In less than 24 hours, Allyson Smith received a response from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, an excellent response for which we are truly grateful! You, too, can make a difference, by being informed, by praying often, and by standing firm for Truth!

Permission to use Ellard Hall should not have been given to the group [the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence].

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has directed the parish to end the arrangement immediately.

For years the group has directed contempt and ridicule at Catholic faith and practices.

The particular targets of the group’s derision are women in religious communities, for whom Catholics, and many non-Catholics, have a special reverence and respect.

Fr. Meriwether is on leave from his duties.

Allyson Smith, a San Diego Catholic pro-life and pro-family advocate, and writer for Americans For Truth, wrote the following open letter to Father Steve Meriwether of Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco:

Sent Oct 30, 2006:

Father Meriwether,

Words fail to express my outrage at finding out that you are allowing the blasphemous sodomite drag queens, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, to use Most Holy Redeemer (located at 100 Diamond Street, Castro District, San Francisco) for their perverted, pornographic bingo games. You are not only the pastor of MHR, you are the CHANCELLOR of the San Francisco Archdiocese!

Sister Bea Attitude, Sister Merry Peter, Sister Sister Edith Myflesh, Sister Chastity Boner

How could you – how dare you – allow these perverts to desecrate Most Holy Redeemer by openly parading their abominable homosexual vice in the very same building where the true Most Holy Redeemer, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is present in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?

Are you out of your mind – or do you find nothing wrong with this? Do you approve of sodomy, one of the sins that cries out to Heaven for vengeance, and of allowing open sodomites to desecrate our Lord’s Real Presence and His temple? It certainly appears so, as I just called your church and a staffer there, Joey, confirmed that you are aware of these activities and that they are taking place with your approval.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence make endless mockery of our Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary and of good, faithful nuns who spend their lives in prayerful, selfless service to the Church. They openly display their perversion in public streets during “gay pride” parades — and now, apparently, in your own parish. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!

According to an article last month in the San Francisco Bay Times, the SPI bingo games include sexual “punishments” for participants whose cell phones ring or who call a false bingo.

Published Oct 27, 2006, in West Salem Coulee News:

Soon citizens of Wisconsin will have an opportunity to vote for a constitutional amendment which will ensure that our great state will not have the immoral, illogical, and unnatural absurdity of “same-sex marriage” foisted upon her by activist, unconstitutional judges.

Yes, homosexual “marriage” is all of that and, like homosexuality, is an act of open defiance against Almighty God Himself who “made them male and female” and ordained marriage (Matthew 19:4-6).

The marriage amendment was of necessity proposed in response to a relentless campaign to force homosexual marriage on America, state by state, as has already been done in Massachusetts. National organizations such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have poured resources into Wisconsin with the hope that our state will suffer the infamy and harm of being the first in which an amendment protecting the legal definition of marriage is defeated.

The campaign against the marriage amendment has been nothing less than a theater of the absurd, featuring all manner of nonsensical claims regarding such things as inheritance rights, hospital visitation, and power of attorney.

The legal reality is that a citizen of Wisconsin can bequeath his property to anyone he wishes. He can delegate to any consenting adult medical or financial power of attorney. Likewise, a citizen can designate who should or should not be at his side in a health care crisis.

The most wicked absurdity that has been peddled by the amendment opponents is the audacious claim that God’s Word gives license to homosexual acts and homosexual “marriage.” Nothing could be further from the truth, no matter how some wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

As a minister of the gospel, I state with no hesitation whatsoever that voting against the marriage amendment would be a sin against God.

Ralph Ovadal is pastor at Pilgrims Covenant Church in Monroe, Wisconsin.

Excerpted from On Equal Terms, by Dr. Albert Mohler, published Oct 26, 2006:

…One of the most striking aspects of the New Jersey decision is the fact that not a single justice held marriage to be an essentially heterosexual institution that deserves a privileged status as recognized in law. This points to a basic social revolution that is sweeping through the nation’s elites — especially on college and university campuses, and law schools, and in the media.

We are living in an age of ambitious and open revolt against civilization’s most central institution. The headlines of the newspapers will indicate that the New Jersey decision is significant. Only a relative few seem to understand that this amounts to a redefinition of human society. The social regulation of sexuality and the legal recognition of marriage are fundamental to our civilization and way of life. We are witnessing the destruction of an institution fundamental to human happiness and well-being — and all in the name of a radical conception of human rights.

Note this: These plaintiffs did not charge that their rights to marry were violated by the U.S. Constitution — but that charge is surely coming. In short order a case like this will arrive at the US Supreme Court. This is why the Marriage Protection Amendment is so urgently needed and why the battle must be fought in every state.

We are reminded once again that we face a stark set of alternatives: Either we will define marriage for the judges, or the judges will define marriage for us.

Continue reading…

“Our decision today significantly advances the civil rights of gays and lesbians. We have decided that our state constitution guarantees that every statutory right and benefit conferred the heterosexual couples from civil marriage must be made available to committed same-sex couples.

“Now the legislature must determine whether to alter the long accepted definition of marriage. The great engine for social change in this country has always been the democratic process. Although courts can ensure equal treatment, they cannot guarantee social acceptance, which must come through the evolving ethos of a maturing society. Plaintiffs request does not end here. Their next appeal must be to their fellow citizens, whose voices are heard through their popularly elected representatives.”

In the back row, left to right:

• Justice John E. Wallace (joined the majority opinion), nominated by secretly homosexual Governor James E. McGreevey
• Justice James R. Zazzali (joined the minority opinion), nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman
• Justice Barry T. Albin (joined the majority opinion), nominated by secretly homosexual Governor James E. McGreevey
• Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto (joined the majority opinion), nominated by secretly homosexual Governor James E. McGreevey

In the front row, left to right:

• Justice Virginia Long (joined the minority opinion), nominated to serve on the Supreme Court by Governor Christine Todd Whitman
• Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz (joined the minority opinion), nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman and re-nominated to Chief Justice by secretly homosexual Governor James McGreevey; she retired the day after this decision
• Justice Jaynee LaVecchia (joined the majority opinion), nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman

Please read in its entirety this excellent article by our friend Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel for Concerned Women for America.

From Jesus Is Wedded to Biblical Marriage, by Jan LaRue, published Oct 18, 2006, by CWA and Townhall:

Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin will decide November 7 whether traditional marriage will be protected by their state’s constitution. Opponents from homosexual activist organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign are uniting with clergy to convince voters that Jesus approves same-sex “marriage.”

The Rev. Jack Rogers, “professor of theology emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary and past moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” says that “supporting same-sex marriage affirms our Christian faith, strengthens our communities and supports children and families.” (Jack Rogers, “Study Changes Pastor’s Mind on Same-Sex Marriage,” The [Charleston, South Carolina] Post and Courier, Oct. 1, 2006, p. H3).

Rogers’ reasons for supporting “same-sex marriage” have a tiny tad more substance than the “silence” argument from another clergyman, Rev. Gordon McBride, the rector of Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Arizona who opposes Arizona’s marriage amendment: “Jesus never said anything about it (gay marriage), so clearly it didn’t matter to him.” (Stephanie Innes, “Gay-marriage ban pits church vs. church,” Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 13, 2006).

That logic would lead to the absurd assumption that since Jesus never said anything about incest, rape, tofu or terrorism, they also clearly didn’t matter to Him.

Rogers says that “for much of his life” he “opposed same-sex marriage” until he participated “on a task force on homosexuality … in an intense nine-month process of Bible study, prayer and reflection on the issue from all angles.”

One would think that “reflection” on “all angles” about “same-sex marriage” would include the marriage angle. Rogers, however, doesn’t mention any of nearly 700 Bible verses about marriage — not one.

But then, it’s not easy to pronounce Betty and Veronica or Steve and Al together in holy matrimony as husband and wife, man and woman or bridegroom and bride.

Incredibly, Rogers fails to follow his own advice “to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus’ redeeming life and ministry.” He fails to acknowledge that Christ’s lens includes all of Scripture, and what it says about marriage and homosexuality “is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Excerpted from Despite Furor, Schools Back Gay History Month, by Susan Snyder, published Oct 12, 2006, in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

…Critics panned the move as political, “confusing” for children, and one that has no place in the schools.

“What were you thinking? What were you thinking?” Ann Martin, the grandmother of three students, said, admonishing the commission with her hand and calling for new calendars to be issued.

Others asked what the district would recognize next.

“Fornication pride month? Pedophile pride month?” quipped Rashad Faheem Shabazz.

Continue reading in The Philadelphia Inquirer…

Excerpted from For Gays, a Loud New Foe, by Rone Tempest, published Oct 14, 2006, in Los Angeles Times:

Organizers of the annual Rainbow Festival [sponsor list]were prepared for trouble.

The Q Crew, a local “queer/straight alliance,” distributed cards telling people what to do if approached by hostile demonstrators. Sympathetic local church groups formed a protective buffer along the festival ground’s cyclone fence. Mounted police were on patrol.

Jerry Sloan manned a table for Stand Up for Sacramento, a recently formed gay self-defense organization.

“So far, so good,” he said. “No Russians.”

The festival, held last month amid the gay bars, restaurants and shops of midtown’s “Lavender Heights” neighborhood, went off without conflict. But the elaborate security preparations reflected growing tensions between Sacramento gays and the city’s large and vociferous community of fundamentalist Christians from the former Soviet Union.

Over the last 18 months, Sacramento Russian-language church members have picketed gay pride events, jammed into legislative committee meetings when gay issues were on the agenda and demonstrated at school board meetings.

Incited by firebrand Russian Pentacostal pastors and polemical Russian-language newspapers, the fundamentalists turn out en masse for state Capitol protest rallies.

Last June, urging readers to attend a massive rally, the Russian newspaper the Speaker told them:

Make a choice. It’s your decision.

Homosexuality is knocking on your doors and asking:

“Can I make your son gay and your daughter lesbian?”

…The Sacramento community…s overwhelmingly evangelical — Baptist and Pentecostalist. The charismatic Pentacostal church, introduced in the Ukraine in the 1920s by missionary and martyr Ivan Efimovich Vornaev, includes speaking in tongues and washing of feet. The churches’ social views are based on a literal interpretation of the Bible.”The main issues in the Russian community here,” said Vitaly Prokopchuk, a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy, “are gay issues, abortion issues and family-definition issues. To these people, these issues are very cut-and-dry in the Bible.“…Leaders of the religious right…celebrate the Russian efforts as a revival.

“My hope and my prayer,” said Mark Matta, a former legislative aide who heads the Christian Public Awareness Ministries, “is that they will become a voice in the wilderness for the rest of the country.”

“It’s not only about homosexuality. It’s also about drinking, about premarital sex and about drugs,” Prokopchuk [Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy]said. “Some of these people even regret coming here because they have a feeling they are losing their kids.”

“Honestly, I’m scared for the kids,” Bugriyev [a mother] said. “We have a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old. I’m scared that when they go to school they will be in a class where they are taught it is OK for a man to sleep with another man. We are thinking that after another five years, we will move back to Moldova.”

“We feel the American church already lost the battle 20 years ago by remaining silent,” said Victor Chernyetsky, 47, a Soviet-trained engineer who serves as administrator for the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church. “We can’t remain silent. There are a lot of sins.”

Continue reading in Los Angeles Times …