In defending Kim Davis, Huckabee and Santorum Flunk Their Own Religion

Numerous surveys have found that many atheists know more about the Bible and its contents than most far right Christians who make a show of worshiping the Bible yet in fact know little about it other that the favored cherry picked passages used to disparage and denigrate others.  And this phenomenon is not limited to bottom feeders of the GOP base.  One need look no farther than flailing GOP presidential candidates Mike Fuckabee Huckabee and Rick Santorum (a hysterical closet case, in my view) who, in their desperation to see their names mentioned in the media, have rallied to the defense of Kim Davis, the four times married, adulterous Rown County, Kentucky, clerk.  These two parse the Bible seeking snippets to justify the hate and bigotry they promote towards others.  Meanwhile, they ignore more serious passages that show that their rants and claims of "deeply held religious belief" are BULLSHIT.  A piece in Salon looks at their hypocrisy.  Here are excerpts:

Kim Davis and her supporters, such as Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, don’t seem to know much about the American legal system, and they don’t know much about the real meaning of marriage.  They also don’t know much about Christianity. 

Of course, when Davis says that issuing a marriage license to gay couples violates “my faith,” she might be defining faith in purely personal terms, and so might Huckabee and Santorum. But they all seem to be referring to Christianity. If they actually read the New Testament, however, instead of invoking Christianity as an excuse for discrimination, they would realize that it contains no prohibitions of the sort they claim.

Kim Davis isn’t being asked to personally approve marriage licenses. She is being asked to issue a state marriage license to someone who has met the state’s requirements for marriage. To use two more telling examples: People who are remarrying after a divorce are violating a Catholic clerk’s principles, and Jews who get married without acknowledging the divinity of Christ are violating both a Catholic and a Protestant clerk’s principles. Presumably, those clerks would refuse to officiate at religious ceremonies of divorcees or Jews. But that’s not what they are being asked to do. They are being asked to issue a document created and defined by the government. The same applies to Kim Davis.

During the 1st century, Greek and Roman temples sacrificed animals to the gods. Not being fools, those in charge of these temples had decided that what the gods wanted was the nice white, glistening fat, not the brown bloody meat. So after they had burned the fat as a sacrifice, the temples wound up owning a lot of meat, which they typically served at ceremonies or sold in the market. Members of the church of Corinth, which was founded by St. Paul, write to him to ask whether Christians can purchase or eat meat from an animal that has been sacrificed to the pagan gods.

Paul begins by saying that there is nothing wrong with the meat that should stop a Christian from eating it. It has been sacrificed to an idol, but an idol is nothing, so the meat is just plain meat. The problem lies in appearances; a Christian who buys or eats the sacrificial meat may seem to be participating in a pagan ceremony, and that may confuse or weaken other Christians. Under those conditions, it is better to abstain.

Christians differ about whether same sex marriage violates the principles of their religion. But that doesn’t matter, according to Paul, if they are simply doing business or providing government services to gay couples. What matters is whether one participates, or appears to participate, in the ceremony. If one doesn’t appear to participate, then these activities are fine, whether the marriage violates Christian principles or not. So even attending the ceremony would be acceptable; in our society, people attend marriages of friends from different faiths all the time, and no one interprets their attendance as observance or belief. Business relations — and government services — are clearly outside Paul’s prohibition.

In his response to the Corinthians [1 Corinthians 10:29-31], Paul is not only explaining Christian doctrine, but also providing good practical advice. The Roman Empire, like modern America, was a pluralist society, with dozens of different religions. People couldn’t function within it if they could only deal with those who followed their own religious principles.

In short, Davis, Huckabee, Santorum and their allies aren’t obeying Christian doctrine; they are using it as an excuse for bigotry. They are simply too narrow-minded to accept the fact that some people have preferences and commitments that are different from their own. Their claims of conscience are really excuses for mistreating other people, and, in the process, they are mistreating the Christian religion as well.

Did Former Anti-Gay Archbishop Cruise Parks and Seek "Poppers"?

As noted in an earlier post today, a new study has found that the worse homophobes are likely closeted gays.  If you want a poster boy for this phenomenon, look no farther than former Catholic Archbishop John Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who has shown himself to be an extreme foe of LGBT rights and marriage equality and who resigned in disgrace under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations.  Now, the Star Tribune is reporting that sworn affidavits from priests, former seminarians and a former priest accuse Niensted of frequenting areas known for "cruising" by gay men, seeking poppers and frequenting a gay club.  All this on top of allegations of misconduct with priests and seminarians and failing to report abuse of minors by predator priests.  Here are story highlights:

Former Archbishop John Nienstedt said he remains “dumbfounded” by the allegations of personal misconduct that emerged last year during an internal church investigation of his behavior — a report that the archdiocese now is considering making public.

Commissioned by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the probe looked into claims that Nienstedt had engaged in behavior that was inappropriate for a priest. The Star Tribune has learned that investigators collected affidavits from priests, former seminarians and a former priest alleging actions, some dating to the Detroit area in the early 1980s, that range from inappropriate touching to visiting a gay nightclub.

Nienstedt resigned June 15, after Ramsey County prosecutors filed criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese, alleging “failure to protect children.”

Some priests and parishioners are pressing interim Archbishop Bernard Hebda to make last year’s investigation of Nienstedt public. He must balance those demands against the promise of confidentiality granted to those who participated in the investigation, as well as the possible implications — if any — it could have in the criminal case brought by Ramsey County.

The Star Tribune has confirmed that five Catholic priests, one former priest and a former seminarian were among those who provided affidavits.

In one affidavit, a priest in Harrison Township, Mich., reported seeing Nienstedt at a gay nightclub in Windsor, Ontario, just across the border from Detroit in the 1980s. “I recall seeing John — and there is no doubt in my mind that it was him based on my prior interactions with him — at the Happy Tap,” the Rev. Lawrence Ventline wrote in his affidavit. “He appeared to wave me off as I was coming — and I backed off because I did not want impose on him.”

Another affidavit from a Michigan priest said that Nienstedt pulled up to his car in an area frequented by gay men one December in the early 1980s and asked him if he had any “poppers,” an inhalant used by gay men to enhance sexual pleasure. When he got into Nienstedt’s car, and Nienstedt recognized him as a former student, he changed the subject, the priest told the Star Tribune.

A former seminarian at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, James Heathcott, also filed an affidavit. He said that Nienstedt — who was the seminary’s rector — expelled him after he refused an invitation to join Nienstedt and two other seminarians on a private weekend at a ski chalet in the late 1980s.

In addition, the Star Tribune obtained a 2014 letter sent by a former student at Sacred Heart Seminary to former auxiliary bishop Lee Piché, who oversaw the Nienstedt investigation, alleging that Nienstedt touched his buttocks after a dinner together one night between 2000 and 2002. Joseph Rangitsch said he protested and Nienstedt replied he could “make things unpleasant for you very quickly.”

Nienstedt denied all the allegations . . . . Nienstedt believes some of the accusations are “retribution” for his stance on social issues. As auxiliary bishop in Detroit, he ended the gay community’s use of a Catholic church for liturgies. In Minnesota, he led an unsuccessful campaign to amend the Minnesota Constitution to ban gay marriages.

 That the Vatican happily accepted Nienstedt's resignation may indicate that despite Nienstedt's protestations, there may be fire beneath the smoke laid out in the affidavits.

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.