In a report last Friday, LifeSiteNews added to the news of apostasy in Ireland, the first same-sex civil unions in Rome, and the unsurprising report about a secret meeting of German bishops looking for a way to dispense with the Sixth Commandment. This time, they shed some light on the bishops of Switzerland — not as neutral as you might care to think — who are apparently also great fans of the zeitgeist:
In a highly controversial May 5 release, the Swiss Bishops’ Conference published a report on the results of the questionnaire they received from the Synod of Bishops on the Family concerning questions of marriage and the family. The report to be sent to Rome in preparation for the upcoming Synod of Bishops in Rome, in October of 2015, suggests radical departure from the Catholic faith. It demands communion for remarried divorcees, calls for blessing on homosexual relationships, and even disparages the Holy Family of Nazareth as a model for families.
The press release notes that the majority of the participants of the discussion groups whose responses formed the basis of the report are involved in the pastoral care of the faithful and in catechetical instruction and also members of parish women’s and youth groups. And while that demonstrates the poverty of the Church in Switzerland, faithful Catholics there have contested the report and its compilation as agenda-driven and manipulated. For instance, of the 570 submissions for the report, a conservative group of Catholics representing more than 60,000 members was counted as only one report, whereas left-leaning parish groups of 11 were also given one report.
Here are some of the shocking proposals and statements given without negative comment by the bishops’ report:
- Only a small minority of the submissions show the desire to adhere strictly to the present teaching of the Church and her strict discipline.
- The exclusion of remarried divorcees from the Sacraments has to be terminated.
- Partnerships of male and female homosexuals should have their place within the Church.
- Even if the majority rejects putting the homosexual partnerships on the same level as sacramental marriages, there is still a strong approval for the Church’s extended blessing upon such partnerships.
- The Holy Family does not appear at all as an ideal form of the family, but rather it is regarded more in its Biblically described brokenness.
- The Holy Family does not at all correspond to the Church’s ideal of a family.
Supporting the faithful Catholics outraged by the report is Bishop Marian Eleganti of Chur in eastern Switzerland. In a statement on the website of his diocese, Bishop Eleganti writes: “Do we have to give our blessing [as bishops] to everything people do nowadays?”
The answer to that last question appears to be yes, at least if many of the bishops are to be believed. You may recall what I said recently about the coming persecution? The speed of this demonic surge is breathtaking, and far too many successors of the apostles are in on it.
I can’t help but take note of Archbishop Martin of Dublin’s rhetorical musing about the overwhelming passage of pro-sodomite marriage laws in his country last week – laws he refused to campaign against as the leader of Dublin’s Catholic Church.
I think really the church needs to do a reality check right across the board, to look at the areas in which we’re doing well and see have we drifted away completely from young people. …We’re becoming a church of the like-minded, and a safe space for the like-minded, rather than the Church which Pope Francis is talking about which reaches out.
Yes, your excellency, the Church does need to do a reality check. But it’s not the one you’re thinking of. Something a tad more… eternal, is what I have in mind.
What the Church including the Laity needs to do is to oust all non believers from of the Church. That can start with the Pope, the Cardinals, the Bishops, the homosexual clergy, the lesbian and feminist nuns, the liberals who are really just atheists. Clean God’s house of the enemies within!
I think Our Lady of Akita has this covered this October 2015 thru the Hand of Her Son and the Will of the Father. Fire from heaven will consume the good, the bad, and the ugly. Parce, Domine. Is there a chance of a stay by the power of prayer in the Rosary ?
That isn’t what Jesus said to do in the Bible. He said to not remove the weeds from the Church.
I believe St. Paul said to throw them out of the Church!
But then Paul changed his mind about the man. Paul said many things in the Bible and some are from God and some are not; as Paul says himself. I would listen to Jesus first and then Paul next.
Paul didn’t change his mind, but, as it appears from the the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, the sinner changed his ways and repented. That’s why he wasn’t excommunicated, or perhaps re-admitted after being excommunicated at first. There’s no conflict between Jesus’ and Paul’s sayings. Jesus clearly taught that when a person refuses to listen to the Church he should be excommunicated (Mt. 18:17).
So you believe everything in Mt. 15-20?
Wrong! St. Paul was a living Authority and could not err as an Apostle regarding matters pertaining to Faith or morals. When the people heard St. Paul teach, they heard God “He who hears you, hears Me,” – Jesus. So you see, I don’t have to check to see if St. Paul contradicted Jesus. Jesus was teaching through him.
Isabel, if you read all of Paul’s writings you will find places where Paul says; “this if from me and not God”, and clearly some of his words are not from God, and he does not expect the reader to believe they are from God.
Paul was a man, just like me, and all other men. He was a sinner and was born again by the Holy Spirit and gave his life for the Church; many men have done the same thing in the past 2,000 years. Jesus said that his followers would do the same things that Jesus did while Jesus did while on earth. We are not Jesus, but we are like him in a lesser way. So Paul was like Jesus also, but in a lesser way.
God expects things from you and me, just as he expected things from Paul; Paul was and is no different from you and me.
Moses was a man like all other men, a sinner too but he spoke for God by God’s command. All of the prophets were mere men as were the Apostles. What set them apart was that God chose to speak to the world through them. That is what makes them living Authorities of Divine Revelation.
You and I are very different from the prophets, angels and apostles. God really spoke through them. You remind me of Miriam in the Bible who said “Does God not speak to us also?”. Yes but as God said, to Moses I speak face to face. Remember, Jesus has already made a declaration regarding his Apostles and their descendants “He who hears you, hears Me.” When you hear a prophet or angel or the magisterium, you really are hearing God Himself.
That is why St. Paul pointed out when it was just his personal judgement and not the Word of God.
God does indeed expect things from us and the first thing he expects is for us to believe Him as he teaches us through the men and women he chose to teach us through. To obey these messengers or teachers and to do as they say.
You know the non-Catholic Churches are growing all over the world with miracles and sighs and wonders being done by the people in these Churches every day. Even though these Churches are not under the authority of the CC, God seems to honor them and works through them.
Also the Orthodox Church is one of the 22 different Catholic Churches and most of the bibles writings came from what is the Orthodox Church. But the Orthodox Church teaches some different things than the Roman Church. The Orthodox church did not develop the legal way of looking at what Christ did on earth and the Orthodox Church puts more emphasis on the birth of Christ instead of His death on the cross. Which one is correct, if we are to listen to the leaders of the Catholic Church?
God’s grace falls on the good as well as the bad. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ who founded one Church through which He is teaching now, governing now, sanctifying now and healing now just as he did in his mortal life. There may be favors granted to those outside the church but know this with certainty. There is no salvation outside the Church founded by Jesus Christ.
Those who join these “churches” founded by mere men may very well be doing the best they can with the knowledge they have been offered. We entrust these souls to the infinite mercy and justice of God. Those in rebellion against the Catholic Church however are rebelling against God himself. Good luck to you.
Good luck? There is no luck for those that love and follow the Holy Trinity; only his grace.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that anyone that is baptized, even outside the Catholic Church has the Holy Spirit in them and is born to a new life.
If you have the Holy Spirit in you, you are a God-person and have God in you. That is the teaching of the Catholic Church.
You say “we entrust these souls to the infinite mercy of God”. If they are outside the CC, then that is the decision of God. The Catholic Church taught for centuries that, if anyone is outside the CC then they are damned, but now the CC has changed and decided that ALL baptized Christians are “in” the Catholic Church.
I have studied the CC for about six years and have attended Mass for three years and completed the RCIA class. I know more about the CC and its history and current beliefs than most CC members.
I believe that the CC and the Orthodox Church are the two best Churches. But the CC has problems and that is why it is dying in the USA. Those problems can’t be ignored if the CC is to survive. The biggest problem in my opinion is the way you have communicated with me; Catholics don’t know how to bring in new people into the CC and I have my doubts if many Catholics in the USA actually want to bring in people that are not family, or reconnecting Catholics. Brand new Catholics are like me; they question, because many born again Christians know the Bible backwards and forwards and see some conflict between the bible and the CC.
Just repeating the dogma of the CC is not going to bring in people to the CC. I spent years learning how to talk to people that don’t believe in anything and get them to start thinking about God. The CC needs to do the same thing. Everyone should be a Catholic, but it is never going to be, unless things change in the CC.
Yes, good luck! That is all you can rely on if you do not have divine Faith or the sanctifying life of God in your soul which comes to us through the Sacraments where Jesus is truly present. Remember, Divine Faith is not like placing your trust in your Dr. or in your stockbroker! This is human faith and you always must reserve the final decision as to whether you will do as they say or not. The decision is yours. Divine Faith is different. It comes to us by HEARING the one sent by God. Again, it comes to us by hearing the one sent by God. It does not come to us through reading at all! Christians outside the Church founded by Christ look to the bible, a book to place their faith in. However, this is mere human faith as the reader is always left as in the case of the stockbroker, with the final decision as to what they will and will not believe.
Divine Faith always has a human person involved. It comes from God who speaks to us through man (but not viewed merely as a man but as a prophet or messenger whom God chooses to speak through) We believe this person because, we believe he is from God who is truth and who can neither deceive nor be deceived. This is what Faith was at the Time of the Apostles and it is exactly the same thing now. People entered the Church to learn Divine Revelation, not to argue with the Apostles. A convert believed everything the Apostles taught because they believed they came from God and were his messengers. Jesus already said: “He who hears you, Hears Me”. For the gift of divine faith you must HEAR the ONE SENT BY GOD! This messenger is HIS CHURCH that can not err regarding divine revelation.
This is why there is no argument regarding how many sacraments there are or if God forgives your sins in confession. The Church founded by Christ can not err regarding matters pertaining to faith or morals because it is really JESUS (God) teaching us through mere men just as he did through Moses and all the prophets. Jesus is the head of the Church he founded. Through it He speaks; teaches, sanctifies, heals and governs.
This is why the ancient creeds say we believe in the Catholic Church! They really put their FAITH in the Church as equal to “I believe in Jesus Christ”. They are equal because they really are the same thing, The Church and God are one!
Jesus teaches plainly that if you do not eat his flesh and drink his blood, you have no life in you! He means his sanctifying supernatural life of grace. This life can only be found in the Catholic Church in the Most Holy Eucharist! The Eucharist is Jesus- God HImself! If you want this life you must enter into the Church founded by God for your salvation. Do not accept imitations. Jesus suffered and died to give you his own divine life and love.
The Church can never die but rebellious children can run away from home and find themselves destitute. God may not ever invite them home again. This takes the grace of repentance and penance and prayer and confession. God is merciful but he never forces. Catholics like everyone else have free will to love God or to reject him. However they will be held most accountable as they have been given much. They have been given everything! Hurry home!
You should read the history of the first 700 years of the Orthodox and Roman Church. It is well recorded and attested to. You cannot just read the history written by the Catholic Church.
Just one note; the bible says that “by hearing the word” someone comes to believe. The bible also says that no one comes to believe unless the Father draws him. The Father is drawing a lot of people in China to become believers, in the house Churches.
The Bible is a Catholic Book. If you do not have Faith in the Catholic Church as the Christian Creeds profess, you can not know that the Bible you are reading is in fact the Bible. The Bible does say that Faith comes by hearing and that one can not be saved without Faith. Protestants do not have Divine Faith. They have mere human faith in their personal interpretation of scripture. That is why they have so many denominations and ruptures. Protestantism is a man made religion where everyone gets to be their own little pope. Their faith is in their intellect to judge the word of God. We know that Faith is not subject to reason but reason to faith. Again, good luck to you. I wish you the very best in China or where ever you are.
You show from your comments about non-Catholics, that you are like most cradle Catholics and do not understand non-Catholic Christians and your attitude towards them has hurt the mission of Jesus. The RCC has stated that its goal is to unite all Christians. It certainly cannot be done by the method you have chosen to use in your posts.
You did not address my question about the Orthodox Catholic Church, which has the same authority as the Roman Catholic Church; yet they differ in some ways and have even split off from each other. If the RCC says one thing and the OCC teaches different truths; which is correct?
About the bible; For many years the “bible” of the new Christian Church was what we call the Old Testament, there was no New Testament. The Jews were not happy about the Christian Church and certainly did not authorize the Christians to use their bible. But Jesus himself quoted from the Old Testament. If Jesus and his followers could use the “unauthorized” Old Testament, why can’t any Christian use the bible with just as full effect as any Catholic? In other words, the use of the bible by “unauthorized” people has happened before, with the approval of Jesus?
Remember in the Bible when some followers of Jesus came to Jesus reporting that some men were performing miracles in the name of Jesus and “they weren’t part of our group”? Jesus told his followers to “leave them alone”. The kingdom of Heaven is being advanced, if they are not against us, then they are for us.
The Catholic Church is everything you say it is, I agree, but if that is true, why aren’t non-Catholics becoming Catholic in droves? You have given a perfect example of why they are not, with your writings and attitude.
Randal. The Church can only accomplish her mission of unity if the protestants are converted to the fullness of Truth and receive the gift of divine Faith!
I think there are a few more people that need to come into the Church than the Protestants; what about the Muslims?
You have done a good job of putting up with me and have given great answers. If all Catholics were like you, there would be more joining.
Even when Paul said in the bible; “this is from me and not Jesus or God”? Why did Paul even say that if everything he said was from God?
Nonsense; the entire Scripture is the Word of God, and Paul’s words inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Even when Paul himself says; “this is not from God but from me”? Paul was just a man like all believers. That is the point that Jesus made clear; “you will do things greater than I have done”. Jesus meant all believers that believe through the word that has been passed down by believer to believer, for 2,000 years.
Well, if you are Catholic, you appear to be advocating schism. Not schism between you and me or Steve Skojec or Cardinal Kasper — none of that would much matter — but schism between yourself and the Vicar of Christ. You cannot throw the Pope out of the Church, but you can sure as Hell (literally) throw yourself out of it.
These non believers are already in schism. Good bye to them.
So, depart from Isabel Kilian, ye workers of iniquity: she never knew you? On the other hand, I’ll have to paraphrase Pharaoh and say, “Who is Isabel Kilian, that I should hear her?”
But before you formally commit to the existence of a schism between you and the Pope, please read over what The Catechism of the Council of Trent has to say about it. This is a document you should take seriously regardless of what you may think of Vatican II and regardless of the fact that you may well ask, “Who is Howard, that I should hear him?”
Wow, I think we wrote the same thing on the same day. http://stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2015/05/events-are-telescoping.html
Of course, you wrote it better. Maybe we are separated twins?
Things do get better every day, yes?
I don’t know that I wrote it any better. Perhaps what you mean is “less horrifyingly depressing.” But what you spell out is, I’m afraid, simply a more fully imagined version of what I’ve been warning about.
I don’t like when too many of us start saying the same things at the same time. Makes it feel like an inevitability.
You know, I reread mine and it really was horrifyingly depressing. I’m going to have a bourbon, pray the rosary, and rethink the whole thing.
Forget what Obi-Wan Kenobi says: Don’t “trust your feelings”. There are only a few things that are actually inevitable — things like death and the endurance of the Catholic Church. I may be dead tomorrow morning; you may be dead as I write this; the USA could collapse as suddenly as the Soviet Union. Most of the future is not inevitable, and our ability to predict it is much worse than we usually think.
We are just going to have to accommodate ourselves to the new reality.
The Swiss could rename Graubunden Canton the Sodomy Canton; it is in roughly the same geographic area of Switzerland as is the area of bodily interest for the sodomites and Graubunden almost sounds as though it is an description of some sodomitic sex act: I hear your brother was on a ski lift when the ski instructor taught him a special way to yodel called the graubunden.
Endure, yes; accommodate, no.
Read 1 Corinthians Chapter 5.
What all of this suggests is a total loss of faith in God, Jesus, the 10 Commandments, the Catholic Church, Natural Law and embracing of the ‘Church of What’s Happening Now’. Somehow God’s mercy and forgiveness for sinful behavior has been re-defined as God’s approval for normal (formally sinful) sexual activity. With these moves the Swiss Bishops have become a target of C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Abolition of Man’. Here is a summary of final chapter from Wikipedia:
“The final chapter describes the ultimate consequences of this debunking:a distant future in which the values and morals of the majority are controlled by a small group who rule by a “perfect” understanding of psychology, and who in turn, being able to “see through” any system of
morality that might induce them to act in a certain way, are ruled only by their own unreflected whims. In surrendering rational reflection on their own motivations, the controllers will no longer be recognizably human, the controlled will be robot-like, and the Abolition of Man will have been completed.”
The distant future Mr. Lewis talks about above is now the present reality. Only an intervention by God can save us now.
With the help of another poster on another site, kind of together, we noticed something interesting: Does it seem a bit strange that Pope Francis elevated Fr. Radcliffe, a sodomy enthusiast, to a high post in the Vatican shortly before Ireland overwhelmingly voted it in? (and with this, not with one word from the Holy Father on the vote) And upcoming very shortly is the decision that will be made by the Supreme Court for the United States? Now, before anyone gets excited, I AM NOT a Conspiracy buff by any stretch. I just think it’s the perfect storm, but it surely is a very strange coincidence.
You may be unsurprised to learn that you are not the first person who has suggested this to me. An intriguing, if disturbing, theory.
The evangelical and bible Churches have not fallen into this sin. Maybe they are better than the Catholic Church?
Regarding “Bible Churches”, that would be hard to say. I grew up in just such a church, Overstreet Bible Church to be specific. It was always teetering on the edge of extinction, with maybe a dozen or so members and pastors who had to have regular secular jobs during the week. A couple of years ago I drove through the old neighborhood, and now the sign says “Overstreet Church of Christ”. Maybe they sold the building and dispersed, or maybe they changed their affiliation; I have no idea which. Regardless, I think this is typical of such churches: they come into and out of existence all the time, frequently splitting over petty quarrels, and they answer to no one for their beliefs.
If the West cannot keep to the Faith, maybe you should look to the East……
The East long ago capitulated on the Sixth Commandment. I don’t see a remedy there.
Since the West is allowing this to come to fruition, again I would say the the East would not allow this to happen. Minister to them but do not condone…
First of all, you’re jumping the gun. Bear in mind James 4:13-16 and Matthew 6:34 in mind.
Secondly, my best friend has been in the OCA for 20 years as a convert from Methodism, so I know from him that “the East” has the same problems, though they are less publicly discussed.
Then you don’t know much about the Orthodox Church.
Get in bed with the Devil and what can you expect?
I believe there’s crisis within the Church because we’ve come to focus on a lot of things other than Christ. I’m not a Catholic just because the Church has morals; I’m a Catholic because I follow Jesus Christ. He is the beginning and the end, the all-consuming purpose of my life. The courage and strength to turn from sin comes from Christ, and Him alone. But that seems lost in modern Church discourse. We are divided between those who want their own wills done (and don’t care about or believe in sin), and those who want to point condemning fingers at the first group.
My point is, while people need correction to know right from wrong, they clearly need more than that. Why did the sinners in the gospel throw themselves at Jesus? Because He was hope. He was kind. He was love. He was mercy. He promised an eternal future of happiness. He healed them and set them free.
We live in a society that’s several generations in to self-obsession, materialism, and oh so much cynicism everywhere you turn. Yes, we should proclaim right from wrong, especially when it comes to marriage. But if we want to be really effective in our ministry, we ought to also proclaim that there is a reality far more beautiful, loving, and eternal than the one we think we’re living. That’s the gospel! The kingdom of God is here – among us – now, if only we repent of our sins and turn to Christ we can experience His peace, healing, and joy (the Gifts of the Holy Spirit).
Otherwise we can all hang out on Catholic forums and gripe about how the world’s going to hell in a handbasket, but where is that getting us?
Ben, I really like your comment but what I am seeing is the people who are attacking the Church, even though they claim to be Catholics, are not throwing themselves at Jesus for forgiveness and mercy, they are not repenting because what they seem to want is for the Church and Christ Himself to accept what they refuse to see as sin. What to do when they are calling good evil and evil good? Pray for them is all I can think of.
Exactly right, Ben.
Either a lot of Bishops are totally going off the rails, or someone has managed to sow a whole lot of falsehoods into what appear to be credible reporting. Either way, we know the enemy has upped his game, and we need to up ours in response. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle!
Satan learned a long time ago that the best way to do harm to the Church is to be in the Church.
Garabandal and Akita
Garabandal – Spain
“Cardinals, Bishops And Priests Going The Wrong Way And Less And Less Importance Is Being Given To The Eucharist.”
How is it that opponents of Garabandal can so easily dismiss the truth of the
apparitions when they have been able to see for themselves the accurate
foretelling of coming trends contained in the second Message delivered by St
Michael on Our Lady’s behalf, to Conchita on June 18, 1965?
“Many Cardinals, Many Bishops And Many Priests Are On The Road To Perdition And Taking Many Souls With Them.” Two points are worth making with regard to this
statement. The first is that Conchita neither could nor would have made a
statement like this on her own because of the profound respect she had for
members of the hierarchy. The second point is the timing of the Message which
came a few months before the last session of Vatican II.
Was it a warning to those Fathers who had gone into the
Council with their own agenda for sweeping change? “Less
And Less Importance Is Being Given To The Eucharist.”
Here again is a statement that could not possibly be attributed to Conchita Gonzalez. How could
she have known of this trend on her own when no one in the Church really recognised it as a problem?
After the Council we saw an unprecedented dismantling of Eucharistic devotion whose effects are still with us today. But even before the Council, there was movement in this direction. In the 1952 edition of the traditional Mass missal, one finds an octave for the rest of Corpus Christi. By
1961, the octave had been suppressed. The positioning of the statement that “Less And Less Importance Is Being Given To The Eucharist” in the Message should not be overlooked. It comes right after the sentence regarding Cardinals, Bishops and Priests. The hierarchy is
custodian of the Holy Eucharist.
If the Church must undergo a trial by fire, one of the principal reasons might well be because of what has been allowed to happen to the Holy Eucharist. The very next sentence in the Message after reference to the downgrading of the Eucharist reads: “You Should Turn The Wrath Of God Away From Yourselves By Your Efforts.”
Akita – Japan Sr Agnes Sasagawa
On October 13, 1973, Our Lady of Akita Gave The Third Message To Sister Agnes Sasagawa.
“My Daughter, listen well to what I
have to say to you. You will inform your superior.”
After a short silence: “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the
deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither Priests nor “faithful.”
“The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be The Rosary and The Sign Left by My Son. Each day recite the
Prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, Pray for the Pope, the
Bishops and Priests.”
“The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, Bishops against Bishops. The Priests who Venerate Me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other Priests); churches and altars will be sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many Priests and Consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.”
“The demon will be especially implacable against Souls Consecrated to God. The Thought Of The Loss Of So Many Souls Is The Cause Of My Sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them. With courage, speak to your superior. He will know how to encourage each one of you to pray and to accomplish works of reparation.
It is Bishop Ito, who directs your community.” Our Lady smiled and then said;
“You have still something to ask? Today is the last time that I will speak to you in living voice. From now on you will obey the one sent to you and your Superior.”
“Pray Very Much The Prayers Of The Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved.”
Approved by Bishop Ito
Bishop John Ito, on April 22, 1984, after eight years of investigating the Akita apparitions and after consulting with the Holy See (including Cardinal Ratzinger), approved the messages of Our Lady of Akita. He authorised, throughout his Entire Diocese, the Veneration of our Holy Mother of Akita. A dossier was turned over to Cardinal Ratzinger at the Vatican who, after studying it for himself, reaffirmed that the events were credible and reliable and worthy of belief by all Catholics. Howard Dee, former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican, said in a 1998 interview with Inside the Vatican magazine: “Bishop Ito (the local Bishop, now deceased) was certain Akita was an extension of Fatima, and Cardinal Ratzinger personally confirmed to me that these two messages, of Fatima and Akita, are essentially the same.” Part of the Akita message reads: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, Bishops against Bishops.”
http://www.garabandal.org/News/Garabandal_and_Akita.shtml
“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.” Remember, one traditional understanding of these “stars” is that they are bishops.
Jesus was very clear when He taught us that human sexuality is only properly ordered when it occurs between one man and one woman in an exclusive and lifelong relationship.
I’m going to slightly disagree. Our Lord never said anything as clinical as “human sexuality is only properly ordered when it occurs between one man and one woman in an exclusive and lifelong relationship”, any more than he told the Apostles, “You give them adequate nutrition for their biological requirements.” He said, “You give them something to eat.” (Mark 6:37) He didn’t go into details about what “something to eat” means, because it was not necessary; the Apostles knew that could not be dirt or wool or fish bones. The Apostles also knew that cannibalism was not the answer; Jesus did not need to explain that to them. Likewise, although He raised marriage to a sacrament and restored its original purpose, He did not really have to define marriage.
More importantly, He talked about “marriage”, “fornication”, and “adultery”. He did not talk about “relationships” in the Facebook sense of the word.