It was just about two weeks ago that Bishop Martino provided an open letter to Senator Bob Casey informing him that unless he rescinded his vote on the Martinez ammendment, he would be "formally cooperating in evil".
This is the bishop who stood up at the USCCB's annual fall conference and said that the bishops would one day have to deal with their "collective reticence" on the question of Catholic politicians who support abortion rights in defiance of church teaching.
And it's the same Bishop Martino who crashed a pre-election forum held on Catholic property in which some were skewing Church documents, notably the USCCB's Faithful Citizenship, to the advantage of pro-choice pols (and against Catholic teaching).
Emphases mine in bold, comments in red...
I wonder if Bishop Martino will be attending the talk for a followup.Update: Bishop Martino criticizes appearance of gay-rights advocate
Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino today publicly criticized a local Catholic university’s plan to host a gay-rights advocate on Tuesday.
The bishop voiced “absolute disapproval” of Misericordia University’s hosting Keith Boykin, whom Bishop Martino calls an author and “avid supporter of same-sex marriage.”
Bishop Martino calls Mr. Boykin’s beliefs “disturbingly opposed to Catholic moral teaching.”
Misericordia understands the “bishop’s criticism,” according to a statement the school released today.
But the statement also notes that Mr. Boykin’s speech is not meant to be a forum for advocacy on any single issue [it doesn't matter - it can lead people into scandal if they know what he represents, which counters Catholic moral teaching].
“Misericordia University is committed deeply to its Catholic mission. Inseparable from that mission is our identity as an academic institution where ideas and positions are explored critically and freely,” the release stated. [Hello?!?!? Is anybody home??? The two identities must be compatible, not in conflict.]
Efforts to reach Mr. Boykin have not been successful. Mr. Boykin, a New York Times best-selling author and Harvard law school classmate of President Barack Obama, will speak twice at Misericordia on Tuesday, once at 2 p.m. in the Bevevino Library and again at 8 p.m. in the Lemmond Theater at Walsh Hall.
The diocese’s statement concludes: “The faithful of the Diocese of Scranton, the Bishop observed, should be in no doubt that Misericordia University in this instance is seriously failing in maintaining its Catholic identity.”
Misericordia University, based in Dallas, Luzerne County, is a Catholic-affiliated school founded in 1924 by the Religious Sisters of Mercy.
Mr. Boykin is to be hosted by the university’s Diversity Institute, the bishop says. The institute’s goal is “working collaboratively with community members to promote multi-cultural understanding and the elimination of all forms of discrimination,” according to its Web site.
Udpate 1: More articles on this are hitting the net
Watch for further updates
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