Outrageous: Candidate for expulsion - Jesuit novice in Oregon province

In February of this year I blogged about the Northwest Province of Jesuits filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Now I find out the disturbing news that one of the Province's novices is, well, morally bankrupt:

Meet Cormac Brissett who's a novice in that province. He signed a protest in defense of public lewdness in a circular letter posted on-line by an apologist for pederasty, William A. Percy, in No to Sexophobia (May 3, 1995) with one of the founding members of Nambla. It's hard to believe that Mr. Brissett's opinions are a passing fancy, he's penned articles for Lavender Magazine, and intereviewed another pederastic intellectual,Edmund White, without the slightest criticism. It would be more surprising that Mr. Brissett would give up his unnatural tastes and intellectual defense of them than that the Jesuit order will perform due dilligence on its candidates for priesthood.

I'll leave the moralizing to Diogenes, but I'll write down my gut reaction: "What would Ignatius say?!"

Homosexualist Play To Be Performed at Four SF Catholic High Schools

Friday is AmP off-beat news day, but I have a feeling today's stories are just going to be plain sad:

Four Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are scheduled to host a performance of the condom-endorsing sex-education play Secrets. The play was written by openly lesbian playwright Patricia Loughrey. Secrets will be performed on October 14, 2009 at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco; on November 5, 2009 at Sacred Heart High School in Atherton; on January 19, 2010 at Mercy High School in Burlingame, and on February 9, 2010 at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San Francisco.

The play depicts a teenager who is HIV positive. Some content in Secrets was considered, by the Fremont, California Unified School District, to be sufficiently graphic to require that a permission slip be signed by parents before their child would be allowed to see it. The Fremont Unified School District also posts an online flyer (in English and Chinese) for parents, informing them of the performance, and inviting them to watch a video of Secrets before giving their permission. The flyer also describes two of the scenes: “A character dumps dozens of brightly wrapped condoms on the floor with a discussion about which type of condoms are the best to use and how to use them effectively.” Another scene is a “Discussion about contraceptives and a visual display of them.” The production of Secrets in the San Francisco Archdiocese is sponsored by the Educational Theater Programs division of the Kaiser Permanente HMO. (California Catholic Daily)

Nothing like Catholic private education.

LifeSiteNews "attempted to contact both the diocesan department of education and schools showing the play; but no calls or emails have yet been returned."

Nothing like transparent diocesan administrations.

And down south, where the real nuts roll:

The University of San Diego, a Catholic institution of higher education, gave permission to Pride (a campus “alliance” of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered queer and questioning students) to hold a campus dance on Friday, October 9, 2009. According to an e-mail obtained by California Catholic Daily, Pride met with the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Vice President for Mission and Ministry to discuss the dance and other issues regarding the group. The two administrators agreed to permit the event on campus. In the e-mail, a student leader wrote to the members of Pride, “we can have a DANCE, not a social or mixer, a full-on DANCE!!!! The University and administration support us and will continue to support us sponsoring a dance on-campus. This is a great step in the direction that we want to go…”. By providing a venue for students struggling with homosexual tendencies to pursue romantic relationships, such dances may conflict with Catholic teaching on sexual activity outside of marriage. (Cardinal Newman Society)

Sounds like a mixed bag of nuts.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Huh? Notre Dame funds students to attend DC Gay March, hosts "coming out day"

What the heck?

The Cardinal Newman Society points out more craziness at Notre Dame:

A surprise move from the Student Activities Office allowed five students to attend a national gay rights demonstration in Washington D.C. Sunday, sophomore Jackie Emmanuel, president of the Progressive Student Alliance (PSA), said.

The students were granted permission from the Office to use PSA funding to travel to the nation's capital to participate in the National Equality March over the weekend, Emmanuel said.

"The fact that we were University-approved was surprising but it was a wonderful surprise," she said. "The University hasn't always been entirely receptive in the past."

... She said her group hung out in the gay neighborhood of the city and stayed with friends to minimize costs. (ND Observer)

Whose bright idea was this?

A Notre Dame student sent me this photo they snapped on their phone at the student center a few days ago. In case you can't read it, the headline says "Coming Out Day - by signing this pledge:"

I'm guessing this is organized by Notre Dame's "Core Council for Gay and Lesbian Students" as part of their October 11th "National Coming Out Day"

Wierd: Freak Tornado rips up Lutheran Conference on homosexuality

On Wednesday I noticed this Associated Press article which reports that the Lutherans - who were founded, among other things, in an attempt to "rediscover" the original meaning of the bible, are trying to dismiss the bible in a committee:

Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have agreed to disagree on homosexuality, endorsing an official statement on human sexuality that says there's room in the church for differing views on an issue that's divided other religious groups.

Delegates to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's nationwide assembly in Minneapolis on Wednesday approved a "social statement on human sexuality." The vote was a prelude to a bigger debate Friday, when delegates will tackle a proposal that would allow individual ELCA congregations to hire people in committed same-sex relationships as clergy.

The meeting was, um, interrupted by ... a tornado:

Wednesday's debate was interrupted briefly in the afternoon when severe storms and a possible tornado passed through downtown Minneapolis, damaging the steeple of an ELCA church across the street from the convention center. Delegates were allowed to remain in the convention hall, but a few jokes about God's wrath proved inevitable.

"We trust that the weather is not a commentary on our work," said the Rev. Steven Loy, who was helping oversee the convention.

To be clear, it was not a "possible tornado," it was an actual tornado. Local blogger Orate Fratres has pictures of the toppled steeple , and describes the event as one of those "things that make you go hmmm...".

I mean, I don't remember the Council of Trent being plagued by local meteorological disasters.

Forget sex, the media knows that attacking the Catholic Church sells

First, the lie is spread around with a press release headline: Ohio Catholic Priest Comes OUT as a Drag Queen with a Billboard Dance Hit.

Then it builds with more sensationalism in the press release itself: "In celebration of Gay Pride Month, Big Mama Capretta reveals the surprise truth about her identity. By day, Capretta is none other than Father Anthony, a proud practicing Catholic priest from Columbus, Ohio! Big Mama Capretta's new hit single 'Big Mama's House' is currently #25 on the U.S. Billboard Club Play dance chart."

Next, the Advocate, an "award-winning LGBT news site", basically copies down the press release and offers it as "news", contributing to the believability of the lie begun by the press release.

Finally, huge entertainment blogs take the Advocate "story" as "news" and run with it. My personal favorite? Perez Hilton who pipes: "If the church ever wants to point fingers again, they should start in their own backyard."

Well, sorry to rain on the parade, but this guy has been "out" since the 1980's, and the Catholic "Church" he is part of is actually the Columbus Community of Charity Independent Old Catholic Church, an "all-inclusive and welcoming congregation" .... yadda, yadda, you know the story (actually, oddly-enough, attendance at their "masses" are "open only to membership." So much for being inclusive).

In other words, Father Anthony is as much a Catholic priest as calling myself "DJ-AMP" makes me a musical artist. 

Now, with these facts in hand, let's look at what is actually happening each step of the way in this story:

1) A PR firm realized the only way to promote this guy is to spread the claim he's actually a priest of the Catholic Church. This is false advertising because he is not a Catholic priest, and they knew that.

2) LGBT news sites happily continue the rumor because it plays into their stereotypes about priesthood, hypocrisy in the Church, etc. Never mind that it takes about five minutes of research to dismiss the lies spread by the press release. The Advocate is not even trying for journalistic integrity.

3) Celebrities like Perez Hilton who - idiot that he is - have a significant force in shaping today's pop culture, continue to perpetuate myths and lies about the Catholic Church. Remember this gem of a quote: "If the church ever wants to point fingers again, they should start in their own backyard." Try to imagine for a second if Perez Hilton had said that in reaction to a press release claiming a Hasidic Jew was a transvestite, etc.

Oh that's right, such things will never happen, because anti-Catholic prejudice is still acceptable, LGBT news sites aren't bound by the facts, and press firms have realized that when sex can't sell, attacking the Church will do.

Abp. Weakland's pilrimage ends in coming out

I note this story more out of obligation than interest. Apparently he is coming out with a book.

I'll leave a priest with the task of dealing with the media coverage, and supplying counsel.

Memphis: How not to do Catholic ministry to homosexual persons

Someone asked me to visit "Catholic Ministry with Gay & Lesbian Persons" in the Diocese of Memphis.

I found three red flags:

1. Its mission: "The Catholic Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Persons affirms that all the baptized, in the diversity of our sexual orientation, are called to full participation in the life, worship and mission of the Church. The ministry fosters inclusivity, mutual understanding and appreciation of all persons by promoting hospitality, education and support."
2. What is notably missing from this entire news section ... any criticism of gay lifestyle and activities or acknowledgement that homosexual acts are not a path to holiness.
3. What they consider to be good resources ... Joan Chittister? "Can My Son Be Gay and Catholic? The answer is Yes. "? These general intentions "for inclusion"?

Am I being unfair?

"Vermont Gov. Will Veto Same-Sex "Marriage" Bill Passed in Senate"

Nice to see good news on homosexual marriage coming from the northeast:

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas said today that he would veto a bill the Senate passed Monday that would open the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, reports the Associated Press (AP).

Douglas had indicated earlier that he thought the state's civil unions for same-sex couples were enough, and that he was against same-sex "marriage." (LifeSite)

Of course, this is a momentary pause in an ongoing conflict.

Robinson to invoke "God of many understandings" at Obama invocation

AmP reader Ed listened to Gene Robinson on NPR:

Robinson a) assures the interviewer that he was not selected to offset the Warren selection and b) remarks how shocked he was that the invocations of the last 30-40 years are "aggressively Christian." He has no intention of invoking the name of Jesus; rather, he will invoke the "god of many understandings."

The summary from All Things Considered:

"The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, has been chosen to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's kickoff inaugural event Sunday. Robinson says he doesn't think Obama picked him to balance the selection of evangelical pastor Rick Warren, who angered gay-rights supporters with his support of the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in California."

On a related note, I read in a local Washington paper today what I found confirmed online: "For the first time, a gay and lesbian band will be marching in a presidential inauguration." (They are actually LGBT, if it matters.)

So let's review: Robinson and gay bands are welcome, but Catholic clergy aren't even invited.

Is this the change we need?

Google v. Marriage

Google has decided to take a stand on gay marriage - in favor:

However, while there are many objections to this proposition -- further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text -- it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love. (Google's Official Blog)

So much for not being evil.

Related: Google opposes anti-gay marriage measure

Ph/t: AmP reader Daveko.

Brave Bishop Soto

The first headlines I read:

• "Bishop Soto stuns national homosexual ministries conference"
• "At least five members of the audience walked out"
• "It is sinful"

So what did Bishop Jaimi Soto, the coadjutor bishop of Sacramento, do that was so bad?

He simply stated Church teaching.

Rod Dreher introduces the situation succinctly:

"Bill Cork brings us a real Daniel-in-the-lion's-den story about a Catholic bishop acting like a Catholic bishop should. The occasion was the annual meeting of the National Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries, an organization whose existence is, shall we say, at cross-purposes with Catholic teaching on sexuality. California Catholic Daily reports that there were concerns among orthodox Catholics that when Sacramento Coadjutor Bishop Jaime Soto agreed to speak to the group, he would somehow legitimate them -- but that's not what happened."

"Surprised by truth! Good for Bishop Soto, not only for having the courage to speak Catholic truth to this group, but for having the grace to stick around and listen. Both were acts of charity and witness. It's rather telling that a board member of the heterodox organization was shocked and scandalized that a bishop showed up and taught what the Church teaches. As a Catholic priest friend writes this morning, "One has to ask why it is that so many dioceses have gay and lesbian ministers who are dissenters from Church teaching." Yes, one does."

Bill Cork:

The National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries met in San Diego last week and got a surprise: Bishop Jaime Soto, coadjutor bishop of Sacramento, “courageously but gently” reminded them of Christian teaching on human sexuality.

“Sexual relations between people of the same sex can be alluring for omosexuals, but it deviates from the true meaning of the act and distracts them from the true nature of love to which God has called us all,” Bishop Soto said. “For this reason, it is sinful. Married love is a beautiful, heroic expression of faithful, life-giving, life-creating love. It should not be accommodated and manipulated for those who would believe that they can and have a right to mimic its unique expression.”

Some walked out. Most sat in silence. A tiny few applauded. Afterwards, there was time for response and questions. 80% expressed their disappointment with Soto.

You can read the full text of the bishops comments here. Extensive CNA summary here.

I profiled Bishop Soto briefly back in October 2007 when he "escap[ed] out from Bishop Tod Brown."

Noted: California Voters Oppose Ban on Gay 'Marriage'

Things aren't looking good for the upcoming November referendum:

A majority of California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay "marriage," though they are evenly split on the practice itself, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The ballot question essentially will ask voters to prohibit the practice of same-sex "marriage," which was approved this year by the California Supreme Court.

... A majority of likely voters, 54 percent, oppose ending gay "marriage," compared with 40 percent who support it, the poll said. The result is similar to the findings of a Field Poll in July, which found that 51 percent of likely California voters opposed ending gay "marriage," while 42 percent said they supported it. (AP)

It's hard to give people reasons to vote for something they don't think directly effects their lives.

Noted: "Gay Bishop Must Resign or Confess, Says Sudan Church Head"

Sanity prevails, at least in the Sudan:

The head of the Anglican church in Sudan said on Tuesday that unity could be restored to the troubled Anglican Communion only when the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson resigns or confesses he has "made a mistake" in embracing homosexuality.

The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul told reporters at the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade gathering of Anglican bishops, that Robinson “should resign for the sake of the Church.”

“We consider him as a human being. We are not throwing him away. But he is supposed to resign to allow the Church to be united,” he said. “The norms of the Anglican Communion have been violated.”

He added that those involved with Robinson's consecration also had to confess.
"We as Christians always forgive one another and confess whenever we make mistakes. If they could do that that would help the Anglican world."

Just under a quarter of Communion's bishops have boycotted the Conference in protest of the attendance of pro-gay clergy. The absent bishops, largely conservative church leaders from the Global South, held an alternative summit in Jerusalem last month, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).

“I think there is already a breakdown of the Anglican Communion,” the Sudanese archbishop said. “Three hundred bishops have stayed away from this conference because of Gene Robinson. Shouldn’t Gene Robinson resign to allow the 300 bishops to come back to the house?”

In an official statement issued earlier on Tuesday, the Episcopal Church of Sudan said that it could not accept church leaders who practice contrary to the biblical teaching on sexuality. (Christian Today)

Action: 96 Catholic Colleges have pro-homosexual clubs or activities

Sounds like a poor joke, right? Well, it's true.

From the TFP Student Action center:

... TFP volunteers examined the official web sites of 211 Catholic universities and colleges listed by Granley’s Catholic Schools in America. Their research discovered that 45% have pro-homosexual clubs. Many of these clubs share in the movement’s radical goal – to force social acceptance of unnatural vice on Christian America, and gag expressions of free speech that oppose the movement’s ideological agenda.

... However, the number of pro-homosexual clubs on Catholic campuses may exceed 45% because not all clubs are listed on university web sites.

Action points:

1. Read the full report of the TFP.
2. See the list of Catholic colleges with pro-homosexual clubs
3. Send a pre-written (but customizable) letter to your school, if it applies.

Here in Washington, DC, Georgetown is the most blatant offender:

"... Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Catholic university, recently agreed to open and fully fund a new center for homosexual students in addition to the already existing pro-homosexual club on campus."

Georgetown hosts mock same-sex “wedding”, grants health benefits to the partners of homosexual employees, and provides services for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth and their Families.

On the GU Pride University website, photos from their "Coming OUT Day 2006" include shots of gay and lesbian students kissing at the public event, and other untoward images. A sample caption? "There's nothing strange about people in bright orange shirts kissing each other in a public forum with hundreds of people walking by and staring, right?"

Instead of directly answering that question, let me be very clear: the reason to decry "pro-homosexual" clubs is not because the Catholic Church is "anti-homosexual." It is because (for example) the Church cannot endorse or promote behaviors that hurt the human person, like these clubs do.

And there's nothing strange about that.

[photo: GUPride]

Gay Episcopal bishop Robinson pouts about Lambeth snub

Associated Press:

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop announced he will have no official role in a meeting this summer of world Anglican leaders, saying restrictions that organizers wanted to place on his involvement had caused him "considerable pain."

Irony:

"I am dismayed and sickhearted that we can't sit around a table, as brothers and sisters in Christ, and study Scripture together," he said. "It makes me wonder, if we can't sit around a table and study the Bible together, what kind of Communion do we have and what are we trying to save?"

What kind of Communion do they have and are trying to save? Oh, maybe the communion called for in Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9-10 and Rom 1:26-28, for a start start. It's hypocritical of him to accuse Lambeth of being uncharitable towards him when it is he who is condoning acts explicitly forbidded by God in scripture.

One thing I can agree with that Robinson said: "Pray for me. I will need that. A lot."

The UK Guardian, meanwhile, notes that Robinson will be at Lambeth although not participating in it, and 'planned to be available to anyone interested in "pursuing conversations that would include him'".

I blogged at-length here about the challenges facing the Anglican communion this year at Lambeth.