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Christian Network

 
  
St. Patrick's Day 


The following article is sent out usually around the time of St. 
Patrick's Day each year. Yes, there are many other great Feast Days of 
Saints in the Church, but this one generally involves a secular, public 
parade in many areas of the world. Much can be said against the way this 
Feast Day is secularized, but in recent years we repeatedly hear a 
controversy arise in which people who call themselves "gay", promoting a 
grievously sinful lifestyle, complain that they cannot advertise their 
lifestyle by marching in the "Catholic" parade with banners!
    
This article focuses only on one point of the issue - the one that 
normally makes the news (because a handful of people in charge want to make 
it news). We hope to encourage our readers upon reading this, if you see 
the opportunity to write a letter to your local newspaper editors, to use 
this text as a basis for your thoughts. You are encouraged to put the 
arguments in your own words, but are perfectly free to use the wording in 
this short article as your own.....because we give it to you..
    Let us show the world how reasonable Catholic principle is. Normally, 
your chance of having it printed depends upon how prominent the subject 
comes up in the news this year, but with careful wording the editor may 
print it simply because it is topical to the festivity. Let your words rely 
on cool reason without mistakenly lacing it with negative tones of 
bitterness or anger. Charitable and reasonable. Remember, an editor is 
there to "edit" your letter. Follow the editor's guidelines for length. The 
longer it is, the more likely he will cut out portions of it....portions 
which you may consider crucial to the weight of the argument!

_____________________________________________
St. Patrick's Day Parade & "Gays"


     Imagine a "vegetarian" attending a St. Patrick's day Parade so that he 
can walk with the parade holding a sign that says,

"DON'T EAT MEAT!"

This person would surely be told they must either put the sign away, or 
else cease to walk with the Parade. Now, imagine this "vegetarian" claiming 
that his "rights" have been violated; and that

"VEGETARIANS ARE PEOPLE AND HAVE RIGHTS, TOO!"

Imagine, further, this "vegetarian" claiming that the Parade is on a 
"public" street, and that they therefore have the "right" to be there, and 
the "freedom" to do what they want there BECAUSE it is a "public" street..
     Likewise, let us imagine an Irish band playing for St. Patrick's Day 
on a makeshift stage on the city green. Along comes a Protestant wearing 
orange pants and shirt who decides to plug his amplifier in next to the 
stage and starts singing his own words during the musical portions of the 
Irish band. Imagine this man being forcibly removed from the premises while 
he insists that he has the "right" to do what he wants on public property!
     In these two hypothetical situations it is quite clear that these two 
people obviously know very little about the true meaning of "rights" 
regardless of how much they protest about it. Their view is clearly 
one-sided without respect to the due rights of others..
     Living in society with other people, the meaning of "public property" 
signifies that the land is available for anyone to use when they have a 
legitimate reason to. A chair in a public park, once it is sat in, 
effectively becomes "private property" temporarily for that person. 
Likewise, when a baseball team gets permission from the city to use a 
public field for a game, that field becomes temporarily "private" until the 
end of the game...nobody has the right to play lawn bowling on the field 
with the weak and ignorant excuse that it is "public property" and that 
they "have rights too!"

     This has been written because there is a controversial issue covered 
every year in the news which is just as absurd as the above hypothetical 
circumstances. Yet it is given air-time and print as though it were a 
legitimate issue. This issue has not been as strong as it once was, yet 
here and there the issue arises each year around St. Patrick's Day - people 
who call themselves "gay" protest that their "rights" have been violated by 
not being able to walk in a parade carrying their signs and banners of 
advertisement. The Media, of course, makes it look as though they "as 
people" are discriminated against even though the real issue is their 
"signs and banners" which are not appropriate to the festivity. They are 
certainly allowed to participate as "people", but like the "vegetarian" 
(above), they would not be allowed to carry such banners. If a "gay" really 
wants to participate as "a person" to honor St. Patrick he is certainly 
allowed to do so..
     A "vegetarian" would not normally be allowed to carry such a sign as 
"DON'T EAT MEAT" in a St. Patrick's Day parade because it is NOT IN ACCORD 
with the festivity. However, the banners of a "gay" should be forbidden 
because it is absolutely CONTRARY to the spirit and festivity of St. 
Patrick's Day. This man, St. Patrick, was a priest and Bishop of the 
Catholic Church. He converted Ireland to the Catholic Faith and abolished 
the pagan and occult practices. Because of this, and his great holiness, 
the Catholic Church (especially the Irish) celebrates his "Feast Day" on 
March 17th. The signs and banners of "gays" advertise and represent a life 
of "fornication" - something the Church has always condemned, and always 
will condemn; teaching according to the Bible that "fornication" is wicked, 
evil and deserving of eternal fire. With such banners St. Patrick in 
heaven, and the Lord, are not honored but seriously offended..
     As a good parable to such a situation, imagine a neo-nazi today, with 
a banner in hand, marching with the Veteran's Day Parade....it is not very 
likely the Media would treat THIS in the same manner!







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