"Ideological Colonizations" and the Threat to Religious Liberty

As per Dennis Byrne, "Having taken over the question of marriage, lock, stock and barrel, the Supreme Court now will be the only body allowed to craft the compromises and settle the hair-splitting disagreements about just how the right to same-sex marriage should be applied....Just how much coercion can the government apply to force religions to bend to the will of government" (Bucks County Courier Times, 7/10/15).  Even among practicing Catholics, the seriousness of that question does not seem to be getting grasped!  Does that have anything to do with our having already become accustomed to  

• treating marriage as though it were NOT indissoluble,
• separating the unitive and procreative dimensions of the marital act (By the way, July 19th - 25th is a MAGNIFICENT opportunity to scream the truth about marriage/family/sexuality from the rooftops!), and
• looking away from couples living in sin?

Ultimately, devaluation of marriage/family and its accompanying threat to religious liberty result from what Pope Francis calls "ideological colonizations"; such were clearly on his mind in South America:

• "The Bible tells us that God hears the cry of his people, and I wish to join my voice to yours in calling for land, lodging and labor for all our brothers and sisters. I said it and I repeat it: these are sacred rights....
  
  "No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty. Whenever they do so, we see the rise of new forms of colonialism which seriously prejudice the possibility of peace and justice....
  
  "the monopolizing of the communications media, which would impose alienating examples of consumerism and a certain cultural uniformity, is another one of the forms taken by the new colonialism. It is ideological colonialism....
  
  "Let us say NO to forms of colonialism old and new. Let us say YES to the encounter between peoples and cultures. Blessed are the peacemakers....
  
  "The Church, her sons and daughters, are part of the identity of the peoples of Latin America. An identity which here, as in other countries, some powers are committed to erasing, at times because our faith is revolutionary, because our faith challenges the tyranny of mammon. Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus. This too needs to be denounced: in this third world war, waged peacemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end" (Pope Francis, 7/9/15 Address in Bolivia to "Popular Movements")

• "You may be asking yourselves: 'Who is this man standing before us?'....The man standing before you is a man who has experienced forgiveness. A man who was, and is, saved from his many sins....I want to share with you what I do have and what I love: it is Jesus. It is Jesus Christ, the mercy of the Father" (Pope Francis, 7/10/15 Address at the Reform Center of Santa Cruz-Palmasola (Bolivia)).

• "An economic development which fails to take into account the weakest and underprivileged is not an authentic development. Economic progress must be measured by the integral dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable and helpless....Christ opens up to us the path of mercy, which, founded on justice, goes beyond it to inspire works of charity" (Pope Francis, 7/10/15 Address to Officials of Paraguay).

And Back in North America....

In yesterday's Courier Times, Dennis Byrne went on to explain that "Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, introduced the First Amendment Defense Act that would ban discriminatory government treatment — such as the withholding of government grants — against any person or institution that supports traditional marriage."  A month ago, the First Amendment Defense Act received the ringing support of the USCCB:

• "As the respective chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage and the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, we write in strong support of... the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA)....It is becoming apparent that some who promote marriage redefinition do not support the coexistence and tolerance of different ideas in a pluralistic society but instead have a 'comply or else' agenda....The leadership of our Church will continue to promote and protect the natural truth of marriage as foundational to the common good....we urge your colleagues to join ...as cosponsors" (Archbishops Cordileone and Lori, 6/18/15 letters to Representative Raúl Labrador (H.R. 2802) and Senator Mike Lee (S. 1598))

Kudos to Pa Representatives Mike Kelly (R), Tim Murphy (R), Scott Perry (R), Joe Pitts (R), and Keith Rothfus (R) for co-sponsoring HR 2802.  Bravo Bravissimo! 

• Tell Representatives Lou Barletta (R), Brendan Boyle (D), Bob Brady (D), Matt Cartwright (D), Ryan Costello (R), Charlie Dent (R), Mike Doyle (D), Chaka Fattah (D), Mike Fitzpatrick (R), Tom Marino (R), Pat Meehan (R), Bill Shuster (R), and Glenn Thompson (R) to co-sponsor HR 2802!   
• Tell Bob Casey (D) and Pat Toomey (R) to co-sponsor S. 1598!  

PASSAGE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT DEFENSE ACT SHOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE PRIORITY FOR PEOPLE WITH PRO-LIFE/PRO-FAMILY VALUES!

*In addition to is "ALERTS CENTRAL" the USCCB notes that "Action alerts for pro-life issues can also be found through our partner organization, the National Committee for the Human Life Amendment" and "Action alerts for issues related to immigration reform can be found through the USCCB-led Catholic coalition,Justice for Immigrants."  The Pa Catholic Conference also posts alerts.