World Meeting of Families Co-Chair Pushes Gay Rights

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PHILADELPHIA, September 22, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) - A leader for the upcoming World Meeting of Families plans to push the gay agenda when he meets the Pope.

Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, a Democrat, is honorary co-chair of the World Meeting of Families, and also happens to be a strong proponent of gay marriage. In January, he officiated a gay wedding of two Israeli diplomats, and earlier this summer, he implemented the first Annual Reminder Day protest marking the start of the national "LGBT Civil Rights movement" in Philadelphia, writing:

Philadelphia has enacted the strongest civil rights law and protections for LGBT citizens of any city in the country and was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign in 2014 as the number one city for LGBT equality.

Before becoming mayor, while a member of City Council, he drafted bills creating the Life Partnership Program for gay couples. And as mayor, he founded Philadelphia's first Office of LGBT Affairs, as well as taking on the role of national co-chair of Mayors for Marriage Equality, an initiative of the gay activist group Freedom to Marry. He's also signed legislation promoting gay rights, including passing the nation's first law providing the Equality Tax Credit to employers who provide health benefits to homosexuals.

In a statement issued Friday, Nutter said he'd raise the question of gay rights with Pope Francis when he visits the World Meeting of Families this week. "For 30 years I have stood as an advocate and ally with and for our LGBT communities, and if given the opportunity to advance these issues on an international stage, I will certainly seize the opportunity."

In the letter issued to "Your Holiness," he wrote:

We encourage ending the systematic and institutionalized discrimination against LGBT people through the message of love, hope, and acceptance. For the many LGBT individuals who seek the Lord and have good will, we ask that you end judgment of these individuals by those within the Church through teaching and pastoral practice currently in place.

Controversy arose in recent weeks when it was discovered that Abp. Charles Chaput, head of the archdiocese of Philadelphia and responsible for organizing and hosting the World Meeting of Families, bestowed on Nutter the honor of being named "Honorary Co-Chair" of the World Meeting of Families. In fact, a recent report by the Lepanto Institute revealed that multiple members on the executive cabinet are Democrats who actively promote abortion or gay rights — and that this fact is known to the archbishop.

When ChurchMilitant.com reached out to the archbishop asking that he avoid scandal by removing the pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage members from the leadership team, Chaput denied any controversy and refused to confirm the veracity of the reports.

But secular newspaper PhillyMag.com was more forthcoming:

The World Meeting of Families leadership roster is packed full of members of the Philadelphia Democratic establishment, which generally runs pro-choice. Mayor Michael Nutter and Gov. Tom Wolf are both listed as honorary co-chairs. Other notable politicos include Comcast vice president David Cohen — a top fundraiser for President Obama — who is listed as a co-chair of the organization’s executive leadership cabinet, as is Comcast honcho Brian Roberts, who has given at least $76,000 to Democrats since 2006.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf is proudly hailed by Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards as "[the] first governor in the history of this country who is also a former Planned Parenthood escort." Wolf also appointed a Planned Parenthood executive to his transition team, and just last month appointed a former Planned Parenthood executive as his chief of staff.

According to the World Meeting of Families website,

WMOF was conceived by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1992 to look at strengthening the sacred bonds of the family unit across the globe. The first WMOF took place in Rome in 1994, the International year of the family.

Nutter has made clear his plans to take advantage of his position of prominence, both as Philadelphia mayor and as honorary co-chair of the World Meeting of Families, to advance the gay agenda when the Pope visits — and the faithful are left wondering why Chaput continues to refuse to do anything to remedy this.

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