Archbishop Nienstedt defends and supports marriage and the family


Archbishop John Nienstedt and the other bishops in Minnesota have sent out over 300,000 copies of a DVD giving the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage and the family. The intention is that every Catholic in the diocese should receive a copy of the DVD "Preserving Marriage in Minnesota."

Mirroring the opposition to the Holy Father on the occasion of his visit to the UK, this teaching initiative has been opposed by secularists, gays and liberal Catholics. They even got whole dozens of people out to protest.

The Catholic Online article reporting the release of the DVD makes the pertinent observation:
Augustine once compared a Bishop who lacked courage to preach the Gospel and defend the faith to "a scarecrow standing in a vineyard." Archbishop John Nienstedt is a Bishop who understands his vocation as a teacher and demonstrates Episcopal spine in an age which desperately needs to witness it.
The secular coverage of the DVD has billed it as "anti-gay" rather than recognising its primary intent of supporting family life. The Catholic Online article has a transcript of an interview that Archbishop Nienstedt gave to Minnesota Public Radio in which he stands up well before hostile questioning.

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