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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 2000
by Jim Holman.
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NEWS
FEBRUARY 2000
UNIVISION, THE LARGEST SPANISH language television network in the United States, has decided that one of it's shows aimed at Latino Catholics, "Nuestra Familia" (Our Family) was "too Catholic" and pulled it from the air. "Nuestra Familia" has aired on KMEX, channel 34 in Los Angeles, for the past 17 years. The show's producer, Robert Guttierez, said in a telephone interview that "Nuestra Familia" was produced for Latino Catholics and explored various issues that were important to the Latino community.
"Nuestra Familia" can now only be seen on Univision's cable station, Galavision. According to Guttierez, who runs the production company that produced "Nuestra Familia," the change is a "tremendous loss" to the Latino community because now the program can only be seen by subscribers to Univision's cable channel, to which some families cannot afford to subscribe.
Guttierez said that Univision told him that the program was being canceled because it was not pluralistic enough and only targeted a specific group of people (Latino Catholics). Guttierez charges that the bottom line is "money." He told the Mission that for the past 17 years, he has produced the program as a public service and did not charge KMEX for the programming. In turn, KMEX gave him free air time, thus creating a win-win situation. Guttierez pointed out that with the departure of "Nuestra Familia," there are no longer any quality programs on KMEX -- he said that KMEX's programming consists of scantily clad women "talking about body parts." Guttierez hopes that Cardinal Roger Mahony will talk with the executives at KMEX about the loss of "Nuestra Familia." "Cardinal Mahony has been a strong supporter of 'Nuestra Familia,'" he said.
KMEX regularly airs advertisements touting discounts for abortions at Dr. Edward Allred's Family Planning Associates. When told about the advetisements, Guttierez said, "I think Cardinal Mahony should know about this." KMEX was a major supporter of the Los Angeles archdiocese's December 11, Despidida (farewell) to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that toured the Southland late last year.
"THE LIMITED LANGUAGE OF PROPOSITION 22 [the Limitation of Marriage Inititiative] makes the initiative seem rather straightforward. In reality, the issue is highly complex." So reads the December 20 statement on Proposition 22 issued by Roger Cardinal Mahony. The complexity of the issue, wrote Mahony, stems from the "emotional and political dynamics that surround the measure, and the limitations and inadequacy of the initiative process in our State to set sound public policy." The text of Proposition 22 reads: "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
The California Catholic Conference of Bishops, wrote Mahony, endorsed the initiative "to assure that God's plan for marriage and family life ... remains the bedrock upon which marriage is respected within our society." The Church, wrote Mahony, "has found no legitimate justification to redefine and extend the marriage contract to include same sex unions." However, said the cardinal, the question remains "whether homosexual partners and other domiciled relationships can have legal access to certain prerogatives and benefits that accrue to couples within the marriage contract." While such issues "should not be resolved by extending the definition of marriage to same sex unions," the state should explore "prudent public policy" through "appropriate legislative bodies to address some of these concerns."
Fearing that "some will use this initiative to advance attitudes that foster ill will against homosexual persons, their parents and families," Mahony called upon Catholics "and all people of good will" to join him "in deploring and denouncing the degradation of dignity and respect towards any of our brothers and sisters." The cardinal listed three ways Catholics and their parishes can clarify "our focus and position on this subject." First, they must "promote the traditional understanding of marriage as contained so clearly in God's revelation, and defined in the initiative as 'a union between a man and a woman.'" In connection with this, the cardinal called on parishes to strengthen parish ministries that support families. Secondly, said Mahony, Catholics must oppose those who would use the initiative as an occasion "to promote hatred against homosexual persons. Thirdly, he said "we must reaffirm the pastoral directives for ministry and outreach with homosexual persons articulated in church teaching."
Mahony wrote that he was "saddened" that some have interpreted the Catholic Church's support for Proposition 22 as "a lessening of our commitment to serve the gay and lesbian community." The archdiocese's ministry to "gay and lesbian Catholics," wrote Mahony, "will continue to remain a priority for our Church."
A SPECIAL MASS WAS HELD at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood, Sunday, January 9, by the archdiocese of Los Angeles' office of Pastoral Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics. As his December 10, 1999 letter to members of the ministry discusses, and as he related during the Mass, Father Liuzzi, director for the archdiocesan gay and lesbian ministry, has recently been disturbed by the decision of the California bishops' conference to support Proposition 22, the "Limitation of Marriage Initiative," as well as by the conference's contribution of $300,000 to help fund the initiative. As he explained in his December 10 letter to ministry supporters, in response to his sorrow at the bishops' decision to support and fund the initiative, and as an act of support for the gay and lesbian Catholics of Los Angeles, Father Liuzzi decided to hold the special Mass at Blessed Sacrament under the theme, "Called for the Victory of Justice."
As the ministry's choir gathered near the tall granite columns at the entrance to the sanctuary to prepare for the Mass, a large crowd, almost exclusively male, began to assemble. As the choir sang the entrance hymn, "Gather Us In," the procession entered the church. With Father Liuzzi were approximately eight other priests. The chief celebrant was retired Los Angeles auxiliary bishop, Juan Arzube. Father Liuzzi described how Bishop Arzube called him and personally asked to be the presider at the Mass.
The initial greeting by Father Liuzzi was followed by a few words from Bishop Arzube. Instead of the penitential rite, Father Liuzzi presented a scriptural point on which he wanted the assembly to focus. Father Liuzzi was also the homilist of the Mass. Referring to the Gospel lesson on the baptism of Jesus, Father Liuzzi based his homily on the words, "you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Father Liuzzi explained that, "since the Father was pleased with Jesus and we belong to Jesus, the same words are true for all of us -- in us he is well pleased." Father Liuzzi had all members of the assembly stand and repeat the words, "I am God's beloved child. In me he is well pleased."
In his homily, Liuzzi said that he had wept before the Blessed Sacrament due to the California bishops' support for the Limitation of Marriage Initiative and the plight of the gay and lesbian Catholics of the archdiocese. He asked the assembly, "is there a Francis or Clare among us who will rise up and teach the Church about love and compassion?" He asked the community not to be angry with the bishops, but to be peaceful, to "forgive the sins committed by the Church," and to "offer to each other the kind of support that we had expected from the Church until one day the Church has been changed." Father Liuzzi asked the assembly to join him in fasting on Fridays in order to bring about a change, as he had understood from the scriptures that "there were demons that could only be dispelled by fasting."
Father Liuzzi, in his homily, described a meeting he had two weeks prior with Cardinal Mahony where he had discussed his dismay at the bishops' conference's support for Proposition 22. Father Luizzi stated that he was pleased with Cardinal Mahony's recent response to the bishops' conference's support, and told him, "Roger, we are making progress."
IN HIS ANGELUS MESSAGE for December 26, Pope John Paul II made an appeal "in favor of the rights of the family, of life and of childhood." "In order to promote human rights," said the Holy Father, "it is, in fact, necessary to defend the rights of the family, because from the family an integral solution can be found for present and future challenges."
"The family," wrote the pope, "is a community of love and of life that is constituted when a man and a woman give themselves totally, one to the other, in matrimony, and are open to receive the gift of a child.... The union between mother and child and the irreplaceable function of the father requires that the child be received into a family that guarantees, whenever possible, the presence of both parents."
Since "the specific contribution offered by [the family] and through them to society is worthy of the highest consideration," the family today, said John Paul, "needs a special protection from the government, which is not infrequently put under pressure by special interest groups in order to legislate certain rights that are in reality the fruit of an individualistic subjective mentality.... May God enlighten legislators, heads of state, and every person of good will to promote the effective defense of the rights of the family, of life and of children."
AN ESTIMATED 50,000 PEOPLE filled the Los Angeles Coliseum on December 11 to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The coliseum was turned into an outdoor church with throngs of people lining up as early as 6 a.m. to get a seat close enough to see the computer generated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that toured Southern California last fall. In the early afternoon, the image arrived at the coliseum, causing many of the faithful to rush towards the field in hopes of being able to touch her. Later in the afternoon, Roger Cardinal Mahony presided over the Mass and led the rosary.
The sheer size of the coliseum and the large numbers of people required two large screens to relay the images of what was happening on the ground floor. Many people were visibly moved by the day's events: some were crying, some were praying, others just sat quietly straining to hear every word that was said. All around children laughed and played. The day took on the feel of a fiesta. "When the Virgin came in, it was so emotional, people just started crying" Llasmin Garcia told a local reporter. "I started crying. I mean out of nowhere, you begin to pray." Others echoed her feelings. "It was very special" said Carmen Garcia. "It's hard to explain because I never imagined so many people coming together like that."
THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO president John Schlegel, who is perhaps best known for endorsing pro-abortion California Justice Ming Chin, has made the Jesuit university one of the most homosexual-friendly Catholic schools in the country -- but Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles trails not far behind. "Schlegel would be proud of what is happening down here," says an LMU observer.
Loyola Marymount's campus ministry program boasts an organization for "lesbian, gay, straight, and bisexual" students -- "Beati." "Recognizing that gay and lesbian students, faculty, and staff at LMU are an important and gifted resource on our campus, and recognizing that the gay and lesbian community has often been marginalized in the Church, Campus Ministry has made a commitment to the needs of this community," reads the university's campus ministry brochure.
Combating "homophobia" is a priority at Loyola Marymount, as is creating "a safe space for gay and lesbian students where they can reflect on the rewards and struggles of their often common experiences." The campus ministry program also warns students to avoid "high pressure groups at LMU." Such as? Well, ask yourself the following questions, recommends a university brochure: "Is the organizational structure closed? Predominately male?... Is the leadership extremely hierarchical?... Is there a great deal of conformity in dress, behavior and ideology?" Moreover, does "the group set up an 'us versus them' situation? Are members promised that they will somehow gain superior knowledge or will be saved above other people?"
THE PARENTAL NOTIFICATION INITIATIVE has been postponed, according to Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for California Families. The initiative, which would have put into law the right of parents to be notified if their minor child sought an abortion, failed to garner the required one million signatures by the deadline date of January 6, 2000. The campaign for the initiative, according to the Orange County Pro-Family Network, calculated at the end of December, that even if they spent large sums of money, the number of signatures would fall short by 50,000. Rather than risk failure by so small a margin, the campaign decided to postpone their effort. "We came very close," said Assemblyman Bill Campbell (R-Orange), the author of the initiative. "Now we know we can do it, and do it we must."
As reported in the January 2000 issue of the Mission ("Some Will, Mahony Won't"), all but three California dioceses encouraged and actively promoted the initiative campaign. The archdiocese of Los Angeles, in a memorandum issued by Monsignor Terrance I. Fleming, prohibited campaign volunteers from gathering signatures on church property and took no active steps to promote the initiative.
FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATE'S lawsuit against pro-life activists Tim and Colette Wilson was still active as of December 1999, according to the Wilson's 1999 Christmas letter sent out to supporters of their work. Last May 19, Family Planning Associates filed a lawsuit against the Wilsons because of Tim's search of unlocked dumpsters outside Family Planning Associate's abortion clinics. Tim Wilson's search uncovered unshredded patient information from which the Wilsons built a database of 10,000 patient names and addresses. When Tim Wilson made contact with about 400 of these patients and suggested that they contact medical malpractice attorney Jack Schuler, Family Planning Associates filed suit to obtain the patient information found by Wilson; to stop him and Colette from making further use of the material; and to keep Schuler from filing a class action lawsuit in behalf of the women. On May 25, Family Planning Associates obtained an injunction against the Wilsons for the first two goals, but were unable to stop the class action suit.
In July, Colette filed a motion to have the case against them thrown out as a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), which, wrote Colette in the December letter, "is a special remedy passed by the state legislature which applies to cases where somebody is being sued, basically, in order to shut them up or 'tie them up' and keep them from exercising their right of freedom of speech or right to petition the government." However, wrote Colette, her SLAPP motion was not heard in August, but was postponed until January 21, 2000 because Family Planning Associates had "successfully engaged in disingenuous stalling tactics," and because "we've gone through several judges." The Wilsons asked the first judge to step down when she disclosed she had attended a Planned Parenthood fundraiser; the second judge declared a conflict of interest; the third the Wilsons rejected. The fourth judge, Ronald M. Sohigian, a Deukmejian appointee, Colette said, is "short-tempered and rude, but also brilliant" -- "a judge who grasps the legal principles involved and who doesn't seem to have a vested interest in protecting abortionists."
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR may join a list of twentieth century martyrs that will be honored in May by the Vatican, according to a January 13 Boston Globe report. Pope John Paul II, in his 1996 encyclical Ut Unum Sint, called for the compilation of a list of twentieth century martyrs that would include non-Catholics. The world's bishops' conferences were to compile lists of such martyrs for possible inclusion in the millennial ceremony. According to the Globe, the United States bishops have included the name of King in the list they have sent to the Vatican.
Bishop Tod Brown of Orange who directs the United States bishops' ecumenical office and who headed the bishops' nomination process, said Martin Luther King, whom he "held in great personal esteem," "is somebody who was in many ways a charismatic figure and a prophet in terms of civil rights. His whole rationale had a strong spiritual basis, and he immediately came to mind when we started thinking about citizens of this country. I am hoping his name will go forward."
Though the inclusion of names in the "martyrology" is not equivalent to canonization, King's nomination may not go forward because of allegations that he had an extra-marital affair. According to the Globe, "the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, a King confidant, said King had had an affair with a Kentucky lawmaker, and the lawmaker later acknowledged having had a relationship with King."