Twin Cities Archdiocese Files Bankruptcy to Freeze Abuse Lawsuits

In what has become a common pattern for Catholic dioceses around the country, the  St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese has filed bankruptcy to limit likely pay outs to victims of sexual abuse by priests.  In today's Catholic Church - actually, the Church throughout most of its history - money and protecting Church assets is far more important than justice and accountability, especially accountability on the part of high clergy who aided and abetted predatory priests.  The National Catholic Reporter looks at the latest bankruptcy filing.  Note the disingenuous claim that this step would be "fair" to victims of abuse.  Here are highlights:

The St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Friday morning in response to pending lawsuits related to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The Associated Press first reported the development, long expected in a region gripped for more than a year by a sexual abuse scandal that has seen trust deteriorate in the local church. It is the 12th U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy. 

The filing of Chapter 11 reorganization came in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of Minnesota. The archdiocese pointedly stated its current situation is “because of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors.”

The archdiocese described bankruptcy as “the fairest way” to resolve existing and future claims of sexual abuse while at the same time continuing its ministries within the local church.

In its court filing, the archdiocese estimated assets between $10 million and $50 million, and liabilities between $50 million and $100 million. It listed its number of creditors between 200 and 1,000, with clients of attorney Jeff Anderson representing 17 of the 28 largest claimants.

In November, the archdiocese released its 2014 fiscal year financial statements that showed a $9 million deficit in operating activities, net assets down $8.9 million and total cash dropping 60 percent, from $9.5 million to $3.8 million.

At a press conference Friday, Anderson said his firm has been working for months to determine the fairest way to compensate victims. Past bankruptcies have seen average payouts from $42,000 (Helena, Mont.), to $750,000 (Wilmington, Del.), to $1.4 million (San Diego), the lawyer said, though it's uncommon for claimants to receive equal shares and numerous variables determine how much is paid and to whom.

Bankruptcy will put on hold cases filed against the archdiocese, including three set for trial Jan. 26. Two involve Anderson, whose firm has filed 16 total claims, in addition to another 112 notices of claims on behalf of alleged abuse victims.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who in July awarded Anderson an inaugural Pioneer Award, put forth a different view, that bankruptcy allows the archdiocese to change the subject from who was responsible for clergy sexual abuse to how will funds be divided. 

"Chapter 11 enables a bishop to protect what he cares about most: his own reputation, comfort and secrets. It stops depositions, discovery and clergy sex abuse and cover up trials. It's a smart but selfish legal maneuver that will effectively prevent Catholics from getting key information and victims from getting real justice," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP outreach director, in a statement. 

 

Minnesota Congressional Nominee for Congress to Block Teaching of Evolution

If you want to see just how severe the swamp fever afflicting the Republican Party has become look no farther than Aaron Miller (pictured above), the Minnesota Republican Party’s nominee for the 1st Congressional District, who stated this week that he wanted to run for Congress "because learning about evolution made his daughter cry, and he wanted to make sure that schools were not forced to teach it."  Frighteningly, Miller makes Michele Bachmann look at least somewhat sane.  The GOP's race to embrace ignorance truly seems to know few limits.  Meanwhile, I cannot help but asking myself what the hell is in the water in Minnesota?  The Raw Story has details.  Here are excerpts:

Aaron Miller, the Minnesota Republican Party’s nominee for the 1st Congressional District, said this week that he wanted to win because learning about evolution made his daughter cry, and he wanted to make sure that schools were not forced to teach it. 

The Mankato Free Press reported last month that Miller told a story to a Republican county convention about how his daughter became “very upset because she had to learn about evolution at school.”

Miller claimed that even the teacher expressed agreement with the daughter, but said that the evolution lesson was a requirement. The candidate refused to provide any other details at the time.

“There’s a war on our values by the government,” he insisted. “We should decide what is taught in our schools, not Washington, D.C.”

Over the weekend, Miller was officially named the Republican nominee, and he took the opportunity to repeat the anti-evolution story.

“He also called for more religious freedoms,” the Free Press noted. “He repeated his story about his daughter returning home from school in tears because evolution was being taught in her class. He said the teacher admitted to not believing in the scientific theory to his daughter but told her that the government forced him to teach the lesson.”  Again, he declined to provide the details necessary for reporters to verify the story.

The candidate later said that the federal government should not have a role in school curriculum.

Not surprisingly, Miller is backed by the Tea Party.  I increasingly think that a prerequisite for Tea Party membership is a lobotomy.

Feel the Love - Hate, the Hallmark of "Godly Christians"

I get accused of being harsh towards conservative Christians.  I plead guilty.  In my life time I have encountered few individuals who spew more hate and animus towards others than conservative Christians.  They like to pretend that they are the nice church ladies, but the truth is that they are vicious, self-centered, ignorance embracing hate merchants all too often.  A friend was at the demonstration outside the Norfolk federal courthouse where a hearing was underway in the case Bostic v. Rainey.  Here are his reflections:

I feel saddened by the amount of negative energy at Norfolk Federal Courthouse yesterday . Why are there so many people spewing hate in the name of religion? I went with an open heart, hoping they would see our love for each other. They didn't. They saw us as obominations. They called us pedophiles. They waved their bibles, telling us our place was in Hell. They mocked our families. That's why I will continue this fight. They will not break our spirit. The quest for equality isn't an easy road...I believe justice and humanity is on our side.

Sadly, my friend's experience was not unique.  Just ask Minnesota high school senior Ryan Eichenaue (pictured above) who recently came out on Facebook and who has since been receiving anonymous death threats at school.  While the identities of those making the threats are still unknown, nor is their religious affiliation known, what is known is that in Minnesota the primary opponents to anti-gay bullying measures are the "godly Christian" crowd who in the lead up to the vote on same sex marriage (which thankfully passed) spread any number of vicious anti-gay lies.  Fox9.com has details.  Here are highlights:

Six weeks ago, a Centennial high school student opened up about being gay, and on Tuesday, he found an anonymous threatening letter in his English class that's prompting a police investigation.

"I'm really proud to be out and be myself. I get to do what I want without having to hide anymore," Centennial High School senior Ryan Eichenauer said.  Eichenauer insists the threats won't change who he is. He is gay and he is done hiding it.

"I know there are going to be people in life who don't agree with it. But that's who I am," he said.

Eichenauer had no idea the hate and venom that would soon follow after he posted this heartfelt, videotaped message to friends, family and classmates on Facebook just before the New Year.

Not only does the note attack his sexuality, but it says "I can't wait for the day that I get to walk over your grave and if you don't put yourself there, I will be glad to. Just do us all a favor and do it soon. Kill yourself already."

The letter reads, in part,

"Ryan,
I  see there are many others who also want you dead. Good. And it's not just the two of us who have decided to speak up. It's everyone. […] like you don't deserve to live in this world. Innocent people die every day, but the scum of the earth like you gets to live? […] that. That is about to change. No one likes the fact that you are alive. No one likes the way you show your sexuality. You are a […] sinner. Someone should do something about it…I will. I am not a coward. I protect the house of god from […] like you." 

Eichenauer reported the note to authorities.

"It's harassment.. We take harassment very seriously. And it was threatening," principal Tom Breuning said.  Breuning confirmed that multiple investigations have been launched by the north metro school district as well as the Blaine Police Department.

"Whoever is behind it, it's unacceptable. And the safety of all our students is paramount importance to us," Breuning said.

"The first threat I cried a lot. A lot of tears and emotions. Even though that was less threatening. Then this one came along. Is this what I am going to get forever, from now on?" Eichenauer said.

As I have said, I hold Christofascists in utmost contempt.  They embrace ignorance and myths authored by ignorant herders and harass and threaten and seek to marginalize anyone who threats their fantasy world world view.  America - and the world - would be a better place without conservative religion of every creed.

P.S. Of all the death treats I have received in comments on this blog (I do not publish them), every single one has apparently been left by "godly Christians," most of whom are so gutless than they do not even use their real names. 

Church Lawyer Turned Whistleblower Named "Person of the Year"

Photo credit: Jennifer Simonson

The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy remains a foul cesspool inhabited by many who knowingly enabled, abetted and covered up for predatory priests who preyed on children and youth.  These "princes of the church" have displayed a moral bankruptcy that is shocking to decent, moral people.  Adding to their rank hypocrisy is their jihad against the rights and lives of normal, well adjusted LGBT individuals.  Indeed, in some cases, the louder they rant against gays, the more it turns out they covered up sexual abuse by pedophiles hiding from normal society within the ranks of the priesthood.  Archbishop John Nienstedt is but one such example.  Thankfully, there are decent moral people who chose to do the right thing and report abuse and to become whistle blowers.  One such individual is Jennifer Haselberger (pictured above), an attorney who once represented Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  For her efforts, the National Catholic Reporter - which obviously is NOT controlled by the Vatican - has named Haselberger "person of the year."  The Minneapolis Star Tribune looks at this honor and how Haselberger merited the designation.  Here are highlights (pay attention to the number of bishops involved in the cover ups):

The whistleblower who set off a storm of controversy over clergy sex abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been named “person of the year” by a national Catholic newspaper.

Jennifer Haselberger, 39, of St. Paul was honored Monday in an editorial by the National Catholic Reporter for her courage in speaking out against Archbishop John Nienstedt and his handling of evidence in potential child abuse cases involving archdiocesan priests.

“Thank God for the courage of abuse survivors and the families of victims who will not let our bishops and leaders forget the abuse and their complicity in it,” the editorial said. “Thank God for activists who stand with survivors. But most of all, thank God for one very special class of people: the priests and church personnel who do stand up to their leaders and cry out for justice. … Finally, thank God for Jennifer Haselberger.”

She went public with her concerns after finding what she believed was child pornography on a priest’s discarded computer and later failing to persuade church leaders to address the issue and other potential sexual misconduct involving clergy.

She resigned in protest in April after “repeatedly” taking her concerns about “unreported allegations of clergy sex abuse and lapses in investigations” to Nienstedt, who “ignored and rebuffed them,” the editorial said.

Since October, the scandal has toppled Nienstedt’s vicar general, the Rev. Peter Laird, and prompted abrupt resignations from the University of St. Thomas board by former Archbishop Harry Flynn and his former top deputy, the Rev. Kevin McDonough. Both have been criticized for not responding appropriately to allegations of sexual abuse by priests. Nienstedt removed himself from ministry this month pending an investigation after he was accused of touching a boy’s buttocks during a confirmation photo session.

The editorial also praised the work of two priests who “sacrificed promising ecclesiastical careers” by standing up for victims of abuse and speaking out against those “who would cover it up.”

The priests are Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine monk who now works as a victims advocate for the St. Paul law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates, and the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Virginia-based canon lawyer who has testified on behalf of victims in abuse cases in civil courts.

Haselberger’s honor comes as the Diocese of Duluth prepares to release Tuesday the names of 17 priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct with children. The publishing of the names comes several weeks after a lawsuit was filed seeking the release of that information.

This month, following a Ramsey County judge’s order, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona released the names of 46 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, lists that were largely compiled a decade ago.

The order also stipulated that the archdiocese release by Jan. 6 a second list of priests identified over the past decade.

Kudos to Ms. Haselberger.  Again, let's not forget Nienstedt's condemnation of gays and efforts to block gay marriage in Minnesota.  And now, he has stepped aside due to accusations he fondled a boys hindquarters.  I have asked before and will ask again, how does anyone decent and moral continue to listen to the bullshit disseminated by such men?   I also ask again, when is Pope Francis going to clean house?

Hate Group: Boycott Betty Crocker

Tony Perkins - the KKK affiliated leader of registered hate group Family Research Council - has his panties in a wad and is calling on godly Christofascists to boycott Betty Crocker products in particular and General Mills products in general.  Why?  Because the company has been supportive of gay marriage and recognizes that a majority of Americans now support marriage equality.  Of course, the idea of a Christofascist boycott is a farce.  When faced with a boycott orchestrated by American Family Association, another registered hate group, Starbucks' saw its profits increase significantly.  I for one will make a point of buying General Mills products.  Here's a sampling of Perkins' spittle flecked caterwalling:

At Betty Crocker, the only thing they're mixing up is their priorities. Hi, I'm Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. If you ask conservatives, Betty Crocker's latest promotion is a recipe for disaster. This summer, the famous dessert line decided to jump on the same-sex "marriage" bandwagon-and bring cakes to celebrate. In Minnesota, where parent company General Mills is headquartered, Betty Crocker decided to donate wedding cakes to the first homosexual couples who exchanged vows on the first day that counterfeit marriage was legal. "Betty celebrates all families," said manager Laura Forero. "We don't want to be old fashioned," the company explained. Unfortunately for General Mills, the majority of Americans think natural marriage is anything but old fashioned. And they've made it tough on companies like Target, Starbucks, and JC Penney who disagree. Know where your money is going. When you're at the store, think outside the Betty Crocker box! For a full list of products that are undermining marriage, check out DumpGeneralMills.com. 

The irony, of course, is that Christofascists like Perkins have a conniption fit when LGBT groups call for boycotts of anti-gay companies.  Joe Jervis sums up the hypocrisy well:

When anti-gay Christianist hate groups call for nationwide boycotts of LGBT-friendly companies, that is a righteous use of the free market in order to preserve morality, marriage, family, and The American Way. But when GAY groups use or threaten the use of a boycott, THAT is homofascist intimidation, intolerance, bullying, and a "mafia-style" attempt to deny the freedom of speech. (Hello, Oregon!) Just so we're clear.

My contempt for the "conservative Christian" crowd grows more every day.

Minneapolis Marriage Ads Draws Condemnation of Christofascists

In a smart marketing move aimed at increasing gay tourism and the city's bottom line, Minneapolis has launched a marketing campaign to attract residents of currently anti-gay marriage states like Wisconsin and Illinois to make a trip to the city to get married.  While their marriages would not be recognized by their home states, those married in Minneapolis or other parts of Minnesota would enjoy a number of federal benefits.  This ad campaign has the spittle flying amongst Christofascists groups but also underscores the growing economic disadvantage of anti-gay states like Virginia.  Think Progress looks at Minneapolis' campaign and the reactions of the knuckle dragging religious zealots.  Here are highlights:

Though the fight for marriage equality is still playing out across many states, the advancement of federal benefits for legal same-sex marriages has an immediate effect for couples throughout the entire countries. Conservatives, however, don’t want families who live in states that don’t have marriage equality to access those benefits, and thus they’re trying to pretend that they don’t exist.
 
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (DFL) has been reaching out to Wisconsin and Illinois same-sex couples, inviting them to travel to his city to marry now that Minnesota has marriage equality.

According to the National Organization for Marriage, however, Ryback is trying to “force same-sex marriage on neighboring states”:

Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak is launching an ad campaign encouraging Wisconsin same-sex couples to come to his town to ‘marry’. The campaign, which will start running in Milwaukee and Madison area publications, is already being called a shameless attempt at self-promotion, with the mayor simply using marriage to raise his own profile.

Wisconsin law is irrelevant in Minnesota, so nothing is stopping Wisconsin residents from driving across the border to legally wed. And Wisconsin law is irrelevant for many of the federal benefits that recognize place of celebration, such as immigration green cards, benefits for military servicemembers and federal employees, veterans’ benefits, Medicare nursing home benefits, and the benefits of filing taxes jointly. As Wisconsin couples married in Minneapolis access those federal benefits, the state is perfectly welcome to continue to not recognize their marriage at the state level — no “forcing” is at hand.

Surely Rybak is hoping to get some tourism business to his city from marriage equality, but he’s also got marriage licenses for any and all same-sex couples who want to come get one. And of course, if states like Illinois and Wisconsin are upset they aren’t getting the revenue from those marriage licenses, there’s an easy way to fix it so that they can.

Michele Bachmann: 'We Need To Focus' On 'Spiritual Warfare

As noted in a post yesterday, many of the Christofascists - which increasing translates to much of the GOP base - are in tears over the recent victories for gay marriage in Rhode Island, Delaware and now Minnesota.  Their house of cards/fantasy based religious beliefs are increasingly being rejected by rational, thinking people and they simply cannot stand seeing their ability to control the lives of others being diminished.  It's no surprise that the always delusional Michele Bachmann who belongs in an insane asylum rather than the halls of Congress has once again had an outburst of batshitery and diarrhea of the mouth.   Every time this woman opens her mouth, I cannot help but think WTF is wrong with the people in her district?  Is the water tainted or something?  With the marriage votes over the last weeks, Bachmann again showed her lunacy.  Here are highlights from the Huffington Post:

Christian conservatives must turn to "spiritual warfare" to fight against the powers of Satan, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told an audience at a speech in April.

During an appearance at the evangelical Liberty Counsel's Awakening 2013 captured by Right Wing Watch, Bachmann urged attendees to keep up the fight against gay marriage, abortion and "Islamic jihad," claiming that God supported those campaigns. She then took a line from the Bible's book of Ephesians to suggest that these battles are supernatural struggles against the forces of evil.

Bachmann often invokes religious rhetoric in her calls to action. Last week, she suggested that 9/11 and the attack in Benghazi, Libya, 11 years later were God's "judgment," making a call for people to join her in a Sept. 11 "Day of Prayer and Fasting" later this year.

The 9/11 event, organized by right-wing outlet World Net Daily, has drawn some high-profile backers. Action-movie star Chuck Norris recently signed on to the event, saying that he believed the event's goal of "cranking up our spiritual warfare" was necessary.

Ultimately, what Bachmann is railing against is the decline of Christianity which is being hastened by lunatics such as herself.   Bob Felton sums up well what is happening at Civil Commotion:

There’s not much, in my view, which requires analyzing; the Christian narrative is incontestably false. There was no Adam and Eve, there was no Fall, there is no such thing as Original Sin — and so there is nothing for Jesus to do. Christianity has no more an offer than a set of ordinary to very bad ethical teachings.

Christianity is losing hearts and minds in the educated West because it is objectively untrue, and because many of its ethical teachings are very bad. It deserves to be losing.

And as more people begin to reject the snake oil being hawked by the far right, it will be increasingly difficult for people like Bachmann to remain in office much less be deemed relevant in a modern world.

Minnesota Senate Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill

There's wonderful news out of Minnesota where the state Senate has followed the House and approved a gay marriage bill.  Governor Mark Dayton will sign the bill into law tomorrow afternoon at 5:00PM.  It is wonderful to see yet another state kick religious based bigotry and discrimination  onto the trash heap of history where it belongs.   Meanwhile, selfish Christofascists actually have broken down in tears over the fact that they can no longer force their hate and fear based beliefs on all Minnesotans (more on this later).  The Star Tribune looks at today's historic vote in which equality and freedom of religion for all triumphed.  Here are highlights:

With deafening cheers and overwhelming emotion, the Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage.   “Today, love wins,” said Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick.

The vote, on the heels of a vote last week in the House, brings to a close a decade of debate over marriage that has echoed through the Capitol, bringing thousands of friends and foes of gay marriage to its marbled dome to express their deeply held feelings.

The measure next moves to Gov. Mark Dayton, who will welcome it with his signature in a celebratory ceremony at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the south steps of the Capitol.  Once it is signed, Minnesota will become the twelfth state to legalize same sex-marriage.

"It's historic and I can never be so proud of this body and of Minnesotans," said Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis. On the Senate floor, Hayden said that his wife is white and noted that just 50 years ago, his loving relationship would have been barred.

Three Democrats – Sens. LeRoy Stumpf, Dan Sparks and Lyle Koenen –  voted against the bill. One Republican, Sen. Branden Petersen, voted yes.

Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, said up until the last he was praying for a miracle and the Senate to reject the bill.  “Some people have said that they are concerned about being on the right side of history. I am more concerned about being on the right side of eternity,” said Hall.   .  .  .  .  I grieve inside because I feel we are opening the doors to Sodom and Gomorra. And in the end, God is going to be the judge," said Nelson, of Blaine, tears running down her cheeks.

Civil marriage - especially once DOMA is hopefully struck down next month by the U.S. Supreme Court - provides over 1100 rights and benefits.  Rights and benefits that ought to be available to all life couples if equality under the U.S. Constitution is to mean anything.  Yet people like Ms. Nelson and Minnesota State Rep. Peggy Scott, a Republican, break into tears over the ending of anti-gay bigotry and the stigmatization of same sex couple families.  Gay marriage takes NOTHING from their heterosexual marriages.  Absolutely nothing.   All they have lost is discriminatory laws that harm others and/or serve as a prop so that these shallow, horrible people can feel superior over others.  Or perhaps they're crying because they've lost one more support for their mythical, house of cards religious beliefs which they know in their hearts are not supported by reality.   They ought to be crying instead for the evils that they have inflicted on others.

  

Faith Groups Behind Minnesota Marriage Victory

While it is not yet a done deal, as noted in a post yesterday it appears that gay marriage may be enacted into law sometime net week - perhaps as early as Monday.  One of the interesting phenomenon in the movement towards full marriage equality is that increasingly some faith groups - the good Christians, if you will - are joining the movement for equality.  Particularity sweet from my perspective is that a growing majority of the Catholic laity is supporting gay marriage in defiance of the the edicts of the child rapist enablers in the Church hierarchy.  Nowadays, if one wants to see genuine morality, the last place to look for it is among the "princes of the Church" who bring a new meaning to the term "moral cesspool."  A piece in Queering of the Church looks at those who have rejected the ignorance and bigotry that so long defined too many Christians - and which still defines the Christofascists.  Note too the role the ELCA has been  playing.  Here are some excerpts:

It’s not a done deal yet, but with comfortable passage through the Minnesota House tonight, approval by the Senate seems assured, and Governor Dayton has already promised to sign. It’s only a matter of time – and Catholics, once again, have been prominent in the campaign for equality.

This is not new: Catholics have been prominent in marriage victories elsewhere, as have other faith groups. (Mark D Jordan reminds us in “Blessing Same – Sex Unions” of something most of us have forgotten – that some same – sex couples were marrying or having their unions blessed in churches and temples for years, before legal recognition was even thought possible). But it is true that for a long time, it appeared that church groups were overwhelmingly opposed, and only fairly recently has faith – based support become reasonably widespread. Minnesota, I suspect, is one example where the religious support has been particularly telling.

Of the many Catholic activists and politicians who have contributed to this big win for authentic Catholic family values, is fellow blogger Michael Bayly, whose The Wild Reed was the inspiration and example that got me started myself. As I’ve followed his work over the past five years or so, I’ve noted how the case for marriage has increased steadily in prominence at The Wild Reed – and later at the dedicated site “Sensus Fidelium” (presenting news from Catholics for Marriage Equality MN).
I’m not going to even attempt to offer a run-down of all the people and groups who have contributed, or how. But for some indication of just how much there has been, cross to yesterday’s post at The Wild Reed, “Drawing the Circle Wide”, written in anticipation of today’s success and giving an extensive list of some of those people, with pictures, whose hard work has now paid off. Then cross to today’s post at Sensus Fidelium, “It’ll be legal by August 1st”, where you can read more about the legwork done by Catholics for Marriage Equality MN,  . . . .

From The Wild Reed, an extract:

On the eve of tomorrow’s historic Minnesota House vote to grant the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage to same-sex couples, hundreds of people of faith gathered earlier this evening at Christ on Capitol Hill Lutheran Church to “pray a new reality into being” – the reality of marriage equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation. The gathering was organized by the Faith Organizing Roundtable.

Four years ago MN State Sen. John Marty addressed the 2009 annual community meeting of theCatholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities and told those in attendance that “we can make it happen.” He was referring to marriage equality for all Minnesotan citizens, regardless of sexual orientation.

One of the definite highlights of the rally for me was when we unfurled the Catholics for Marriage Equality MN banner from one of the top balconies of the rotunda. I heard a thunderous wave of applause rise up from below, and thought to myself that the first of the rally’s speakers must have stepped up to the podium. Looking down I made the wonderful discovery that it wasn’t the appearance of a speaker that the crowd was so enthusiastically responding to, but rather the appearance of our banner!

The Church hierarchy is losing the war and by its continued anti-gay jihad it is accelerating its own irrelevance and  driving more and more younger voters who were raised Catholic - my own three children - away from the Church, probably forever.  I find it ironic and most sweet that the bitter old men in dresses in Rome can't see that it is they and their Christofascist allies, not modernity, who are killing the Christian brand.

Minnesota House Approves Gay Marriage Bill - Senate Likey to Approve on Monday

At the National Association for Marriage - a likely Catholic Church front group - folks must be shrieking and unleashing gallons of spittle.  After losing their effort to stop gay marriage and maintain religious based bigotry in the civil laws in Rhode Island and Delaware, the hate merchants appear headed to another defeat in Minnesota where they failed to bar gay marriage last November.   Today the Minnesota House passed a gay marriage bill today by a 75 to 59 vote and the bill will move to the Minnesota Senate on Monday where it is expected to pass.   The Governor Mark Dayton  has said that he will sign the bill once passed into law.   Not surprisingly, the political whores in the Minnesota GOP are whining and crying as if the world is ending.  And perhaps it is in terms of their ability to impose hate and fear based Christofascist religious beliefs on all of society.  Here are highlights from the Star Tribune on today's vote (NOTE: Republican by their very statements demonstrate that they ought to resign their offices since they are placing religious belief ahead of the state and federal Constitutions' guaranty of freedom of religion):

A bipartisan coalition in the Minnesota House passed a measure Thursday to legalize same sex-marriage, setting in motion what could be a historic turning point for gay and lesbian rights in Minnesota.

“All Minnesotans deserve the freedom to marry the person they love and we are proud to take this historic vote to ensure same-sex couples have that right,” said House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis.

The dramatic vote came after a sometimes passionate, three-hour debate that culminated when four Republican members privately wrestling with the issue joined a majority of Democrats to pass the measure 75-59. The debate raged as hundreds of advocates from both sides gathered outside the House gallery chanting, waving signs and praying.

Opponents failed in their last-minute push to persuade a crucial few legislators that the DFL-controlled Legislature is going against the wishes of a majority of Minnesotans. They are now regrouping to convince Senators that marriage is a union between one man and one woman ordained by God, not any state or federal law. A final Senate vote comes Monday.

“My heart breaks for Minnesota,” said a Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover.  “It’s a divisive issue that divides our state,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes as she stood on the House floor after the vote. “It’s not what we needed to be doing at this time. We want to come together for the state of Minnesota, we don’t want to divide it.”

Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe, said he fears that schools will eventually be forced to teach students about homosexuality in sex education classes, normalizing what he considers deviant behavior.   “Thinks about what’s best for the children,” Gruenhagen said. “Please vote for the children.”

Rep. Kelby Woodard, R-Belle Plaine, said the measure sends a terrible message to Minnesotans who oppose same-sex marriage.  “We are classifying half of Minnesotans as bigots in this bill — and they are not,” Woodard said.

Message to Reps. Gruenhagen and Woodard:  homosexuality IS NORMAL in nature and those who oppose it ARE bigots.  Who are the Republicans who voted "yes" for equality and placed themselves on the right side of history?  These:

Republican Reps. Pat Garofalo, of Farmington, David FitzSimmons, of Albertville, Rep. Jenifer Loon, of Eden Prairie, and Rep. Andrea Kieffer, of Woodbury, voted 'yes.'

Thae Catholic Church's Misplaced Priorities

This blog has repeatedly reported om the world wide criminal conspiracy by the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and many of its clergy to aid, abet and cover up for sexual predatory priest who globally have likely molested hundreds of thousands of children and minors. Even securing grudging and disingenuous apologies for these horrific crimes and the deliberate obstruction of justice has been difficult.  And in terms of going unpunished, individuals like Cardinal Bernard Law end up rewarded with plum positions at the Vatican outside the reach of law enforcement officials.  But let a member of the Catholic laity voice support for marriage equality and the retribution is fast and furious.  Numerous blogs and news outlets have looked at the situation of 16 year old Lennon Cihak, a high school junior in the Minnesota town of Barnesville, who experienced the full wrath of the child rapist protectors for a Facebook posting in opposition to the Minnesota anti-gay marriage initiative, but the story is worth revisiting because it underscores the moral bankruptcy and misplaced priorities of the Vatican and its sycophants throughout the clergy. Here are some highlights from a story in the Los Angeles Times:

It's a fight straight from the Vatican now landed on the wind-swept prairie of western Minnesota — all because of a Magic Marker, a yard sign and a 16-year-old boy with an iPhone.

Lennon Cihak, a high school junior in the Minnesota town of Barnesville — population about 2,500 — was raised Roman Catholic like his parents and grandparents. His mother and father, Shana and Doug Cihak, were baptized, confirmed and married in Barnesville's century-old Assumption Church, the same one where Lennon had been attending confirmation classes since spring.

Then on Oct. 24 — 13 days before the vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman — everything changed.

That night, Lennon attended a run-through for the ceremony of his confirmation, the sacrament in which believers reaffirm their faith. Lennon, who was named after Beatles member John Lennon, says nothing special happened at church to set the fateful events in motion, but for weeks he had been thinking about the marriage amendment. A lot of his friends were opposed, saying it didn't seem fair.

"In the Constitution it says all men are created equal. If they can't get married, they aren't equal," he remembers thinking.

So that night he took a pro-amendment yard sign, changed "Vote Yes" to "Vote No" with a black marker and scrawled the words "Equal Marriage Rights." He then posed with the sign, snapped a photo with his phone, and posted the picture on his Facebook page.  That's when things got messy.

Shana Cihak  .  .  .  .  she says, [Father Gary]  LaMoine told her that Lennon's opinions on same-sex marriage were in conflict with the church and that her son could not be confirmed.

She was stunned. Lennon had only expressed an opinion. He wasn't even old enough to vote. Why should he be denied a sacrament when others who break church rules are not?   "Do you mean to tell me," Shana Cihak says she told LaMoine, "that when you stand up there on Sunday and you see all of those families with two or three kids, you don't know they are using birth control?" She says she was told she could no longer serve as sponsor of one of the kids in the confirmation class. She came home in tears.

LaMoine and Bishop Michael Hoeppner, who oversees the Diocese of Crookston, which includes Assumption Church, did not respond to requests for an interview. But in a strongly worded letter LaMoine sent to church members on Nov. 15, the priest tells a very different story:

"It is to my dismay that what should have been kept an internal church matter has now become a public controversy," LaMoine wrote, adding that he knew nothing about the Facebook posting until his secretary found it the day after his meeting with the Cihaks to talk about issues he did not specify. He called Lennon's Facebook picture — which was "liked" by several members of the confirmation class — a "defacement" and apologized to the parish for the Cihaks' behavior.

As for the rape and molestation of thousands and thousands of children?   It is not even on the Church's radar screen other than to try to avoid paying compensation to sexual abuse victims.  As for the starving children in the image above, the image below shows what the horrid old men in dresses at the Vatican really value: disgusting levels of wealth and the ability to condemn others while acting in the most heinous ways.  Christ must be sickened by what is claimed to be done in his name.

Are GOP Voters Rejecting the Party's Anti-Gay Stance?

An article in the Washington Post looks at data from the November 6, 2012, for the four states that saw same anti-gay marriage measures defeated in each instance.  What is so interesting is that even in precincts that Romney carried by large margins, the anti-gay effort lost.  In short, significant numbers of Republicans ignored the Christofascist drafted GOP party platform (hate group leader Tony Perkins was a principal drafter) and instead voted for marriage equality.  The GOP's anti-gay positions have already cost the party the vast majority of voters under 30.  Now, the evidence suggest that anti-gay initiatives may no longer be working as envisioned by the Christofascists even with many in the over 30 age brackets.  Poll after poll shows that only in the over 65 age group does an anti-gay agenda resonate and guess what?  That anti-gay demographic is literally dying off with each passing elections cycle and being replaced by non-religious extremists.  Will the GOP get the message that the party's institutionalized homophobia may increasingly be a liability?  I'm not going to hold my breath.  Here are some article excerpts:

After years of defeats, same-sex-marriage advocates scored a remarkable 4-0 sweep of state ballot contests on Nov. 6. One major reason: This year, significant numbers of Republicans voted their way. That should give pause to a GOP establishment that has alienated many younger voters and independents with its stance on the issue and now faces the prospect of dissent among its core constituents as well.

The evidence comes straight from a close study of the election returns in Maryland, Maine and Minnesota. (Washington state, with its unique system of mail voting, has been slower to report its results in detail. I’ve based my analysis on the other three states that had same-sex-marriage contests.)

The Maryland ballot referendum, Question 6, essentially asked voters to confirm or reject a new law allowing same-sex marriage. In 11 of the 18 counties that Mitt Romney carried, Question 6 fared better than President Obama, a sign that GOP voters had crossed over in support. While the phenomenon could be seen everywhere from farm towns to blue-collar inner suburbs, the biggest swings tended to come in affluent bedroom communities. At one precinct in Hunt Valley, north of Baltimore, with 2,116 votes cast, there was a 28 percentage-point swing, leading to a landslide for Romney and the ballot question: Obama drew a paltry 37 percent, but Question 6 carried the precinct with a whopping 65 percent.

In Minnesota, where voters were asked to ban same-sex marriage through a state constitutional amendment, precinct returns show that suburban Republicans broke from their party in droves to defeat the ban. According to the Pioneer Press of St. Paul, 47 towns around the Twin Cities area voted for Romney while opposing the measure, known as Amendment One. Exurban Scott County, the state’s fastest growing, narrowly turned down Amendment One, even as it gave Romney a comfortable 56.5 percent of its vote.

[W]ithin commuting distance of the Twin Cities, the defections from the Republican line were deep and unmistakable. Romney won easily in such lakeside Hennepin County towns as Orono, Deephaven and Shorewood. Conventional wisdom would have them voting for the marriage ban as well — but they rejected Amendment One by 60 percent or more.

Maine voters were asked to legalize same-sex marriage through a referendum that lost narrowly in 2009. This time it won, with 53 percent of the vote. Again, Republicans helped secure the victory.

The Bangor suburb of Hampden voted both for Romney and for freedom to marry. The other four towns, all Portland suburbs — Cumberland, Falmouth, Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth — went for Obama by votes ranging from 53 to 63 percent, and then in each case registered a further 10- to 13-point swing toward same-sex marriage.

So where next for the Republican Party on this issue?  .  .  .  .  one plausible path would be a GOP call for leaving the issue to the states, with New York going one way, for instance, and Texas another. That would probably capture a consensus among a broad range of active Republicans, fit reasonably well with the party’s other ideological stands and still distinguish its position from the Democratic Party’s support for same-sex marriage in its 2012 platform.  The GOP has left itself little room to maneuver.

Although many national polls now show support for marriage equality, the national Republican platform continues to endorse the same deeply out-of-touch proposal.  If and when the party’s leadership changes its mind, a whole lot of suburban Republicans will be murmuring under their breath, “About time.”

Frankly, the quickest way for the GOP to regain popularity with younger voters and independents is to kick the Christofascists to the curb where they belong.  Unfortunately, this will not be an easy task since the embrace of the Christofascists by the GOP has caused so many one time Republicans to flee the party and comfortably become independents or even Democrats.