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Priest May Be Stripped of His Ministry if He Continues to Disagree “With the Church’s Teaching on Marriage.” Article by: Rose French, Star Tribune Archbishop John Nienstedt is warning Catholic clergy across Minnesota that there should be no “open dissension” of the church’s strong backing of a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman. In other early signs of the fervent campaign the church intends to wage for the amendment, which will be on every ballot in the state this fall, Nienstedt is appointing priests and married couples to visit archdiocesan high schools to talk about marriage. He has directed parishes to form committees to work for passage of the amendment. He also has warned a priest that he may be stripped of his ministry if he continues to disagree “with the church’s teaching on marriage.” In a recent letter to priests and deacons, Nienstedt laid out why he believes it’s important that the marriage amendment pass: “The endgame of those who oppose the marriage amendment that we support is not just to secure certain benefits for a particular minority, but, I believe, to eliminate the need for marriage altogether.” “As I see it, we have this one chance as Minnesotans to make things right,” he said. “The stakes could not be higher.” With nearly 1.1 million Catholics in Minnesota, the church and its political arm, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, are likely to play a crucial role in whether the marriage amendment wins passage in November. At the same time, other organizations such as Minnesotans United for All Families, a coalition that includes faith-based groups, are joining forces to defeat the amendment — making it certain that Minnesota will be thrust into the growing national debate over whether states should sanction gay marriage. Standoff emerging Besides urging parish priests to form church committees to support the amendment, Nienstedt also wants Catholics to recite a special “marriage prayer” during mass that endorses marriage between a man and woman. In the coming months, teams of a priest and a married couple are also set to talk to high school students in the archdiocese about why marriage should be a union between a man and woman…
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