Cardinal George Responds to Homosexual Activist Protest in Front of Holy Name Cathedral

Gay Liberation Network activists marched in front of Catholic Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago Sunday morning, chanting against the church's supposed "hate." Pro-perversion militants like the GLN classify church opposition to homosexuality as "religious-motivated bigotry."

Following is an account by Renew America writer Matt Abbott of AFTAH’s silent “counter-protest” against the radical Gay Liberation Network’s outrageous protest Sunday, February 13, 2011, directly in front of Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago. Homosexual activists chanted against the supposed “hate” of Cardinal Francis George — a preposterous accusation given George’s soft-spoken manner. Of course, the mere defense — any defense — of historic church beliefs proscribing homosexual conduct is enough to earn one the “hate” label from the likes of GLN.

Following the article is George’s statement about the GLN protest, and then a reply by the Gay Liberation Network. We must all stand together to defend against the aggressive secular “gay” assault on marriage and the Judeo-Christian values that have served America well as the foundation of our freedoms. If you still believe that hard-core homosexual activists as represented by GLN actually respect the Church and the right of people to disagree with their sinful yet changeable lifestyle, it’s time for you to wake up and start defending Marriage, Truth — and your religious liberty to live out your faith. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

TAKE ACTION: Thank Card. Frances George for his and the Catholic Church’s defense of marriage — and strong stance against recently passed “civil unions” legislation in Illinois. You can write him at archbishop@archchicago.org [see contact page HERE]. Or call the Office of the Archbishop at 312-534-8230 (hit #4).

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Homosexual activists protest in front of Holy Name Cathedral

By Matt C. Abbott; reprinted from Renew America (support RA’s good work HERE)

February 14, 2011

On Sunday, Feb. 13, in front of Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral, a group of homosexual activists protested Cardinal Francis George’s opposition to “civil unions” as well as the Church’s opposition to homosexual “marriage.”

Our sign thanking Chicago Cardinal Frances George for opposing homosexual "civil unions" bill, which passed and was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Thankfully, a group of Catholic and Protestant counter-demonstrators was present to defend the Church. Among the pro-family counter-demonstrators was Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, an organization dedicated to exposing and fighting the homosexualist agenda.

In an e-mail to me, LaBarbera described the situation as follows (edited):

“AFTAH’s silent counter-protest was a success. My sign read, ‘Thank you, Cardinal George, for Defending Marriage.’ At one point about 10 people were holding ‘No Same-Sex Marriage’ signs. The Gay Liberation Network’s protest was smaller than last year, Church officials told us. Of course, they chanted against the cardinal’s and the Church’s supposed hate.

“At another point two homosexual activists stood in front of us with their huge anti-bigotry banner. Then the cops moved them back to their side of the sidewalk. There was also a large contingent of people from a church group whose goal was to talk with the homosexual activists — a ministry approach.”

Though he’s not Catholic, LaBarbera strongly defends the Church’s teachings on marriage and family.

“We felt compelled to come to Holy Name Cathedral to defend Cardinal George, who is being smeared as a ‘hater’ because he eloquently spoke out against the recent ‘civil unions’ bill,” says LaBarbera.

“But the real bigots in this story are the Gay Liberation Network protesters. That GLN accuses the Catholic Church of hate merely because of its teachings on marriage and family is itself an act of hatred and bigotry.”

[Above right] is a photo of the protest, courtesy of LaBarbera. (Visit AFTAH’s website: www.americansfortruth.com.)

Matt C. Abbott is a columnist based in Chicago focused on Catholic and social issues. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.

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Statement by Cardinal Frances George on GLN protest:

Scene in front of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago Sunday morning, Feb. 13, 2011.

“Some members of the Gay Liberation Network demonstrated in front of Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday, February 13, protesting against Catholic Church teaching on the immorality of homosexual genital relations and opposition to so called ‘gay marriage.’

“These are deeply felt issues, because they speak to the personal identity of some and to the religious beliefs of others.

“No matter the issue, Catholics should be able to worship in peace, without fear of harassment. An open display of prejudice against the Catholic Church because of resentment of Church teachings prejudices civil discourse in our society.” (http://www.facebook.com/l/6edb7LNto-Y1q5-3Ll39TyxwmMw;www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=9245)

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AFTAH NOTE: I hesitate to include this GLN statement in our story — as if this notoriously anti-Christian Marxist organization, which regularly and hatefully lashes out against pro-family advocates, deserves equal time. But I include it to illustrate their mindset (note how they purport to speak for Catholics). At the GLN protest at Holy Name, two GLN activists stood in front of our counter-protest with their huge anti-“bigotry” banner — to block sight of us from the street. Though they were moved away by the police to the GLN side of the sidewalk, their action symbolized the censorious goals of GLN and the larger homosexual activist movement, which despises biblical Truth on this issue. See our other articles about GLN HERE, HERE, and HERE. – Peter LaBarbera

Response by Gay Liberation Network to Card. George’s statement:

1) That the Cardinal feels that our protest yesterday — a peaceful expression of 1st Amendment rights — constitutes “harassment,” shows his contempt for the free expression of opinions which is a necessary component of democracy. The fact that the Cardinal and the rest of the Catholic leadership is at odds with the overwhelming majority of Catholic lay opinion on issues such as equal marriage rights for gays, equal rights for women, contraceptive use, and many other issues, also demonstrates the Cardinal’s contempt for democracy within the Church.

2) The Cardinal lies by saying that our protest was “against the Catholic Church.” As repeated several times in written GLN statements prior to the protest, a handbill distributed at the protest, and in our public comments during the course of the protest, our protest was against the LEADERSHIP of the Catholic church and not the Catholic laity, a majority of whom SUPPORT equal rights for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people. Cardinal George, while opposing our legal equality, attempts to “play the victim” by falsely claiming that we oppose the Catholic Church in general, rather than its anti-equal rights leadership.

3) The Cardinal as head of a tax-exempt organization apparently believes that he should have the right to lobby against gay rights in Springfield and give anti-gay statements from his church pulpit, but that tax payers who are for gay rights should be prohibited from protesting on a public sidewalk outside of his church. Apparently his ideas carry so little intellectual weight that they cannot withstand public debate.

and,

4) We are intrigued that Cardinal George feels that he has a particular expertise to comment regarding “homosexual genital relations,” particularly since he and his colleagues ostensibly lack first-hand knowledge of same. Please correct us if we are mistaken regarding your qualifications to comment on this issue, or any “genital relations” for that matter.”