Church Teachings/To Little To Late

The other day while watching EWTN the bishop from New York was being interviewed about the gay marriage vote that had just passed and where the church stands on this issue.
The Bishop said that he was saddened by the outcome and it is still unacceptable for the Catholic Church to condone same sex marriages.The stand of the church is that marriage is for procreation and must be entered into by two people of the opposite not the same sex.
When asked what steps the church was taking abut this issue,the bishop said that no elected New York State official will be allowed at any Catholic Church or school to speak,this includes even those who voted against this bill,since he feels,they had not worked hard enough to stop the positive outcome of this vote.
When asked what the church was willing to do to those who run for future elected offices in New York and tout that they are good Catholics on the campaign trail in order to garner votes,yet voted in favor of this bill,he basically said there was not much to do.
Since the 1960's churches have become unable to say what they stand for or speak out about what they believe for fear of losing both parishioners and income.
This issue is not just a Catholic problem but a Christian problem,John the Baptist may have been willing to lose his head for his beliefs but not our modern day,feel good religious institutions.
We are becoming a country of christian cowards,to afraid to say what we believe because we either don't want to offend someone or deal with the hassle of not being liked,we don't have time in our daily lives for such things.
In my opinion the church leaders have a moral obligation to tell their parishioners what it does and does not believe,so each person has a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
Its to little to disagree with what is being passed in government when you put your head in the sand and at the last minutes say "oh wait church teachings go against what you just voted in."
At Sunday Liturgy we say we are one united and Catholic Church,but as my priest Father Peter says,we really are not, our beliefs,from religion to religion,are all over the board.
We have religions in this country that have watered down the rules so much that their own clergy do not follow what the church teaches.
They make the rules up as they go along because its to distasteful to have to stand up and say we do not allow this or that action because Jesus tells us they are not what is expected from us.
Sorry religion is not a democracy nor a popularity contest.
As we become more secular in our supposed faith base churches we lose the very reason for being a religion.
We are no longer an anchor of hope or beacon of light but a social club that talks flowery words but will not stand up for its thousands of years of teaching and laws.
The problem when clergy refuses to stand up for the rules is they too begin to break them causing their parishioners to not expect much from their own behavior.
We are called to be in the world but not of the world and our claims to be Christians start with our beliefs,taught to us by our higher ups in the faith.Clergy need to make it clear to the people in the pews what is and is not acceptable,then call people to task when they are about to or have already made mistakes against religious beliefs held by their faith.
On the day we are called to judgement,those who preach and teach the faith will be held to a higher standing then the rest of the world,they hold in their hands the souls of others.