Clarifying a post about Franciscans*

Some readers raised concerns—and expressed confusion--about a blog item we ran June 17 about Brother Richard Jonathan, a member of the Society of Saint Francis, who demonstrated his support for gay weddings on the first day they became legal.

Outside San Francisco City Hall, he held a placard reading: “Franciscans for Same-Sex Marriage.” A day earlier, the item noted, Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles released a statement saying that marriage “has a unique place in God’s creation, joining a man and a woman in a committed relationship.”

The blog post should have made clear that Jonathan belongs to an Episcopal, not Roman Catholic, order. Also, the post said seven bishops joined Mahony in issuing the statement. Actually, along with Mahony, six other bishops serve the L. A. diocese.

* [Alas, we must clarify this clarification. This post should have referred to the archdiocese, not diocese, of

Los Angeles

.]

As this case makes clear, St. Francis draws devotees from all over. The Episcopal Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. And as New Advent, a Catholic encyclopedia explains, “Franciscan” is used to “designate the members of the various foundations of religious, whether men or women, professing to observe the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi in some one of its several forms.”

There’s even an interfaith body, the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans, that maintains affiliations with mainline Protestant denominations, as well as the Catholic church.

-- Steve Padilla

Comments

[Tod]

Six auxiliary bishops assist Cardinal Roger Mahony in leading the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. L.A. became an Archdiocese in July 1936. It is not a "diocese."

[Hirotomi Takemitsu]

This Brother Jonathan isn't a Roman Catholic Franciscan, but rather an Episcopalian? Well, that's a relief.
I wish that THAT had been stated from the beginning. A protest by a Roman Catholic priest, or member of any religious Order in the Catholic Church considering traditional Roman Catholic teaching favoring homosexuality or gay marriage would be a grave offense. And no one would expect it. No one would expect it.
But since this "Franciscan" is a member of some little Episcopalian group.....and everyone knows what the Episcopal Church stands for....there should be no surprise!