solarbird | Jan. 22nd, 2012

If you are a progressive Catholic in Washington State, prove it. Start by refusing to put money into the till during Sunday service.

Under Orders, Seattle's Catholic Churches Instruct Parishioners to Lobby Against Marriage Equality
by DOMINIC HOLDEN on SUN, JAN 22, 2012 at 4:24 PM

That was fast. When I went to Sunday mass last week as St. James Cathedral, their leadership was evasive and downright elusive when asked about the local Catholic Church's new campaign to oppose a same-sex marriage bill. But this week, the Catholic Church's position was in black and white.

Inside every bulletin at St. James Cathedral, the laity received marching orders today to begin pressuring their state lawmakers to stop the marriage equality measure in Olympia. In fact, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain disseminated the message to all 175 parishes under his jurisdiction of Western Washington and instructed them to print it in their bulletins. Here's the entire statement:
ARCHBISHOP SARTAIN HAS ASKED THAT THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT BE PUBLISHED IN ALL PARISH BULLETINS THIS WEEKEND

PROTECT MARRIAGE

Legislators will be voting soon on whether to the change current law defining marriage. Marriage between a man and a woman is essential for family life and the foundation of any society. Please call, email or write your state Senator and two Representatives urging them to support the current law and defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Call 1-800-562-6000 to leave a message for your legislators. Go to the Washington State Legislature website at http://aps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx to find your legislator and to write or email a message to them.
That wasn't all: Copies of a more detailed anti-gay proclamation, issued by Sartain and three other Washington State bishops on January 13, were tucked into the vestibules of St. James. "Upholding the present definition of marriage," the decree warned, is necessary for the "continuation of the human race."

Meanwhile, the Church continues to protect pedophiles. This bishop, who blamed children for being raped by priests by saying they were asking for it, is still a bishop.