Christmas lights in Rome normally used to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, have been hijacked by the perverted.
The Christmas Lights normally seen in Rome this time of year have been replaced with "Gay Lights"- a rainbow flag of lights cloaking the streets. The lights are meant to make people forget about Christ's birth and instead focus on gays and the made up nonsense of people fearing homosexuals (homophobia).
"City assemblywoman Imma Battaglia says she and mayor Ignazio Marino had decided to send a message with the multi-coloured lights, which lit up on Friday and ripple for a kilometre and a half of the bustling Via del Corso.
Ms Battaglia, who also leads a gay rights campaign group, said the lights were intended to be against homophobia following the suicide of a gay teenager in the city."
Source: http://www.news.com.au/world/gay-christmas-lights-spark-row-in-rome/story-fndir2ev-1226777600199
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
Julie, I think this gesture is touching. The city is remembering a gay youth who committed suicide. Wouldn't the Catholic response be to support gay youth and discourage suicide amongst them. You can do so without affirming the attraction. But to pit this gesture as some sort of "anti-Christian" attack is a fallacy. I have read some of the posts on this blog-site and the authors don't necessarily make an effort to be compassionate towards gay people. Please try to incorporate this aspect in your articles. Wish you well.
ReplyDeleteJoey
Hello Joey: In my personal opinion anything that shoves Jesus out of the way to change the focus of Christmas from Jesus to any person or issue is DISGUSTING and wrong.
ReplyDeleteThere are many customs Christians have created since the time of Christ's birth to bring attention to "the reason for the season" and one of those customs is CHRISTmas lights. To toss Christmas lights out to bring the focus to GAYS (or anyone else) is simply wrong in my opinion.
God is removed TOO MUCH from all areas of society as it is, this is just another way to pushing God out and putting something else in.
That is will ALWAYS be wrong in my book.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
Julie, I sense a form of aggression on your part. Regardless, if the lights were set to be a rainbow for one night, or a weekend, I think that it would be reasonable. I am not sure how long the lights are set to that pattern. If it was longer than a day/weekend, I would agree that it is pushing an agenda. However, a gay youth committing suicide is not disgusting or worth raising awareness about to you? According to your logic, would would agree that having lights of santa or a snowman is pushing God out of society as well. Are you willing to post an article on that issue as well?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, it seems like you are using the lights as a means to justify the statement. The lights, according to you and Christianity, represent the "light leading through the darkness" that Christ brings. The lights are still being lit, so they are still representing a light during the dark season. But the lights are not Jesus. They are a representation of him, much like a statue or a crucifix according to Catholicism. The Eucharist is a different story within the Church.
Hello again Joey: You are 100% correct in that I am ACTIVELY AGGRESSIVE against ALL of the "gay agenda" and that is what this is (did you note the woman who made this decision actively works for the gay agenda?).
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of "snowman lights" or "santa lights", but they sound like lights for themselves. On the other hand "Christmas" lights are highlighting "Christ-mas", not a snowman or the fictional character of santa. Jesus is not fictional.
And for the record, I don't like it when people turn St.Patrick's day into a drink fest rather than recalling the Saint and his work.
Christmas is Catholic. It was and is Christ's Mass - a day the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of our Savior. Secular society has hijacked it and I don't like that either (hence my article boycotting Kmart a week ago). And yes, I know other Christians celebrate Christ's birth too, only they are the ones who changed "Christ's Mass" to Christmas- it was too Catholic for them. ;)
Anything that I see taking AWAY from my God and my Catholic Faith offends me and I will use this outlet to voice my opinion on these issues.
Thanks again for sharing, I do appreciate it even if we disagree.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
I understand your aggressiveness against the "gay agenda". I happen to be gay, brought up in the Catholic Church, although I left for other reasons. I happen to politically lean towards libertarianism and thus do not support the radical notions of most of the gay community. I respect you and your beliefs, as long as anyone elses, that marriage is reserved for a man and woman. Although I do not agree with that, I respect that view and would not associate bigotry/being anti-gay based on that. However, as both you and I know, the Church teaches that gay people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity according to their personhood. By disregarding suicide and real homophobia in the world, people do not practice this aspect of Church teaching, and thus in regards to the Church, they are moving further away, even without noticing it. This "event" of presenting the lights in a rainbow pattern may have been a secret agenda to push an idea. Regardless, Catholics should be sensitive to the truth that LGBT people are still in need of support. To be honest I do not see that within your posts, hence my fist comment. Not all gay people are part of the "agenda". I certainly am not. Although I may agree with some of their ideas, I do not agree with most of their methods.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the lights, maybe there was some miscommunication. I meant lights depicting snowmen/santa on lawns and other venues. They are advertised as Christmas lights and are used as part of the tradition.
I also do understand that Christmas was a predominantly Catholic holiday but now has shifted to a secular focus. I understand your anger towards that.
I am glad to share and glad that we are able to discuss things even if we disagree. This is how understanding is gained.
Julie, Joey has demonstrated all the respect, compassion, and diplomacy your contemptuous post lacks. This kind of speech does nothing to further the Catholic cause. I see not a single instance in your post where you express sympathy for the teen who felt such despair as to commit suicide. Instead you choose to play the victim. You say, "Anything that I see taking AWAY from my God and my Catholic Faith offends me and I will use this outlet to voice my opinion on these issues." While He is indeed YOUR God, He is also the God of that poor, young man who felt so ostracized in his own community that he took his own life. Our is a religion of love and forgiveness. Remember, Jesus ate with and worked among sinners and we are called to do the same. You are certainly within your rights to express your distaste for the installment of those multicolored lights but don't forget the reason they were hung.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
To Adriana: People commit suicide for assorted reasons, hanging GAY lights isn't going to stop them. It's tragic, but what is MORE tragic is ACCEPTING and PROMOTING mortal sin- that sends people to HELL for eternity. Catholics MUST be MORE concerned with where people spend eternity than worrying about offending them over the gay agenda.
ReplyDeleteJesus told people to SIN NO MORE OR SOMETHING WORSE WILL HAPPEN TO YOU - John 5:14 - look it up.
Have a Merry Christmas.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
You're right, hanging multicolored lights will not stop people from committing suicide but writing sensationalist posts like this certainly isn't helping either. How do you expect to convince people of the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith when representatives like you make judgments that should be reserved for God alone? Have you never struggled with even a small bit of Catholic teaching? Has no one ever taken the time to calmly and patiently correct your mistakes in reasoning because they love you and want you to experience the fullness and beauty of the Catholic faith? It seems like you are so concerned with being associated with the perceived "gay agenda" that you deny them any compassion for their struggles. I don't necessarily agree with many of their in-your-face tactics and I think you'll find that the vast majority of gay men and women don't either. I've watched some of my friends who are gay struggle to accept themselves and then face difficulty being accepted by others in their community and it's absolutely heartbreaking to watch. Fortunately the parish I attend has always welcomed them with open arms. I am asking you to do the same. You don't have to accept it and you don't have to promote it but you can just for a moment put yourself in someone else's shoes and show some compassion and work towards healing. I don't necessarily love the idea of Christmas lights being used to promote something other than Christmas but let's not make a mountain out of a molehill.
ReplyDeleteTo Adriana: You ask about if I ever had any struggles with the Catholic faith, you must be new here otherwise you would know I am not a "cradle Catholic" and came to the Faith the long way (that's another story).
ReplyDeleteAs far as "gay struggles" go, you are assuming about me. I have several gay people IN MY FAMILY, I am not ignorant of them or their struggles.
But EVERY HUMAN BEING struggles, you seem to think if you are gay that struggle is the WORST struggle in the world- you would be wrong. The WORST struggle in the world is against evil- it's the struggle for your soul. The struggle to RESIST TEMPTATION (remember Jesus when the Devil was tempting him? That Gospel story is one we are not to forget.) THAT is the struggle I worry the most about. The fight against MORTAL sin is the most important struggle ANY human faces. Fail, you go to hell. I focus on getting the official Church teaching out there so that people are INFORMED and can better fight against sin that leads to eternal damnation.
If a heterosexual commits suicide because they feel bullied and useless are they LESS important than if a gay person commits suicide? What lights do heterosexuals get hung up?
Suicide is suicide. At the end of ALL our lives we will be in either Heaven or Hell- THAT struggle is the one I am most concerned about. I don't care if my message offends anyone, the Truth sometimes hurts, but it also saves souls.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
Julie, I never said that being gay is the worst struggle in the world. "Gay lights" was the topic of your post and their intended meaning was the subject to which I felt you were being insensitive. You called homophobia "made up nonsense" and while I don't feel like you, I, or the Church are homophobic, there are some people who are and it is un-Christ-like and damaging to our society. I applaud your effort to share the teaching of the Catholic Church and I get the sense that you are passionate about it but I just wish your post was a little less fire and brimstone and a little more nuanced - like you last comment when you explained your position. Your post struck me as uncharitable and contemptuous while your last comment demonstrated more concern. Suicide is a very serious matter that effects many, many lives including my family's. Any show of solidarity goes a long way in raising the spirits and strengthening the hopes of those affected. You opinion is noted - I'm even very cautiously on your side - but I felt this subject deserved to be treated in a more delicate manner and I implore you to do so in your future posts.
ReplyDeleteTo Adriana: the focus of my post was not simply "gay lights" it was REPLACING THE FOCUS OF CHRISTMAS (Christ's birth) TO THE GAY AGENDA. Remember the woman in the story WORKS for the gay agenda- she HAS an agenda. That particular agenda has NO PLACE in removing the focus of Christ at Christmas time. That was my point.
ReplyDeleteIf the world wants to hang lights because people commit suicide, let them! I wish them the best. But do NOT REPLACE my Lord with an agenda and expect me to keep my mouth shut, I am not wired that way.
Rome COULD have hung lights WHEN this particular teen committed suicide, they did not. Instead they waited for Christmas and REPLACED the Christmas lights which were meant to remind people of Christ's birth, to instead make everyone think of a gay teen.
WHO should we be thinking of and focusing on during Advent and Christmas??
Jesus IS the reason for the season, there is NOTHING else more important.
That is my opinion and it's highly unlikely to change.
I do thank you for the sharing of view points and taking the time to express yourself. Merry Christmas.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner