Catholic Church's influence waning

[kweerwolf]

The Catholic Church has dominated the debate in Massachusetts on social issues ranging from abortion to gay rights to the death penalty for decades. But in the last week, it's clear that the church's influence - at least on the issue of gay rights - is waning.

Last weekend was designed to be a show of force from the church: Oct. 2, dubbed "Protect Marriage Sunday," was supposed to see Catholics lining up to sign a petition seeking to get a ballot question before voters defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Petition proponents estimated that they could collect upwards of 100,000 signatures over the weekend. By their own admission, they collected instead about 25,000. Meanwhile, news of "Protect Marriage Sunday" was overshadowed by a protest organized Sunday by Newton Catholics angry that their priest, who has clashed in the past with the Archdiocese over his support for gay rights, was forced to resign. And ongoing reports of a Vatican purge of gay seminarians has only, in the words of one priest, strengthened the resolve of his congregation to oppose church efforts to advocate against gay rights.

The signature campaign, endorsed by the state's four bishops, was coordinated by Catholic Citizenship, an organization working to get Catholics involved in the political process that was founded by former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn. Last month Larry Cirignano, the organization's executive director, told the Pilot, the official newspaper of the archdiocese, that he expected churches Oct. 2 to collect well over the 65,825 signatures needed to send the amendment to the Legislature.

"I have no doubt that we should, in that one weekend, be able to gather our targeted goal of 100,000 signatures," Cirignano told The Pilot in its Sept. 9 issue.

http://www.baywindows.com/media/paper328/news/2005/10/06/News/Catholic.Churchs.Influence.Waning-1012173.shtml

[donco6]

1. How about Great Schism II?

It's about time American Catholics told the Pope to take a leap.