Many Americans feel betrayed by the Supreme Court’s June 15, 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. Among these are a vast number for whom the Ten Commandments still serve as a guiding light for themselves and the nation.
These “Ten Commandments” Americans were shocked by the Court’s iniquitous decision that expanded the already privileged status of homosexuals and “transgendered” individuals in society. Further, it reaffirmed and consolidated the second-class and persecuted state of America’s Christians and social conservatives.
The temptation to become discouraged and quit the fight is strong for Ten Commandments Americans. However, we must courageously resist this temptation, confiding even more in God and fighting all the harder for His glory.
Our continued, ever more difficult, and painful struggle is the seal of authenticity, the proof of our love and fidelity to Him. God expects this heroic devotion as the one condition for His decisive and upcoming intervention in history. Only God can restore both Church and society in America and the world. In Fatima, His Blessed Mother promised this triumph.
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A. The Latest Betrayal
In a 6–3 vote on June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States legislated from the bench and rewrote Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is now banned in America.
1. 2016 Election Hopes Undone
Ten Commandments Americans feel betrayed because the Bostock decision was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee. Further, Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush 43 nominee, joined the majority opinion.
During the 2016 general election, exit polls showed that 21 percent of voters saw Supreme Court appointments as the driving criterion in their choice for the nation’s president. At the time, everyone wondered who would succeed Justice Antonin Scalia, who had just died. Social conservatives voted for Donald Trump, hoping to secure an adequate replacement. Justice Neil Gorsuch was chosen from a shortlist of twenty-one candidates vetted by the legal conservative movement. With the Bostock decision, Ten Commandments Americans discovered that Justice Gorsuch is no Scalia on sodomy and gender ideology.
2. Supreme Court Rules Unanimously That Sodomy Is Normal
A closer analysis of the Bostock decision reveals that it was really 9-0 in terms of the Court’s acceptance of sodomy as normal in society.
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Indeed, the homosexual movement’s true strategic goal always was social acceptance for unnatural vice. Laws and court decisions favoring its agenda served as stepping stones to secure this goal.
In Bostock’s two dissenting opinions, there is no opprobrium attached to, no moral execration expressed, and no condemnation of the sin of sodomy. Neither opinion discusses sodomy as good or evil, if it is in accordance with human nature, or harmful to the nation’s common good. Sodomy’s moral dimension goes unmentioned. Also ignored was the role of public and private morality in society, and how sodomy radically opposes God’s plan of salvation for men. No consideration was made about how natural law was incorporated by Him into human nature and that States have a duty to uphold and foster it.
For example, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote in his dissenting opinion:
To its credit, our society has come to recognize the injustice of past practices, and this recognition provides the impetus to “update” Title VII. But that is not our job. (Slip Opinion, Alito dissent, p. 32).
The updating desire to which the Court succumbs no doubt arises from humane and generous impulses. Today, many Americans know individuals who are gay, lesbian, or transgender and want them to be treated with the dignity, consideration, and fairness that everyone deserves. (Slip Opinion, Alito dissent, p. 54).
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In his turn, Justice Brett Kavanaugh included in his dissent:
The Court has previously stated, and I fully agree, that gay and lesbian Americans “cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth.” (Slip Opinion, Kavanaugh dissent, p. 2).
Notwithstanding my concern about the Court’s transgression of the Constitution’s separation of powers, it is appropriate to acknowledge the important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans. Millions of gay and lesbian Americans have worked hard for many decades to achieve equal treatment in fact and in law. They have exhibited extraordinary vision, tenacity, and grit—battling often steep odds in the legislative and judicial arenas, not to mention in their daily lives. They have advanced powerful policy arguments and can take pride in today’s result. (Slip Opinion, Kavanaugh dissent, p. 27).
Since both dissenting opinions mention “dignity,” it is imperative to recall that moral dignity is the excellence of acting in a virtuous way. No vice, including sodomy, can be a dignifying factor or a source of special rights, because it contravenes man’s rational nature.
Ten Commandments Americans feel betrayed by this unanimous Supreme Court holding that sodomy is now normal in America. The three dissenting justices restrict themselves to opposing the judicial overreach and would welcome such changes if done by Congress.
Both Roe v. Wade and Bostock are egregious examples of judicial activism rewriting the Constitution and federal law. The usurped authority in the first resulted in the death of 60 million innocent American victims so far, through procured abortion. That in the second will have nefarious consequences for millions of Ten Commandments Americans in the workplace. They will be tyrannized and persecuted by the homosexual movement as it reshapes the nation to its unnatural image and likeness.
3. A Brutally Nominalist Reinterpretation of the Word “Sex”
The betrayal was executed through a nominalist1 reinterpretation of the word “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Justice Gorsuch made his redefinition the major premise of his reasoning.
As Justice Alito’s dissent explains, the primary dictionary meaning of “sex” in America, when the 1964 Civil Rights Act was approved by Congress, was an individual’s biological sex—male or female.
Justice Gorsuch even “agree[s] that homosexuality and transgender status are distinct concepts from sex” (Slip Opinion, Opinion of the Court, p. 19). He further admits that “those who adopted the Civil Rights Act might not have anticipated their work would lead to this result” (p. 2).
Thus, he ignored the ordinary meaning of words, clear legislative intent, and history. He disregarded Title VII’s straightforward interpretation repeatedly used by federal and state governments for half a century. He reinterpreted the word “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” and privileged them with special discrimination protection.
This is not the rule of law, but the government undermining its legitimacy and promoting its self-destruction. By this act, the Supreme Court imposes moral, legal, and social anarchy upon America.
B. A Sin of the Entire Nation That Draws Down God’s Punishment on All
More than a betrayal, the abhorrent decision was a grave sin. Though not elected by popular vote, the Supreme Court justices are part of America’s supreme civil authority. Accordingly, its Bostock judicial fiat represented a collective sin of the nation. It offended God and draws down His wrath and chastisement on the land.
However, Bostock does not stand alone. It is the latest in a string of evil Supreme Court decisions that deny and mock God and His law. That list includes Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 (contraception), Roe v. Wade in 1973 (procured abortion), Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 (decriminalizing sodomy), Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 (same-sex “marriage”), and now Bostock v. Clayton County (workplace discrimination banned). All these decisions decree “the end of all morals legislation,” to use the words of Justice Antonin Scalia in his dissent in Lawrence v. Texas.
The Court’s systematic subversion of morals expresses an obduracy that has prevailed for fifty years. It matters little if judicial nominees were deemed liberal or conservative, whether nominated and confirmed by Democrat or Republican presidents and Senate majorities, or if Catholics constituted a majority or not on the bench. The final result is that the Supreme Court has imposed the Sexual Revolution of the sixties on the nation by judicial fiat. The last three of these permissive rulings imposed the normalization of sodomy on America.
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Undoubtedly, the Supreme Court’s tremendous responsibility in this process stems from its decisions becoming the law of the land. Thus they are a powerful force in forging societal acceptance. However, the blame also flows from the often weak, surrendering, and amoral legal opinions of dissenting justices.
An underlying thesis in Saint Augustine’s The City of God is that because nations do not go to Heaven or Hell in the afterlife, they are rewarded or punished by God in this life for the good or evil they do. Wars, epidemics, famines, and natural disasters are among the various secondary causes used by God to punish nations.
While millions of Ten Commandments Americans thankfully remain faithful to God’s order to avoid the sin of sodomy (forbidden by the Sixth Commandment and natural law), He punishes the entire nation for its collective sin when the Supreme Court normalizes sodomy. Although the chastisement afflicts both the just and sinners, Saint Augustine teaches that this suffering is a way for the virtuous to increase their fidelity and love of God.
C. The Temptation to Discouragement and Surrender
Bostock is one more lost battle in the Culture War.
After decades of selfless struggle, this betrayal naturally causes many social conservatives to feel dejected and tempted to give up. With the Royal Psalmist, their souls cry out, “What profit is there in my blood?” (Ps. 29:10).
“Why continue,” these social conservatives might ponder, “when those we championed act like Judas Iscariot and betray Truth and the millions of Ten Commandments Americans who put them in leadership positions?”
Like Our Lord in the Garden of Olives, they cry out in anguish, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” (Matt. 26:38).
And, as with the Savior, the Tempter urges them to quit, saying, “The sacrifice is disproportional and useless.” It is better to retreat from the Culture War and survive in a Benedict Option sanctuary awaiting better times.
Our Divine Redeemer did not give up, and neither should Ten Commandments Americans. Instead, they must follow Him faithfully through all the sufferings and the sacrifice of the Cross. Only then, can they merit the Divine intervention that will restore America, returning it to order.
D. Why Do Conservatives Lose So Often?
The reason conservatives lose these battles is that the two sides of the Culture War are unequally matched.
Be it in politics, academia, art, entertainment, media, or the broad culture, the left unabashedly proclaims its radicalness. It clamors and fights hard for a world informed by its subversive metaphysical principles of “absolute equality [and] complete liberty.”2
Christians do not respond in kind. They do not resist the left’s psywar against religion in the public square. Christians feel ashamed to proclaim that they vehemently want an America that conforms entirely to the spirit of the Ten Commandments and the principles of the Gospel.
With an attitude of soft and peaceful coexistence with the left, many Christians let themselves be attracted by its egalitarian and liberal spirit. These easygoing, liberal Christians do not reject the left’s errors and even develop an unconfessed admiration and attraction for its radical goals.
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When in the Culture War one side is radical—the left—and the other is soft and compromising—Christian conservatism—the victory of the radical party is inevitable.
The outcome does not depend on numbers. Rather, it hinges on the intensity, profundity, and passion of the belief and action of those engaged in the fight.
The only winning strategy for Christians is to be more radical in their love for, and promotion of the Christian principles than the left is for its anti-Christian cause. In the Culture War against the left, Christians must give no quarter.
Until this happens, the Christian conservative movement will continue to suffer defeats.
E. Reaffirming and Recommitting to Truth
Ten Commandments Americans should see in Bostock an occasion to recommit to Truth; to reaffirm the Faith; to honor their baptismal vow “to renounce Satan and his works.” It should serve as a reason to renew their resolve to fight under the banner of Jesus Christ.
Ten Commandments Americans should reaffirm the biblical and natural law truth that sodomy is evil and a sin that offends God. They should reiterate their belief that sodomy is one of the four sins that cry out to Heaven for vengeance (see Gen. 18:20-21; Jude 1:7). They should renew their resolve never to accept it as normal and good. They should reinvigorate their horror at this lie being presented as truth.
No matter the cost and suffering, Ten Commandments Americans should continue faithful. They should ever declare for Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, fighting manfully for His Cause.
With Saint Paul, they should proclaim: “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor boy prostitutes, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10).
F. This Culture War Will Be Won by Ten Commandments Americans
The correct Ten Commandments American reaction to Bostock is to reject the temptation to quit and resolutely fight on. The more improbable human solutions become, the more we should confide in divine intervention. In this arduous struggle, we must prove our fidelity to God and His Law.
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Nothing seemed more improbable after the Crucifixion than the flourishing of Christianity. Nevertheless, through the faithfulness of the Apostles and the early Christians, the tiny mustard seed grew into an immense tree, fulfilling Our Lord’s prophetic words in the Gospel parable.
God tests our faith in these times of tribulation. He expects us to fight for His Cause. He makes this struggle a condition for His decisive and triumphant intervention.
Like Saint Joan of Arc, we should say: “Men will fight, but God will give the victory!”
In carrying on God’s good fight after Bostock, Ten Commandments Americans can take solace in that we are playing with a stacked deck. While this betrayal represents a lost battle, we shall surely win this war. For in Fatima, Portugal, God’s Blessed Mother promised as much in 1917 when she said, “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”
June 22, 2020
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property—TFP
Taking a Principled not a Personal Stand
In writing this statement, we have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization.
As practicing Catholics, we are filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting and violent temptation to homosexual sin. We pray for those who fall into homosexual sin out of human weakness, that God may assist them with His grace.
We are conscious of the enormous difference between these individuals who struggle with their weakness and strive to overcome it and others who transform their sin into a reason for pride and try to impose their lifestyle on society as a whole, in flagrant opposition to traditional Christian morality and natural law. However, we pray for these too.
We pray also for the judges, legislators and government officials who in one way or another take steps that favor homosexuality and same-sex “marriage.” We do not judge their intentions, interior dispositions, or personal motivations.
We reject and condemn any violence. We simply exercise our liberty as children of God (Rom. 8:21) and our constitutional rights to free speech and the candid, unapologetic and unashamed public display of our Catholic faith. We oppose arguments with arguments. To the arguments in favor of homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” we respond with arguments based on right reason, natural law and Divine Revelation.
In a polemical statement like this, it is possible that one or another formulation may be perceived as excessive or ironic. Such is not our intention.
Footnotes
- The dictionary definition of nominalism is “a theory that there are no universal essences in reality and that the mind can frame no single concept or image corresponding to any universal or general term.” Thus, for a nominalist, the term “sex” can mean anything.
- Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Revolution and Counter-Revolution (Spring Grove, Penn.: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 1993), part 1, ch. 7, 3, at https://tfp.org/revolution-and-counter-revolution/. Complete and ordered liberty can be distinguished in that the first is the fruit of unbridled license and leads to anarchy. The second stems from reason and the love of God and His law and builds Christian civilization.