To those people with Same Sex Attraction:
I am a faithful Catholic who happens to be a cop. I am very sorry and deeply grieved at the
horrendous atrocity and loss of the lives of loved ones and friends in
Orlando. I know no words can heal the
wounds, physical and emotional, that were inflicted upon some of you and the
communities you are in. I know that
feeling; that wound. Every time one of
my brothers or sisters in Law Enforcement is killed, I know the emotions. I also know your communities must have
greater anxiety and fear after such horrific hatred.
I hope my
words can diminish, in some minor way, your fears. As a cop, I promise you I will treat you as I
would anyone and everyone else. Your
lifestyle choices will have no effect on the quality of service I give to you
and your communities. I will protect you. That includes risking my life and even - God
Forbid - dying to save you. That is my
commitment to you.
You have an absolute
right to live in peace and have your views heard; I will do everything in my
power to uphold those rights.
As a
faithful Catholic I want to also relieve some other fears you may have. I do not hate you. If the Catholic Church taught hate, I would
not be Catholic. I love you. I will always love you. Let me be totally honest: I do not agree with
your lifestyle choices, but I love
each and every one of you. I absolutely respect your moral right to live
in peace, and to have your views heard.
As Christ laid down His life for you, so I will lay my life down for
you. I want the best for you and your
life. Again, we will disagree on what we
believe is the best way to live; and we can amicably talk about that sometime;
but now is not that time.
I know what
it is to be hated for the choices you make in your life. I choose to be a faithful Catholic and a
cop. I am hated by some for the first
and by others for the second. Hatred of
people of any kind – even of those you disagree with – is absolutely wrong and
should NEVER be tolerated.
I love you,
I respect you, I accept you as a person – made in the image and likeness of
God, I will do whatever I can to eliminate all signs of unjust discrimination
against you, I will walk with you to help you fulfill what God wants for you in
your life.
You have my prayers,
and my love.
To the peaceful Muslim Community: I also know your pain and suffering. Every time a police officer crosses the line
and commits a crime, or someone claiming to be Catholic does something awful, I
feel what you must be going through right now.
I’ve walked through communities where, just because I wear a badge or a
crucifix, I am looked upon with suspicion.
I would
like to relieve some of your fears as well.
If you are peace loving, and law abiding, as a cop, you are my
ally. I not only don’t look upon you
with suspicion, I rely on you to help me keep our community, our homes and our
loved ones safe. Your beliefs will have
no bearing on how I treat you as a person, or the quality of service I give you
or your communities. I will protect you. This includes risking my life or even – God
Forbid – giving up my life to save you.
You have an absolute
right to live in peace, have your views heard and live above unwarranted
suspicion; I will do everything in my power to uphold those rights.
I would
also like to attempt to relieve some of your fears as a faithful Catholic. I do not hate you; I love you.
I know what it is to be accused and
suspected without cause. Catholics,
since the very beginning of the United States, have been suspected, accused,
discriminated against in law and practice.
Presidents have called us essentially second class citizens; we were not
allowed to hold office in some states; and immigration laws – some still on the
books – were passed to keep Catholics out of this country. I can empathize with your plight.
I believe that if we each pray from
our hearts, God will hear us, because there is only One God and He revealed
Himself to Abraham. There are many
things about who God is, His revelation to us and how He wants us to live our
lives that we would disagree on; and there is a time and a place to amicably
discuss that; this is not that time.
Christ laid down his life for you;
so I will lay down my life for you. I
love you, I respect you, I accept you as a person – made in the image and
likeness of God, I will do whatever I can to eliminate all signs of unjust
discrimination against you, I will walk with you to help you fulfill what God
wants for you in your life.
You have my prayers,
and my love.
To all reading this: Now is
the time to eliminate hate. NO I did not
say eliminate or ignore disagreement or compromise beliefs; the two are
mutually exclusive. It is a fallacy of
this fallen culture – perpetuated by all the letter news networks - that says ‘because I disagree with you I
therefore hate you.’ or ‘because I love that necessarily means I support all
your choices and beliefs.’
Now is the time to show what true
love is: love of people, not necessarily of choices or beliefs. Love is a choice, not a feeling or intense
emotion – another fallacy of this culture.
Love is willing the good, or wanting the best, for someone else, especially
if it costs me something; i.e Sacrifice.
I may still disagree with your beliefs and choices; I love you.
No comments:
Post a Comment