Phoenix, Ariz., Jun 21, 2017 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In recognition of their promotion of religious freedom, the founder of Alliance Defending Freedom and his wife will be inducted next week into the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
Alan and Paula Sears will receive the honor, granted to individuals for extraordinary service to the Church, at a June 29 service led by Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix at St. Bernadette parish in Scottsdale, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
Bestowing the honor on the Sears “is a well-deserved recognition of their many years of defending religious freedom, standing up for the true meaning of marriage and family life, defending the dignity and right to life of every human person, and faithfully living their lay vocation in their home, their parish, and the public square,” Bishop Olmsted has said.
The Order of St. Gregory the Great is granted to individuals for extraordinary service to the Catholic Church. It is one of several orders of pontifical knighthood, which the Church bestows to continue chivalric traditions and recognize merit and service. It can be given to both Catholics and non-Catholics, and was established in 1831 by Gregory XVI.
Previous recipients include Leo Nester, professor emeritus of choral and sacred music at the Catholic University of America; Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics; Chen Chien-jen, vice president of Taiwan; Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus; and Polish composer Henryk Gorécki.
Alan Sears founded Alliance Defending Freedom in 1994. The non-profit legal organization advocates for religious liberty, and has defended the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family, and has upheld the rights to free speech and conscientious objection.
“Paula and I are more than humbled by this honor. Christians and people of goodwill everywhere should have the freedom to live what they believe and to follow their conscience, what James Madison called ‘the most sacred of all property,’” Sears said in a June 15 statement.
“We have counted it a privilege, with God’s grace, to do our part to protect these freedoms. Pope Francis repeatedly has spoken strongly about religious liberty, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life, so it is a distinct honor to be recognized by him for our work in those areas.”
Paula added that “the world benefits when the Gospel is freely preached and lived … We are blessed to have had the opportunity to support and encourage those who have sacrificially shared that message and their lives with others. We are very humbled and grateful to Pope Francis for this honor and additionally thank him for his leadership in these areas.”
Since founding Alliance Defending Freedom alongside several other Christian leaders, Alan Sears served as the organization’s president, CEO, and general counsel until the beginning of 2017. He has since transitioned into a founder’s role at the non-profit.
He was succeeded as president, CEO, and general counsel in January by Michael Farris.
Farris commented that “I am personally grateful for Alan and Paula’s 23 years of sacrificial service to ADF and, therefore, also grateful to Pope Francis for bestowing them with this incredible honor. It’s amazing to be part of an organization that would not be where it is today without their tireless efforts and service to the body of Christ and beyond.”
Alan Sears served in several positions under the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations in the Departments of Justice and the Interior. He earned his doctorate in law from the University of Louisville School of Law, and had previously graduated from the University of Kentucky.
He is a member in good standing with the American, Arizona, California, District of Columbia (inactive), and Kentucky bar associations.
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There is no such thing as transgender.
No one, not even the most powerful judge, the most gifted surgeon nor the most persuasive politician can physically remove the Y-chromosomes from a man and turn that man into a woman. Nor can any of the above inject Y-chromosomes into a woman to make her into a man.
Anything beyond that is mere pretense.
That being said, there is no constitutional verbiage anywhere that protects or can be presumed to protect the notion or concept of a publicly, all encompassing judicially enforced pretense.
Law is law, and make believe is make believe. Never presume to confuse the one with the other.
Otherwise, these mid-level judiciaries will be seen for what they are – a collective bunch of emperors parading around in their new clothes, to the amusement of all.
Judge Hurson is certainly an advocate for LGBT ideology and not an impartial advocate for justice. Nor does he pay regard to the overwhelming findings of studies here and abroad, Sweden and Finland among the early advocates of trans surgery who have now radically changed their position based on facts that are counter to his bias.
Following by analogy the Apostle in response to the circumcisers, Hurson, if convinced of the need for confused children to be sexually mutilated justified by the plight of adult homosexuals should castrate himself.
Dark humor aside, that perhaps judge Hurson make an extravagant gesture of support we’re within a moment of an entirely new paradigm, within which opposites have become conventional. Wherein Harry became Sally, Black White, Catholic Christianity the Church of martyrs an innocuous discussion club. What will save us Lord? Certainly the Eucharist.
That answer is increasingly manifest in new structures within the Church although not structured as adjuncts of the Church. These are among several such, the Catholic website. Not your average discussion club. Certainly not a mime of the Synod. Men of women mostly with faith some searching some skeptics worldwide when at best seeking understanding supportive drawing visions ideas solutions. A living Church within the Church that has lost its raison d’etre.