I hope other parents take you up on your offer!
DeleteWhat is your understanding of sin, including the sin crying to heaven for vengeance, an act of sodomy? Do you celebrate sin? Do you celebrate diversity of sins, like murder, sodomy, theft, and their contribution to Christian communities? Is this kind of diversity our greatest strength? How do promotion and celebration of deadly sins, and indoctrination of school children with sodomy fit into Christianity?
DeleteI visit from time to time. I will try to reach out. I am even open to a phone call if that is something you would be open to as well.
DeleteI am updating this as I receive new information.
ReplyDeleteWill you refund my wife and I our lost day's tuition?
ReplyDeleteYour name is Rebekah and you have a wife! Figures! If you're talking of tuition, does that mean you have children in that school? If so, you are undermining your own children's education, if not eternal salvation. I post the following for an indication of this commenter's mindsets..https://www.mylife.com/rebekah-radisch/e5242090926
DeleteJanet, who in the world do you think you are to go posting Rebekah's info like that, and judging her that awful way. The only atrocity here is the way you judge people. All my love to you Rebekah!
DeleteJanet have you not heard about casting stones or judge not for you yourself will be judged. Who gives you the authority to judge people and castigate them as sinners. Aren't we all sinners in the eyes of God, isn't that why we have the Sacraments of Baptism and Confession.
DeleteHave you not heard "by their fruits you shall know them"? We certainly are enjoined to look at people's actions. It is one thing not to judge someone and quite another to actually honor someone living in a state of mortal sin. The latter actually does involve judgment, albeit in disregard of God's laws.
DeleteGosh - if you think that it is an "atrocity" that an upstanding member of the Durham community, a city council member, and gay black woman was invited to speak at her alma mater in celebration of Black History Month, then how do you feel about *ACTUAL* atrocities, like genocide? I couldn't be more disappointed with a fellow Catholic than I am right now.
ReplyDeleteShe is flaunting her mortal sin. Ergo, she cannot be considered "upstanding". That this principal saw fit to invite her and pretend to her students that her mortal sin is of no consequence is indeed atrocious, for she is hindering their eternal salvation.
DeleteWhen a sodomite is black, it does not make sodomy any more pure than committed by a white person. A "married" sodomite's "contribution" to education of children can only be negative. If the sodomite were to keep her sin hidden, if she were not to openly set a bed example to school children, harm to children would be lesser.
DeleteYou have no concern for the plank in your own eye?
DeleteYou keep using the word Sodomite, which has me believing you who seem to believe you hold the keys to Heaven have no idea what’s even in the scripture. Ezekiel 16:49 explicitly tells us what the sin of Sodom was, and it seems to me YOU are the one engaging in it with your hate and arrogance. You need to get yourself to a Bible study group and learn a little bit about the ACTUAL tenets of your faith before you start passing your vile filthy judgment on people who’ve done far more to further the teachings of Christ than your pathetic souls ever could muster.
Delete"'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.“
Ezekiel 16:49
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DeleteFor almost 2000 years Christendom understood the words of Genesis 19, that Sodom was destroyed because the men tried to solicit then rape the angels that God sent. Now you are going to use that passage from Ezekiel to try to whitewash the sin of homosexual conduct?
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ReplyDeleteI love how your comment guidelines want people to be respectful and courteous, yet you’re actively sowing hate.
ReplyDelete“Please be respectful and courteous to others on this blog. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate courtesy and/or those that promote dissent from the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.”
So it is "hate" to tell the truth? Sometimes truth hurts, but usually it only causes discomfort to those who have no real interest in conforming to the truths as found in God's laws.
DeleteWhat truth? Explain the truth. By the way, speaking about truth, where did you get this idea from: "No Catholic institution is permitted to honor one who lives in manifest mortal sin". I'm not aware of anyting quite like that, are you lying?
DeleteWhat truth? And speaking of truth, where did you get this idea from: "No Catholic institution is permitted to honor one who lives in manifest mortal sin". I'm not aware of anything quite like that, are you lying?
DeleteFrom where did I get "this idea"? Try this on for size.. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/church-teaching/catholics-in-political-life.cfm I'm not surprised that you are ignorant of this. I do give you credit as you seem to recognize that Alston is living in serious variance from morality.
DeleteBy the way, Pedro. You insinuate that I might be lying, but if you were halfway interested in the truth, you could have found that link quite easily yourself.
DeleteYour posting violates your own rules of being respectful and courteous to others. The way you refer to the event and to this guest bear this out. As a citizen of Durham, I don’t appreciate a group from outside of our community encouraging people to disrupt the church and it’s school. Your judgement of others goes against the teachings of Jesus, and only divides our communities and country further.
ReplyDelete"Your judgment of tohers goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ" is itself a judgmental statement. What divides communities is the presense of evil. Truth spoken to evil will necessarily divide those who obey God's laws from those who sin against God's laws. Real unity can only be found in truth. The presence of that woman would have been the dividing agent, owing to her mortally sinful lifestyle.
DeleteLook in the mirror
DeleteYou call yourself "recovering Catholic". Does that mean you have apostasized from the Faith?
DeleteWhat in the *^%]*!??? As an Immaculata alum, an Immaculata parent, a Catholic, and a former classmate of Immaculata, STOP calling yourselves Christian.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your time at Immaculata was a futile waste if you didn't learn what God's Commandments are with regard to marriage and the mortal sin of homosexual conduct. If you support that evil, I'd suggest that you get yourself to Confession for you endanger your immortal soul.
DeleteTo the author of all of the replies.,,Younseem to be drinking the same cool aid that Sarah Huckabee Sandets is drinking.
DeleteSo Janet, how would you treat one of your children if they were not married and come home to tell you they were either having premarital sex, pregnant or that they and their partner were going to co-habituate before they get married? Just asking.
DeleteTrue charity and concern for their eternal salvation, as opposed to mere sentimentality, would demand that I tell them that I cannot condone or facilitate their sinful choices. For the same reasons, we cannot condone, let alone celebrate, the mortal sins of others. Why would that be difficult to understand?
DeleteIt seems that you and Pope Francis don't quite agree on who to hate. But you certainly seem to have him beat.
ReplyDeleteYour bigotry towards Council Member Alston is the atrocity here. I would be honored to attend any event headlined by a strong, accomplished gay woman of color, as our nation's future depends on leaders who come from places of strength, unity, diversity, and compassion. I truly feel sad for your children who are bearing witness to and living with your overt hatred, as I guarantee many of them identify as LGBTQ but feel unsafe in their own homes because of your intolerance. I'm thankful that the next generation of youth are more welcoming and accepting of diversity in all of its forms and are embracing others regardless of their differences. They give me hope that your brand of sickening and disgraceful homophobia will soon be but a distant memory. Until then, I can only imagine how sad it must be to live life feeling so threatened by how others express and experience love. Try pretending to not be homophobic for a day -- I guarantee the world will look more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "feeling so threatened", your entire screed betrays that you are threatened by anyone who states the truth that the homosexual lifestyle is gravely immoral.
DeleteIs this the hate that you see in Jesus? I pray for you and nothing else, I mean no more attention.
ReplyDeleteYou and many others here have bastardized the meaning of the word "hate". In your sin-warped minds, you use "hate" to describe people who do not embrace your pet mortal sins. The real hatred lies with those who disobey God's laws regarding sexuality and marriage.
DeleteOther than trying to doxx me, Janet M. Baker, what’s your point?
ReplyDeleteIn my case, the info is significantly incorrect...how’s yours?
https://www.mylife.com/janet-baker/e337422772836
You have a fairly unique name so anyone could have googled and had that site pop us as I did. My name, on the other hand, is quite common. Chances are that you are citing the wrong person. Anyone relying on what you just posted does so at their own risk.
DeleteWhatever. You’ve been no stranger to media, so you’re not too hard to google yourself.
DeleteMaybe you should send this comment to many of your priests.
ReplyDeleteMy priests are Episcopalian, one of whom officiated our legal church wedding, his predecessor officiated our earlier church union blessing (and is now a bishop in another state), all with the approval of our bishop (who is now the presiding bishop). So, I’m okay, thanks.
DeleteThere are many sodomy lovers here. They are convinced that the sin of sodomy equals lack of hospitality. In their eyes I am a pervert and a hater for hating anal sex. Anal and oral sex ae tahe kinds of "hospitality" the Word of God condemns. Men are not supposed to be carnal with other men, and women with women. We ll know this, including sodomy lovers, who refuse to repent for their depravity. Loving sodomy in others and supporting them in sin is also a serious depravity. Sodomites and sodomy lovers, please know that your accusations and labels hurled at those who warn you against sodomy (not lack of hospitality, but unnatural sex) only deepen your guilt.
ReplyDeleteWhy have laws and jails? It's all about love, love, love! Jesus is love, right? Open your Bible and you will see that homosexual acts are detestable to the Lord. But then, some people want to rewrite the Bible, too. Where is repentance? We are all sinners, but we need to repent.
ReplyDeleteBasically you're lying, that document says "should", not "is not permitted", and Vernetta was not going to speak about gay marriage, but about African American women, therefore, the school was not giving her a platform to support her gay marriage, only to teach children some African American history. But I know, you won't lose, you'll respond something as you have done to everybody, showing that you and only you hold the truth, that you have the right to cast the first stone...
ReplyDeleteIt says the Catholic institutions should not give honors or platforms to those in flagrant mortal sin in a way that suggests condoning that sin. Would the school have issued a disclaimer? I doubt it. If the school were to feature someone like David Duke to speak of some harmless topic and not bring up the Ku Klux Klan, would you object? I certainly would!
DeleteThank you, Janet. I blogged on this today. You shone light on a scandal and it was stopped. But it revealed the parish and the school to be a serious threat to the families there. I'm sure the pastor and the principal and the council woman are nice people, but they do not appear to have the heart of Christ who said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments." I'm offering my rosary for all of them today.
ReplyDelete