Letter to the Editor: Local Priest Responds to Blog Post

Editor's Note: Fr. Schuster's letter is in response to a blog post, you can

Dear Editor,

I wish Mr. Long prosperity and happiness! I start out this way because when someone disagrees with me to the point of calling me names like horse manure and hypocrite, I think it is best to respond with kindness. I believe we can disagree and still be kind to each other. I do find it interesting and ironic to be addressing this topic on St. Valentine’s Day.

With regard to the origins of marriage, it is the natural course of things that when a young man and woman fall in love that this love has a habit of producing children. Because it takes a couple decades, and considerable expense, to raise a child into adulthood, it makes sense that the government would recognize and give privileges to a man and a woman who commit to a lifelong union. If you place religion aside for a moment, that is how the institution of marriage got started.

Redefining marriage to the point of making children irrelevant undermines the commitment and sacrifices married couples make for the common good. Children meanwhile benefit from the rich guidance and perspective of having both a mother and a father, something that a same sex marriage cannot offer. Mr. Long and I agree that it is very important for a husband and wife to be best friends. I am simply suggesting that for centuries, marriage has been best understood as something even more.

Please consider that a big reason why we are trillions in debt is because the baby boomers didn’t produce enough children to support Medicare and other entitlements through tax revenues and charitable contributions. It is difficult to contribute to society if you don’t exist. Rather than thinking of the future, the state and federal governments seem more interested in same sex marriages, abortions on demand, forcing religious institutions to provide free contraception, and eliminating services to poor single pregnant mothers. The history of the world has a perspective on this and so do many voters. This is why I hope the people of Washington State will have the opportunity to vote on this in November.

With regard to the good people who have a homosexual orientation, I do believe that the government should fight against discrimination in the work place and should help with providing better language for living wills and other legal documents. Although I believe redefining marriage will not help the common good, I am supportive of these other issues.

As for the smell at the former site of the Woodinville Riding Club, it smells good. The scent is the holiness of the good people who helped make this church possible. They don’t all agree on everything their pastor says nor are they required to. For the most part, we treat each other with kindness and respect even when we disagree. And so I conclude by wishing Mr. Long and the Woodinville Patch readers a happy St. Valentine’s Day and invite you to consider why this day is worth celebrating.   

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Frank Schuster

Pastor

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish