MOONIES
John Gorenfeld: ‘Thank you for your link to my article, which hasn’t gotten much notice – aside from a few bloggers who have shared my dismay at the subject. Mr. Moon, who has scammed a good number of Japanese old ladies out of their insurance claims, is now trying to convince people to unite behind him in a new, religious version of the U.N. (Oh, and if anyone tells you that ‘Moonies’ is a pejorative term, please ignore them. The group invented the term, used it widely, and now hopes that the public doesn’t make the connection between them and the group that horrified parents in the ’70s.)’
MARRIAGE: DOWN HILL SINCE 1522
‘Marriage has universally fallen into awful disrepute.’ – Martin Luther, On the Estate of Marriage, 1522
‘The family in its old sense is disappearing from our land, and not only our free institutions are threatened, but the very existence of our society is endangered.’ – Boston Quarterly Review, 1859
‘Will the family, that institution which we have long regarded as the unit of civilization, the foundation of the state, survive? The Family of our father’s time is almost entirely gone. The home made by one man and one woman bound together until ‘death do us part’ has in large measure given way to trial marriage . . . The bearing of children finds less place in the conduct of this generation.’ – Chauncey J. Hawkins, Will the Home Survive?, 1907
‘The American family has in the past generation or more, been undergoing a profound process of change . . . Some have cited facts such as the very high rates of divorce, the changes in the older sex morality, and until fairly recently the decline in birth rates, as evidence of a trend to disorganization in the absolute sense.’ – Talcott Parsons, The American Family, 1955
[My thanks to the Human Rights Campaign for unearthing these quotes.]
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON MARRIAGE
Sep. 13, 2003
Catholic leaders back amendment against gay marriage
By RICHARD N. OSTLING
Associated PressLeaders of the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops Wednesday gave “general support” to amending the U.S. Constitution in order to define marriage as a union of a man and woman. They also condemned legalized same-sex unions.
RALPH AND GARY ON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Ralph Sierra: ‘I would be happy to honor Katie Ferguson’s request to not criticize the Catholic Church’s teachings, if their hierarchy would stop trying to force non-Catholics to abide by their tenets.’
Gary: ‘The Catholic Church is seeking to force its morality on everyone in this country by seeking to amend the US Constitution. The Catholic Church is seeking to deny a class of citizens equal protection under the law, because it finds that class of people to be immoral. Unlike the Catholic Church I am willing to compromise however. I am willing to leave them alone if they leave me alone.’
ELLEN GOODMAN GETS THE LAST WORD
Click here.
