DC Catholic Church: Hating Gays More Important Than Helping Poor

15 Nov

Posted by Kevin Bondelli as GLBT Issues

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. is threatening to stop helping the city’s homeless population if the City Council legalizes same-sex marriage:

Catholic Charities, one of dozens of nonprofits that partner with D.C. government, manages city-owned shelters that serve about one-third of Washington’s homeless population. The group’s contracts totaled $8.2 million in the past three years, according to the city council.

Council chairman Vincent Gray said Thursday the city would have to find another group to provide social services if the church backs out. He said he didn’t see any room for compromise.

Council member Jim Graham said the church hasn’t abandoned social services in Connecticut, Vermont or New Hampshire, which will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses in January. But Gibbs said the D.C. law was more restrictive and the relationship between the diocese and those states vary.

Catholic Charities halted its adoption programs in 2006 in Boston because Massachusetts banned discrimination against same-sex couples who want to adopt children.

The Bible includes far more verses about the need to take care of the poor than about homosexuality, yet it seems that when it comes to dogma, hate is more powerful than compassion.

Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

3 Responses

Johnny Mendez

December 23rd, 2009 at 9:39 am
1

I was researching Catholic Charities in AZ for my job and your post came up in my google search so I thought that was awesome. Then I read your post and finished that bible quote and was surprised to find out that the bible is spouting socialism. I’m pretty sure Deut. 15:7. is the same as Carl Marx’s “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” we should tell somebody about this.
Kevin Bondelli

December 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
2

I’m sure that Catholic charities love the fact that this comes up in that search.

The Bible is pretty socialist, which is why it requires a good deal of cognitive dissonance to use both it and Ayn Rand as foundations of conservative philosophy.
June Vendetti

February 4th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
3

Dear Kevin, You are sadly mistaken. The Church does not hate gays-it just disapproves of homosexual relationships that engage in inappropriate sexual relations. We have a Catholic support group here in Connecticut that meets to help those who are gay to resist the temptation of entering into inappropriate sexual relations. God created a man and a woman for means of pro-creation. Had God wanted men to pro-create, he would have created an Edward, instead of an Eve. Please leave the Catholic Church alone. It does a lot of good-some of which you’re not even aware of.