Pope Welcomes Gay-Hating Anglicans to Catholicism

Pope Benedict sees opportunity in conflict, welcoming gay-hating Anglicans to his Church.

Reuters reports:

"Pope Benedict on Tuesday took a major step to make it easier for disaffected Anglicans who feel their Church has become too liberal to convert to Roman Catholicism. The move comes after years of discontent in some sectors of the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican community over the ordination of women priests and homosexual bishops...The Vatican said the Pope had approved a document known as an 'Apostolic Constitution' to accept Anglicans who want to join Catholicism, either individually or in groups, while maintaining some of their own traditions. It marks perhaps the clearest and boldest institutional step by the Vatican to welcome disaffected Anglicans into the fold since King Henry VIII broke with Rome and set himself up at the head of the new Church of England in 1534. The new structure allows for the appointment of leaders, usually bishops who will come from the ranks of unmarried former Anglican priests, to oversee communities of former Anglicans who become Catholics and recognize the pope as their leader."

And (fresh from his 700 Club appearance) one-man Catholic League President Bill Donohue, the Pope's biggest mouthpiece in America, penned a guest column for the Washington Post. Some excerpted gems:

— "Sexual libertines, from the Marquis de Sade to radical gay activists, have sought to pervert society by acting out on their own perversions. What motivates them most of all is a pathological hatred of Christianity. They know, deep down, that what they are doing is wrong, and they shudder at the dreaded words, "Thou Shalt Not." But they continue with their death-style anyway."

— "The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State harbor an agenda to smash the last vestiges of Christianity in America. Lying about their real motives, they say their fidelity is to the Constitution. But there is nothing in the Constitution that sanctions the censorship of religious speech. From banning nativity scenes to punishing little kids for painting a picture of Jesus, the zealots give Fidel a good run for his money. Catholics were once the mainstay of the Democratic Party; now the gay activists are in charge. Indeed, practicing Catholics are no longer welcome in leadership roles in the Party: the contempt that pro-life Catholics experience is palpable. The fact that Catholics for Choice, a notoriously anti-Catholic front group funded by the Ford Foundation, has a close relationship with the Democrats says it all."

— "The culture war is up for grabs. The good news is that religious conservatives continue to breed like rabbits, while secular saboteurs have shut down: they're too busy walking their dogs, going to bathhouses and aborting their kids. Time, it seems, is on the side of the angels."

Catholic League's Bill Donohue: Gay Adoption 'Against Nature'

Bill Donohue, of the Catholic League (famously described by Kathy Griffin as one man in a room with a computer) appeared on The 700 Club yesterday to talk with Pat Robertson about his new book, Secular Sabotage, and denied that the Catholic Church has a pedophile problem. Donohue claimed that it's not a pedophile problem, it's a homosexual problem.

Donohue also rants about attacks on the Catholic Church by governments requiring them to allow gays to adopt children.

"We're not going to allow gay people to adopt children. That's against nature. It's against nature's God! But they won't stop!"

Watch AFTER THE JUMP...

More at Media Matters.

SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty Introduces Resolution Condemning Vandalism of Holy Redeemer Church

Yesterday, San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty introduced a resolution at the Board of Supervisors meeting condemning the recent vandalism at the city's Most Holy Redeemer Church:

***TEXT OF RESOLUTION***

WHEREAS, Most Holy Redeemer Church, a Catholic community established in 1900 and located within the heart of San Francisco's Castro District, is widely known as a Gay-friendly parish; and

WHEREAS, For over 20 years the community of Most Holy Redeemer Church has sustained an active AIDS support group providing direct care to persons with HIV disease and assistance to those who love and care for them; and

WHEREAS, Most Holy Redeemer Church established a Peace and Social Justice Group to reflect upon and address issues of justice both inside and outside the church, particularly in response to sexism, homophobia, racism, and the willful failure to protect the poor and underserved; and

WHEREAS, The Community Life Committee of Most Holy Redeemer is made up of various organizations in the parish that form the faith and build a deeper sense of community for all ages and interest groups in the parish and the extended local community regardless of religious affiliation; therefore, now be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco does hereby condemn the recent intimidation of Most Holy Redeemer Church and its parishoners through acts of vandalism, specifically the defacing of its exterior with spray-painted graffiti that included the names of church leaders and the depictions of swastikas; and therefore, be

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco commends the significant accomplishments and contributions made by the faith community of Most Holy Redeemer Church to the City of St. Francis.

***END OF RESOLUTION***

On Monday, the Catholic League's Bill Donohue released a ridiculous statement linking the vandalism to gays angry about Proposition 8, despite any evidence of that, and implicating San Francisco supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom for remaining silent. Donohue also reintroduced some of the gross distortions made by religious leaders about peaceful Prop 8 protestors and hateful acts never proven to have any connection to the gay community.

Read it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Becket Fund Launches Full Page Ad in NYT Condemning Anti-Religion Violence Over Prop 8

On Tuesday I reported that the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty was preparing a full-page ad for the New York Times condemning violence against religion, which they claim occurred during protests following the Proposition 8 in California. Proposition 8, which was funded to the tune of over $20 million in Mormon contributions solicited by the Church of Latter Day Saints, revoked the civil rights of millions of Californians by effectively banning same-sex marriage in the state. The Becket Fund's ad ran today and you can read it above.

The ad is attached to a website, NoMobVeto.org, and solicits signatures endorsing a campaign to"expose and publicly shame anyone who resorts to the rhetoric of anti-religious bigotry — against any faith, on any side of any cause, for any reason."

The ad makes reference to envelopes containing white powder sent "to terrorize places of worship." Those envelopes were under investigation by the FBI at last report and the incident was condemned by LGBT leaders, among them Equality Utah's Public Policy Manager Will Carlson, who said: "We have no idea what the source is of this vandalism or white envelopes, whatever. But there is no place in this dialogue, in this dialogue that needs to happen, for violence, no place for vandalism and no place for intimidation."

The ad is signed by Kevin J. "Seamus" Hasson – The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Nathan J. Diament – Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Rick Cizik – National Association of Evangelicals, Ronald J. Sider – Evangelicals for Social Action, Chuck Colson – Prison Fellowship, Chris Seiple – Institute for Global Engagement, Dr. Alveda King – civil rights activist, William A. Donohue – Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Robert Seiple – Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Douglas Laycock – University of Michigan Law School, Marvin Olasky – The King's College, New York City, Roger Scruton – writer and philosopher, Armando Valladares – former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission."

Said Becket Founder Kevin "Seamus" Hasson in a letter sent to Towleroad regarding the ad placement: "This is a lesson America had to learn the hard way, overcoming bigotry against Jews, Catholics, and other religious minorities, and we are committed to not letting the country forget it."

UPDATE: HRC responds...

UPDATE II: GLAAD calls for letters to the NYT...

Signorile Talks to Catholic League's Bill Donohue about Towleroad

Yesterday I mentioned that The Catholic League's Bill Donohue would guest on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius radio show to discuss his demand that the DNC pull Towleroad's press credentials for the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Signorile sent out these clips today.

Donohue called on Convention CEO Leah Daughtry to "nix" Towleroad and feminist blog Bitch Ph.D.'s media credentials at next week's convention. According to Donohue, we are the "most offensive" of the more than 120 blogs offered credentials.

Said Donohue: "Towleroad describes itself as ‘A Site with Homosexual Tendencies.’ Accordingly, it shows men in jock straps and underwear. It also has a post on Pope Benedict XVI that takes him to task for wearing a cape with ermine. Some of those who commented on this described the pope in a vile and profane way. Both of these blogs should be cut immediately from the list of credentialed sites. Neither functions as a responsible media outlet and both offend Catholics, as well as others. To allow them access to the Democratic National Convention sends a message to Catholics they will not forget."

I responded to Donohue in this post.

Below, in the first clip, Signorile has a general discussion about Donohue's 'call to action' for the DNC:

In the clips below, Donohue reads specific comments from the blogs that offend him, and attempts to link the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal with the bathhouses of New York in the 80's. Signorile also gets him to respond to "cheeky" comments Donohue he once made about Signorile's ass.

Thanks to Mike for taking this on.

In the Jaws of the Pit Bull [the gist]

Background
Catholic League's Bill Donohue To DNC: Pull Towleroad Credentials [tr]
Respecting God's Creation: The Pope Wears Ermine [tr]

News: Bigfoot, Kanye West, Maine, Google Android, Iris Prize

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List of entries for Cardiff's gay and lesbian Iris Prize are announced. Last year's winner of the £25,000 award was Dee Rees' Pariah.

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Janice Dickinson signs new gay deaf model Martin.

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Christian protestors clash with gays in Londonderry, Northern Ireland: "It happened at the launch of the festival at the City Hotel. About 30 Christian protestors, including a Free Presbyterian minister, gathered outside the venue. Two gay rights activists attempted to stand in front of the protestors' banners with a placard of their own, before police moved them on. Reverend Ian Brown said it had been a minor incident. 'It was not violence and we would oppose all violence against any persons,' he said."

Kanye West is a "champion" in new video.

More on Bill Donohue of The Catholic League's ongoing obsession with ass.

Robert Buckley visits the house bunny.

Equality Maine endorses Tom Allen for Senate: “Throughout his long career, Congressman Allen has supported fairness and equality while opposing discrimination. His voting record on LGBT issues is exceptional. He has worked to eliminate discrimination in jobs, housing, public accommodations and financial matters, and we look forward to working with him to win fully-inclusive federal employment non-discrimination legislation." His opponent, Susan Collins, has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign.

According to GLAAD, 1,049 newspapers across the nation now accept wedding announcements for same-sex couples. That's up from 69 six years ago.