One of the chief symbols of the early Church is the fish symbol, the Symbolum maius. The Sacred and essential characteristic of the Christian fish symbol passes throughout time unchanged and preserved in 
Sacred Tradition. The holy, ancient, outward symbol represents our Lord and the Eucharist, in association with the loaves of bread and the fishes. The fish symbol was derived from the Greek word for fish, Ιχθυς [or ichthus], and became a holy acrostic for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." [1]
Contrary to Sacred Tradition, [2] Cardinal Roger Mahony's Archdiocese of Los Angeles 'Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics' [MLGC], under his Episcopal authority, has robbed this ancient symbol of its sacredness, mutating and deforming the Christian Eucharistic fish symbol into a profane external sign of the homosexual subculture.
Cardinal Mahony instructs his nearly 5 million Catholic members to "see in the [gay] fish pin a sign of recognition of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers." Is Cardinal Mahony trying to hook his already desensitized laity with this fishy bait?
The Cardinal is perversely distorting a once holy and revered symbol used not only by the early Christians but today's Christians as well. Through the gift of the same Sacred Tradition the Apostles received from Christ, the early Christians recognized one another in the image of the fish during the persecution of their Church. [3]
Most harmful are the Cardinal's attempts to further confuse his priests, religious, and laity by 'normalizing' the homosexual idioms 'lesbian' and 'gay' using the 'gay' Rainbow colored fish.
Let us examine how damaging is Cardinal Mahony's normalization of homosexuality, especially now when once again Californians are battling evil legislation which would permit 'homosexual marriage' in their state of California. [4]
The idioms 'lesbian' and 'gay' signify same-sex unions between two or more persons. 'Lesbian' and 'gay' couples boldly assert that one's same-sex perversion is equal to heterosexual, traditional marriage. [5] The 'lesbian' and 'gay' idioms denote 'acting out,' or openly and freely promoting and seeking the sodomite lifestyle. A popular gay chant is "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!"
No one can honestly refute that the same-sex 'lesbian' and 'gay' culture subverts and degrades procreation in traditional marriage. 'Lesbians' and 'gays' have, because of their same-sex perversions, high disproportional rates of health problems, [6] infectious sexually transmitted diseases, mental depression,[7] drug and alcohol use, suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse and pedophilia. [8] 'Lesbian' and 'gay' acts go against God's natural law. [9] To be 'lesbian' or 'gay' means being defiantly unresponsive to the Church moral teaching about this evil. [10]
To this effect, why would any Archdiocese give normal, sacred recognition to homosexuality by the use of a Sacred Christian symbol? [11]
The Vatican has warned against such recognition. On June 3, 2003, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [now Pope Benedict XVI] published the infallible moral document: [12] "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons," which makes special mention of the obligation of Bishops and politicians to oppose any type of recognition of homosexual unions.
- "There are absolutely no grounds for the considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against natural law" [I, §4]. [13]
Why does Cardinal Mahony attempt to confuse others by covering the Church's Sacred fish with the homosexual Rainbow Flag colors? If the same-sex 'lesbian' and 'gay' culture is normalized, will not Los Angeles Catholics falsely accept 'lesbian' and 'gay' couples as equal to traditional 'one man and one woman' married couples?
Is the Los Angeles Archdiocese attempting to normalize the abnormal 'lesbian' and 'gay' culture?
Let us examine just how dangerous is Cardinal Mahony's Rainbow 'gay' fish and what the Rainbow Flag signifies to most all world cultures.
The homosexual movement has established the 'gay' Rainbow Flag symbol worldwide to publicly personify the 'lesbian' and 'gay' pride and perversity. [14]
Looking at the homosexual Rainbow Flag, we see it consists of six colored stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, with the red stripe on top. [15] These colors are displayed worldwide, everyday, in a myriad of ways: on flags, on sashes, on jewelry, T-shirts, parade floats, body paintings, tattoos, billboards, banners, store window displays, subtly and surreptitiously hidden signs in the most unexpected places — even recently displayed upon a Christian fish. Any sorrowful display or exhibit of this 'lesbian' and 'gay' Rainbow sign is offensive to the people of God and demonstrates opposition to the biblical promise by God to Noah of God's everlasting Covenant to mankind:
"And God said, 'This is the sign of the Covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between Me and the earth" [RSV, Gen.9:12-13]. In addition, "When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting Covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth" [RSV, Gen.9:16].
The Rainbow Flag sign is so combative that the Catholic Church forbids anyone wearing this 'lesbian' and 'gay' attire from receiving the Eucharist. It is important to understand that this Church discipline is for those persons wearing the Rainbow signs who are living the intrinsically disordered lifestyle as well as for those persons wearing the Rainbow sign who are not living the lifestyle but openly support it. The 'gay' Rainbow sign is a public statement of opposition to the Catholic Church's infallible moral teachings against homosexuality, and a public statement that the wearer condones sodomy.
Today's Eucharistic abuses "are not to be taken lightly," said Francis Cardinal Arinze recently. [16] Is Cardinal Mahony defying the Vatican's recent teachings regarding worthiness to receive Holy Communion by placing a 'gay' Rainbow upon a Sacred Christian symbol, the fish?
On February 11, 2005, in an interview with Eternal Word Television Network [EWTN] host Raymond Arroyo as reported by LifeSite, Vatican Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Francis Arinze said when asked if people wearing homosexual 'Rainbow Sashes' could receive Holy Communion:
- "No, no. You see, let us get it clear. These rainbow sash people are really saying we are homosexuals, we intend to remain so, and we want to receive Holy Communion. The question arises; take the Catechism of the
Catholic Church. It says it is not condemning a person for having homosexual tendency. We do not condemn anybody for that. But a person stands condemned for acting on it…. The Catholic Church has never accepted homosexuality as normal. You read the scripture. It is very clear. What exactly are we examining? Are we going to change Divine Law, how God made us…. Quite another matter if a person had just the tendencies and is making (an) effort to live the Divine Law, then that is fine. So, we respect persons but be clear on the truth."
Cardinal Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has notified the 'Rainbow Sash Movement' that his Cathedral will welcome 'Rainbow Sash Members' as part of the Catholic Family to his Cathedral. Cardinal Mahony further assures members of the 'Rainbow Sash Movement' [a movement similar to the bowel movement] that when they present themselves for Holy Communion, they will receive 'it.'
Cardinal Mahony has never denied the 'Rainbow Sashers' Holy Communion, even though the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops as a whole has denied 'Rainbow Sashers' Holy Communion at each of their plenary conferences for the past several years. In 2005, the Rainbow Sash Movement issued a national call for others who oppose the Church's teachings on sodomy to join them on Pentecost Sunday by wearing the Rainbow Sash in a parish or a Cathedral.
Meanwhile, in another related fishy issue, we read a disturbing interview with the Los Angeles Times wherein Cardinal Mahony stated on December 1, 2006, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay $60 million to settle just 45 of the 562 clergy homosexual and sex abuse cases pending. The 517 remaining molestation lawsuits could cost Californian parishioners hundreds of millions more. The Cardinal remarked December 2, 2006, he felt energized by this decision to fight the remaining lawsuits, "I feel much more energized for the other 500 cases now." [17]
Consistently tolerant of homosexuality, Cardinal Mahony stated in a 2004 deposition related to civil trials in Los Angeles, as reported recently by the New York Times, that a priest expressing sexual urges toward a 9-year-old would not be an automatic cause for removing him from duty in his archdiocese.
Adding to the disconcerting reports on Cardinal Mahony, it is no secret he is most notable for hosting controversial and heterodox Religious Education Conferences each year. At each of these modernist annual conferences, Cardinal Mahony presides over various events and liturgies, most featuring abuses forbidden by the Vatican such as immodestly clad women liturgical dancers, rock music, pop liturgical 'vocalists' and bongo instruments. The stage 'Altar' is always absent of necessary Sacred Vessels and crucifix, while use of large illicit glass pitchers of altar wine, glass chalices and ciboria, wicker baskets of illicit altar bread, multi-colored picnic-style tablecloths in lieu of altar linens, New Age labyrinth arrangements are 'soup de jour.'
Journalist Allyson Smith covering the 2006 Convention noted no artwork nor statutes of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Saints nor Angels were found anywhere, but she noticed there was one piece of artwork in the place of Eucharistic Adoration called 'Sacred Space.' It was a painting showing the muscular backside of a man wearing only tight shorts, who was apparently "stepping into freedom." Too bad we don't have a photo of that inspiration.
The list of the 2006 annual Conference speakers teaching heretical catechesis to approximately 41,000 attendees included the usual suspects from Call to Action, Dignity, We Are Church, noted liturgical pirates, also heretical Fr. Richard Sparks,[18] as well as noted Lesbian and Gay Ministries leaders and clerics supporting the homosexual lifestyle by attacking church teachings. Included in this list was controversial Keynote speaker, Great Britain's Fr. Timothy Radcliffe.
In respect of your office, Cardinal Mahony, this writer fully understands you are a priest 'in Persona Christi.' Please do not continue to cause further scandal to the Catholic faithful by persisting in these abuses. Start the New Year 2007 A.D. by turning from error and instead faithfully and obediently follow all magisterial teachings and show respect for the Church's Sacred Traditions.
NOTES:
Cf. In "An Open Letter to the Bishops," the Catholic Medical Association Task Force on July 23, 2002, had this to say: "The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that homosexuality's "psychological genesis remains largely unexplained" (#2357). While it is understandable that the writers of the Catechism would not wish to make a definitive statement about a question which is at the center of such a contentious public debate, this statement does not accurately reflect what is known about homosexuality. There is ample evidence that same-sex attraction has many different causes. These lead to significant childhood and adolescent emotional pain and psychological problems. Among males these could include a weak masculine identity, social isolation and loneliness, peer rejection or a poor body image and in females, a mistrust of male love or a weak feminine identity. No one can say "this is the cause" for same-sex attraction as though there were a single cause, but an individual can come to understand the origins of his or her own same-sex attractions through insight gained in therapy."
Cf. NARTH, for numerous well-documented medical and psychological sources of the harmfulness of homosexuality upon society and individuals.
Barbara Kralis writes for various Christian and conservative publications. Her columns have been featured at RenewAmerica.us, Catholic World Report, Alliance Defense Fund, Intellectual Conservative, Life Issues, Catholic Culture, The Wanderer newspaper, Phil Brennan's WOW, ChronWatch, North Carolina Conservative, MichNews, Catholic Citizens, Illinois Family Institute, Illinois Leader, New Oxford Review, Seattle Catholic, Faithful Voice, NewsBull, and others. She and her husband, Mitch, live in the great State of Texas, and co-direct the Jesus Through Mary Catholic Foundation. She can be reached at: AveMaria@earthlink.net
© Copyright 2007 by Barbara Kralis