George Floyd Killed by Police, Catholic Bishops' President Takes Six Days to Speak; Supreme Court Forbids Workplace Discrimination Vs. LGBTQ People, USCCB Instantly Finds Its Voice

Police kill George Floyd, Archbishop Gomez responds six days later; SCOTUS files a ruling about LGBT people, Gomez responds six hours later. https://t.co/LHMFVHp1Wo

— Dan Cosacchi (@dcosacchi) June 15, 2020

New York Times, "Gay Rights Are Civil Rights":

The vote was 6 to 3. It should have been unanimous.

Dominican Priest-Theologian James Alison Receives Affirming Phone Call from Pope: When Will the Call Come for the Rest of Us?

Pope Francis’ call and respect for Alison’s path rights a major injustice inflicted by the Vatican. It should give all Catholics encouragement to follow their consciences and do the work to which God calls them, even if church leaders condemn or exclude. https://t.co/RAMkMOmZiD

— New Ways Ministry (@NewWaysMinistry) September 29, 2019

I am delighted for James Alison's sake. He's a first-rate theologian.

Margaret Renkl on Obligation of Catholics to Defend Their LGBTQ Brothers and Sisters — Even Against Archbishops

Margaret Renkl, "How to Defy the Catholic Church: Believers have a spiritual obligation to defend their L.G.B.T.Q. brothers and sisters, even against archbishops":

Despite the archbishop's words [i.e., Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis addressing his orders to two Catholic schools to fire gay employees], his behavior does look very much like a witch hunt. He has apparently not directed Catholic school officials to fire teachers who practice birth control or divorced teachers who remarry without benefit of a church annulment. In calling for the dismissal of all teachers who fail to exemplify every teaching of the Catholic church, the "categories of people you would need to fire'"would amount to "a huge list," the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at America Magazine, told The Times. Persecuting teachers in same-sex marriages is Archbishop Thompson's specific focus. … 

Catholics today don't hear much about the primacy of an informed conscience because many priests take the position that a conscience at odds with the church is by definition insufficiently informed. But the primacy of an informed conscience belongs as deeply to church tradition as the current brand of pastoral authoritarianism does. It is time for Catholics to remember it again and stand up for their brothers and sisters in same-sex marriages, as Brebeuf Jesuit has done, even if it means defying the teaching of their own imperfect church.

My Thoughts on Sharing the Photo of the Drowned Bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and His Daughter Valeria

We must force ourselves to keep seeing.

Yesterday, on social media, I shared a photo of the bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria who drowned recently trying to cross the Rio Grande and enter the U.S. after weeks of waiting to enter. As I shared the photo, I stated that, though some media outlets had chosen to hide it behind a click-screen, in my view, we must not let ourselves look away: we are doing this to fellow human beings, and we need to see what we are doing.

John Gehring on Why Catholic Bishops Need a Year of Abstinence on Preaching about Sexuality

John Gehring, "Why Catholic bishops need a year of abstinence on preaching about sexuality":

Frédéric Martel on the Tragedy That Is the Pastoral Career of Joseph Ratzinger — A Tragedy for the Entire Church

From Frédéric Martel, In the Closet of the Vatican, on the tragedy of Joseph Ratzinger's (Benedict XVI's) pastoral career:

Donald Trump as Defender of "the" Faith: "These Children Are Barefoot. In Diapers. Choking on Tear Gas"

Huffington Post Lead Headline, 25 November 2018

Mike Allen, "Franklin Graham: Trump 'defends the faith'":

I never said he was the best example of the Christian faith. He defends the faith. And I appreciate that very much.

The Sole — Crucial — Lesson the GOP Takes from Orwell: Boot Stamping on a Human Face — Forever

The sole — crucial — lesson the GOP takes from Orwell:

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever."

For Orwell, this was a cautionary tale about fascist abuse of power. For the GOP, it's a blueprint for the party's triumph.

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) October 5, 2018

My new pinned tweet on Twitter….

"When Love Is the Way, There's Plenty Good Room, Plenty Good Room, for All of God's Children": Showcasing Black Church Gospel Preaching at Royal Wedding

Here's the text of the sermon Bishop Michael Curry gave at the royal wedding today. In his book Silence: A Christian History (NY: Penguin, 2013), Diarmaid MacCulloch cites Canon W. H. Vanstone, who says that the church is like “a swimming pool in which all the noise comes from the shallow end” (p. 224, citing J.A. Vickers, Wisdom and Wit: An Anthology from the Writings of Gordon Rupp [London, 1993], p. 90, which anthologizes a conversation between Rupp and Vanstone in Methodist Recorder [25 July 1968]).

As Neo-Nazis Celebrate Murder of Gay Jewish College Student, Where Are the Churches? (When They're Not Firing Queer Employees and Supporting Anti-Queer Discrimination, That Is)

Members of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division have been linked to five murders—most recently the stabbing death of a gay Jewish college student in January. They also have a secret chatroom.

Here's our story: https://t.co/nZPTHUvNGP pic.twitter.com/cOUTqIZzNK

— ProPublica (@ProPublica) February 24, 2018

In an article entitled "Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student," A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan report on behalf of ProPublica:

"When the Music Is Low and the Whiskey Is in the Glass": The Difference Southern History Makes in Seeing that Masterpiece Cake Is Piggie Park Redivivus

Patti Sue Mathis, your death was not in vain. Your father is changing the world in your honor. pic.twitter.com/92g4Izmfwr

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) December 15, 2017

Tom Lee, "Song from a Birmingham Church," at The Bitter Southerner:

Wedding Cakes and Conscience: A Twitter Discussion of the Heart of the Matter

Should a religious baker have to create a cake for a same-sex wedding? Imagine a Jewish baker being required to put a swastika on a cake. https://t.co/v9nnD7Vyye pic.twitter.com/fXuJbcmFXW

— Tribune Edit Board (@Trib_ed_board) December 7, 2017

Counterpoint: imagine a Christian Nazi baker refusing to serve a Jewish wedding. https://t.co/xSyolgMMh7

— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) December 8, 2017

Wolf or Sheep? Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis Defends Right of Catholic Institutions to Fire Gay Employees Who Go Public About Their Lives and Loves

Wolf or sheep?

As Michael Gordon and Tim Funk report recently for the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, Catholic bishop Peter Jugis says that gay employees of Catholic institutions should be fired when they "go public" about their disagreement with "fundamental moral tenets" of the Catholic magisterium.

What Twitter Is Saying About the GOP Wealthcare Bill: "Broad Tax Cut to the Affluent, Paid for by Billions of Dollars Sliced from Medicaid"

What folks are saying on Twitter about the wealthcare bill the Republicans have finally released after weeks of secrecy as they seek to ram it through the Senate:

The Senate GOP bill isn't health care, it's #wealthcare. https://t.co/psNDJ3I34a

— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 22, 2017

Move to Impeach Judge Wendell Griffen: "Latest Effort to Punish a Judge, a Black Judge . . . with Whom the White Power Structure in Arkansas Disagrees"

I thought I'd update you today on what's happening with my friend Judge (and Reverend) Wendell Griffen right now. As his recent Democracy Now! interview with Amy Goodman and Juan González reports, a move is afoot to have him impeached as a member of the Arkansas judiciary due to his outspoken opposition — as a Christian pastor — to the death penalty. On Good Friday, he took part in a protest against the death penalty organized by the church he pastors, New Millennium Baptist church in Little Rock, and the impeachment proceedings are due to his participation in that protest.

"If There's a Single Worst Actor in This Drama, It Is Ryan": Time for White Catholics to Face Responsibility for Trump

Jamelle Bouie writes, 

The GOP’s passage of Trumpcare is one of the most callous things the party has ever done.

Paul Ryan, Erik Prince, Steve Bannon: Welcome to the Catholic Table! (People Like Me, Not So Much) — Post-Birthday Reflections

In the Catholic church in the U.S., there's a nice, secure seat at the table for Paul Ryan.

Important Finding in New PRRI Survey: "White Evangelical Protestants Stand Out" — As Opponents of LGBTQ Rights, With Claims That "Christians" Are Uniquely Persecuted

Yesterday, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) published the findings of a survey it conducted in February 2017, which breaks down perceptions of discrimination by American religious groups, and which also looks at the response of various U.S. religious groups to LGBTQ rights. A key finding of this survey, confirming findings of other surveys by different polling groups in recent years: white evangelicals are a significant outlier group when it comes to the claim that Christians experience stark, serious persecution in American culture, and as opponents of LGBTQ rights. 

Reactions to the Trumpcare "Healthcare Plan" = Tax Cut for the Super-Rich: "How About Everyone Gets the Same Healthcare Coverage Congress Gets. Easy!"

Matt Shuham at Talking Points Memo

David Dayen, "The Republican Health-Care Bill Is the Worst of So Many Worlds":

Fundamentally, the ACHA is a tax cut bill, which just happens to make millions of Americans sicker and more vulnerable in the process.

Teen Suicides Diminish as Marriage Equality Is Enacted: Pro-Life Catholic Response?

Resistance requires intersectionality. It requires that you know and live Lilla Watson's principle. Know your freedom is bound up w mine. pic.twitter.com/CqFgayDm9p

— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) January 29, 2017

Bob Shine of News Ways Ministry comments on a recent report in JAMA Pediatrics, the pediatric journal of the American Medical Association, showing that suicide attempts by teens have declined as marriage equality for same-sex couples has been legalized: