Rainbow Sash Movement

The Rainbow Sash Movement is about building community, promoting understanding acceptance of all people, and attempting to build a climate in the Church where we are all enriched by each other. As Pride month comes to an end I wish to thank all those wonderful people who made the Catholic Church more visible in our Community. Now is time to make us visible in our parishes.

During Pride we saw some participation by Dignity and AGLO in Pride Parades proclaiming that they are GLBT Catholic, and that their Catholic identity is important to them. My question to both groups is, can you proclaim that same identity in the parish community.

I sincerely believe that the Church is being transformed from the bottom up. The driving force for that transformation is coming from both glbt and straight Catholics. We should never diminish the role our straight allies play in this effort.

Will conferences held outside the Church bring change? In my opinion, I don't think so.  Again we must firmly believe that the Kingdom is here and now. Our options are simple enter the Kingdom now, or remain in a state of anger, and darkness. All of us are God's children, and we need to start acting like we believe that.

However, if change is going to take place within the Church we must act as if the change has taken place. Speaking to fellow parishioners in a church environment about glbt issues does not require either the bishops or the clergy's permission. However, it does require you to give permission to yourself to do so. Issues of fairness and respect resonate with people of good will.

The Sacred Liturgy is part of our process of change. If we segregate ourselves from the rest of our community of faith they will never get to know us, and we them.  Our identity is intimately linked to the Parish Community. We must not be afraid to be GLBT in the parishes. Proclaiming our Catholic identity outside of parish life is a meaningless gesture, if you cannot self identify in the parish.

Our journey is to become more Christ centric in building up a community that sees diversity as a way life. We are not part of a political, or even a cultural movement, but a very human Church. Only when our focus returns to Christ will we truly have a functional GLBT Catholic Community. 

Posted by Joden at 01:44 PM | Permalink

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Irrelevancy + Delusion = Hierarchy

The Vatican is threatening Amnesty International with major financial consequences, if it does not reverse its abortion policy. Amnesty's new position wants to give women access to abortion when their health or human rights are in danger. It is a sad fact of life for the Vatican, one in which it is in denial over, but it no longer has such power over the catholic laity. The educated must be met with reason, common sense, and some form transparency, rather than autocratic pronouncements. In short the Vatican ,and its cadre of old white men are powerless to dictate who Catholics should donate their money to, just like they were powerless telling Catholics how to vote. The most recent example this was their inept attempt  trying to tell Catholics how to vote in Massachusetts on the Gay Marriage issue. The hierarchal system just does not want to recognize the “Sign of the Times.”

Autocratic approaches no longer work, dialogue and debate do. When people were less educated they looked to their local priests for guidance in all life matters, this is no longer the state of affairs. In most cases, the laity are better educated then hierarchy, and their clerics.

The Vatican does not have a clue on how to communicate with the educated laity. The more the Pope and his Papal System pronounce intellectual vulgarities, the more irrelevant they become. Their authority, whatever of it is left, is squandered on none Gospel issues. Abortion, like the Just War Teaching of the Church is a very complex matter. Only the parties involved can choose what is right for them based on their personal conscience. Bullying Amnesty International with threats of a financial boycott is hilarious given the Vatican’s track record.

Catholics will ignore, or will not hear what the Vatican is saying, because of communication issues. The Church is changing in our lives. That transformation is taking place in a very unrestricted way at the parish level. Returning our Liturgy to a boring language that no one understands, is a very deafening example of just out of touch the Pope, and his imperial court have become.

What is next? Will the Vatican threaten to deny communion to Catholics who donate to, and excommunicate Catholics that are members of Amnesty International? Good grief I believe the Popes lipstick red Prada slippers have gone to his head.

This latest Vatican threat will most probably increase the donations to Amnesty International.

Posted by Joden at 10:42 AM | Permalink

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Posted by Joden at 09:24 AM | Permalink

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In representative democracies we have elected politicians that represent the will and the interests of their constituencies. These elected officials make their decisions based primarily on their moral conscience. More and more Catholic Bishops seem to be clueless about this concept. Not only are these bishops not theologians, they are not politicians.

Cardinal Pell of Sydney Australia, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of England and Wales, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, and last but not least Archbishop Burke of St. Louis all have something in common, they are control freaks around the questions of Stem Cell Research, abortion, and gay marriage. Each has used the Holy Eucharist as a tool of division. Each makes veiled threats against Catholic Politicians who would vote their conscience over these very complex and personal matters.

Cardinal Pell said about Stem Cell research it is a serious moral matter and Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realize that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the Church” What are the consequences the Cardinal is referring to?  The Archbishop describes the proposed laws, which would bring New South Wales into line with changes already made at a Commonwealth level, as grotesque. He says they would legalize the creation of human-animal hybrids. The Cardinal shows his opposition to Vatican II on this matter when he says “"I don't think that any Catholic politician, any Christian politician, any pro-life politician who has properly informed his or her conscience should vote for these changes."

Cardinal Cormack Murphy-O’Connor of England and Wales, this Prince of the Church certainly does an interesting tap dance with facts about a whole array of subjects. However, recently he has thrown himself like Pell into the political arena. Both want to tell Catholic politicians how to vote. But Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is a little cagier. He speaks out against Gay Marriage, but allows for a Gay Mass to be said. He also fought gay adoption, stem cell research, and abortion. He threatened to deny communion to those politicians who supported gay adoption, but was afraid to follow through with it. Like another play ground bully he comes once again into the political arena to threaten politicians who support abortion with the denial of the Holy Eucharist. What a pathetic display of lazy reliability, there is no follow through.  Integrity does not seem to be his strong suite.

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago is really a piece of work. He apparently gets his theology from such books such as Parish the Thought: An Inspirational Memoir of Growing up Catholic in the 1960s. No fan of Vatican II, and yearning for the days of the old Latin Language Liturgy. He works against legislation that would not allow discrimination in housing and jobs against gays and lesbians; however,  allows a Liturgy for Gay Catholics in Chicago. Like Pell, and Murphy-O’Connor, George loves to turn words around, and get his facts wrong. Hey no one is perfect. Recently George, vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told The Chicago Tribune: "We are trying to find a language that does not betray the teaching of the church, but will perhaps express it in ways that are not so offensive."  What a wonderful hypocrite.

Archbishop Burk, now he is a real, real piece of work. When it comes to expressing his personal views of church values, Burke has a habit of making headlines, not always to the satisfaction of his flock. He has spoken out against abortion; against politicians who support abortion; against entertainers who support anti-Catholic teachings but also want to perform at Catholic functions; and against using embryonic stem cells for research. His secret weapon is the Holy Eucharist. If you don’t tow Burke’s line he will deny you communion. Out of all these prelates Burke appears to be the lose cannon. If any would resort to excommunication it would be him. Many individuals in the Archdiocese of St. Louis feel he is archaic and kind of an embarrassment.

I think in any democratic society, if Sheikh Al Hilali had made that same kind of declaration to Members of any governing body of the Muslim faith, telling them how to vote, I think there'd be outrage.  The threat of denying Communion is getting rather old and common place. The only card left to play is Excommunication. I think such threats only show the irrelevancy of our Church Leadership. They are unable to persuade, so they resort to intimidation. I wonder what Christ would do in a situation like this. The real scandal is the bishops are trying to break down the wall that separates religion and state.

Posted by Joden at 08:47 AM | Permalink

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After attending the Sacred Liturgy on Pentecost Sunday I had to recognize that the Catholic Church is no longer a place that welcomes all people. The Bishops stand at the altar and bar people who have a different sexual orientation from receiving communion.  Everyone is not welcome in our church. We are not an inclusive church who welcomes anyone. My Pentecost experience allowed me to respond to the Catholic Bishops of the United States that judgment belongs to God. 

After listening to the readings of Pentecost Sunday about the diversity of the Church I surely thought this time the Bishops would take those statements of inclusion from Holy Scripture as their guiding light. Sadly that was not the case. They have become so locked into the court theology of the middle ages that they have become fossilized in ministry to Gay and Lesbian people. Like our Church fathers Augustine and Origen I remain critical of the hierarchy.  

The bishops are unable to enter into a living discussion of the challenge of the lived experiences of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Catholics. They have no access to the self-understanding of GLBT Catholics. To quote a statement from St. Thomas Aquinas, their understanding is “All straw”.  

I fear the reform that Vatican II called for will only end in failure as previous councils did such as Basel, Florence, and Lateran. So hopeless debate will continue with understanding impossible to reach because of fear. Like so many of my Catholic associates I appeal to the gospel, reason & conscience in this matter. How can denying any communion speak to pastoral effectiveness?  

The source of all corruption is the marriage of politics with religion, and Eucharist with authority. Many of us experience the Eucharist differently, but that should not be a reason to deny any individual the Eucharist. I call on our theologians to return to narrative theology – telling the story of Jesus’ life. I do not hear the voice of the good shepherd coming from either Pope or the Bishops on this matter. Instead we have wide spread fossilization of the Church leadership.  

Finally the gospels began with the needs of all people.  God is the God of all people and as such is near to all people, so that even gays and lesbians can recognize, worship, and love the real God. The Bishops for their part have splintered the Eucharistic Community by their actions on Pentecost Sunday and try to fault the victims what hypocrites.  

God bless

Posted by Joden at 03:46 PM | Permalink

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