Congratulations! You're in the target-hairs of 'the gay agenda'!

News item: In Synod-Related Effort, Homosexual-Rights Activists Target Eight U.S. Bishops.

Picketing outside Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, February 14, AD 2010

From the National Catholic Register article:

ROME — The start of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family has triggered a wave of activism from well-funded LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) activist groups in the U.S., who are targeting “outspoken” Catholic bishops in hopes of changing Catholic practice and moral doctrine.

“Most important is the opportunity to create a precedent for change,” the Human Rights Campaign said in its pamphlet on the synod.

The LGBT group has announced an activist effort targeting eight bishops in a pamphlet that labels them as “the best of the worst Catholic bishops across the country.”

Its campaign will target Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill.

The effort aims to target bishops the activist group claims have been “most outspoken in their rejection of LGBT Catholics, their civil rights and their rightful place in the Church.” The effort will include Rosary events and literature distributions in the bishops’ home cities.

Among the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate partners are large corporations like American Airlines, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Bank of America, Northrop Grumman, Chevron, Lexus, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. (Emphasis added.)

See that? Our Archbishop has been "targeted." That means we in the Archdiocese have been "targeted."

Let me amplify that. This isn't about the Archbishop. Our Archbishop is simply being faithful to the teachings of our Lord and Savior. He is doing his job. He is being our shepherd. This is an attack on the Body of Christ as a whole, and that means every one of us.

And the Archbishop deserves to know that the faithful stand with him. When he stands up for Christ, we must stand with him!

While I don't imagine his Excellency is fretting over this, I also don't imagine this is going to be pleasant. Even if the efforts of the "LGBT activists" are reasonably civil (let us hope), this is not something most of us would want to endure outside our places of work, churches, or homes.

I'm not sure the Archbishop would want me to, er, organize any letter-writing, but I don't know why you couldn't contact him and let him know he has your prayers and support.

Second, you may want to contact some of those companies above, to see if they wish to be enlisted in this effort. Do these companies really intend to lobby the Catholic Church to change her teachings? Really?

Third, and most important: it's time to get ready. This is only the beginning. A storm is brewing. It will get ugly. We are not delicate flowers; we are soldiers of Christ! You and I had better prepare ourselves so we can endure what is coming; because one of the things that's going to make this difficult is having people around us losing heart and helping the enemies of the Church.

Get ready, folks. It will get worse before it gets better. A lot worse.

(Headline note: someone no doubt will quibble about my use of "the gay agenda." Headlines need to be brief; and I'm hard-pressed to find a brief expression for, "those who seek to overturn God's plan for human complementarity and family." Feel free to suggest polite alternative language if that's your thing.)