A Catholic group in Minnesota has
returned more than 3,000 anti-gay marriage DVDs to the Minnesota
diocese that produced them.
The DVD Preserving Marriage in
Minnesota was distributed to more than 400,000 homes across the
state before the midterm elections. The mailer implicitly called on
Catholics to reject lawmakers who support gay marriage.
Organizers
behind ReturnTheDVD.org, a self-described group of “mostly
suburban, mostly middle aged, married Catholics, who are concerned
about the priorities of the leaders in the Catholic Church in
Minnesota,” objected to the church's stance on the issue.
The group returned the DVDs to the
Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, which includes 222 parish
churches in twelve counties, on Friday, but Archbishop John Clayton
Nienstedt refused to meet with them.
“We couldn't get a meeting with the
Archbishop, so as requested, we brought along a letter voicing what
our mission was and how this DVD campaign affected many of us,” the
group said on its website.
In its letter to the archbishop, the
group said the DVD's message “conflicts with core Christian values
of love, compassion, tolerance and respect” and “constitutes an
attack on human dignity.”
Out-of-state anti-gay marriage groups,
including
the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), invested heavily in
Minnesota, and they cheered a November 2 GOP takeover of the
Legislature, which turned the tables on gay marriage supporters.
Incoming
Republican leaders now say they'll press for a gay marriage ban.