Better an Honest Episcopalian Than a Dishonest Catholic

“To thine own self be true,” wrote Shakespeare.

According to a front-page story by Laurie Goodstein in The New York Times (Dec. 29, 2003), Philadelphia lawyer Robert J. Martin is quoted as saying, “We felt increasingly alienated by the Catholic Church.”

Who is “we”? It’s Martin and the partner with whom he lives, Mark S. Petteruti, a horticulturist.

Martin and Petteruti, both “cradle Catholics,” left the Church to join St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Says Martin, “What was most impressive was the fact that the straight people were welcoming us as a couple…. We felt included, and affiliated almost immediately.” So give them credit: They followed their consciences, however grossly erroneous. God will be their judge, but we hope their act of honesty will count for something. Better an honest Episcopalian than a dishonest Catholic, if we may put in our two cents.

The Times story notes that “The Catholic Church has reiterated its position on homosexuality, one that is a stark contrast to the Episcopal Church’s.” Thus certain Episcopal parishes “are welcoming clusters of new members, many from Roman Catholic churches, who say they want to belong to a church that regards inclusivity as a Christian virtue.” We checked our Cruden’s Complete Concordance and found that the words “inclusive” and “inclusivity” are nowhere to be found in the Bible, much less listed as “Christian virtues.” But what the hey! As the openly and actively homosexual Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson said last year, “Just simply to say that it [sodomy] goes against…Scripture, does not necessarily make it wrong.” It must be fun to make up your own religion.