An Open Letter to John Nienstedt

He's getting quite a few of these open letters lately, hope he appreciates the sentiment behind them. I am Catholic (as in, I drag my butt out of bed to attend Mass every week because Jesus is more important than sleep) and I have no problem with homosexuality. I find myself increasingly embarrassed by Archbishop Nienstedt and actually wondering when he'll start demanding that homosexuals wear pink triangles so good people can avoid them.

The truth is, the church has NO business in this matter. No one is trying to make any church perform what it considers inappropriate weddings. To sue the government over Obamacare then argue that her stance on secular marriage must be enforced by law makes a hypocrite of the Church. That makes me sad. So, Mr Nienstedt, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. All Biblical quotes are NIV.

This one is frequently used in marriage Masses, even though it is Ruth speaking to Naomi ~ but, oh no! Wouldn't that be the evil same-sex marriage? Ruth 1:16 ~ Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

We all need to practice this more. No mention of only loving heteroes. John 13:34-35 ~ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Matthew 7:1 ~ "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "

You say homosexual marriage is immoral and should be banned but, and this might be my favorite, it's from the then Bishop of New Ulm, John Clayton Nienstedt, "We cannot legislate morality."  

Tea with Tumnus

National Coming Out Day was this week (October 11). That occurred to me as I was walking down a hall at work and "Mark" was coming out of his office. It was hard not to chuckle out loud, as "Mark" is so far in the closet he's sipping tea with Tumnus. Everyone in the office, except "Mark," knows he's gay. It's a bit funny, but it's more sad. When I expressed confusion that an adult could not know he's gay when it is so obvious to everyone else, a friend explained that she was in her early thirties before she came out or even fully accepted her own lesbianism. On some level, she'd always known, but tried to convince herself otherwise, because gay is wrong. And that's the story all around. We expend a lot of energy telling everyone that it's wrong to be gay. By the way, National Depression Screening Day is also October 11 ~ I'm assuming that's intentional.

According to the Surgeon General, homosexual males are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. Four times. Four times. I don't know about you all, but I find that number horrifying. The Ruth Institute (big supporters of strait [pun intended] marriage) tries to claim that less than 1% of the population is truly gay since many gays have dated members of the opposite sex in their teens. This is true. Not necessarily because of heterosexual feelings, more because of a culture that tells them they are sick and perverted. Passing a constitutional amendment to permanently ban gay marriage will do wonders to reassure lonely teens of their importance to society. And why, if less than 1% of the population is gay, does the Ruth Institute even care? How much damage to traditional marriage will they do?

We. Must. Stop. Torturing. Children. We have to stop encouraging bullies ~ and if you think passing that consarned amendment won't encourage bullying, you're kidding yourself. Being gay is no more perverted than being straight. Gay or straight, tall or short, black or white, that's how God made us ~ and it's about time we accept that and let adults marry the adult of their choice: gay, straight, tall, short, black, white, whatever. Even the Catholic Church has declared homosexuality to be nature, not a choice. Why would God make someone want to "pair bond" with a specific gender, make them attracted to only one gender, then deny them the option of bonding because it's the wrong gender? It's really such a little thing, why not tell gay teens it's okay to marry who you really want. It's okay to love who you love. It's okay to be who you really are. 

Vote NO!

Quote of the day, and isn't this the love we want all our children to find: "Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people." Ruth 1:16 (GNT) That's right, an Old Testament quote from a woman to woman.