"Just who do we think we are?" How the Supreme Court’s conservatives explained their votes against "gay marriage".

 From Quartz.com an interesting article on why these Supreme Court Justices voted against this decision.  Their decisions on maintaining the status quo for the common good is excellent reading.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage throughout the US split along familiar lines, with the nine-member court’s four most conservative justices voting against a nationwide right to homosexual unions.

Chief justice John Roberts joined justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito in opposing the majority’s opinion on the case brought by Ohio resident James Obergefell, whose 2013 marriage to his now-deceased partner was not recognized by the state.

Here are excerpts from the four dissenting opinions (pdf) the naysaying justices filed.  From page 41 of this pdf you will find the complete arguments against this decision.

Go to page 41 of the pdf attachment for the whole text.  There's so much good reading.

Chief Justice John Roberts

Although the policy arguments for extending marriage to same-sex couples may be compelling, the legal arguments for requiring such an extension are not. The fundamental right to marry does not include a right to make a State change its definition of marriage. And a State’s decision to maintain the meaning of marriage that has persisted in every culture throughout human history can hardly be called irrational. In short, our Constitution does not enact any one theory of marriage. The people of a State are free to expand marriage to include same-sex couples, or to retain the historic definition.

Justice Antonin Scalia

It is not of special importance to me what the law says about marriage. It is of overwhelming importance, however, who it is that rules me. Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. The opinion in these cases is the furthest extension in fact— and the furthest extension one can even imagine—of the Court’s claimed power to create “liberties” that the Constitution and its Amendments neglect to mention.

Justice Clarence Thomas

The majority invokes our Constitution in the name of a “liberty” that the Framers would not have recognized, to the detriment of the liberty they sought to protect. Along the way, it rejects the idea—captured in our Declaration of Independence—that human dignity is innate and suggests instead that it comes from the Government. This distortion of our Constitution not only ignores the text, it inverts the relationship between the individual and the state in our Republic. I cannot agree with it.

Justice Samuel Alito

The Constitution says nothing about a right to same-sex marriage, but the Court holds that the term “liberty” in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment encompasses this right. Our Nation was founded upon the principle that every person has the unalienable right to liberty, but liberty is a term of many meanings. For classical liberals, it may include economic rights now limited by government regulation. For social democrats, it may include the right to a variety of government benefits. For today’s majority, it has a distinctively postmodern meaning. To prevent five unelected Justices from imposing their personal vision of liberty upon the American people, the Court has held that “liberty” under the Due Process Clause should be understood to protect only those rights that are “‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.’” … And it is beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among those rights.

USCCB on SCOTUS Obergefell v. Hodges – “tragic error”

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court decision, June 26, interpreting the U.S. Constitution to require all states to license and recognize same-sex “marriage” “is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The full statement follows:

"Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today.

Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same sex can constitute a marriage.

The unique meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is inscribed in our bodies as male and female. The protection of this meaning is a critical dimension of the “integral ecology” that Pope Francis has called us to promote.

Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us, especially children. The law has a duty to support every child’s basic right to be raised, where possible, by his or her married mother and father in a stable home.

Jesus Christ, with great love, taught unambiguously that from the beginning marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. As Catholic bishops, we follow our Lord and will continue to teach and to act according to this truth.
I encourage Catholics to move forward with faith, hope, and love: faith in the unchanging truth about marriage, rooted in the immutable nature of the human person and confirmed by divine revelation; hope that these truths will once again prevail in our society, not only by their logic, but by their great beauty and manifest service to the common good; and love for all our neighbors, even those who hate us or would punish us for our faith and moral convictions.

Lastly, I call upon all people of good will to join us in proclaiming the goodness, truth, and beauty of marriage as rightly understood for millennia, and I ask all in positions of power and authority to respect the God-given freedom to seek, live by, and bear witness to the truth."

Archbishop Alexander Sample marks 25 years as a priest

6/23/2015 3:22:00 PM Rick Keating/El Centinela Archbishop Alexander Sample accepts a gift from Fátima Rodas at the St. Juan Diego Congress in Turner. Ed Langlois Of the Catholic Sentinel Archbishop Alexander Sample says his 25th anniversary of ordination is no more important than anyone else’s. “I could not be more grateful to Almighty God for the tremendous blessing he has bestowed on me during these past 25 years,” Archbishop Sample says. “One of the greatest blessings has been the many people he has placed in my life and allowed me to serve.” He was raised in Nevada, the youngest of three. A teacher-priest told the 17-year-old he had a vocation to priesthood. But first, young Alex studied metallurgical engineering at Michigan Tech. Then, before pursuing a post-doctorate degree, he stunned professors by announcing plans for seminary. He studied at the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. and the Pontifical College Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. After ordination for the Diocese of Marquette, he served as associate pastor of St. Peter Cathedral and then was pastor of area parishes. He studied canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. During his seven-year tenure as bishop of Marquette, 2006-2013, he wrote four pastoral letters, undertook a $10 million capital campaign, set in place a unified catechesis, and developed plans to secure Catholic schools. He was named Archbishop of Portland in 2013. Here, he has identified pastoral priorities, visited parishes, prisons and migrant camps, spoken out against abortion and the death penalty and catechized on marriage. In homilies to new priests and deacons, Archbishop Sample says ministry is about Jesus, not gaining recognition. “I feel a great and awesome holiness about him,” says Angie Doyen, secretary at St. Anthony Parish in Gwinn, Mich. “He has been a courageous priest who clearly desires to reach and inspire his flock through his powerful words and prayerful, humble actions.” Denise Foye, director of faith formation for the Diocese of Marquette, calls him “truly a remarkable teacher of our beloved faith.” Her abiding memory is of the future archbishop teaching people who wanted to become Catholic. “He is quite simply a fine pastor, full of compassion while upholding truth,” say Francis and Theresa Darr, who belong to St. Peter Cathedral Parish in Marquette. “He is the kind of priest who boldly and unreservedly speaks the truth at all times, but always tempered with love,” say Todd and Susan Rapavi, members of St. Peter Cathedral. Archbishop Sample cites a retreat director who told western Oregon clergy that priesthood is a mission worthy of their existence. “This is a great life!” Archbishop Sample says. “I hope many young men will respond to the Lord’s call to serve him as a priest.”

Guest Post on Oregon Tax Court Documents regarding Archdiocese of Portland Rectory Taxation

Parishioners must be aware of this action by the Oregon Tax Court regarding rectories and make up their own minds.  Below is one Oregon Catholics viewpoint.

Please click on the link below the guest post for all court information. 

Guest post is referring to information contained in this VOCAL post. 
(Oregon Tax Court Approves Taxation Of Church Rectory - Forbes Magazine)

============

I read the decision after I read the article. The Archdiocese wasted their time. They tried to argue the case with Canon Law. Stupid (What's new?). However, the Court seemed to have decided the case on the issue of a rectory being used for "solely" religious activities. Whether the rectory was on or next door to the parish property or a mile away would not change the use of the Rectory. The priest will still be doing exactly the same things there regardless of location. Again, I am with your reader's questioning of the general idea of these "off-campus" rectories or their appointments. But I think there are larger issues at play here. 

We know there is a long standing antipathy towards Catholics and Catholicism in Oregon. This general anti-religious push is growing in our country driven by pro-abortion and homosexual lobbies which are now very powerful and influential. The "sole use" argument that the Court accepted is going to be used as a hammer in which to further tax church income/properties.

For example, an off property building owned by a parish is rented for non-religious purposes. That income goes to the parish tax free now and is probably used to sustain parish activities. I can see a Tax Court ruling that income from non-religious events is taxable (in other words it will be ruled a for-profit business). Next will come a case on whether on-site uses of church property for ostensively "non-religious" uses (a Lions Club event) will be considered taxable. Events such as those are secular activities. And on and on ending with the only things that can be done on church owned property will be sacramental activities (Baptism, Mass, Confession, Confirmation, and funerals), counseling and teaching.

Basically doing what Mexico did to the Church in the early 20th century. We are seeing it already where government is using grants to force religious entities to deny or restrain their beliefs or missions in order to get or retain government grants. Then again I'm not sure that losing government grants is a bad thing. Look at what has happened to Catholic Charities. So I do appreciate the comments. To be honest the wounds are often self inflicted or invited. This may be one of them. But it will not stop here. There is an agenda at play. 

One other thing and I know you'll agree. Where was the fancy pro-abortion lobbyist that the Archdiocese employs? Just what does he do for that $40,000-50,000 a year? With the Legislature in session, why no push for pre-emptive statutory relief? Where were those "allies" of our Chancellery crowd, AKA Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon?

 Also why were the people who would pay these taxes (those of us in the pews) not alerted to this? (Move on folks, nothing to see here. Just keep those envelopes coming). I called the Catholic Sentinel and asked Langlois about it. He did not even know of it. and I genuinely believe he was telling the truth. 

No one that I spoke with in Financial Services at the Chancellery knew. Its almost Keystone Cops down there. Our church authorities are completely clueless in the use of political action (rallies, protests, etc.) to protect Catholics from governmental encroachment. I could go on but I'll end it here. Again appreciate your reader's comments.

Jim Welsh

click on link for court document.
Oregon Tax Court Docs regarding Archdpdx Rectory Taxation

Where's that priest going? Archdiocese of Portland announces clergy reassignments.

 From the Catholic Sentinel June 8, 2015   Where's that priest going?

The Archdiocese of Portland is announcing its 2015 clergy reassignments. The changes take effect July 1 unless noted otherwise. Here are the new assignments: 


PASTORS

Father Brian Allbright

New assignment: Pastor, St. Cyril, Wilsonville
Previous assignment: Administrator, Sacred Heart, Newport

Father Allbright was born in 1953 in Portland. He attended Central Catholic High School, the Oregon College of Education in Monmouth and the Maryknoll School of Theology in Maryknoll, N.Y. He was ordained in 1983 by Cardinal Terrance Cooke for the Maryknoll Missioners.

He traveled to Guatemala, where he was pastor of San Antonio in Sayaxche until 1987. He served as pastor at a refugee camp in Honduras for two years and pastor in a Honduras community for six years. Father Allbright worked in Seattle and then Los Angeles promoting the Maryknoll mission work. He came to Portland in 2001, serving as parochial vicar at St. Joseph in Salem, then St. Anne in Portland, and then as administrator of St. Alexander, Cornelius before beginning service in Newport.

Father Martin King

New assignment: Pastor, St. Thomas More, Portland. On sabbatical until Dec. 1.
Previous assignment: special assignment, military leave

Father King, 60, was raised in a Catholic family in Lorain, Ohio. Before entering seminary, he served in the U.S. Air Force for a decade as a transportation management officer and an Air Force training instructor in the U.S., Korea and The Philippines.

While in seminary, he remained in the Air Force Reserves.

He was ordained in 1996 for the Archdiocese for Military Services, but was affiliated with the Archdiocese of Portland. Military chaplains return to their affiliated dioceses when they retire from the military.

In 1999, Father King returned to the Air Force, this time as a chaplain, starting at MacDill Air Base in Tampa Fla., where he was spiritual guide for 2,500 men and women, plus Catholic retirees in the area. His last assignment was as chaplain at the U.S. Air Force base in Geilenkirchen, Germany.

Father Jeff Meeuwsen

New assignment: Pastor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Aloha
Previous assignment: Study, North American College, Rome

Father Meeuwsen was born in Hillsboro in 1977. He attended St. Francis of Assisi School in Roy and graduated from Valley Catholic High in 1995. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1999 from Gonzaga University in Spokane. He entered Mount Angel Seminary in the fall of 2001. His ministry has included work at Sacred Heart Elementary School, Gervais, St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Portland, Blanchet High School, Salem and St. Cecilia Parish, Beaverton. He earned a master’s degree and a master of divinity degree at Mount Angel Seminary in 2007.  Before entering Mount Angel Seminary, he taught at Visitation Catholic School in Verboort.
He has served at St. Edward , North Plains, St. Anthony, Forest Grove, and Sacred Heart, Medford.

Father Louis Urbanski

New assignment: Pastor, St. Edward, North Plains
Previous assignment: Pastor, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Aloha

Father Urbanski, who turns 77 on June 19, was born in Atkinson, Neb. He attended Central Catholic High School in Portland, graduating in 1956 and began studies at the University of Portland before beginning at Mount Angel Seminary. He did advanced studies at University of Portland, Portland State University, University of Oregon and St. John’s College in Collegeville, Minn.

He was ordained in 1964 at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by Archbishop Edward Howard.

Father Urbanski taught in Catholic high schools for the first decade of his priesthood, living and helping at St. Charles, St. Rose, St. Peter and St. Pius X parishes and then served as principal of Regis High in Stayton and Valley Catholic in Beaverton.
As a parish priest, he served at St. Therese  and St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Portland before taking the post in Aloha.

ADMINISTRATORS
   

Father Mark Gikenyi

New assignment: Administrator, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Rainier/St. John the Baptist, Clatskanie
Previous assignment: Administrator, St. Cyril, Wilsonville

Father Mark Gikenyi was born in 1978 in Kisii South (Gucha), Kenya. He graduated from the Salvatorian Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Morogoro, Tanzania, in 2005 and entered Mount Angel Seminary in 2006. His ministry preparation in Oregon has included All Saints, Portland, St. John, Milwaukie, St. Mary, Corvallis, and Our Lady of Sorrows, Southeast Portland. He has previously served at St. John the Baptist, Milwaukie.

Father William Palmer

New assignment: Administrator, Sacred Heart, Newport/St. Mary Siletz
Previous assignment: Parochial Vicar, St. Mary, Eugene

Father Palmer was born in 1960 in Cottage Grove. He graduated from Cottage Grove High School in 1978. He received a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukie, Wisconsin in 2003. That year, he also earned a master of divinity degree from the Sacred Heart School of Theology.
He was ordained in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas in 2003. His last assignment was as pastor of Mary Queen of Heaven Parish in Malakoff, Texas.

PAROCHIAL VICARS

Father Eric Andersen

New assignment: Parochial Vicar, St. Stephen, Portland
Previous assignment: Parochial vicar, Holy Trinity Church, Bandon

Father Andersen was born in 1967. He attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theater in 1990. He completed a master’s degree and a sacred theology bachelor’s degree at Mount Angel Seminary and was ordained in 2009 by Archbishop John Vlazny.
He has served at Our Lady of the Mountain in Ashland, Christ the King in Milwaukie, St. John the Baptist in Milwaukie, St. Cecilia in Beaverton, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Verboort, Sacred Heart in Medford, St. Mary in Eugene and Sacred Heart-St. Louis in Gervais.

Father Scott Baier

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Luke, Woodburn.
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Baier was born in 1978 in Edmonds, Wash. His family moved to the Portland area in 1983 and he graduated from Columbia River High School in 1996. He went on to study at the University of Washington in Seattle, doing a year’s study in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked for several companies, including Catholic Community Services, St. Luke Productions and Safeway.

Father Baier entered Mount Angel Seminary in 2008. His pastoral assignments have included St. Philip Benizi Parish in Redland and The Madeleine Parish in Portland. He studied in Mexico and Costa Rica, and went through chaplain training at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. As a deacon he has served at St. Alexander Parish in Cornelius and St. Luke Parish in Woodburn.

Father Manuel Becerra

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Anthony, Tigard
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Becerra was born in 1977 in Cúcuta, Colombia. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Cúcuta, graduating from high school in 1995. He studied at the Universidad Francisco de Paul Santander in Cúcuta and the Universidad Minuto de Dios in Bogota. Rev. Mr. Becerra studied at the Congregation of Jesus and Mary Seminary in Bogota, and began studying for the Archdiocese of Portland in 2010, at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. His ministry training assignments have included St. Luke Parish, Woodburn and clinical pastoral education at St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash. He has also served at Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Lake Oswego, St. Anthony Parish, Forest Grove, St. Edward Parish, North Plains, and St. Joseph Parish, Mountain View, Calif.

Father Fredy Bonilla

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Vincent de Paul, Salem
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Bonilla was born in 1982 in La Argentina, Colombia. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Al Argentina, graduating high school in 2001. He earned a degree in philosophy from Sepavi School in Medellin in 2004. He then attended the seminary Villa Paúl in Funza, Colombia, earning a theology degree in 2008. He entered Mount Angel Seminary in 2011 and has been serving at The Madeleine Parish in Northeast Portland.

Father Gregg Bronsema

New Assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Thomas More, Portland, July 1-Sept. 15
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Bronsema was born in 1956 in Chicago. He graduated from Portland Christian High School in 1975 then earned an architecture degree at the University of Oregon. He graduated in 1986 from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. and ministered at Portland Foursquare Church from 1986 to 1993. He worked for Christian Supply Center in Portland until his entrance into Mount Angel Seminary for pre-theology studies in 2009. He completed the bachelor’s degree in theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 2014.

Father Timothy Furlow

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Juan Diego, Portland, July 1-Sept. 15
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Furlow was born in 1982 in Portland. He attended Holy Trinity School in Beaverton and graduated from a homeschool program in 2000. He attended the University of Portland from 2000-’02 before moving to Azerbaijan to teach English. In 2004, he began studies at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theology and philosophy in 2007. That same year he began youth ministry work at St. Cecilia Parish in Beaverton, where he worked until entering Mount Angel Seminary in 2010. He transferred to Pontifical North American College in Rome, earning a baccalaureate in sacred theology in 2013. He has been pursuing a licentiate in moral theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Father George Kuforiji

New assignment: Parochial vicar, Holy Trinity, Bandon/St. John, Port Orford.
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Kuforiji was born in 1951 in Oshogbo, Nigeria. He attended elementary school at St. Benedict School in Oshogbo and graduated from St. Joseph College High School in Ondo in 1969. He studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1983. Prior to entering the seminary, he worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation. He entered the seminary in 2010, and was installed as a lector and an acolyte in 2013. He studied theology at the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis. His ministry training has included assignments at St. Vincent Church in Salem, St. Francis of Assisi in Milwaukee, Wis., and chaplain’s training at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma, Wash.

Father Julio Cesar Torres Montejo

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Anthony, Tigard
Previous Assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Joseph, Salem

Father Montejo was born in Cardenas, Tabasco, Mexico in 1982. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Aqua Dulce, Veracruz, Mexico, graduating high school in 2000. He studied at the Major Seminary of Mary Immaculate earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2004 and a bachelor’s degree in theology in 2007. He earned a master of divinity from the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis., in 2014. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Sample in 2014.
His ministry training includes a pastoral year at St. John the Apostle Parish in Oregon City.

Father Leonard Omolo, ALCP

New assignment: Parochial vicar, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Albany
Previous Assignment: Parochial vicar, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Portland

Father Omolo was born in 1972 in Kisumu, Kenya. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 2005. He was ordained in 2007 in the Archdiocese of Kisumu for the order of the Apostolic Life Community of Priests Holy Spirit Fathers. He spent a year and a half in his last assignment as assistant priest in Rombo, Tanzania for the Diocese of Moshi.

Father Edgar Rivera

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Mary, Eugene.
He was ordained June 5 by Archbishop Alexander Sample.

Father Rivera was born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, in 1981. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Tepic, graduating high school in 1998. He attended the Universidad Autonoma de Nayarit in Tepic, where he earned a degree in accounting in 2004. He entered the Seminario Hispano de Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Mexico City in 2004. He attended the Instituto de Estudios Ecclesiasticos where he earned a degree in philosophy in 2007. He later enrolled at Mount Angel Seminary. His ministry training has included an assignment at St. Luke Parish, Woodburn, clinical pastoral education in Washington, D.C, and a pastoral year at St. Edward Parish, North Plains and at St. Alexander, Cornelius.

Father Edwin Sanchez

New assignment: Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph, Salem.
He was ordained on June 5 by Archbishop Sample.

Father Sanchez was born in 1985 in Bogota, Colombia. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Pitalito, Huila, Colombia, graduating high school in 2002. He entered the Seminary Maria Immaculada where he studied philosophy. He attended St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2010. He continued his studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary.

Father Ben Tapia

New assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Henry, Gresham
Previous assignment: Parochial vicar, St. Edward, North Plains

Father Tapia was born in 1982 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Tijuana, graduating in 2000 and studied at the Instituto Superior de Estudios Ecleciasticos, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2004. He attended St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., where he earned a master’s degree in spirituality in 2011 and a master of divinity degree in 2012.

His ministry has included work with a youth group in Mexico City, working with the poor in Colombia, at Queen of Peace in Salem, as a Jesuit Volunteer in Spain, at St. Patrick in Carlsbad, Calif., at Sharp Mercy Hospital in San Diego, at St. James in Solana Beach, Calif. and at St. John Eudes in Chatsworth, Calif.
He was ordained by Archbishop Vlazny at St. Mary Cathedral in 2012.
He has previously served at St. Edward, North Plains, St. Alexander, Cornelius, and Sacred Heart, Medford.