Texas priest reminds Catholics of ‘absolute duty’ to oppose abortion, homosexual unions

Aug 3, 2010 / 04:01 am

Warning of the possibility of a corrupt democracy, Texas priest Fr. Michael Rodriguez has written that Catholics have the “absolute duty” to oppose abortion and all government attempts to legalize same-sex unions.

The parish priest of El Paso’s San Juan Bautista Catholic Church, Fr. Rodriguez published a short essay in the Sunday El Paso Times urging all Catholics to take the teachings of the Catholic Church to heart.

Every Catholic, out of “fidelity to charity and truth,” must oppose “the murder of unborn babies” and the legalization of homosexual unions, he said.

“Any Catholic who supports homosexual acts is, by definition, committing a mortal sin, and placing himself/herself outside of communion with the Roman Catholic Church,” the priest wrote. Those Catholics who neglect actively to oppose the “homosexual agenda” on the grounds of equal rights and tolerance would be guilty of “a most grievous sin of omission.”

Fr. Rodriguez quoted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) November 2009 pastoral letter on marriage, noting it was endorsed by the Bishop of El Paso Armando X. Ochoa. That document said the idea that people of the same-sex can “marry” is “one of the most troubling developments in contemporary culture” and is an attempt to “redefine” marriage and the family.

This harms both the intrinsic dignity of every person and the common good of society, the bishops said, adding that justice requires denying legal status of marriage to forms of cohabitation that are not “marital.”

Fr. Rodriguez urged Catholics to treat homosexuals with “love, understanding and respect” without forgetting that genuine love requires seeking the salvation of souls.

“Homosexual acts lead to the damnation of souls,” the priest warned.

Criticizing several El Paso Times letter writers who claimed that in a democracy the majority decide between what is right and wrong, he said this logic is “not only false” but “ludicrous.” Majority decisions have no bearing on an actions’ intrinsic morality, he explained.

This morality, established by God, can be known through reason, he said. As an example of intrinsic morality, the priest noted that if a majority voted to allow rape this could never make rape morally right.

“There is such a thing as a corrupt democracy, you know!” commented Fr. Rodriguez. “Frighteningly, if the majority chooses to deny the objective moral order, then we will all suffer the pestiferous consequences.”