• Be not afraid • What’s the hurry? • Hawaiians are not Indians Be not afraid I am Catholic, heterosexual and in a traditional loving marriage. I believe that one of the central messages of the Gospels is its inclusiveness and its
• Be not afraid • What’s the hurry? • Hawaiians are not Indians
Be not afraid
I am Catholic, heterosexual and in a traditional loving marriage. I believe that one of the central messages of the Gospels is its inclusiveness and its constant reminder that God is to be found in all of humanity. I believe the strong, unmistakable call to social justice in the Gospel stories should move Catholics in Hawaii, as a matter of conscience, to support HB 444.
The Incarnation — the mystery of the Word made Flesh — is not exclusive to heterosexuals any more than redemption is a pass reserved for the Good Catholics Club. We diminish the Divine when we invoke God to deny others what simple justice should compel us to provide.
Let’s be clear: HB-444 is a bill that would grant legal recognition to civil unions between same-sex couples. It is not marriage. It should not threaten cherished notions or the belief in matrimony as a sacrament any more than civil rights for African Americans and women threatened the rights of white males. It is very much an act of social justice long overdue in the land of aloha.
Let’s be clear: to assert that “civil unions” is “simply a euphemism for same-sex marriage” as Bishop Larry Silva does, and then attack it because it does not fit the traditional view of marriage is to confuse the issue. It leads Catholics to a choice that even the most traditional of them do not have to make.
Bishop Silva’s letter to Catholics in Honolulu willingly acknowledges that “every person, no matter his or her sexual orientation, is worthy of dignity and respect and has certain inalienable rights given by the Creator.” He goes on however to argue that “there is no right for people of the same sex to call their unions marriage.” Gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual couples are not calling their unions “marriage.” They are however amongst us, they are not going to disappear anytime soon, they are citizens of the United States and they are entitled to the same protections under the law as other citizens. It is wrong to invoke religion to deny some groups the rights that the secular laws of the land should provide to all without discrimination.
Bishop Silva cautions that we “should “not make decisions now that ignore our social environment.” Our “social environment” manifestly includes gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual couples. Bishop Silva is right. We should not ignore them or ask them to live any longer without the protections the rest of us enjoy; the protections that HB-444 would provide.
I am proud to call myself Catholic and to have access to a Catholic intellectual and religious tradition that is rich and nuanced in what it offers us to grow into a fuller humanity. Passing HB-444 would attest to that tradition, a tradition that teaches us to love God by loving our neighbor. Passing HB-444 would be consistent with the example Christ left us in the Gospels of over and over again welcoming even those looked at with disfavor by the religious establishment.
The only issue Catholics should be concerned about relative to HB-444 is the issue of justice. People who are not heterosexuals are asking to be treated equally under the law. Both Christianity and the rights of citizenship make this something everyone should readily support. That lawmakers in the House failed to do so even after the Bill passed out of the Senate with a strong majority is something that can yet be corrected if they can summon the courage, in the words of the Gospel, to “be not afraid.”
Dawn Morais Webster, Honolulu
What’s the hurry?
In reading the articles regarding the death of a local citizen on the North Shore, Kalalau, I have to ask: If the gentleman was found to be dead in his sleeping bag then why the necessity of the helicopter?
Could not a boat have picked him up and at the same time taken his family, who knew he spent time living there, into the area to pick up his stuff? I am sure the costs incurred would have been much less.
Emily McCaig, Koloa
Hawaiians are not Indians
Once more I would like to point out the difference between Indian tribes, which are readily distinguishable from each other, and the ethnic origin of Native Hawaiians, which are either Tahitian or Marquesan, which are not readily distinguishable.
This is in reference to the subject of establishing casino gambling in Hawai‘i.
Indian casinos are located on readily identified reservations. In Hawai‘i, we do not have a Tahitian reservation or a Marquesan reservation. How then can we establish the metes and bounds of land that could legally be defined as appropriate for casino gambling under federal law?
On the other hand, a state lottery system is not only feasible under federal law, but a desirable option as a source of added revenue for the state and municipal governments of Hawai‘i. In a tourist-oriented economy such as ours, it will be a welcome enhancement of the many charms that we offer to our visitors.
Harry Boranian, Lihu‘e
