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| His Excellence Vitus Bishop Huonder (Photo: Bistum Chur) |
On Friday, 31. July, Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur (Switzerland) delivered a speech to a group of faithful German Catholics (yes, they do exist) on the topic of marriage, sexuality and family entitled "Marriage: Gift, Sacrament and Commission" (Original: Die Ehe: Geschenk, Sakrament und Auftrag). In that speech, the good Bishop quoted several relevant passages from Sacred Scripture, including the following:
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, because it is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)
"If any one lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination, let them be put to death: their blood be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)
Bishop Huonder went on to describe the passages as continuing to exert influence upon the Christian understanding of sexual morality. He said:
These two passages, taken together with several others in Sacred Scripture - particularly in the Book of Leviticus - demonstrate the divine order which governs our understanding of sexuality. In the present case, same-sex practices are dealt with. The quoted passages alone would be enough to answer the question of homosexuality from the perspective of our Faith. Their import thus has meaning for the definition of marriage and the family. There is no plurality of models for marriage and family. To even speak of such is already an attack on the Creator, as well as on the Savior and Sanctifier, that is, on the trinitarian God. Pastoral care must orient itself according to the divine order. It's mission, undertaken in awareness of the salvation of souls, that is, in pastoral love - and in contradistinction to pure Humanism - is to free mankind from the condition of a fallen nature and raise it to life as children of light (Eph. 5:8). The Faith is to everyone, even to those with homophile tendencies, a source of comfort and can lead to a redirection of such an orientation, to a governing of sexual urges, and to a ordering of one's own life according to the divine command.
As was to be expected, the progressive elements in the Church were not pleased with Bishop Huonder's statement. Almost on cue, Twitter exploded with horrified denouncements. Theologians felt obliged to respond. Bishop Markus Büchel of St. Gallen even felt the need to demonstrate to the world how pleased he is to see sodomites in stable relationships, arguing that "our present knowledge of homosexuality as a trait and not as a freely chosen sexual orientation was unknown in biblical times." All par for the course, really.
However, now things have been taken to a new level. The Swiss pro-sodomy activism group Pink Cross has announced that it will be filing criminal charges against Bishop Huonder on Monday. Apparently, they plan to charge the good Bishop with a violation of Swiss Penal Code Article 259: Public incitement to commit a felony or act of violence. In other words, by quoting Leviticus, Bishop Huonder was approving of the killing of homosexuals, and indirectly encouraging others to do so. If found guilty, the good Bishop could face up to three years in prison.
The case is, of course, frivolous and without legal merit. But even if this case fails, we can already imagine the day when quoting certain parts of Sacred Scripture will be classified as hate speech.
Persecution is coming, folks. Get prepared.
Now is the time to let sodomites, heretics and apostates deal with God, and He with them. My focus is and will continue to be prayer for the Faithful - that they persevere and deepen their Faith. Good bishops and priests need all our concentration before the Lord that he strengthen them for the persecution.
ReplyDeleteMay God in His Mercy enlighten the blind.
Barbara
I have written a post about the Protestant Heresy and the scandal of abortion. I would like to invite you to read it. Thank you. JMR
ReplyDeletePerhaps you didn't see the rest of what the man said, or perhaps you purposefully omitted it. I don't know you, so I have no clue. The following is from Newsweek:
ReplyDeleteAccording to Swiss media reports, Huonder, 73, read out a passage from Leviticus 20:13: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." His reading was followed by applause, before Huonder continued: "Both of these passages alone suffice to clarify unambiguously the church's position on homosexuality," according to a statement released by Pink Cross, an umbrella association for Swiss gay groups that is filing the complaint.
Pink Cross, supported by the Swiss Lesbian Organisation, argues that these comments amount to "inciting people to crime or violence," and handed a lawsuit to the public prosecutor of Canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland on Monday. If found guilty, Huonder faces up to three years in prison.
The problem is not about the bible quotes, these passages are quoted all the time. The problem is stating that the passages calling for the execution of gay people "clarify unambiguously the church's position on homosexuality." If execution is the churches position on homosexuals, as he says, he is calling for homosexuals to executed pursuant to the positions of the church. He is telling Catholics that gay people are to be executed because God says so and so is inciting violence.
He has since apologized and "clarified" his statement. When you report on something, you need to include all relevant quotes and details. Otherwise you come off as either purposefully misleading, or ignorant of the craft and responsibility of journalism.
Thaddeus Chase,
ReplyDeletePerhaps you didn't see where I provided a translation from the original of the entire paragraph of commentary delivered by Bishop Huonder, giving far more context to the statement than Newsweek, or perhaps you purposefully ignored it. I don't know you, so I have no clue.
Obviously, the good Bishop was not calling for the execution of homosexuals. He was quoting the passages to underscore the moral - not the legal - dimension of the issue from the perspective of the Old Testament.
When you comment on something, you need to read the entire post. Otherwise you come off as an irritating git.