opinion

It's really frustrating and depressing how this paper continues to mock and berate Catholics, as well as anything conservative or republican, yet never criticizes or mocks any liberals. Your liberal, social agenda is clear, but the problem is, as a newspaper, you're not supposed to HAVE an agenda. You've decided that engaging in homosexual activity is not a perverse sexual practice, but is something to be admired and promoted in society. You've decided that illegal aliens, who committed a criminal act when they illegally entered our country, have a "RIGHT" to be here somehow. You support artwork that foments hate against Christians, like the crucifix in the urine, but there is no question you would not tolerate artwork you perceive as hate if it were to mock homosexuals or a favored minority group. Your paper should not be endorsing ANY hate against ANYONE, but when you make yourself a mouthpiece for liberal hate, yet protect liberals from any fallout or negative feedback, it makes you a hypocrite. Can you understand that printing mockery and hatred against Catholics is hurtful to Catholics??? ............................................ As for the point of this editorial cartoon, it's obvious that the writer has little understanding of what, and who, he is mocking. Maybe Jesus never spoke out specifically about whether homosexuality was wrong or not, because his Father in Heaven spoke to Moses IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS about it when He was giving him guidance on His Commandments. ........ He said ... "...A man shall not lay with a man, because it is an abomination..." ... Any Hebrew at the time would have known that law, and Jesus would not have had to tell it to anyone.

Fact Check...1 Corinthians 6:9 is as close at it gets to a quote: Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

"Fact Check...1 Corinthians 6:9 is as close as it gets to a quote:...." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maybe this is why Fact Check is nothing but a liberal joke: ... Leviticus - Chapter 20 - Verse 13 - (God speaking to Moses) .......... "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; ................. (I paraphrased it in my comment above.)

Well, gopherfan93, I appreciate your direct approach and your call for a respectful tone, and the strib can defend itself. I shall attempt to answer from my perspective with a respectful tone, and it will include disagreement on some key points. I do agree that Leviticus has a lot of hygiene rules valid for the place and time such a Leviticus 18:22 (man not lay w/ man), Leviticus 11:7 (And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you - (No bacon!!!), or Leviticus 19:27 don't shave the sides of your beard. Now our good God-given brains have made pork safe, if cooked properly, beard trimming safe, if we use clean sharp blades and wash, and frankly, any form of coupling between any pair of any gender is either safe or risky, depending... latex not withstanding. On to the New Testament ....... ACTS 10:15, talking about people, using animals for analogy, "And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call profane." leading up to ACTS 10:44-48 where Peter baptized even "THEM" now that the Holy Spirit has blessed THOSE people.... God made us All. All means All. Jesus teaches that he loves ALL, and God-made human brains (science) reveals how to eat pork, shave, and that Gender Identity and Gender orientation are, from birth, in humans and other mammals (google gay sheep) not always "standard", but non-standard gender identity is still a gift from God. Gender identity in the brain is set during gestation during a different time that organs are formed... and sometimes, that Gender Identity is blended and sometimes is is solidly opposite of a person's physical biology. It only took, what 100 years or for the Church to lift 1616 degree that the Earth moves and the Sun does not was "false and altogether opposed to Holy Scripture." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_science#Copernicus).... Now that we have moved past church-declared women and slaves as property, and Church tolerated skin color defining sub-human status, its time to move past looking at a acts with manageable hygiene issues that some do and some don't and instead look at and consider how we shall treat everyone as Persons. Look at each Human Person regardless of their God made identity/orientation of gay, straight, transgender, transsexual, etc... (including not a few Priests). Also, please realize that once someone accepts their non-standard identity and has some safe validation and acceptance from someone else, their suicide risk drops dramatically. And that is a Gift we can all give.

I appreciate your reasonable response, fatherofsons. Yes, some of the rules were designed to protect the people from disease and other maladies more than from what you might term immoral behavior. God did not associate any particular kind of punishment to people who violated the hygiene rules. When God spoke of idolatry, adultury, and sexual behavior within the same sex, as well as with beasts, He specifically said that those who violate these laws will surely die. Yes, it's harsh punishment. And it may have had some symbolic reference to the death of your soul for those offenses as much as your body. For the lesser offenses, God told Moses to have people bring an offering of atonement to the priests, and if the priests offer a sacrifice for their sins, God said .. "I will forgive them". Obviously, no one is suggesting that people who violate the more serious religious laws today should receive the death penalty. But while no one is saying that the gov't should make homosexuality illegal, the gov't should also not specifically endorse it and provide people who engage in it with special protections. The gov't should remain strictly neutral on homosexuality. When someone who is homosexual is bullied, beaten, or harmed in some way that is illegal for anyone else, then they should be entitled to the same protection of the law as anyone else. There should be no special laws to accomodate homosexuals, such as changing marriage, because that is an endorsement of homosexuality.

Maybe the strib could explore the position and traditional beliefs of some of the rest of us relating to gender and relationships. Not only would it would take the heat off the RCC and Christianity, it would finally recognize that the Christian plurality isn't the only or even the oldest moral tradition dealing with the subject.

@ Gopherfan93 if you take the translated bible at its word all of these forbidden acts involve men. It also states that none of these forbiddem acts shall take place in the bed of women. Nowhere does mention women with women and thus the if you believe the extension exists to women yet deny the the other prohiibited acts as no longer relevent; and death no longer the appropriate punishment, the interpretaions seem highly selective.

The Bible is full of fire and brimstone for those eating shellfish, wearing mixed textiles, not being a virgin on your wedding night, etc., while at the same time being silent or even condoning practices we now find repugnant, such as slavery and child sacrifice. People who use the Bible to support their anti-gay views are being extremely selective. Jesus had squat to say about being gay, so it could not have been very high on his list of priorities. BTW, those who think that gay people choose that orientation logically must think they chose to be straight. Interesting...

How about we stop having religion of others dictate our laws?!

I went to Catholic Schools Elementary, High School, College. I learned my Baltimore Cathechism in the 2nd grade. That was just the beginning. What I have always noticed about Jesus is that he consistently hung around with all the "wrong" people and said all the "wrong" things. All of my favorite Saints - including Doctors of the Church - have had to deal with disapproval from the Vatican. That informs my perspective in this matter.