Catholic Fire

The leaders of the four dioceses in Kansas issued a statement Thursday, June 27, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the DOMA and Proposition 8. Here is their statement: Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, Bishop John Brungardt of Dodge City, Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Salina, and Monsignor Robert Hemberger, Diocesan Administrator of Wichita, issued the following statement today in response to the United States Supreme Court decisions in United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry: In one of two significant rulings today the United States Supreme Court struck down the section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between one man and one woman for purposes of federal law and federal benefits. There had been a concern that the justices would strike down all state laws and constitutional amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman but fortunately this did not come to pass.  A great many of the...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented on the decision by the California Supreme Court upholding the resolution banning same-sex marriage in California: "The shame of it all is that after the citizens of California said no to gay marriage last fall—the people always say no (the record is 30-0 in state ballot initiatives)—homosexual radicals sought to do an end-run around the democratic process and have unelected judges overrule the express will of the people. But the opponents of democracy, and common sense, lost today and that is how it should be. No one supports two men getting married save for white people who have spent too much time in the classroom."

I am so happy to hear the good news! The battle continues -- onward Christian soldiers! The California Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Proposition 8, the successful California ballot measure which defined marriage to be between a man and a woman, is constitutional. It also decided that the some 18,000 homosexual “marriages” contracted in the state should remain valid in law. By a vote of 6-1, the state Supreme Court justices ruled Proposition 8 was constitutional. The court unanimously ruled that existing “marriages” would stand. Proposition 8 was put forward as a response to the California Supreme Court’s May 2008 decision which by a vote of 4-3 overturned a state ban on such unions. Read the entire article here.

The San Francisco-based group Catholics for the Common Good has announced a novena of prayer and fasting for the seven California Supreme Court justices who are considering three lawsuits filed to overturn Proposition 8. Catholics for the Common Good describes itself as “a new Catholic Action based on the social teachings of the Catholic Church.” It is different from the Washington, DC-based group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The novena began on Ash Wednesday and will last through Thursday, March 5, when the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. Article You can find the Novena for the Protection of Marriage here.

Via Michael Barber: JP Catholic students are all over two big propositions in California--and now the mainstream news media is taking notice of their efforts. First, Proposition 4, or Sarah's Law, would require parental notification for abortion. Right now, a high school can't give an aspirin to a student without notifying parents--but a child can get an abortion and the parents don't have to know a thing about it. This, of course, enables child predators, as our students highlight in this ad. This ad aired in California on television immediately after the Vice Presidential debate last Thursday. Second, Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Yes, we already voted on this a few years ago and such a definition won a majority of the vote (61%). But the California Supreme Court ruled (4-3) that the vote didn't matter and legalized gay marriage despite the vote. The students have been making ads for that as wel...