From Puerto Rico: "WE NEED WATER!"

Yesterday, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz spent the day tweeting about the desperate situation in Puerto Rico. "WE NEED WATER" she tweeted over and over, following that by tweeting about the lack of response from FEMA as hospitals trasferred patients due to power outages.

The Hospital had requested support from FEMA and no response. Oh sorry they are collecting data...

— Carmen Yulín Cruz (@CarmenYulinCruz) October 8, 2017

FEMA Administrator Brock Long appeared on This Week, during which he bluntly said that FEMA is indeed not listening to Carmen Yulín Cruz, because she's just creating "political noise."

.@FEMA_Brock responds to San Juan mayor: "We filtered out the mayor a long time ago. We don’t have time for the political noise." #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/o26LPAEAl8

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 8, 2017

LONG: We filtered out the mayor a long time ago. We don't have time for the political noise.

The bottom line is, is that, um, we are making progress every day, in conjunction with the governor. And, uh, in regards to the power failure, we're restringing a very fragile system every day. As we make progress, simple thunderstorms pass through, knock the progress out.

Um, rebuilding — rebuilding Puerto Rico is gonna be a greater conversation for the Congress in conjunction with the governor on how they're, you know, what the way forward is in the future of Puerto Rico.

But in regards to the power outages and the hospitals, we built an entire 911 system; we monitor the hospital system daily. And so, if there is a power failure at a hospital, which we've seen two of, um, you know, over this past week, we're actually life-flighting the ICU patients out of those hospitals onto the USS Comfort, and we continue to stabilize that situation with hospitals.

But as far as the political noise, we filter that out, keep our heads down, and continue to make progress — and, uh, push forward to restoring essential functions for Puerto Rico.

So not only does Long dismiss Cruz's concerns about access to clean water and maintaining power at hospitals as "political noise," but he implies that said "political noise" is somehow an impediment to the work of restoring essential functions; that Cruz is obliging them to "keep their heads down" to avoid being deterred by her distracting articulation of concerns facing the people she represents.

Additionally, Long seems to reiterate the implication made by Donald Trump that the federal government might decide not to rebuild Puerto Rico at all if it's too costly. These comments from the administration are always couched in frames about "figuring out a way forward with Congress" or whatever, but what a thin veneer that is stretched over the thick suggestion of potential abandonment and neglect.

Shame on this entire administration — and that includes Mike Pence, who (as per usual) is skating by without criticism, despite the fact that the nation's foremost preening Christian self-hagiographer is busily engaging in white supremacist stunts rather than advocating for life-saving interventions on behalf of 3.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico.

Just like Jesus would do.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War; death. Covers next two paragraphs.] President Obama has authorized "two operations in Iraq—targeted airstrikes to protect our American personnel, and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death. ...To stop the advance on Erbil, I've directed our military to take targeted strikes against ISIL terrorist convoys should they move toward the city. ...We intend to stay vigilant, and take action if these terrorist forces threaten our personnel or facilities anywhere in Iraq, including our consulate in Erbil and our embassy in Baghdad. We're also providing urgent assistance to Iraqi government and Kurdish forces so they can more effectively wage the fight against ISIL. Second, at the request of the Iraqi government—we've begun operations to help save Iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain. ...I've, therefore, authorized targeted airstrikes, if necessary, to help forces in Iraq as they fight to break the siege of Mount Sinjar and protect the civilians trapped there. Already, American aircraft have begun conducting humanitarian airdrops of food and water to help these desperate men, women, and children survive."

Meanwhile: "Paul Wolfowitz, a former senior George W. Bush administration official and one of the chief Iraq War architects, said on Tuesday that the U.S. 'won' the war in Iraq. When asked his thoughts about the current situation in Iraq and whether the war was a mistake, Wolfowitz replied, 'We have won it—in 2009.'" This fucking guy.

[CN: War; death] In Israel & Gaza: "Israel launched air strikes on Gaza on Friday morning after Islamist groups there refused to extend a ceasefire and resumed rocket fire. At least 35 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel after a 72-hour ceasefire expired at 8am local time. Several more had been fired during the night. By noon there were reports of air strikes in the north and east of Gaza and several audible explosions in Gaza City. There appear to have been some casualties, though details were unclear."

[CN: War on agency] This piece by Texas activist Andrea Grimes is great: "Davis vs. Goliath: What Followed Wendy Davis' Bid for Texas Governor."

[CN: Homophobia] Just like Jesus would do: A Florida church abruptly cancelled a man's funeral "after the pastor learned the deceased was gay and his obituary listed a surviving husband."

[CN: Climate change] Scientists believe the giant holes in Siberia may have been caused by climate change: "Russian researchers who have explored the crater sites now believe the long-frozen Siberian permafrost thawed due to increased temperatures, collapsed and let free methane gas trapped beneath, the team told the science journal Nature. The team tested the air near the bottom of the holes and discovered an unusually high concentration of methane." Terrific.

This weekend in the skies [video may begin playing automatically at link]: "Sky observers in the Northern Hemisphere will get a special treat this Sunday as a 'super moon' and meteor showers are expected to happen at the same time. The annual meteor shower, Perseid, will light up the night sky with as many as 100 shooting stars an hour. The prolific Perseid will be joined by a 'super moon,' which occurs when the Earth is at its closest distance to the moon. The meteor shower will peak between Aug. 10 and Aug. 13, and is expected to last for a week after its peak. 'The best time to see the showers will be at around 2 a.m. in the morning,' Tony Berendsen, an outreach astronomer and founder of Tahoe Star Tours told ABC News today."

[CN: Fat bias] Allison Tolman continues to be awesome: "While I know that me saying something to [people engaging in fat shaming and body policing] on the Internet and sassing somebody back doesn't actually do anything to them—I don't think I'm going to change anyone's mind, obviously—but I'm hoping that if that's part of the conversation, people saying nasty things to women, maybe we can also make part of the conversation women saying back, 'It's really none of your business, shut up.'"

And finally! Here is an adorable video of a Rottweiler who loves her weekly shower. Awww!

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Priorities

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

Judge not or whatever: Colleen Simon, former coordinator of social ministries at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, was fired from her position after an article about the area mentioned that Simon is married to a woman, the Rev. Donna Simon of St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church.

Simon's work as coordinator of social ministries was profiled April 30 in The Star's 816 newsmagazine. The article highlighted Troost Avenue — its history and the many interesting people dedicated to its vibrancy today.

Colleen Simon and her wife...were mentioned deep in the story, along with the fact that they are a married couple.

The freelance writer didn't intend to out the couple. They bear no grudge to her, nor to the priest currently serving St. Francis. The Simons have never hidden their marriage (in Iowa on May 19, 2012).

Rather, Colleen Simon kept a don't-ask, don't-flaunt attitude. She said she told the pastor who hired her in July 2013 (he is no longer at the parish) of her marriage. But day to day, she avoided pronouns that would highlight it, substituting "my spouse" or "my beloved."

"You don't want your legacy to be one of division and ugliness," she said. "It's awful. But there are laws, and until that law gets changed in the church, it is what it is."

She says that in a series of emails and discussions that began last week, she was asked to resign. Colleen Simon believes that the order originated from Bishop Robert Finn.

The diocese is declining to comment.

...Simon is devastated. But her refusal to resign, her insistence on being fired, is not a stand on principle. It's pragmatic. She might need unemployment benefits.

In November, Simon will reach the milestone of being three years cancer-free from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. But many bills from her treatment remain unpaid. At 58, she worries about her ability to find a new job quickly.

She's heartsick. But she says righteous indignation has no role here, not from her.

"I knew this was a losing engagement," she said. "I was just hoping for a longer engagement."

In her role, Simon encouraged parishioners to take a more active role in the pantry: "She pressed for the congregation to not only offer food, but to examine systemic reasons for why people hunger." The final delivery she oversaw was 2,000 pounds of food. This is a woman who was making a meaningful difference in people's lives, both people in need and people who have the means to give.

And her Catholic employer was willing to throw all of that away because Simon is a lesbian.

Great priorities.

I wonder why it is that the diocese, if they are so convinced of their moral rectitude in firing Simon because she's gay, has no comment. If running off a dedicated and effective employee in service to feeding people in need, which is something the actual person after whom their religion is named mentioned once or twice or a million times, is truly doing the bidding of their loving god, then why the silence?

Please, do tell us all about your terrific decision.

[Commenting Note: Please take care in comments to distinguish between the actions of church leadership and of other Catholics who may not support their leadership in its actions.]

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Major (and terrible) news for the shredded vestiges of the US democracy: The Supreme Court has "struck down restrictions on the grand total that any person can contribute to all federal candidates for office. Today's decision left intact the cap of $2,600 per election that a contributor to give to any single candidate for federal office, but it invalidated the separate limit on how much can be contributed to all federal candidates put together—$48,600. ...Supporters of what's known as the aggregate contribution limit said its purpose was to help prevent corruption. Without it, warned Fred Wertheimer, a longtime proponent of federal regulation of contributions, 'you will establish a system of legalized bribery like we used to have before the Watergate scandals.'" Which is to say nothing of the fact that it further erodes the equalizing effect that universal suffrage is meant to achieve.

[Content Note: Disaster; death] There was an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern Chile last night, which triggered a tsunami that pounded the shore with seven-foot waves. Six people were killed. Damage to infrastructure and property was limited. "President Michelle Bachelet, declared parts of Chile's north a disaster zone, promising troops and police reinforcements to maintain order while damage was repaired after landslides blocked roads."

In news that surprises no one: "US intelligence chiefs have confirmed that the National Security Agency has used a 'back door' in surveillance law to perform warrantless searches on Americans' communications." This country. Seriously.

[CN: Homophobia] Not learning the lesson that this shit will not pass Constitutional muster anywhere, Mississippi "has passed legislation that would allow people to use their religion to justify discrimination." For people who claim to love small government and hate waste, Republicans sure do love wasting taxpayer dollars defending indefensible bullshit in court.

[CN: Airline disaster] Authorities have cleared all passengers of foul play in the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and finally admit that we may not ever know what happened. No shit. I don't mean to sound flippant, but I'm just angry that outcome was not stressed as a possibility from the start, which I feel would have been much more sensitive to the families and friends who have been desperately waiting for answers they keep being promised will come. That was a promise there was never any certainty could be kept.

Yikes: "The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta apologized Monday for building a $2.2 million mansion for himself" with a massive donation. Archbishop Wilton Gregory says of the nearly 6,400-square-foot mansion: "I am disappointed that, while my advisors [sic] and I were able to justify this project fiscally, logistically, and practically, I personally failed to project the cost in terms of my own integrity and pastoral credibility with the people of God of north and central Georgia." Ha ha whoops!

In other Catholic Church news: "Vatican super-charges social media for saintings: The Vatican is turning to social media to reach out to the millions of pilgrims expected to attend the canonisation of John Paul II, the Polish pope who attained rock star status by the time he died in 2005. Rome police expect up to five million people at the mass officially making saints of John Paul II, who was pope from 1978-2005, as well as John XXIII (1958-63)—in the first double papal sainting ceremony in the church's history. Besides the www.2papisanti.org official website, the Vatican has set up several Facebook pages using the "2popesaints" theme, as well as accounts on Twitter (@2popesaints), YouTube (2popesaints) and Instagram (#2popesaints)." Those 2popesaints are 2legit2quit. True fact.

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Today in Just Like Jesus Would Do

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

Insert the requisite disclaimer that not all conservative evangelical Christians are any one thing, something that ought to be evident as I'm linking to an evangelical Christian writing about this turn of events (emphases mine):

On March 24, World Vision announced that the U.S. branch of the popular humanitarian organization would no longer discriminate against employees in same-sex marriages. It was a decision that surprised many but one that made sense, given the organization's ecumenical nature.

But on March 26, World Vision President Richard Stearns reversed the decision, stating, "our board acknowledged that the policy change we made was a mistake."

Supporters helped the aid group "see that with more clarity," Stearns added, “and we're asking you to forgive us for that mistake."

So what happened within those 48 hours to cause such a sudden reversal?

The Evangelical Machine kicked into gear.

Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the decision pointed to "disaster," and the Assemblies of God denomination encouraged its members to pull their financial support from the organization.

Evangelicals took to Twitter and Facebook to threaten to stop sending money to their sponsored children unless World Vision reversed course.

Within a day of the initial announcement, more than 2,000 children sponsored by World Vision lost their financial support. And with more and more individuals, churches and organizations threatening to do the same, the charity stood to lose millions of dollars in aid that would otherwise reach the poor, sick, hungry and displaced people World Vision serves.

So World Vision reversed course.

Stearns told The New York Times that some people, satisfied with the reversal, have called World Vision headquarters to ask, "Can I have my child back?" as though needy children are expendable bargaining chips in the culture war against gay and lesbian people.

Many of us who grew up evangelical watched with horror as these events unfolded.

As a longtime supporter of World Vision, I encouraged readers of my blog to pick up some of the dropped sponsorships after the initial decision. I then felt betrayed when World Vision backtracked, though I urged my readers not to play the same game but to keep supporting their sponsored children, who are of course at no fault in any of this.

But most of all, the situation put into stark, unsettling relief just how misaligned evangelical priorities have become.

When Christians declare that they would rather withhold aid from people who need it than serve alongside gays and lesbians helping to provide that aid, something is wrong.

When you reach the point where you think it's reasonable to say, "I will stop supporting this needy child because you are being slightly less hateful toward gay people," you have derailed.

Which would be true irrespective of the belief system underwriting that indecent calculation, but is especially absurd when the person around whose teachings your entire belief system is based is believed to have spoken incessantly about caring for the poor and said bupkis about same-sex marriage.

This is a complete abandonment of perspective and decency.

When secularists and religious liberals of various stripes express contempt for conservative evangelicals' legislative meddling, they reflexively accuse us of being hostile to their faith. And when we note it's really the bigotry they practice under the auspices of faith to which we object, they caterwaul about how they don't hate queer folks and accuse us of intolerance.

Well. Yeah. And frankly I don't feel particularly inclined to apologize for being intolerant of choices so evidently motivated by fear and hatred it is laughable to claim otherwise.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War on agency; Christian Supremacy] Over at ProPublica, Nina Martin has a terrific round-up of pieces on the Hobby Lobby case before the Supreme Court.

[CN: Disaster; death] More bodies have been recovered from the aftermath of the Washington landslide. Absolutely devastating. There was some good news, though, as an infant and a four-year-old boy were rescued alive. To give some idea of the conditions with which rescuers are contending: "The boy was so firmly embedded in the slide that crews literally had to pull him out of his pants."

And one very lucky family found their dog alive. Yay! [Note: Video may begin to play automatically at link.]

If you have been trying to enroll in health plans through the federal insurance marketplace, but aren't able to finalize enrollment by the March 31 deadline: "Federal officials confirmed Tuesday evening that all consumers who have begun to apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov, but who do not finish by Monday, will have until about mid-April to ask for an extension."

[CN: Transphobia; police malfeasance] The ACLU has filed an amicus brief "as part of our ongoing efforts to end the abuse that transgender people experience in the custody of police departments and corrections agencies. The Court should follow clear law that officials cannot meet their constitutional obligations by placing vulnerable individuals in an obvious path to harm."

Good grief: "Two CNN producers were arrested Tuesday while allegedly trying to break into the World Trade Center site to report on recent security breaches."

[CN: Gender policing] A Christian school in Virginia has refused to enroll a little girl because she doesn't conform to a traditional presentation of femininity. Just like Jesus would do!

Swell: "A BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana leaked an unknown amount of oil into Lake Michigan Monday afternoon, an incident that occurred less than two weeks after the U.S. lifted BP’s ban on seeking new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. BP says the spill, which has since been stopped and contained, was caused by a 'disruption in the refining process' at its Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana." Oh, okay then. "Lake Michigan acts as the drinking water source for 7 million people in the Chigago area alone, but EPA officials said on the call that the drinking water wouldn't be affected by the spill." For some reason, I don't feel reassured.

A shelter in West Virginia celebrated its six-month anniversary of not euthanizing any animals for space considerations by tearing down its incinerator. Love.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today!

Moving the Race Conversation Forward—"a report by Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation that aims to reshape and reform the way we talk about race and racism in our country."

[Content Note: War on agency] On the 41st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the GOP Is Doubling Down on Its Anti-Abortion Strategy: "Over the past year, the Republican Party has attempted to re-brand itself to appeal more to female voters. But at least some members of the party aren't prepared to soften their rhetoric on women's issues. At the Republican National Committee's annual meeting, which begins on Wednesday in Washington, a coalition of conservatives plans to present a resolution urging the GOP to take a more forceful stance against abortion." A more forceful stance?! Zoinks.

[CN: War on agency] US District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles has "permanently blocked a 2011 North Carolina law that required abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and describe the images to the patient, even if the woman objected." Good. Eagles "ruled that the 'speech-and-display' provision of the law violated the First Amendment. State lawmakers had acknowledged that the ultrasound law was designed to persuade women not to obtain abortions. 'Requiring a physician or other health care provider to deliver the state's content-based, non-medical message in his or her own voice as if the message was his or her own constitutes compelled ideological speech and warrants the highest degree of First Amendment protection,' wrote Judge Eagles." Amazing.

[CN: Fire; death. Video begins playing automatically at link.] This story is heartbreaking for every reason: An 8-year-old boy died in a fire that engulfed his grandfather's trailer home, but before he died, trying to rescue his uncle, who had a physical disability, he saved six other people. RIP tiny little hero. Blub. (Also: I loathe the way that there can be a whole thing about the number of people living in the trailer without any explicit mention of the fact that the reason so many people were living in one trailer is poverty.)

[CN: Class warfare] The US Supreme Court is considering a case that "could threaten the constitutionality of public employee unions and undermine a long line of precedent. Justice Elena Kagan remarked: 'This is…a radical argument. It would radically restructure the way workplaces across this country are—are run.'" Lyle Denniston has more details about the case and its likely outcome at SCOTUSblog.

Speaking of radical decisions by the Supreme Court: How Citizens United Changed Politics, in 6 Charts. And "politics" doesn't even really begin to cover it. Citizens United has fundamentally changed our democratic process. Which wasn't exactly a paragon of voter parity in the first place.

[CN: Anti-feminism; clergy abuse] The Polish Catholic Church leadership "has declared war on 'gender theory,' saying it undermines the traditional family. ...The theory explores sexual orientation and the roles assigned by society to individuals based on their gender, but the Polish Church has borrowed the English word 'gender' to refer to a range of issues including contraception, abortion, and homosexuality." A wide range of issues that affect women, trans men, and gay/bi men. Neat! "Critics say that is a tactic to shift attention away from a paedophile priest scandal." I never would have guessed. By which I mean: That is totally predictable and not at all surprising, and also very gross and terrible.

Trigger the Cat saved her guardian's life by running for help. Blub.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today!

Pew Research finds that Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's approval ratings have taken a hit recently. Huh!

[Content Note: Environmental disaster; injury] As I noted yesterday, hospital visits have risen sharply in West Virginia following the lifting of bans on drinking water after a chemical spill. During a press conference yesterday, Democratic West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was asked about the safety of the water, to which he replied: "It's your decision. If you do not feel comfortable drinking or cooking with this water then use bottled water. ...We've been in this thing for 11 days. It's a very complicated issue. I'm not a scientist, you know. I have to rely on the best information that I have." ("Right back atcha!" said everyone in West Virginia, probably.)

President Obama will meet with Pope Francis in March: "The president looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality." And definitely not talking about how reproductive freedom is a central piece of that issue.

[CN: Racism] Richard Sherman's Blackness Will Take Center Stage at This Year's Super Bowl. I saw some tweets and headlines about this yesterday, but didn't see the actual clip of Sherman until right before I went to bed. Based on the OUTRAGE!!eleventy!, I did not anticipate how completely noncontroversial Sherman's post-game interview would be, even with my rock bottom expectations of what racists find alarming.

Actual Headline: "Hillary's No Slam Dunk in 2016." Actual lede: "Could Hillary Clinton be the next Richard Nixon?" Oh god. Save me from US presidential campaigns.

[CN: War on agency] Republican Kentucky state representative Joe Fischer "has added an amendment banning abortions at 20 weeks to a domestic violence bill, saying that 'the most brutal form of domestic violence is the violence against unborn children.' The bill, HB 8, would expand domestic violence protections and is strongly supported by Kentucky house Democrats." Of course it is.

[CN: Clergy sex abuse] The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has finally released documents detailing how the Archdiocese handled cases of sex abuse by priests. And, in news that will surprise no one, the documents reveal the shielding of predators and the failure to report abuse to authorities. Naturally, Cardinal Francis George made time to point out that he wasn't in charge at the time and brag about transparency.

[CN: Homophobia] The UN will challenge Malawi's anti-gay laws in court. "They will also challenge the convictions of three men jailed in 2011."

[CN: Racism] Madonna non-apologizes for using the n-word on Instagram, arguing intent and saying "I am not a racist." Cool.

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This Shit Doesn't Happen in a Void: Anti-Semitism

[Content Note: Anti-Semitism, Holocaust denialism]

Yesterday, a group of conservative Catholics interrupted a Buenos Aires interfaith observation of Kristallnacht being held at the Metropolitan Cathedral. The ceremony had a long history under the current pope who, as Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, co-celebrated the observance with Rabbi Abraham Skorka every year. Skorka was there again this year, and described the appalling scene:

“The cathedral was full, with people standing, prepared for a profound act of introspection, when a group of about 40 people began to recite from the Christian liturgy, the ‘Our Father,’ and began to hand out little pieces of paper saying that Jews were blaspheming the place,” Skorka said.

Skorka said protesters made cutting comments like “the Jews killed Jesus.” He said one Jew confronted them, saying, “My grandmother died in Auschwitz,” to which an activist replied, “Do you believe that lie?”

The leader of the South American branch of the Society of Pope Pius X, Christian Bouchacourt, has identified the protestors as members of his organization, and offered this explanation for their actions:

“This wasn’t a desire to make a rebellion, but to show our love to the Catholic Church, which was made for the Catholic faith,” Bouchacourt said. “A Mass isn’t celebrated in a synagogue, nor in a mosque. The Muslims don’t accept it. In the same way, we who are Catholics cannot accept the presence of another faith in our church.”

Oooookay then! Please overlook the hate, folks! We're just trying to show our love!

Ugh.

First and foremost, my deepest sympathies to the Jewish participants in this ceremony. There are no words to fully describe the hurt and betrayal, the trauma, of being welcomed into a space intended to be a safe one, and then have it shattered by violent assholes who replicate the very prejudices that you and your allies are trying so hard to combat. I cannot even imagine the pain of Holocaust denialism and ancient anti-Semitic slurs in the midst of a Kristallnacht-related gathering.

Secondly, it's not a coincidence that (as Melissa noted last Friday) antisemitic incidents are quickly rising in Europe. That in New York, two separate investigations into antisemitic bullying and antisemitic hate crimes were announced this week. That a Very Serious politician like Ron Paul can participate in an antisemitic conference without the slightest concern about negative repercussions.

I don't care if you believe in god/dess/(s/es) or not-god, if your worldview is informed by science, rational philosophy, religion, magic, or some other factor(s). I do care if you think your worldview justifies (or necessitates) oppression of the marginalized. This shit doesn't happen in a void. And neither did Kristallnacht.

[Commenting note: Comments debating or discussing the orthodoxy of the attackers' religious beliefs make the space unsafe, and are off-topic. This is not a post about whether or not they are good Catholics/Christians.]

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This Is Only Happening Now?

[Content Note: Clergy abuse.]

Pope Francis makes child abuse a crime in the Vatican:

Pope Francis has laid down a law making it a crime to abuse children sexually or physically on Vatican grounds, the Holy See announced Thursday.

The acts were already crimes under church law, but are now specifically outlawed within the Vatican city-state, which is home to hundreds of people.

The legislation also covers child prostitution and the creation or possession of child pornography.

Good job, Pope Francis, for doing WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LIKE A THOUSAND YEARS AGO.

Now, if any member of the Catholic clergy in Vatican City found to have abused a child actually gets prosecuted under these BRAND NEW laws at any point, I'll be really impressed.

[Commenting Guidelines: Please take the time to make sure any criticisms are clearly directed at the Catholic Church leadership and not at "Catholics," many of whom are themselves critical of the failures of Church leadership.]

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Cardinal Dolan's Dirty Mind

[Content note: homophobia, religious bullying and rejection. This post is written from an explicitly Christian perspective.]

On Sunday, at the episcopal seat of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, 10 Catholic LGBT* folk and their allies were barred, on threat of arrest by the NYPD, from entering St. Patrick's Cathedral and joining their fellow Catholics at Mass.

Their crime? Entering with ash-covered hands, a silent protest against Cardinal Dolan's April 25 blog post that demanded queer Catholics (who were compared to lapsed alcoholics and exploitative employers) must "wash their hands" before they sit at the table of their Lord.

Turns out, the Archbishop wasn't being metaphorical:

"I have never been denied a seat at Christ’s table. In fact, today marks the first day that I have ever felt disowned, abandoned, and lost,” Joseph Amodeo, organizer of the action, writes at the Huffington Post. He adds that “the ten of us [who] gathered were greeted by four police cars, eight uniformed officers, a police captain, and a detective from the Police Commissioner’s LGBT liaison unit. The detective informed us that the Cathedral would prohibit us to enter because of our dirty hands.”

"As we reached St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we were approached by Kevin Donohue, who identified himself as being in charge of operations for the cathedral. Sadly, Mr. Donohue’s tone was both cold and scolding. What astounded me most was when he said that we could enter the cathedral so long as we washed our hands first. Even now, writing those words I find myself struggling to understand their meaning, while coming to terms with their exclusionary nature.

"It was at this moment that Mr. Donohue advised us that if we entered St. Patrick’s Cathedral with dirty hands, we would be arrested and charged with criminal trespassing. Upon hearing those words, I remember standing there thinking, “How can I charged with criminal trespassing in my own home?” It was then that I realized what it meant to be spiritually homeless."

It was then that I realized what it meant to be spiritually homeless.

Homeless, because they refuse to accept the Cardinal's assertion that same-sex relationships are comparable to having dirty hands at the family dinner table.

Rejected from the table of Jesus of Nazareth, defender of those considered ritually unclean by much of society.

And not only rejected, but scolded and threatened with arrest by the secular power.

And for what? For disagreeing about being labeled "dirty."

I have quite literally been crying as I write this, because I can't help but feel empathy for Amodeo, for all the "spiritually homeless," locked out in the cold when they seek spiritual fellowship and solace. I am depressed at the hubris of Dolan and men like him, who dare to claim the authority of Jesus, yet forget his most basic lessons.

(Hint #1: it wasn't the poor and outcasts that made Jesus angry when he found them in the Temple.)

It goes without saying that I disagree with Dolan too. We have nothing to fear from love.

But even if I shared his opinion, I'd like to think that wouldn't make me literally bar the door. I personally couldn't ignore the words of worshipers at Mass: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you; but only say the word and I shall be healed." It's not humanity's call, but God's. By barring the door based on a sincere and prayerful difference of opinion, Cardinal Dolan is effectively denying the ability of God to make communicants worthy, no matter what their sins may or may not be. Yes, it's true that he has the authority to do this in canon law. But should he?

Well, since God, not Timothy Dolan, is supposed to be the omniscient one, I don't think so. It sounds rather like the sin of Pride to me, saying "THIS shall be barred, but not THAT." Sinful pride is the arrogant hubris that grinds down the powerless in order to shore up one's own self-image and authority. You are picking on the gay folk you consider sinful, Cardinal Dolan, singling them out in a way that you don't single out, say, uncharitable rich people, whom you also criticize. I think your rules are wrong, but even by your own rules, that makes you a bully. A loud, prideful, bully.

And there are victims: those people barred at the door, out in the street, spiritually homeless. The problem isn't the protestors' hands. It's Cardinal Dolan's dirty mind. For it takes a prideful, sooty, dirty mind to not only blatantly turn away from the example of Jesus, but to do it in Jesus' very name.

(Hint #2: it wasn't Jesus who used secular power against those who disagreed with him.)

Clean up your mind, Cardinal Dolan, and open your heart. You might start to see people's hands very differently.

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I Write Letters

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

Dear Holy Father Your Grace Pope Francis,

After reading about your "pragmatism" in relation to same-sex unions, I am confused.

Am I supposed to like you better because, behind closed doors, you were willing to voice support for civil unions, while publicly calling gay marriage the work of the devil and adoption by same sex couples child abuse?

I am sincerely hoping you can clear this up for me.

Not Yours,

Aphra

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Today in Just Like Jesus Would Do

[content note:Christian supremacy, anti-LGBT*Q discrimination, homophobia, child abuse, kidnapping]

Kenneth Miller is a Beachy Amish-Mennonite pastor who aided a kidnapping that broke up a family:

Mr. Miller was convicted last fall for helping to arrange the covert flight to Nicaragua of Lisa A. Miller with her daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins, in 2009.

Ms. Miller, who is not related to the pastor, had won support in conservative Christian circles for refusing to permit court-mandated visits with Isabella by her other legal mother, Janet Jenkins, Ms. Miller’s former partner in a civil union in Vermont. After the couple split up, Ms. Miller moved to Virginia, said she was a born-again Christian and denounced her former lesbianism as a sin.

In 2009, as an exasperated family court judge threatened to transfer primary custody to Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Miller and her daughter, then 7, disappeared and a warrant was issued for Ms. Miller’s arrest.

Federal law enforcement officers later discovered that Mr. Miller had helped arrange for Ms. Miller and her daughter to fly to Nicaragua and live there with missionaries from Mr. Miller’s Amish-Mennonite sect. But officials have been unable to find the mother and daughter, who, in the view of one federal agent, have been “bouncing around the barrios of Nicaragua” for nearly four years now.

Miller was allegedly aided by "Philip Zodhiates, a wealthy conservative businessman who lives near Mr. Miller in Virginia, and his daughter, Victoria Hyden, an administrative assistant at the Liberty University Law School in Lynchburg, Va." He refused to implicate them, because Jesus, apparently:

After his conviction, Mr. Miller refused to testify before a grand jury about others who aided Ms. Miller, telling his supporters: “If I were to bring testimony against a fellow member of Christ’s kingdom, for honoring Christ’s kingdom’s laws, I would be disloyal to his kingdom and to Christ.”

Liss has emphasized before how very dangerous is the bias in U.S. society that automatically awards publicly identified "Christians" with an automatic assumption of morality and good faith. I do not know if that assumption played into the judge's decision to let a convicted accessory to kidnapping to walk free until his appeal process plays out.

But, considering that the judge told Mr. Miller he "he admired Miller for the depth of his convictions,", I have a sneaking suspicion that it did. If Miller and his cohorts had not been using Christianity to justify putting a child beyond the reach of the court (and of a judge who was so concerned about her primary-care parent that she was about to change custody arrangements) he might have been treated differently. I also have a strong suspicion that if this had been a straight couple, things would be different, too.

Mr. Miller, I do not admire your for your convictions. Your convictions are bigoted drivel, and drove you to a terrible, hateful, crime. These are "family values," I guess, except without actually valuing real families. Kidnapping: Just Like Jesus Would Do.

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Another Coverup, Another "Good" Shepherd

[CN: Clergy abuse, rape, rape culture institutional cover-ups.]

In news that will surprise no-one, evidence has emerged that Los Angeles Catholic officials actively conspired to cover up rape by pedophile priests as late as 1987:

The records show that Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony, who is now retired, and his top adviser on child sex abuse cases, Monsignor Thomas Curry, worked with other Church officials in 1987 to send priests accused of abuse out of state to avoid prosecution, the newspaper said.

Mahony and Curry also tried to keep pedophile priests from confessing to therapists who would be obligated to report the crimes, the newspaper said, citing the records, which were released on Los Angeles Times' website.

Curry even suggested in 1987 they send a pedophile priest to "a lawyer who is also a psychiatrist" to put the priest's "reports under the protection of privilege," the Times reported. In another 1987 case, Curry cautioned Mahony against returning a child abuser to the Los Angeles parishes where he molested children.

"There are numerous - maybe twenty - adolescents and young adults that (the priest) was involved with in a first degree felony manner," Curry wrote of one accused molester. "The possibility of one of these seeing him is simply too great."

Mahoney, as noted, is now retired. Curry now serves as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he supervises the Sanata Barbara Pastoral Region. In addition, he chairs the USCCB's Comittee on Education. He also fancies himself a Constitutional scholar.

Needless to say, I cannot fathom why anyone would give a tiddle for the legal, constitutional or moral opinions of a man who actively used his knowledge of the law to shield pedophiles. Nor why you'd want as an overseer of Catholic education a moral reprobate who callously fretted more about teenagers identifying their rapist than about their possible re-victimization.

And I truly, truly wonder how long the Roman Catholic church structure can continue when its worst administrators keep getting re-assigned and promoted, without an apparent jot of awareness that these are not men who should be in charge of vulnerable human beings.

Hint: the crozier is supposed to be used against the wolves, gentlemen. Not the sheep.

[Commenting note: Please take care in comments to distinguish between ordinary Catholics and actions and opinions of their leadership.]

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Today in Just Like Jesus Would Do

[Content Note: Transphobia; homophobia. Also: The linked pieces use male pronouns and a male name to refer to the trans female teacher. I have made a good faith effort to try to confirm hir preferences; the best I could find is that the HuffPo made an inquiry about pronoun/name usage and received no response. I will use gender neutral pronouns here and abbreviate hir first name to M.]

Shaker Brunocerous emails, which I am sharing with his permission:

One of my very favorite teachers at the Catholic high school I attended was horribly discriminated against recently.

A transgender teacher is suing the New York City Catholic school where [zie] worked for more than 30 years, claiming [zie] was wrongfully terminated for growing out [hir] hair, painting [hir] fingernails and being "worse than gay."

In a lawsuit, [M.] Krolikowski, 59, alleges that after 32 years of teaching at St. Francis Prep in Queens, N.Y., and receiving numerous accolades for [hir] work including leading students in a musical performance for Pope Benedict XVI, [zie] was fired last year after the parents of a ninth grader complained about [hir] appearance.

I remember a wonderful teacher, full of compassion, wit, understanding and respect. I am appalled that a school would treat such a profoundly talented and caring teacher with more than 30 years of experience and so many accolades in such a manner completely contrary to its stated mission and beliefs.

There is a petition here, requesting a formal apology from the school.

Thank you for reading. I'm almost in tears right now with the utter contempt I feel toward this injustice.

The behavior of the school is a total disgrace. And I am certainly not surprised to see a Catholic institution extend such intolerant bigotry toward a trans* teacher, but it is nonetheless sort of breathtaking that in the conveyance of one hostility, the school actually had to rank where being trans* fell on the hierarchy of Terrible Things. "Worse than gay. But not as bad as cannibalism!"

I guess the school just wanted to make sure that its gay students (and teachers) remember that they are hated, too.

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Dear Cardinal Dolan: You Are Still an Asshole

To: Cardinal Timonthy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

From: Dr. Aphra Behn, Associate Professor of Historical Ladybusiness at Southern Gothic University

Re: You Are an Asshole

Your Eminence:

I knew you were an asshole of truly gargantuan proportions.

But congratulations. You have managed to astound me--AGAIN--with how large a rectal mitre you truly are.

Your blatantly cynical use of your religion to gain right-wing secular power has really reached a new low with your campaign for the canonization of Dorothy Day.

Ms. Day spent much of her life campaigning for pacifism, social justice, and the plight of the poor. Yet you and your fellow bishops are trying to canonize her as a glibertarian crusader who would bless the denial of women's health care. And you have the obscene audacity to reduce her complex life to a misogynist trope, the whore-turned-Madonna:

Describing for reporters at the bishops’ meeting Day’s life as a young woman, Cardinal Dolan offered a litany of concerns: “Sexual immorality, religious searching, pregnancy out of wedlock and an abortion.” But, he said, after her conversion, she not only flourished, but she also became an icon “for everything right about the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life.”

You, sir, are a despicable misogynist. If you cannot even respect the wishes of a woman who specifically asked not to be turned into a saint, then can you not at least respect the wishes of her living descendants, who would rather see her life story understood as that of a human being, not as a prefab Female Stereotype Saint, whose private life you can publicly pontificate upon?

But her granddaughter, Martha Hennessy, 57, who volunteers in the East Village at Mary House, a Catholic Worker refuge for the poor that Day founded, said in an interview that she found the bishops’ increasing focus on her grandmother’s abortion uncomfortable.

“I wish we would focus on the birth of her child more than on her abortion because that’s what really played a role in her conversion,” said Ms. Hennessy, whose mother, Tamar, was Day’s only child. “It’s hard for me to hear these men talking about my mother and grandmother that way.”

Don't get me wrong. For those who believe in things like recognizing those in a Communion of Saints, I can think of few candidates more worthy of that honor. Dorothy Day is certainly an exemplar of Christian charity and I have nothing but respect for her life's work.

And I have nothing but contempt for the sexist re-writing of her life in order to lend Divine support to your grab for temporal power, a power which you propose to use in order to further the oppression of women, queers, and the poor.

So, contemptuously: Good day, sir.

I said, GOOD DAY.

--Aphra

[Commenting Guidelines: Please take the time to make sure any criticisms are clearly directed at Dolan and the Catholic Church leadership and not at "Catholics," many of whom are themselves critical of the failures of Church leadership.]

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Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Misogyny.]

"This leaves us with a problem. Forty-two out of 44 dioceses approved the legislation and more than three-quarters of members of diocesan synods voted in favor. There will be many who wonder why the General Synod expressed its mind so differently."—Bishop Graham James of Norwich, on the Church of England's failure to lift the ban on female bishops.

Yes, it's a real head-scratcher why the General Synod decided to ignore the will of majority and the manifest evidence that women are not, in fact, inferior to men. I can't imagine why they did it. OH WELL I GUESS WE'LL NEVER KNOW IT'S A MYSTERY LOST TO THE SANDS OF TIME!

Here's the thing: Failing to explicitly name misogyny, as though it's some sort of curious relic rather than an active and pervasive bigotry which influences decisions and routinely underwrites decisions that marginalize women, ensures misogyny's survival. There is no decent justification for creating space in order to imagine there might be some other reason, some mitigating factor, some totally reasonable explanation for actions that codify women's status as less than.

If spokespeople for the Church of England are serious about equality, then they need to get serious about the genuinely ugly nature of inequality. Not talk around it and grant permission to bigots with ironic notions of "respect."

The only way to get rid of misogyny is to call it out, to confront it, to speak about it honestly.

No oppression has ever been eradicated by a careful, polite, diligent deference to pretending it doesn't exist.

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Whooooooops on Women

[Content Note: Religious institutional misogyny.]

FMF News: Church of England Begins Debate on Female Bishops.

The governing body of the Church of England is set to begin discussions about whether or not to allow women to become bishops. All three branches of the General Synod, the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy, and the House of Laity must approve of any decision to allow women bishops by a two-thirds majority. If these branches fail to approve the change, the measure cannot come back before the synod for at least seven years.

Ha ha this debate is PERFECT already. Don't worry, ladies—if 66% of us don't agree that you're not garbage, we'll definitely take up the issue again in seven years!

Twenty years ago, the Anglican Church first approved that women could be ordained as priests and now women are a third of all clergy in the Church of England. The subject of women bishops was argued earlier this year, but was dismissed over language in an amendment that allowed parishes to request a male bishop who shared their beliefs if they were opposed to women bishops. Since then, the amendment has been rewritten to include slightly less discriminatory language.

Oh don't worry—parishes can still totally reject female bishops. Obviously. The language about it is just politer!

Forget "less discriminatory" (which is SO generous): If the church decides whoooooops we were wrong about our deity creating women as certainly and eternally inferior to men, why would parishes get a veto? Well, church doctrine is sorta optional when it comes to the fundamental equality of women!

In a letter by over 1,000 bishops, clergy, and laity that was published in the Independent, they agreed "Just as the Churches have repented of our historic anti-Semitism and endorsement of slavery, so we believe that we must now show clearly that we no longer believe women to be inferior to men."

Still a controversial position that needs lots of rigorous debate in the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and twelve.

Let me save the Church of England and everyone else in the fucking world some time: Women are not inferior to men. The end. Please proceed accordingly.

* * *

UPDATE: Church of England Refuses to Allow Female Bishops: "The Church of England's governing body on Tuesday narrowly blocked a move to permit women to serve as bishops, leaving the church facing more years of contentious debate. Following a daylong debate, opponents mustered enough support to deny the necessary two-thirds majority among lay members of the General Synod, with backers falling six votes short of passage." Cool. What a neat church!

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Number of the Day

[Content Note: Christian Supremacy; homophobia.]

$2 million: The amount of money spent by the Roman Catholic Church and its affiliate, the Knights of Columbus, during the last election cycle funding anti-marriage equality efforts.

Just like Jesus would do.

It's a good thing there are no more people going without food or shelter or healthcare in the world, so the Catholic Church can spend metric fucktons of its tax-exempt collections on hatred.

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And Now, from the GOP's Incense-Burning Division

[Content note: this post contains reference to anti-gay bigotry, misogyny, sexual abuse, religious discrimination, and Christian Dominionism.]

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, of Springfield, Illinois, doesn't want to tell you who to vote for. Nope. He just wants you to know that the Democrats' platform is full of "intrinsic evil," but the GOP's is basically okay. Gee, thanks Your Excellency! Thanks for totally telling your diocese how to vote not telling anybody how to vote, but letting Catholics know they will PROBABLY GO TO HELL if they vote for Democrats. How nonpartisan!:

"There are many positive and beneficial planks in the Democratic Party Platform, but I am pointing out those that explicitly endorse intrinsic evils," the bishop explained. "My job is not to tell you for whom you should vote. But I do have a duty to speak out on moral issues..."

"So what about the Republicans? I have read the Republican Party Platform and there is nothing in it that supports or promotes an intrinsic evil or a serious sin," Paprocki added. "One might argue for different methods in the platform to address the needs of the poor, to feed the hungry and to solve the challenges of immigration, but these are prudential judgments about the most effective means of achieving morally desirable ends, not intrinsic evils."

Definitely! Addressing the needs of the poor by trying to feed and clothe those most in need and trying to create jobs for them vs. letting them fend for themselves in the Randian world of Romney-Ryan, where they will be armed with only their bootstraps, a pocket knife, and some pocket lint? Those are definitely just "different methods" to handle "the needs of the poor."

But the bishop is certainly NOT TELLING YOU HOW TO VOTE! Just what kind of vote will condemn your eternal soul:

"Again, I am not telling you which party or which candidates to vote for or against," he concluded, "but I am saying that you need to think and pray very carefully about your vote, because a vote for a candidate who promotes actions or behaviors that are intrinsically evil and gravely sinful makes you morally complicit and places the eternal salvation of your own soul in serious jeopardy."

Apparently the Right Reverend Bishop is under the impression that his flock is made up of especially sleepy tree sloths, because to anyone even slightly more discerning, it's clear he is, in fact, telling them EXACTLY how to vote.

Three points:

1. For perspective, Saprocki also has no problem with racial/religious profiling in airports and as part of immigration policy, as long as it is aimed at Muslims.

So: gay marriage = bad, discrimination against minorities = okay. (Extra irony points for fearmongering about a religious takeover of the United States! We wouldn't want that, now would we?)

2. Saprocki once suggested that survivors of sexual abuse who sued the Church were in league with the Devil.

So: survivors of sexual abuse = Devil abettors, slashers of the social safety network = just doing God's work in a different way. Cool! Very cool cosmology ya got there!

3. After making such garbage-brained discriminatory remarks, Saprocki was elevated to lead the Diocese of Springfield anyway.

The Vatican has made it pretty clear what sort of person it wants to see leading the Church as its "authentic teachers." They are men who are perfectly comfortable defending the priorities of the GOP plutocrats. I just wonder how they reconcile that with the priorities of the dirty hippy construction worker they claim to follow.

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