Your Holiness:
OK, I know this is the third open letter I’ve written to you, but your archbishop here in Philadelphia just is not listening to your pastoral message of welcoming Catholics back to the church. When questioned about the recent Bishops Synod on the Family conference held at the Vatican, which attempted to create a more accepting church, Chaput called the debate confusing and then added, “Confusion is of the devil.”
He made it clear in a speech last Monday in New York about what “confusions” he was referring to — LGBT inclusion. And Chaput raised eyebrows when he suggested that after the sea of court decisions that have made same-sex marriage legal in more than 30 states, Catholic priests might consider opting out of officiating civil marriages as a sign of “principled resistance” — this would affect heterosexuals, not LGBT people. So the archbishop is willing to anger the Church’s faithful and refuse them marriage in his annoyance at a court ruling.
Your Holiness, while we have to respect Chaput’s religious point of view, we believe it must be based on an honest interpretation of the laws that affect the church. At least reality. And shouldn’t an archbishop know that? The simple fact is that not one of the state or federal court rulings compels the Church to offer same-sex marriage. They affect the church in no way. The Church, like all houses of religion in the United States, is a protected class. As an example, your church is not compelled to marry inter-religious couples. Similarly, no court can compel you to marry same-sex couples. So why is your archbishop using that as a way to bash your most faithful?
He has gone as far as corrupting your intentions for a welcoming church and suggests that, “in the spirit of candor encouraged by Pope Francis, the American bishops should discuss and consider it as a real course of action.”
Your Holiness, it is my hope that Archbishop Chaput sees your teachings of tolerance rather than spend time closing schools, closing churches and now suggesting refusal of marriage to heterosexuals out of his personal anger or loss. Your Holiness, as I stated in my first letter to you, I, like all Philadelphians, look forward to your visit to our city 11 months from now for the Global World Meeting of Families.
By the way, if you have the time, I’ll take you for a local treat — our famous Philadelphia steak sandwich — with a couple of faithful LGBT families.