Marriage

June 1, 2013

The Destruction of the Boy Scouts of America

Boy ScoutsOn May 23, 2013, the 1,400-member National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) voted in favor of a resolution to add the following language to the requirements for being a Boy Scout:  “No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.”  The resolution passed by a wide margin, with 61.5 percent voting in favor of the change and 38.5 percent voting in opposition.  The new requirement will be binding on all councils and units when it goes into effect January 1, 2014.

April 25, 2013

A Crisis of Faith

The dictionary defines “crisis” as “an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending, especially one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome.”

February 9, 2013

80 Years and Still Counting

John & Ann Betar celebrate their 80th anniversary at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church

John & Ann Betar celebrate their 80th anniversary at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church

July 21, 2012

Date Night

During the years I was growing up, every Wednesday evening my parents went out together for a “date night.” A date night consisted of a trip to one of the local restaurants (usually Hunt’s or Lum’s) for a sandwich and then to the Eagle food store to buy groceries for our family.

June 16, 2012

Where Have All The Heroes Gone?

Although I grew up watching heroes such as Superman, Batman, and the Lone Ranger on television, my very first heroes were my dad, Carl Williams, and my grand-father, Tom Williams. My grandfather lived next door to my parents and was of Lebanese descent.  In Lebanese, a grandfather is referred to as “Jidu.”  That’s what all his grandchildren called him: “Jidu.”

June 9, 2012

Where Do You Draw The Line?

A few years ago one of my injury clients, Jane, called and told me that she had recently ended a homosexual relationship and was being harassed by her former partner, Jenifer.*  During the time they were together, Jane and Jennifer lived in Jennifer’s house and split the household expenses.  They also shared a small dog that Jennifer had given to Jane as a gift.

June 2, 2012

How To Deal With A Gay Family Member

The Catholic Church has always taught that we should love the sinner but hate the sin.  That’s exactly what we’re expected to do when we have a family member or friend who is homosexual.  The Church’s official position on homosexuality can be found in paragraphs 2357 through 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which provide as follows:

May 26, 2012

The Unraveling of a Culture

Last weekend at the Kapow Comic Convention in London, a representative of DC Comics announced that one of its previously “straight” superheroes was going to come out as being gay.  When ABC News later asked Courtney Simmons, DC’s Senior Vice President of Publicity, about the announcement, she confirmed that “one of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June.”  In a separate interview, Bobby Wayne, the senior Vice President for Sales, said that the company “had evolved,” a reference to President Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex “marriage.”

March 24, 2012

Slamming The Wolves

Six years ago, while I was doing a holy hour in the adoration chapel, a young local businessman that I knew stopped by the chapel to say a prayer.  When he saw me, he brought up an incident involving the pastor in his parish.  He said that the incident upset him so much that he was going to circulate a complaint petition around to his fellow parishioners to sign, and then send the signed petition to the Bishop of Peoria.  After I asked him some questions about the incident, I told him, “You’re not going to circulate a petition against the priest!”