Tell Minnesota Catholic Bishops: Fight Poverty, Not Gay Marriage

Targeting: Dennis McGrath (Spokesman for the Diocese), Bishop John F. Kinney (Diocese of St. Cloud, MN), Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner (Diocese of Crookston, MN), Bishop John Quinn (Diocese of Winona, MN), Bishop John M. LeVoir (Diocese of New Ulm, MN), Archbishop John C. Nienstedt (Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis), and Bishop Paul D. Sirba (Diocese of Duluth, MN)

Here's some information about Minnesota. Each night, about 9,000 individuals in the state are homeless. Close to 500,000 experience poverty in the state, according to 2008 Census figures. Twenty-five percent of women over the age of 16 experience poverty. And poverty rates among African Americans are the third highest in the country in Minnesota.
Yet a coalition of Minnesota Catholic bishops are urging voters to care more about gay marriage, and are planning to engage in the upcoming November elections under the mantra that same-sex marriage is the number one issue facing Minnesotans.
The stepped up campaign includes a coordinated effort by bishops throughout Minnesota to send DVDs to every Catholic family in the state, demonizing same-sex marriage. Letters will also go out to each household, encouraging Minnesotans to vote against the rights of same-sex couples.
Is this really what the Minnesota Catholic Church wants to prioritize? Don't Minnesotans deserve better?
Send a message to the Catholic leadership in Minnesota that the Church should be fighting poverty, fighting homelessness, and fighting hunger ... and not fighting love.

petition text -

The Catholic leadership in Minnesota has announced that there will be a coordinated effort this year and next to target gay and lesbian families, and to spend significant resources on fighting same-sex marriage in Minnesota. This is a troublesome development that concerns me deeply; indeed, spending so much money criticizing loving, committed couples seems anti-Catholic, if not deeply hurtful.

Each night, about 9,000 individuals in the state are homeless. Close to 500,000 experience poverty in the state, according to 2008 Census figures. Twenty-five percent of women over the age of 16 experience poverty. And poverty rates among African Americans are the third highest in the country in Minnesota.

Yet despite these statistics, the Catholic leadership in Minnesota is spending money on a DVD that will be send to every Catholic household in Minnesota criticizing gay marriage. Reports also indicate that the Catholic Church will get involved in the election process this November, with a specific focus on gay marriage.

But same-sex marriage is not a threat to Minnesotans. These are resources that your Church could be spending to fight real problems in your state. But instead, your sending the message that gay couples are second class citizens, and that keeping them from marriage is a tantamount issue. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I urge you to reconsider efforts to coordinate as a Church to fight love. Yes, people can disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage. But for the Catholic leadership in Minnesota to devote a staggering amount of resources toward demonizing same-sex couples is unjust. And it does not look kindly on a Church that at its core is supposed to be about celebrating love, not championing hate.

Thank you for your time.

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