As a result, gay activists have been targeting religious communities in that state who oppose same-sex marriage and are trying to sow dissent there.

It’s not surprising that a group of people who believe they can simply redefine what marriage is also thinks they can simply redefine what it means to be Catholic.

At any rate, I applaud the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis for calling one of the worst-offending groups out:

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Minnesota Catholic Conference issued a joint statement today explaining that a newly formed group calling itself “Catholics for Marriage Equality MN” has no recognition from nor affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church.

One of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN’s expressed aims is to defeat the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment that will appear on the November 2012 ballot, and which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The group misleadingly tries to convince Catholics that they can, in good conscience, support a state redefinition of marriage without undermining marriage itself. The Catholic Church, in keeping with Catholic teaching, reason and natural law, and in concert with many other faiths, strongly supports maintaining the current, traditional definition of marriage by voting “yes” for the Amendment during the November 2012 election.

[Read the full statement here.]

I’ve written about the umbrella group behind this Minnesota chapter (“Catholics for Equality”) here and also made sure to point out when the Archdiocese of DC clarified that the group was founded “in opposition to Church teaching”. Abp. Broglio of the Archdiocese of the Military Services has also made clear that Catholics for Equality is a fake Catholic group.

Meanwhile, If you live in Minnesota, I urge you to join the Minnesota for Marriage campaign which is the main group dedicated to making sure marriage wins at the ballot box in 2012.

And on a related note, check-out the newly-launched Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance which is dedicated to protecting and defending individuals who have publicly spoken-out or acted in defense of traditional marriage. Catholics and other people of good will need to stick together and stand up for marriage!

The Archdiocese of Detroit has been contacted by concerned members of the faithful about a movement called the American Catholic Council. Self-described as “bringing together a network of individuals, organizations, and communities to consider the state and future of our Church,” they have planned a national gathering in Detroit for the weekend of Pentecost 2011. The American Catholic Council movement and its national gathering are not conducted under the auspices of the Detroit archdiocese, the universal Roman Catholic Church, or any entity or organization affiliated with the archdiocese or the universal Roman Catholic Church.

Although their stated purpose is to “respond to the Spirit of Vatican II by summoning the Baptized together to demonstrate our re-commitment and the documents issued by the American Catholic Council offer some valid aspirations for the Church, in fact, the goals proposed are largely in opposition to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the Holy Spirit, which inspired the Council.

The archdiocese wishes to commend and embrace all true efforts at Church renewal – the American Church Council’s agenda is not such an effort…

Archbishop Vigneron goes on to warn Catholics (and especially priests and deacons) against participating in the conference, and has formally asked the organizers to cancel the event. He ends by asking all Catholics to “pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may embrace authentic development of faith and morals, and shun efforts which threaten unity.”

Please send a brief email to the Archbishop at infodesk@aod.org thanking him for his efforts to preserve and promote Catholic unity and defend the teachings of the Church in his archdiocese!