Does the Holy Spirit know the Feast of "Pentacost" is a celebration of LGBT rights?

Somehow I ended up on the mailing list for Catholics for Equality (which is about as Catholic in its approach to Church doctrine as is Jack Chick, but far less entertaining), and today received an e-mail titled, "Celebrate Pentacost [sic] with Catholics for Equality". It begins:

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles is an amazing account of how the early Christians viewed themselves as a hugely diverse community uniting people from every nation and tongue. In our modern parlance this is a wide diverse community with every identity, orientation, nationality, culture. God speaking to each person's heart and mind. Each person empowered to speak in one's tongue of the mighty acts of God in one's life!

Catholics for Equality was founded in September of 2010. Our mission is to "empower pro-equality Catholics to put our faith into ethical and effective political action on behalf of the LGBT community and their families." We are a political organization that addresses the challenges facing the American Catholic community as we see our bishops becoming increasingly political and using financial resources in their fight to limit or eliminate basic freedoms and rights for the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered members of the community.

Every poll of the past few years shows American Catholics are the most supportive Christian denomination of LGBT rights. We believe that this support must be politically mobilized to realize the freedom to marry and form families, the end of workplace, housing, and credit discrimination, the end of bullying and violence, and the ability to flourish in society so that each person can speak of the mighty acts of God in one's life!

In other words, Catholics for Equality is a group of people using the name "Catholic" to actively promote dissent against Church leadership, reject clear Church regarding sexual morality, and thus imply that Catholics who do adhere to the Church's teaching on faith and morals are oppressive, bigoted, and even hateful. Such folks were aptly described in 2 Peter as "those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority" (2 Pet. 2:10).

Speaking of the Acts of the Apostles, it is instructive to read the story of Anani'as and Sapphi'ra, who were both struck dead by God because they lied to Peter and the apostles about a matter of finances (Acts 5:1-11). If God is displeased by lying about money, will he be pleased by those who distort the truth about the Church's teachings and the work of the successors of the apostles? And will he look kindly upon a delibrated and distorted misreading of the Feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, which was founded some 1,980 years or so before Catholics for Equality was established?

Comments

[Howard]

"thus deny that Catholics who do adhere to the Church's teaching on faith and morals are oppressive, bigoted, and even hateful."

You mean imply, not deny.

[Carl E. Olson]

Howard: Yikes! Yes, I did mean "imply"; thank you for the catch!

[Joe]

"Speaking of the Acts of the Apostles, it is instructive to read the story of Anani'as and Sapphi'ra, who were both struck dead by God because they lied to Peter and the apostles about a matter of finances (Acts 5:1-11)."

Wow. I cannot believe you had the forthrightness to write that line. I totally applaud you.

[Trebuchet]

As I remember, Hadrian began an assault against Christians because they refused to recognise his dead homosexual lover as a god. The stance of liberal Catholics is wobbly at best.

[Gil]

I always wonder why dissenters like this stay Catholic. Why not join the Episcopal church or another denomination that is already embracing homosexuals?

[Elaine Comtois]

More Episcopals are coming over to the Catholic faith. See front page of Wash. Post 6/8/2011

[steve]

While it is true that Ananais and Sapphira were struck dead after lying about a gift to the church I do not believe it was because they specifically lied about finances. As Acts 5:4 makes clear the land and money were theirs to use as they saw fit but because they had obviously promised all to the Church they led the Holy Spirit to believe they were generous. They were struck dead because the were lying about thier commitment to "The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church".

[Carl E. Olson]

Good point, Steve. And one that further buttresses my point, which that the purposeful misrepresentation of oneself and one's intentions under the guise of being faithful to Church teaching is a serious sin.