March For Marriage - Initial Report And Videos

I and many thousands attended the 2015 March For Marriage (spearheaded by National Organization for Marriage) this afternoon.  It was held on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol.  I took many shots but for now will feature only three of them.

It started with a rally which was well underway when we arrived.  You'll notice in the first video that I started recordin as we arrived that the Hispanics showed up in force.  I certainly commend them for that; I only regret that they put other Catholics to shame owing to their relative lack of appearance at the mall - particularly those Catholics in the local tri-state area.  To be honest, I know of only one parish in Maryland that gave the march the importance that it deserved.  Could it be that the presence of a same-sex "married" vice president of Catholic Relief Services may well have justified the lack of attention given to this important effort by many local Catholic pastors?

The second video shows the start of the march to the Supreme Court.  I'll have later shots of the march proper up in a day or so.  I commend the American Society for Tradition, Family and Property for lending their support to this effort.  These are the same men who have been leading the Marches for Life over these past many years.

Maryland Catholic Establishment And Religious Liberty

There are some signs that the hierarchy in Maryland may be waking up to the malevolent intentions of progressives towards those who profess Christianity.  The most recent issue of the Catholic Standard seemed to be devoted to this very real threat..  See here for a statement issued by the Maryland bishops.  See here for an interview with Mary Ellen Russell, the Executive Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference regarding this matter.

While I certainly welcome these signs of early awakening here, I still am concerned that the Maryland Catholic establishment is not acknowledging how it exposed its own throat - and ours - to those who seek to marginalize us.  In fact, it still continues to make itself vulnerable to the secular elements.

It's no secret to anyone who reads this blog that I have often decried the regretable tendencies of the various state conferences for seeking government grants for this charity or that cause.  I believe that is one key reason why the Maryland bishops are reluctant to deny Holy Communion (as Canon 915 enjoins them) to prominent pro-abortion politicians because the bishops fear the loss of "text-book money" or some other state grant.  So they allowed themselves to be muzzled - a little here and a little bit there.  Then they're shocked (just shocked!) when the pols tighten the noose just a little bit more.

If the Maryland hierarchy is serious about securing relgious liberty, it simply will have to go "cold turkey" and divest itself immediately of all governmental funding, no matter the level of government from which such funds originate.  Its protestations of the loss of religious liberty will ring hollow as long as the bishops and conferences have their snouts buried in those governmental pig troughs known as "grants".  Let's hope the withdrawal process starts immediately.