The Bishop of the Toledo Diocese has told the sisters of St. Frnacis, Tiffin, to stop ministering to gays and lesbians. The religious order was to hold a retreat at their Tiffin convent for these men and women but, when Bishop Leonard Blair got wind of it, he demanded that the event be cancelled.
You may recall from an earlier post that this same conservative bishop has been put in charge of the Nuns' Inquisition. No doubt, this ministy to the gay and lesbian community will be well noted in his report to the Vatican. Aparentlly the Catholic Church wants nothing to do with the homosexual community- unless of course they repent of their abomination.
The community of sisters at Tiffin are very socially aware and active. According to their 'corporate document:'
• the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio, declare ourselves to be a public sanctuary for Central
American refugees.
• All corporate holdings of the Sisters of St. Francis are established as nuclear free.
• “The Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio, declare solidarity with our immigrant sisters and brothers, convinced that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and therefore, deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. We oppose any legislation which denies benefits to documented immigrants or prevents undocumented immigrants from obtaining education, jobs, health care and access to social services.”
• “We, the Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio, will use both our energies and our resources to close the School of the Americas.
• “Because of our belief in the sanctity of life, and in support of life’s value from its beginning to its natural end, we, the Sisters and Associates of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio, join with the United Nations and international and national governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as churches of many faiths, to oppose the death penalty by supporting the Moratorium 2000.”
• We, the Sisters and Associates of St. Francis of Tiffin, Ohio in keeping with our position of
nonviolence and respecting the inherent dignity of each person, corporately stand in support of
human rights by explicitly opposing the trafficking of women and children for the purposes of
sexual exploitation and forced labor.
It is clear from these positions that the Sisters of St. Francis are a dangerous and divisive organization that must be closely monitored by the male clergy in the Vatican.
