San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (D) and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) were among other leftist politicians and gay advocacy leaders who used the words of Pope Francis to criticize San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone for his upcoming participation at the March for Marriage in Washington D.C. on June 19th.
The same-sex marriage supporters wrote in a letter to Cordileone on Tuesday:
…while not all of us agree with official Catholic teaching on marriage and family, we appreciate the many statements from Catholic leaders defending the human dignity of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, especially the recent words of Pope Francis: “If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Pope Francis’ words echo the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that lesbian and gay people “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”
“We ask that you will reconsider your participation and join us in seeking to promote reconciliation rather than division and hatred,” wrote Newsom, Lee and the other signers, according to the SFGate. They take issue with some of the organizers of the March for Marriage — especially the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Family Research Council (FRC).
Cordileone, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, has become a national leader in vehemently opposing same-sex marriage. The archbishop helped to raise $1.5 million to get Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, on the ballot in California in 2008.
“The ultimate attack of the Evil One is the attack on marriage,” he stated.
In January, Cordileone asserted that the very healthy and growing pro-life movement would be the key to defending the central role of marriage as the sanctuary of life.
“The pro-life movement is about more than saving the life of the baby,” the archbishop said. “It’s especially about connecting that baby to where he or she came from: the mother and the father… There is no other institution that does that.”
While Newsome, Lee, and others on the left accused Cordileone of promoting “division and hatred” through participation in the March for Marriage, the archbishop described those with activist agendas against marriage as “bullies,” and urged young pro-lifers during the March for Life last January to stay “close to Christ” as they seek to present the truth about marriage.
“Future generations will understand that the natural truth of marriage benefits everyone and discriminates against no one,” the archbishop said. “But prepare yourselves: It will require heroic virtue, for there is a lot of reverse bullying going on these days.”
Similarly, Dr. Deborah Owens of the Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) told Breitbart News why the March for Marriage is important.
“The march is important because the majority of Americans believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as indicated through their votes to protect marriage in various states across the nation,” Owens said. “Activist judges have allowed the desires of a few to usurp the will of the many by essentially voiding the votes of the people and overturning their state constitutional amendment.”
“The march is a public display of dissatisfaction with elected and appointed officials who have succumbed to the bully tactics of the LGBT community to normalize same-sex marriage and force it on all Americans,” she added.
Owens observed the theme of the 2014 “March for Marriage,” which is “Kids deserve a mom and a dad.”
The family unit must remain in tact for children. Children need both a mom and a dad. I see how our son and daughter relate differently to me than my husband. Each of them look to dad to meet certain unique needs that only he can fill and to me to meet other needs that only I can provide. God gave the male and female distinct roles to play in the nurture and development of children. There is an epidemic in the black community of fatherless sons, which is having devastating effects on the lives on young black boys. The statistics are startling.
“We are marching to protect the dignity and sanctity of marriage and to help stem the tide of this reckless movement, which will have long term negative effects on our nation’s children and future generations,” Owens said.
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