Another
Commandment
Commandment
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Title: The New Commandment
Word Count: approx. 984
Cardinal Sigorelli sat in the oaken hi-backed
chair and
surveyed the assembly. "How could this be
happening!?",
he continued to ask himself. He had spent 50
years of his
life devoted to the Church and now Mother
Church was
abandoning him like an unwanted child. He
continued to
survey the room and its occupants. His gaze
stopped
briefly upon Monsignor De Voghi who was talking
to the
ambassador from Toledo. The discussion
seemed heated as
evidenced by De Voghi's hand movements and
frowns.
Sigorelli knew that his lifetime companion was
trying to
convince the Spanish ambassador to vote
against the new
commandment. De Voghi looked around in
disgust and,
meeting Sigorelli's stare, he shrugged his
shoulders.
Toledo would vote in favor of the change. Pietro
Santali
Sigorelli continued his survey of the chapel
occupants,
going down the rows of seated cardinals,
bishops, and
other church dignitaries. There were
representatives
from all the churches, both in the "Old Order" as
the
Moderns called it, and the "21st Order". The
hated 21st
Order had finally had its day. In the year 2006, the
inevitable Schism was on the rise. A new pope,
modern in
thinking and easily swayed by the new ideas and
beliefs,
was implementing radical changes in Holy
Mother Church.
If Pietro Santali had been chosen to head the
Church,
there would never be this assembly, this "unholy
gathering', this vote for such a desecration.
Continuing
his scrutiny, he came across the Civil Faction,
the hated
ones who now had a vote in what Pietro Santali
considered
strictly "a church matter". "What did they know of
church matters", he questioned. "Ambassadors,
consuls,
presidents, and other secular entities, all privy to
a
matter which did not and should not involve
them."
This vote for the new commandment would not
be taking place now if
the 21st Order had not been allowed to gain the
upper hand. Court
cases on legal marriages had always been the
Civil Courts'
jurisdiction, but now the Church was bound in
this matter. The State
of Hawaii in the United Federated States of
America had started the
whole process of recognition of same sex
unions when they passed a
legislative law in their state allowing this new
law. Many of the
other states had passed opposing laws on the
illegality of same sex
unions, until, one by one, California, New York,
Maryland, and New
Texas had changed their marriage laws in favor
of the "Same Sex
Union". Eventually, the other states followed suit.
Sigorelli knew
then that it was just a matter of time before the
Church would be
forced to participate in the new laws. The writing
was on the wall
with the "Parliti-Saunders vs Church of Rome"
case. A priest, Paulo
Parliti was excommunicated for "his same-sex
union" with an American
named Saunders. The case would not have had
so much importance had
it not been for the influence of the Saunders.
They were a very rich
and influential family in the UFSA, and so, not
only was their case
won in the civil courts, but also in the
ecclesiastical courts. Paulo
Parliti was reinstated and the excommunication
was lifted. The Old
Order did not accept the ruling, and the Schism
finally ensued. In
the year 2012, prelates, bishops, and even
cardinals were pitted
against each other. The Church of Amsterdam
separated from the
Church of Rome, and other Churches in the
Euro-Peoples Federation
followed suit. Cardinal Sigorelli was trying to get
De Voghi's
attention, when the assembly started to become
animated with the news
that the pope was making his way to the chapel.
All eyes were
directed to the east entrance as Pope Giovanni
Christolli entered the
chapel, preceded by his Cardinal Secretary and
the bishops of
Florence and Paris, his personal confidantes.
Behind them followed
the Chapel prelates, choir boys and girls, and the
2 -
Word Count: approx. 984
Cardinal Sigorelli sat in the oaken hi-backed
chair and
surveyed the assembly. "How could this be
happening!?",
he continued to ask himself. He had spent 50
years of his
life devoted to the Church and now Mother
Church was
abandoning him like an unwanted child. He
continued to
survey the room and its occupants. His gaze
stopped
briefly upon Monsignor De Voghi who was talking
to the
ambassador from Toledo. The discussion
seemed heated as
evidenced by De Voghi's hand movements and
frowns.
Sigorelli knew that his lifetime companion was
trying to
convince the Spanish ambassador to vote
against the new
commandment. De Voghi looked around in
disgust and,
meeting Sigorelli's stare, he shrugged his
shoulders.
Toledo would vote in favor of the change. Pietro
Santali
Sigorelli continued his survey of the chapel
occupants,
going down the rows of seated cardinals,
bishops, and
other church dignitaries. There were
representatives
from all the churches, both in the "Old Order" as
the
Moderns called it, and the "21st Order". The
hated 21st
Order had finally had its day. In the year 2006, the
inevitable Schism was on the rise. A new pope,
modern in
thinking and easily swayed by the new ideas and
beliefs,
was implementing radical changes in Holy
Mother Church.
If Pietro Santali had been chosen to head the
Church,
there would never be this assembly, this "unholy
gathering', this vote for such a desecration.
Continuing
his scrutiny, he came across the Civil Faction,
the hated
ones who now had a vote in what Pietro Santali
considered
strictly "a church matter". "What did they know of
church matters", he questioned. "Ambassadors,
consuls,
presidents, and other secular entities, all privy to
a
matter which did not and should not involve
them."
This vote for the new commandment would not
be taking place now if
the 21st Order had not been allowed to gain the
upper hand. Court
cases on legal marriages had always been the
Civil Courts'
jurisdiction, but now the Church was bound in
this matter. The State
of Hawaii in the United Federated States of
America had started the
whole process of recognition of same sex
unions when they passed a
legislative law in their state allowing this new
law. Many of the
other states had passed opposing laws on the
illegality of same sex
unions, until, one by one, California, New York,
Maryland, and New
Texas had changed their marriage laws in favor
of the "Same Sex
Union". Eventually, the other states followed suit.
Sigorelli knew
then that it was just a matter of time before the
Church would be
forced to participate in the new laws. The writing
was on the wall
with the "Parliti-Saunders vs Church of Rome"
case. A priest, Paulo
Parliti was excommunicated for "his same-sex
union" with an American
named Saunders. The case would not have had
so much importance had
it not been for the influence of the Saunders.
They were a very rich
and influential family in the UFSA, and so, not
only was their case
won in the civil courts, but also in the
ecclesiastical courts. Paulo
Parliti was reinstated and the excommunication
was lifted. The Old
Order did not accept the ruling, and the Schism
finally ensued. In
the year 2012, prelates, bishops, and even
cardinals were pitted
against each other. The Church of Amsterdam
separated from the
Church of Rome, and other Churches in the
Euro-Peoples Federation
followed suit. Cardinal Sigorelli was trying to get
De Voghi's
attention, when the assembly started to become
animated with the news
that the pope was making his way to the chapel.
All eyes were
directed to the east entrance as Pope Giovanni
Christolli entered the
chapel, preceded by his Cardinal Secretary and
the bishops of
Florence and Paris, his personal confidantes.
Behind them followed
the Chapel prelates, choir boys and girls, and the
2 -