Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput issues pastoral guidelines saying divorced and gay Catholics must avoid sex


Jim Kenney did not mince words when a Twitter follower asked the Philadelphia mayor his thoughts on a new set of pastoral guidelines for clergy and other church leaders issued by Archdiocese of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput.

The guidelines say divorced and remarried parishioners should abstain from sex and live "like brother and sister" if they want to receive Holy Communion and haven't had their previous marriage annulled. The guidelines say gay Catholics should abstain from sex, too.

Keeping his response within Twitter's 140-character limit, Kenney said Chaput's directives are not Christian.

"Jesus gave us gift of Holy Communion because he so loved us," Kenney Tweeted on Wednesday. "All of us. Chaput's actions are not Christian."
The guidelines, which went into effect July 1, say Catholics in same-sex partnerships, civilly remarried parishioners and unmarried couples living together should not be permitted to serve on parish councils, instruct the faithful, serve as lectors or dispense Communion.

Such "irregular" relationships "offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community," the guidelines state, acknowledging it is a "hard teaching."

Church teaching says that unless divorced and remarried Catholics received an annulment � a church decree that their first marriage was invalid � they are committing adultery and cannot receive the sacrament of Communion.

The new guidelines also address Catholics "who experience same-sex attraction." Chaput says such parishioners can still live out a heterosexual marriage with children, despite that attraction. Others in same-sex relationships should avoid sexual intimacy.

The guidelines, posted on the archdiocese website, urge leaders in the archdiocese to offer compassion, love, guidance and respect to all parishioners.

Chaput says the instructions stem from Pope Francis' sweeping document on family life released in April. That document � called "The Joy of Love" � opened a door to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Francis didn't create a churchwide admission to Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as some progressives had wanted. But in the April document, he suggested bishops and priests could do so on a case-by-case basis in what could become a significant development in church practice.

Chaput: No Communion for unwed, gay and some divorced couples
Updated: JULY 6, 2016 � 11:59 PM EDT

Divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, as well as cohabitating unmarried couples, must "refrain from sexual intimacy" to receive Holy Communion in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has asserted in a new set of pastoral guidelines.

Released Friday, the guidelines instruct clergy and other archdiocesan leaders on implementing Amoris Laetitia, a major document on family that Pope Francis issued in April.

His six-page instruction, which appears on the archdiocesan website, may be the first of its kind issued by the bishop of any American diocese in response to Amoris Laetitia, Latin for "the joy of love."

Acknowledging that it is a "hard teaching," Chaput goes on to say that Catholics in same-sex partnerships, those remarried without a church annulment, and cohabitating persons may not serve on parish councils, instruct the faithful, serve as lectors, or dispense Communion.

Allowing persons in such "irregular" relationships, "no matter how sincere," to hold positions of responsibility would "offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community," according to Chaput.

Known as an apostolic exhortation, it does not carry the weight of an encyclical but is viewed as a major teaching of the church.
Chaput served on the synod, or gathering of bishops, that advised Francis in 2015 on the creation of Amoris, and was elected by those bishops to advise Francis after the synod. In June, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops named him chairman of a five-bishop committee to help promote the teachings of Amoris Laetitia in this country.

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University estimates that there are 4.5 million Catholics in this country who are divorced and remarried without an annulment.

In his pastoral guidelines, Chaput praises Amoris for its "sections of exceptional beauty," and notes that it will serve as "key resources in revising and upgrading our [archdiocesan] marriage preparation program."

Chaput was not available to discuss the guidelines, but the Rev. Dennis Gill, director of the archdiocesan Office for Liturgy, described them Tuesday as "much larger than Communion and irregular relationships."

It was issued, Gill said, "as a way of applying all of Amoris Laetitia," which he said urges pastors to "accompany married couples in every type of situation" and also to be "companions" to those who fall short of the church's teachings and to guide them toward holiness.

Just what message Pope Francis intended to send to his pastors in Amoris has been a topic of some dispute, however.

Catholic church accused of using 'mafia-like' tactics to fight sex abuse bill

Pennsylvania church accused of using �mob boss approach� to pressure lawmakers who support bill giving victims of abuse more time to sue abusers

The Catholic church in Pennsylvania has been accused of employing �mafia-like� tactics in a campaign to put pressure on individual Catholic lawmakers who support state legislation that would give victims of sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers.

The lobbying campaign against the legislation is being led by Philadelphia archbishop Charles Chaput, a staunch conservative who recently created a stir after inadvertently sending an email to a state representative Jamie Santora, in which he accused the lawmaker of �betraying� the church and said Santora would suffer �consequences� for his support of the legislation. The email was also sent to a senior staff member in Chaput�s office, who was apparently the only intended recipient.

The email has infuriated some Catholic lawmakers, who say they voted their conscience in support of the legislation on behalf of sexual abuse victims. One Republican legislator, Mike Vereb, accused the archbishop of using mafia-style tactics.

�This mob boss approach of having legislators called out, he really went right up to the line,� Vereb told the Guardian. �He is going down a road that is frankly dangerous for the status of the church in terms of it being a non-profit.�

Under US tax laws, organisations like churches that are classified as non-profit groups are not supposed to be engaged in political activity, though they are allowed to publish legislators� voting records in some cases.

At stake in the contentious fight is a state bill that would allow victims of sexual abuse to file civil claims against their abusers, and those who knew of abuse, until they are 50 years old. Under current law, victims can only file suit until they are 30 years old. The proposal overwhelmingly passed the state lower house in a bipartisan vote in April but appears to have stalled in the state senate, where some believe it might not pass.
If it does pass and is signed by the governor, the legislation could cost the Catholic church tens of millions of dollars following a spate of abuse allegations in the state, including a devastating report released earlier this year by a grand jury that detailed how two Catholic bishops in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese covered up the abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests over a 40-year period.

But it is the church�s personal targeting of legislators, rather than the legislation itself, that is drawing the most scrutiny, particularly among a small group of lawmakers who are both Republican and Catholic � and say they have steadfastly supported the church�s positions on other issues such as abortion and private Catholic schools.

Catholic lawmakers interviewed by the Guardian expressed dismay, shock and anger at the treatment they have received, particularly because they were targeted after the bill already passed in the lower house. All said they supported the legislation because they believed survivors of sexual abuse often needed decades to come to grips with the abuse they suffered.
One Catholic state representative named Martina White went on a local talk radio programme to describe how she had been �crushed� when she was disinvited to several planned events at local Catholic parishes because of her support for the bill.

Another representative, Nick Miccarelli, said he was baffled and upset when he learned that his support for the proposed legislation was included in his church�s bulletin under the heading �Just So You are Aware�, including information that he said was blatantly misleading about the nature of the bill.

�I�ve never had anything but good things to say [about my parish], so it was a heck of a shot, when you are out there telling people how much you think of a place, and that place doesn�t even give you a phone call before they print ... something that was not an accurate statement,� he said. Miccarelli was angered by the bulletin�s suggestion that the lawmakers had sought to protect public institutions while targeting private ones like churches.

Representative Thomas Murt, who attends mass daily, told a colleague he was �devastated� when the priest at his church spoke about Murt�s support of the legislation, even as Murt was sitting in the pews. The priest�s discussion of the legislation went on for 40 minutes.

�Tom was really upset that no where did the priest mention the kids. Anyone who knows Tom knows he is extremely sincere on this issue. He just wants to do what is right,� the colleague said, asking not to be named.

Ken Gavin, a spokesman for Chaput, rejected claims that the archdiocese was attempting to �shame elected officials from the pulpit�.

Gavin said the Philadelphia archbishop had sent a letter explaining the church�s opposition to the bill to 219 parishes throughout the area, which had been read or made available during Mass.

�I am not aware of any situations involving a pastor lambasting an elected official and they weren�t directed to do so. I do know of many instances where pastors shared with parishioners how representatives voted on [the bill]. They shared knowledge that is already public,� Gavin said.
Chaput�s criticism of the bill is centred on claims that the Philadelphia archdiocese already has a �genuine and longstanding commitment� to abuse victims; that it is committed to protecting children now; and that the new law would only apply to churches and private institutions, but still make public institutions like schools and prisons immune from similar retroactive civil suits in abuse cases.

But the Catholic lawmakers who support the bill reject that claim as a red herring, because public institutions like schools receive some immunity from lawsuits in order to protect taxpayers. All said they had been deeply moved by the testimony of fellow legislator Mark Rozzi, who was raped by a priest when he was 13 years old and said the bill would offer victims some justice after years of being �stonewalled�.

Critics of Chaput�s strategy say the archbishop used the same tactics to successfully derail similar legislation in Colorado, where he previously served as archbishop. Joan Fitz-Gerald, the former Democratic head of the state senate in Colorado who had introduced the bill, recalled it was the most vicious and difficult experience of her life, with Chaput allegedly telling one of his lobbyists that he did not believe Fitz-Gerald would be going to heaven.

�He is the most vehement supporter of the secrecy of the Catholic church over pedophiles. He fights any authority over his own, even when it is a matter of criminal law,� Fitz-Gerald said.

One expert, Marci Hamilton, the chair of public law at Cardoza School of Law, said similar legislation that has passed in four other states, including California, has only been used by a relatively small number of victims.

�This is a way for the whole culture to say to survivors that they matter and that they are believed. Because when a survivor comes forward, in most states they are beyond the statute of limitations [to bring civil claims] and the message they get from the law is that what happened to you doesn�t matter,� she said.

Hamilton claimed that Chaput had been brought to Pennsylvania after helping to kill similar legislation in Colorado.

�It is clear they [the church] have bought into this strategy, which is to turn the church into the victim and to portray the victims as just seeking money and triangulating the parishioners against the victims, by saying the parish will go bankrupt and have to close schools,� Hamilton said.

Jamie Santora, the Republican legislator who several people said received the email from Chaput, declined to comment on the email specifically. But he acknowledged he had been accused by a high-ranking church official of betraying his church.

�I don�t feel I did betray my church. Growing up Catholic gave me the ability to vote the way I did. To me that was the morally correct vote, by choosing victims over abusers,� he said.

Asked to comment, the spokesman for the Philadelphia archbishop said: �Elected officials are accountable to the people who elected them. There�s nothing odd in that. It�s how the system works.�

"Inequality is inequality" - If you are saying, the inequality between men and women in Western industrial countries is the same as the inequality in Muslim countries, and there is only inequality versus equality, this is a kind of leveling down argumentation I can't take serious, sorry.
No society is perfect, so you won't find any society in the entire world with perfect equality between men and women, attractive and non-attractive persons, tall and short persons, heterosexual, homosexual, intersexual and transgender people (nobody of whom have deliberately picked the way they are). This is very sad and unjust. But according to your leveling-down, it's all the same everywhere, and I always reject a thinking that doesn't take quantity or the 'degree' of a condition into account.
Of course the Catholic church is completely anachronistic, I don't defend it. In the Protestant church of Germany, the head of church and main bishop was a woman for several years (before she resigned due to a case of drunk-driving).

I am not saying that I agree with their standards and neither do I agree with the western standards. But as long as the west keeps on promoting its ways it had better look in its own backyard. Religion suppresses women, not only in Islam but Christianity as well. You don't have to care what I think but that's the way I see it. In fact, one only has to read the bible to see what a woman's place is. So it makes no sense to start on Muslims. As long as women have to fight for their rights -and they still are- they are being suppressed, be it in western industrialized countries or Islamic countries.


1 Tim 2:8-11 � I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. [Men are to lead; women are to be modest, learning quietly, and in submission; in this way, they prove their claim to godliness.]

How come this dude in not in jail? Throw his congregation in as well for good measure.

It is simular to this false scence of democracy we have here. We have Hilary or Donald to chose from. Either someone is playing some sick puppet show , or people are really this dumb. Same goes for religion. Doesn't matter which one. All this false sence of free will, but we are constantly being bombarded by religeous or political propaganda. All these churches through out the world, all that wealth and millions of dead in the name of some god just to gain all that gold or land, or simply to force people to convert to their way. Pretty much all this goes for all other religeous institutions. And people still call them secred and holly. Imagine how many kids they could've feed.

Amen to that!