Go-To Source

I know that whenever I seek guidance on whether a policy is Catholic or anti-Catholic, I hit up the twice-divorced guy who was committing adultery while chastising the President for doing the same, thus breaking two of the Ten Commandments at the same time.

I mean, he seems like the best judge to me. After all, he's going to become a Catholic on Saturday, meaning it's all fresh in his head.

I apologize in advance for giving a crap what Newt Gingrich says or thinks.

Death Of All Marriages As We Know It Watch - Day One

In the first day A.M. (After Marriage), amazingly enough not every couple in California spontaneously divorced as a result of city clerks handing out licenses with "Party 1" and "Party 2". There actually are still married people out there, and now they've been joined by thousands of LGBT couples. And here are some of the highlights from today:

• It seems like every couple has an accompanying news article chronicling their wedding, but I think it's a good thing for now (though I long for the day when this is unexceptional and not a news event). Putting a human face on what can often be an abstract discussion about legal rights seems to me to be vital. There's a great series of videos featuring couples in the LA area at this link.

• There are of course detractors, although most of them are staying quiet for now. One group who isn't is the LA Archdiocese, which posted a statement denouncing "redefining marriage, which has a unique place in God’s creation." Maybe this is just me, but after the events of the last decade, I don't think the Catholic church should be making any statements about sexuality whatsoever.

• True Majority and The Human Rights Campaign are but two of the organizations delivering petitions in support of marriage equality. I expect many more.

• In Bakersfield, where Kern County clerk Ann Barnett has halted her office from officiating all weddings, an under-the-radar recall campaign has commenced. By the way, there's nothing new about such actions; historian and author of "Nixonland" (which you all need to read) Rick Perlstein reminds us that this is exactly what school districts in the South did after the Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka decision, shutting down entire school systems rather than integrating them. They called it Massive Resistance.

Of course, the people who thought like that then—here's an excellent article on one of them, Lester Maddox—are now looked upon as history's losers, as monsters, as embarrassments, and have no defenders. Now, every conservative claims to have always been on the opposite side of the Lester Maddoxes of the day. The people who think like this now will look just as bad to history as Maddox did then. I try to mention this every time I speak to a conservative audience: that I pity them. They should take care to stay off the record when they oppose basic human rights, because it will eventually come back to bite them on the ass.

But ultimately, I'm not worried about them (though if I were a Christian, I'd worry for their immortal souls), because, twenty years down the road, most will successfully maintain they were for marriage equality all along. Moral relativism has its advantages.

• Finally, this is the video of the day (h/t AmericaBlog)

He's Really Really Sorry

John Hagee wants you to know that the whole "Catholicism is the great whore" in league with the Nazis is, you know, water under the bridge.

“Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful,” Hagee wrote, according to an advanced copy of the letter reviewed by Washington Wire. “After engaging in constructive dialogue with Catholic friends and leaders, I now have an improved understanding of the Catholic Church, its relation to the Jewish faith, and the history of anti-Catholicism.”

In the letter, addressed to Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League and one of Hagee’s biggest critics, Hagee pledges “a greater level of compassion and respect for my Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Hagee met with 22 Catholic leaders in Washington on Friday to apologize for his comments, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Despite the McCain’s condemnation of Hagee’s anti-Catholic remarks, the campaign had no role in that meeting or Tuesday’s apology, according to the source who said it was something Hagee did because he felt it was necessary.

Donohue is expected to release a letter in response today, accepting Hagee’s apology. The Catholic leader slammed both Hagee and McCain in February, releasing a statement titled “McCain Embraces Bigot.”

Well, it's a start. And such a nice story. Glad that's all wrapped up. Now if Hagee can only explain these other remarks, we'll be in good shape.

Hagee Said Disobedience To Parents “Warranted The Death Penalty In The Bible.” According to The Guardian, John Hagee said, “A number of crimes warranted the death penalty in the Bible: murder, adultery, incest, sodomy, rape, kidnapping, witchcraft, blasphemy and disobedience to parents.” [The Guardian, 7/25/94; emphasis added]

Hagee: “It Is The Natural Desire Of A Woman To Lead Through Feminine Manipulation Of The Man.” In his book, What Every Man Wants In A Woman, John Hagee wrote, “Only a Spirit-filled woman can submit to her husband’s lead. It is the natural desire of a woman to lead through feminine manipulation of the man. .... Fallen women will try to dominate the marriage. The man has the God-given role to be the loving leader of the home.” [Hagee, What Every Man Wants In A Woman via Media Matters, accessed on 5/12/08]

Hagee Compared Women To Terrorists And Snarling Dogs. In his book, What Every Man Wants In A Woman, John Hagee wrote, “Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist.” [Hagee, What Every Man Wants In A Woman via Media Matters, accessed on 5/12/08]

Hagee Said Harry Potter Was A “Precursor Of Witchcraft.” During a televised sermon at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, John Hagee said, “America has become a pagan society, and we are in a moral, emotional, spiritual freefall. When a school teacher cannot refer to the Ten Commandments on the wall, but can command your child to read Harry Potter, which is nothing but a precursor of witchcraft. We’re going in the wrong direction here! This is not intelligence! We are embracing the era of darkness! [Pastor Hagee televised sermon, accessed on 5/8/08]

Hagee: If You Are Unemployed “STARVE! I Don’t Care!” During a televised sermon at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, John Hagee said, “We’ve rewarded laziness and called it welfare. You no longer look to God, you look for a check in the mail. In the bible, the bible says ‘The man that does not work shall not eat,’ I still think that ought to be the law in the United States of America. If you don’t want to get off of your blessed assurance, STARVE! I don’t care!” STARVE! I don’t feel sorry for you! GO TO WORK! [Pastor Hagee televised sermon, accessed on 5/8/08]

Hagee: “Your Daughter Can Get An Abortion At Public School Without Telling You.” During a televised sermon at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, John Hagee said, “Your daughter can get an abortion at public school without telling you, but she can’t get an aspirin without your approval.” He added, “When you go into a voting booth and you vote for a politician who is pro-choice, meaning he’s pro-abortion, you are bowing down to the gods of abortion, and you’re just as sorry as the bum you send to Washington.” [Pastor Hagee televised sermon, accessed on 5/8/08]

Hagee: “Homosexuality Means The Death Of Society.” In his book, What Every Man Wants In A Woman, John Hagee wrote, “It is impossible to call yourself a Christian and defend homosexuality. There is no justification or acceptance of homosexuality.... Homosexuality means the death of society because homosexuals can recruit, but they cannot reproduce.” [Hagee, What Every Man Wants In A Woman via Media Matters, accessed on 5/12/08]

Hagee Said Gay Marriage Would Lead To “Every Conceivable Marriage Arrangement Demented Minds Can Possibly Conceive.” In his book, What Every Man Wants In A Woman, John Hagee wrote, “It [Gay marriage] will open the door to incest, to polygamy, and every conceivable marriage arrangement demented minds can possibly conceive. If God does not then punish America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” [Hagee, What Every Man Wants In A Woman via Media Matters, accessed on 5/12/08]

Hagee Said Homosexuality “Will Always Be An Abomination.” During a televised sermon at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, John Hagee said, “We have endorsed Sodom and called it an alternative lifestyle, it is not an alternative lifestyle. It was an abomination, it is an abomination, it will always be an abomination. It will never, ever be right. I don’t care how many gay pride parades you have.” [Pastor Hagee televised sermon, accessed on 5/8/08]

Hagee On Katrina

Hagee: “Hurricane Katrina Was, In Fact, The Judgment Of God Against The City Of New Orleans.” During an appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air, Pastor Hagee said, “I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are--were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade on the Monday that the Katrina came, and the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades. So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know that there are people who demure from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the day of judgment, and I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.” [NPR, “Fresh Air,” 9/18/06; emphasis added]

Hagee: “All Of The City Was Punished Because Of The Sin That Happened There In That City.” During an appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air, Pastor Hagee was asked, “So I know you’re very opposed to homosexuality, but you think that the whole city was punished because of things like the forthcoming Gay Pride parade?” Hagee responded by saying, “This is true. All of the city was punished because of the sin that happened there in that city.” [NPR, “Fresh Air,” 9/18/06]

April 2008: Hagee Reaffirmed His Belief That Hurricane Katrina Was God’s Way Of Punishing New Orleans. During an appearance on The Dennis Prager Show, Hagee said, “It is wrong to say that every natural disaster is the result of sin. It is a result of God’s permissive will.” He was then asked, “In the case of New Orleans, you do feel that God’s hand was in it because of a sinful city?” Hagee responded by saying, “That it was a city that was planning a sinful conduct, yes.” [The Dennis Prager Show, 4/22/08]

• Hagee Backtracked On God’s Motivation For Katrina. In an email sent on April 25th, 2008, Pastor Hagee sought to restate his position on God’s motivation for Hurricane Katrina. He wrote, “As a believing Christian, I see the hand of God in everything that happens here on earth, both the blessings and the curses. But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise. No matter what the cause of the storm, my heart goes out to all who suffered in this terrible tragedy. There but for the grace of God go any one of us.” [Baltimore Sun, 4/26/08]

• Hagee Un-Backtracked On God’s Motivation For Katrina. According to a blog published by the Dallas Morning News, “When a woman on the call asked why he seemed to have backed away from his Katrina comments in face of criticism, Hagee said he hadn’t. As for the Katrina, he said, God controls hurricanes and “God always punishes unconfessed sin. ‘You do the math.’” [Dallas Morning News, 5/7/08]

Hagee on Iran

Hagee: “Consider A Military Pre-Emptive Strike Against Iran To Prevent A Nuclear Holocaust In Israel.” During an interview with Bill Moyers, John Hagee said, “Iran is a clear and present danger to the survival of Israel, to the United States of America, and to the Western world.” He added that America must “consider a military pre-emptive strike against Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Israel and a nuclear attack in America.” [Bill Moyers Journal, 10/5/07]

• Hagee: McCain’s “Administration Will Not Permit Iran To Have Nuclear Weapons To Fulfill The Evil Dreams Of President Ahmadinejad.” During his endorsement speech, John Hagee said, “John McCain has publicly stated his support of the state of Israel, that his administration will not permit Iran to have nuclear weapons to fulfill the evil dreams of President Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map.” [San Antonio Express, 2/2808]

So, you see, he's got a little ways to go. But baby steps...

Coming up with something to explain this sketch with a priest and a rabbi in league with the anti-Christ would be nice, too.

The Pope And The Abused

While I'm not inclined to have much of an opinion on Pope Benedict XVI, I have to say that his willingness to engage on the priest sex abuse case, and even meet with some of the abused, is pretty noble, and completely counter to the Church's history on this issue*. Even the revered John Paul II refused to meet with the victims.

At some level he had to do this while he was going about America pressing for a return to moral values, but according to those victims I've heard, they believe it was genuine and not just lip service. I trust they'll hold his feet to the fire on this.

And the Pope also apparently gave an awesome speech. I agree with Jimmy Kimmel's take on this - the President is slowly turning into Will Ferrell's impression of the President.

* - And Ratzinger's own history on the issue as well, he enforced the secret document that was allegedly used by the Catholic Church to evade prosecution for sex crimes.

Here's A Headline That Doesn't Scream "Victory"

"Giuliani Defends, Employs Priest Accused of Molesting Teens"

It's a somewhat old story, covered briefly on TRF before, but the investigative report from Brian Ross uncovers some new details. First of all, Monsignor Alan Placa, the priest accused of molestation, is STILL working for Giuliani Partners. Second, he was hired AFTER the accusers came forward and the church requested that he stop performing priestly duties.

"This man did unjust things, and he's being protected and employed and taken care of. It's not a good thing," said one of the accusers, Richard Tollner, who says Placa molested him repeatedly when he was a student at a Long Island, N.Y. Catholic boys high school in 1975.

At a campaign appearance in Milwaukee last week, Giuliani continued to defend Placa, who he described to reporters as a close friend for 39 years.

"I know the man; I know who he is, so I support him," Giuliani said. "We give some of the worst people in our society the presumption of innocence and benefit of the doubt," he said. "And, of course, I'm going to give that to one of my closest friends."

There's not going to be any accountability, so it's easy for Giuliani to say that. This actually would be prosecuted, were is not for a statute of limitations (the accuser described actions from 1975), as well as obfuscatory church policy, under orders directly from Rome, in which Placa participated, using "deception and intimidation," according to grand jury documents.

The appearance from Richard Tollner, the accuser and now a mortgage broker on Long Island, is lurid.

Tollner, now a mortgage broker in Albany, N.Y., says he was one of three people to testify about Placa.

"This man harmed children. He still could do it. He deserves to be shown for what he was, or is," says Tollner.

Appearing publicly for the first time today on ABC News' "Good Morning America," Tollner says the abuse started when he and Placa were in the high school making posters for a Right to Life march.

"As he started to explain how these posters should be done, I realized that something was rubbing my body," Tollner said. "After a minute or two, I realized that he's feeling me, feeling me in my genital area."

According to the story, the Giuliani campaign SOUGHT OUT former students from the same high school and asked them to "contact ABC News and vouch for Placa." There are dozens of pictures of Giuliani with Placa, too. And really, this is another example of where Rudy can credibly be judged by the company he keeps.

The man named yesterday by the Giuliani campaign to a law enforcement outreach campaign post in Minnesota was forced to resign a government job in 2004 when proof surfaced that he’d admitted to repeatedly using the word “nigger” in the past, Election Central has learned.

Sheriff Richard Stanek was appointed to the post of chair of Minnesota Law Enforcement for Rudy. The campaign’s press release promised that Stanek “will work with law enforcement personnel throughout the state to communicate Mayor Giuliani’s record of fighting crime and his commitment to first responders.”

But as a rival campaign has pointed out to us, it turns out Stanek has admitted to having a history of racially charged remarks. He was forced to resign his post as Minnesota’s public safety commissioner in 2004 after it came to light that he’d admitted in a deposition that he’d used racist slurs in the past, including repeated use of the word “nigger.”

Steve Benen has a list of Giuliani's associates, which could fill a lineup.

This one in particular could snowball.

Deliver Us From Evil

This sex scandal inside the Vatican that every chat show is yammering about (that's what the news has become, a series of chat shows) is nothing so much as redundant. This one is sensational, as there's actual videotape of the senior official propositioning the young man right inside his Vatican office, but it's no different than the spate of cases that has sadly turned the profession of pious priest into a punch line.

Television viewers saw the Vatican official sit alongside his guest and say: "You're very good-looking."

"Thank you," replied the younger man, before putting it to his host that he was about to commit a sin.

"I don't feel it is a sin," said the official. When the other man insisted that it was at odds with the teaching of the church, the Vatican official brought the conversation to an abrupt end.

When his guest bade farewell, saying "It's been a pleasure," the Vatican official replied: "Not for me, because you don't fancy me."

As it happens, I caught Amy Berg's fantastic documentary Deliver Us From Evil last week. While focusing on one particularly heinous perpetrator in the California diocese system named Oliver O'Grady, who molested as many as 50 children before being sent back to Ireland, where he now walks the streets as a free man without the local police even knowing about his prior crimes, the movie does detail the centuries-old struggle in the Catholic church with sex abuse cases, and the deep-seated corruption inside the system, which seeks to minimize these cases by ignoring the victims and making every attempt to shield the guilty from prosecution and publicity.

Indeed, sex abuse has been an issue in the Catholic Church for centuries. It can be argued that this stems from the practice of clerical celibacy, and the arrested state of sexual development which priests are subjected to by sublimating their physical desires from right around adolescence. Are you aware why the Roman Catholic church instituted the concept of celibacy, around the 4th century AD? For the first several hundred years, priests, bishops, and even popes were married men. Even today the practice of celibacy is not considered dogma or doctrine but a discipline, that could be changed by the Pope at any time. While many after-the-fact rationales were given for forcing celibacy on the laity, the real reason was simple: money.

When Paul dealt with qualifications for bishops, elders and deacons, his restriction was only that they be “the husband of one wife.” By the third century, bishops were being denied the right to a second marriage.

The problem for Christianity was it started to become financially prosperous.

The rich, the thoughtful ones who understood that their earthly goods were barriers to heaven, were delighted to hand over chunks of wealth to the priests and bishops as a down payment on easier transmission from one place to the next. (The soul’s equivalent, the wealthy presumed, of time-sharing a jet instead of having to stand in line at a purgatorial Southwest counter.)

Not only were priests and bishops becoming wealthier, they were becoming worldier. Many were married, others just had “open marriages” -- concubines. Worse than that -- in the church’s eyes -- the priests and bishops begetting sons regarded the endowments being made to the church as personal property. So the same rollicking clerics were setting themselves up as landed gentry and passing the fortunes along to their primogenitor sons and heirs.

In the 11th century, five popes in a row said: “Enough already.” Then came tough Gregory VII. He overreacted. He told married priests they couldn’t say Mass, and ordered the laity not to attend Masses said by married priests and naughty priests. The obvious happened. Members of the laity soon were complaining they had nowhere to go to Mass.

The edict was softened a bit to allow Mass-going. As usual, the women were blamed. Concubines were ordered scourged. Effectively though, the idea of priestly celibacy was in -- though not universally welcomed among the clerics themselves. And handing over church money to sons of priests and bishops was out.

They simply refit Catholic teaching to promote the idea that celibacy was always part of the system, changing history to fit the economic needs of the church. This was a power play, and denying the rampant scandal right at their feet is part of preserving that power. A rich and entrenched church was willing to break any law and subvert any investigation in order to maintain that lofty perch.

Indeed, there should be absolutely no surprise that this was happening under the nose of Pope Benedict XVI. The entire scandal in the United States did as well.

In May 2001, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and later elected Pope Benedict XVI on the death of his predecessor, sent a letter to all Catholic Bishops declaring that the Church's investigations into claims of child sex abuse were subject to the pontifical secret and were not to be reported to law enforcement until investigations were completed, on pain of excommunication. The secrecy related only to the internal investigation, and the letter did not attempt to discourage victims from reporting abuse to the police.

It didn't attempt to discourage victims because it wasn't written to victims; it was an internal memo giving the bishops their marching orders. And over the years, those bishops denied any wrongdoing, shuttled molesters off from one parish to the next without informing the authorities, and basically tried to keep a lid on the scandals until they eventually exploded.

This is not good for Christianity as a whole; new studies have revealed that believers and non-believers have an increasingly negative view of the religion. This is because those at the highest levels have, through dishonesty and cover-up, betrayed the ideals of their faith. The church is a slow-moving organ that extends opposition to reform as far as possible. This has damaged their trust between them and their parishioners, and has left those of us on the outside shocked at the level of corruption.

Keeping The Faith

Tammy Faye Bakker Messner was someone who had an incredible spirit and fought through extremely tough circumstances without succumbing to the easy piety borne of ignorance. She treated people as they deserved to be treated, and for that adhered more to the Bible than her contemporary figures in the evangelical movement. She started as a laughingstock but closed her life as an inspiration. She will be missed.

“I refuse to label people,” Ms. Messner said in a 2000 documentary, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” when asked about her attitudes toward gay rights. “We’re all just people made out of the same old dirt, and God didn’t make any junk.”

There's an incredible first-person story in this weekend's LA Times about William Lobdell, a writer who became extremely religious and sought to write a column on faith for the paper. As the years went by, with sex scandals and cardinals covering up pedophiles and all of the rest of the grotty side of the church, Lobdell found his faith slowly slipping away. We all at one point or another search for some higher power to help explain the unexplainable, but then when we're faced with the imperfections of human beings who purport to hold absolute moral authority, the explanations fall short. How does one look to man for proof of God? It's a very provocative read, almost too good for a mainstream newspaper, and while it asks important questions is will likely be met with criticism. Maybe if more religious leaders were like Tammy Faye, acknowledging of man's foibles yet tolerant and compassionate, it would be a lot easier for people like Lobdell to cover them without that sense of alienation and scorn. Absolute loyalty is not absolute faith, and what disgusted Lobdell the most were the subjects of the obviously morally diffident laity, who had no problem defending them outside of all reason.

I sought solace in another belief: that a church's heart is in the pews, not the pulpits. Certainly the people who were reading my stories would recoil and, in the end, recapture God's house. Instead, I saw parishioners reflexively support priests who had molested children by writing glowing letters to bishops and judges, offering them jobs or even raising their bail while cursing the victims, often to their faces.

On a Sunday morning at a parish in Rancho Santa Margarita, I watched congregants lobby to name their new parish hall after their longtime pastor, who had admitted to molesting a boy and who had been barred that day from the ministry. I felt sick to my stomach that the people of God wanted to honor an admitted child molester. Only one person in the crowd, an Orange County sheriff's deputy, spoke out for the victim.

If we were all a bit more honest, and less unequivocal that our belief was the ONLY belief, that our lifestyle was the ONLY lifestyle, this world would certainly be better for it. It requires thinking for oneself and coming to one's own conclusions. I wish we had more Tammy Fayes to be symbols of this in action.