More Monday Male Beauty

What Kind of "Doctor" is Marcus Bachmann?

Just what kind of "doctor" is Marcus Bachmann? That's the question that more and more people, including Michelangelo Signorile are asking. And it looks increasingly like the answer may be that he isn't a doctor at all or that his degree is not in what he claims in his advertisements and on his clinic's web page. That's right, he may not hold the degrees claimed. As I have noted in prior posts, one of the biggest scams perpetrated by the Christianists and their "ministries" is that their supposed "experts" either don't have the degrees that they claim to possess or they have no legitimate credentials whatsoever that pertain to their supposed area of expertise (Linda Harvey mentioned in the previous post is a case in point). One can only hope that more digging is done to get to the bottom of what degrees Bachmann does hold. And GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann needs to be called out if it turns out that her husband is a fraud. Here are highlights from The Gist where Michelangelo looks at the facts surrounding Marcus Bachmann's alleged doctorate degree:
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On the web site of Bachmann and Associates, readers are invited to "meet Dr. Marcus Bachmann" who's been "a clinical therapist in the Twin Cities for more than 20 years." But what kind of "doctor" is Marcus Bachmann and where did he get his degree? In his bio Bachmann lists a masters degree from Pat Robertson's Regent University in Virginia. The bio also lists a "PhD – Clinical Psychology, Union Graduate School, OH." As blogger JARS points out in a well-researched post, the punctuation is all wrong on "PhD" which should be Ph.D."
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[I]t's important because he may or may not have a doctor of philosophy. And the Union Graduate School no longer exists. Bachmann got a doctoral degree in something from a shady university that came under scrutiny from the Ohio Board of Regents and whose graduate school was dissolved:
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The Union Institute's Ph.D. program came under scrutiny by the Ohio Board of Regents in the late 1990s early 2000s which culminated in its 2002 Reauthorization Report. The report was critical of the Union Institute's Ph.D. program, noting in particular that " ... expectations for student scholarship at the doctoral level were not as rigorous as is common for doctoral work ... " (OBR 2002 Reauthorization Report, page 13) As a result, The Union was put on probation, the Union Graduate School was dissolved and the Ph.D. program was restructured.
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JARS goes on to write that it seems highly suspect that Marcus Bachmann has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology because, if you follow the timeline, the school wasn't offering it:
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What does all this mean? On his website Dr. Bachmann states he’s had 23 years experience. Simple math brings us to the year 1988. If Dr. Bachmann’s Ph.D. was completed prior to this date, he might have graduated from The Union Graduate School which offered ONLY a Ph.D. in Arts and Sciences. If he graduated later than 1986, then he would have graduated from The Union Institute (1986), or The Union Institute and University (2001) and his Ph.D. would have been in Interdisciplinary Studies.
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If in fact Dr. Marcus Bachmann graduated from this institute, whatever it was named at the time, he would not have graduated with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. The ONLY doctorate in Clinical Psychology was offered after 2001, and the degree is a Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) and not a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy).
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Nobody lies and deceives more than the Christianists. They truly act as if the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness did not exist - even as they pretend to honor the Ten Commandments as part of their ploy to separate the ignorant, dim witted and intellectually lazy from their hard earned money. .

Hate Merchants At Mission America Attack Scholarships for LGBT Students

Linda Harvey (pictured at left) at Mission American once again proves that she's about as unloving and nasty piece of work as one can be when it comes to denigrating not only LGBT Americans but in addition anyone or any organization which endeavors to make life less of a Hell for those who suffer as victims of anti-gay bigotry. As Right Wing Watch is reporting, Ms. Harvey has gone on a spittle spraying rant against scholarships for LGBT high schools students and the National Education Association in particular. Harvey alleges that such scholarships offer a "financial incentive" and help "persuade youths to be in a deviant lifestyle" and engage in "risky behavior" Having endowed a scholarship for LGBT students myself in honor of my late parents, in my view Ms. Harvey is an utter douche bag and from a moral perspective is no different that the Islamic haters that the Christian Taliban in this country love to malign. Here's a portion of Harvey's screed:
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Harvey: The group’s website says they raise money for teen scholarships given to those kids who consider themselves homosexual. The past few years the scholarship winners have not simply been young people persuaded to be in this deviant lifestyle, but are students who have unfortunately bought the party line and become involved in activism projects like homosexual clubs and the pro-homosexual Day of Silence in their schools. And so now kids are given financial incentives to be actively engaged in both the political goals of homosexuals as well as the risky behavior. This is appalling. In these tough economic times many kids will be struggling to get money together for college and here we have a really sleazy connection for them to make. It’s just one more outrageous thing going on with our teachers’ unions.
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What's appalling and sleazy are Harvey and those like her. It's precisely because of people like Harvey and those who embrace her hate-filled form of Christianity that many LGBT students find themselves in need of scholarships in the first place having been disowned and/or cut off financially by their Kool-Aid drinking parents and families. In describing my motivation for establishing a scholarship for LGBT high school students I said in part the following:
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I provided the initial funding to establish the scholarship for a number of reasons, not the least of which was to honor my parents who always valued education and who were unwavering in their support of me when I came out. In fact, when I was telling them that I was gay and made a remark that I hoped that they would not disown me, my father - not always the easiest of individuals to get along with - was indignant that I'd even think such a thing about them. He honestly could not conceive of any decent parent who would disown their own child merely because they were gay. Unfortunately, many parents do not follow my late parents' example. And as a result, LGBT youth make up a disproportionate percentage of homeless youths because too many parents prefer to cling to religious based bigotry or worry about what others will think rather than stand by their children.
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Other LGBT youths, if not disowned and homeless, nonetheless can find themselves cut off from family resources and may never have an opportunity to got to college. Sadly, I know a significant number of individuals who suffered this disheartening experience. It's a tragedy. I sincerely hope that this scholarship will help offset such bigotry in small part and over time will grow and provide benefit for more aspiring LGBT youth each year.

Monday Male Beauty

Undercover at Marcus Bachmann's Clinic

With GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty joining the ranks of the science deniers on the issue of the changeability of sexual orientation yesterday on Meet the Press, The Advocate has a timely article by John Becker (pictured at left) who went under cover to one of Marcus Bachmann's "Christian counseling" centers and confirmed that Michele Bachmann's lisping, mincing husband is peddling the "ex-gay" snake oil - despite his public denials to the contrary. Pawlenty's effort to deny what ever legitimate mental health association has to say on reparative demonstrates how either he (and those like him) is an ignorant moron or he's so obsessed with prostituting himself to the rabid far right of the GOP base that he has thrown aside every shred of honesty and integrity. First this from Think Progress on Pawlenty's batshitery:

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In fact, there is no dispute among health professionals. All major medical professional organizations agree that sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed, from gay to straight or otherwise. The American Psychological Association, the world’s largest association of psychological professionals, describes sexual orientation as “a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors.” There is considerable evidence to suggest that biology, “including genetic or inborn hormonal factors,” plays a significant role in a person’s sexuality.

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Pawlenty’s comments underscore the reality that promoting ex-gay therapy and the idea that homosexuality can be changed or denied (which it cannot) are at the root of all anti-gay perspectives. The broad consensus of scientists have condemned such notions — and the kinds of discrimination Pawlenty has protected — for decades.

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Turning to Becker's experience at Bachmann's snake oil market, here are some highlights from Becker's piece in The Advocate:
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TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen decided that we were going to obtain that verification: I was to go undercover to Bachmann & Associates in Lake Elmo, MN posing as someone seeking counseling for homosexuality, schedule as many appointments as I could, and document what went on during my appointments with hidden cameras.

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When I called Bachmann & Associates to schedule my initial appointment, I told the receptionist who answered the phone that I was struggling with homosexuality. She referred me to Timothy Wiertzema, a counselor at the clinic, and scheduled me for a June 23 appointment.

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When asked why I came in for counseling, I said that I had been struggling with homosexuality for a long time and tried a lot of things, up to and including suicide, to make it go away – exactly how my 16-year-old self would have responded. I said that I was upset: this struggle has lasted for so long that I started to wonder if I was doing it right and decided to seek outside help.

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In later sessions he would say that he “…think[s] it’s possible to be totally free of [same-sex attraction]. For sure.” and that “It’s happened! It really has happened to people.” I was never told that every professional medical and mental health association rejects “ex-gay” therapy including the American Medical Association, American PsychologicalAssociation, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Counseling Association, or that the treatment I was seeking was totally unsupported by research. I was never informed about possible alternative treatment options such as gay-affirmative therapy. Nobody ever told me about the potential for harmful side effects like depression and suicidal thoughts. . . . . I was never given nor asked to sign any kind of informed consent document that disclosed the above information about “ex-gay” therapy.

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I was told that whenever I saw an attractive woman I just needed to reinforce in my mind that she was, indeed, attractive, and that God made her this way and made me to notice her. After all, “God designed our eyes to be attracted to the woman’s body, to be attracted to everything, to be attracted to her breasts.” Further, according to Wiertzema, “We’re all heterosexuals, but we have different challenges.” Attraction to the same sex “is there, and it’s real, but at the core value, in terms of how God created us, we’re all heterosexual.”

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Based on my experiences at Bachmann & Associates, there can no longer be any doubt that Marcus Bachmann’s state- and federally-funded clinic endorses and practices reparative therapy aimed at changing a gay person’s sexual orientation, despite the fact that such “therapy” is widely discredited by the scientific and medical communities. It’s time for Michele and Marcus Bachmann to stop denying, dodging, and stonewalling. They owe it to all Americans to provide a full and honest explanation for their embrace of these dangerous and fraudulent practices.

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Obviously, there need to be answers as to how and why the State of Minnesota is allowing Bachmann's clinics to engage in "treatment" that is labeled as unethical by all the major medical and mental health authorities. At the same time, the mainstream media needs to cover this issue and make it clear just how far out of the mainstream both Marcus and Michele Bachmann are in fact.

Sunday Male Beauty

"Christian" Cult Leader Murdered Boy He Thought Might Be Gay

The "love" exhibited by right wing Christians just never seems to cease demonstrating that under these people the main message of Christianity is hate and intolerance. Gays, of course receive an enhanced level of this hatred. Now, out of North Carolina come details of how Peter Lucas Moses (pictured at right), a self-styled Christian cult leader executed a four year old boy who he thought might be gay. How someone could do something to a child is horrible to contemplate, yet a literal reading of the Bible as applied by the Christianists and professional Christians makes such a horror justifiable in the minds of the unhinged. As I've wondered before, has Christianity destroyed more lives than it has aided? Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Moses who is also charged with murdering a woman. Here are highlights from the News Observer:
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In a hearing Friday, prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty and revealed details of their case against Peter Lucas Moses Jr., accused of murdering a 4-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman because of his beliefs and association with a radical religious sect. Moses, 27, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jadon Higganbothan, 4, and Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28.
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District Attorney Tracey Cline summarized bizarre scenarios that investigators had pieced together for what happened to Jadon and McKoy, who both lived at 2109 Pear Tree Lane, where the defendant had patched together a sordid family.
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Moses subscribed to the tenets of the Black Hebrews, a radical sect that believes a race war is coming that will leave blacks dominant and supreme, according to court documents. Women who lived with the defendant and counted themselves as his wives or common-law wives - women who also face criminal charges in the case - referred to Moses as "Lord," prosecutors contend. Vania Higganbothan Sisk, Jadon's mother, who faces a murder charge in the case, was one of those women.
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Sometime in October 2010, prosecutors told the judge, one of the women told the defendant that Jadon had hit another child's bottom, and Moses retaliated because he thought the boy might be homosexual - partially because the child's father had left his mother. Homosexuality, Cline contended, is frowned upon by the Black Hebrews, so the defendant asked the boy's mother to get rid of him.
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Moses then ordered two of the other women to set up computers and speakers in the garage, prosecutors contend, then the defendant took the boy into the garage, where music and the Lord's Prayer in Hebrew blared, and a gunshot sounded. One of the women told investigators the boy was shot in the head. Some of the women cleaned up his bloodied body, prosecutors said, then put it in a suitcase in the master bedroom until Moses complained about the smell.
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The story goes on to describe the murder of Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, age 28. If this is what religion brings to the world, we'd obviously be better off without religion.

Obama - The Untransformational President

While the GOP continues to offer up numerous would be presidential candidates of questionable sanity, the Democrats find themselves saddled with Barack Obama - probably one of the most disappointing presidents in decades. I, like countless others, foolishly believed Obama's statements and will confess that, in person he was so very, very convincing. Little did we know that he had no spine, was in truth a follower rather than a leader, and that he would time and time again give away half the store before he even began to negotiate with Republicans who seek to destroy him no matter what he gives up (something Obama still doesn't seem to have figured out). I've even gone so far as to say that I'd love to see Obama faced with a primary challenge. In response, one gets the mantra that he's better than a GOP president. But that argument ignores what could have been accomplished had a leader with a backbone been in the White House, especially while the Democrats held both houses of Congress. A piece in The Daily Beast looks at the disappointing reality of Obama's presidency. Here are some highlights:
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Remember back when Barack Obama talked about being a transformational president? You know, how Reagan was one, Clinton wasn’t, and Obama himself would be? Whatever happens in the ongoing debt negotiations, whatever happens in the next election, we already know that this is a fantasy. The news that Obama is willing to place Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid on the poker table reveals yet again, and more starkly than ever before, what’s most important to him. It’s not to lead. It’s not to fight. It’s not even to win. It’s to be the most reasonable and unflappable person in the room. Obama will not be a transformational president unless the transformation starts in his own DNA.
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I’m deeply sympathetic with the mental and emotional armature that must be donned by a young black man growing up in a white household and mostly white world—the need to prove that one is superior, and the need to do so quietly, in a way others have no choice but to respect. . . . . But in this White House at this point in history with this much at stake and facing this perfervid opposition, these qualities are serving him and the Americans who want to believe in him very poorly.
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They certainly aren’t the qualities of a transformational leader. Transformational leaders fight and draw lines in the sand. I’ve been stunned, both in the spring during the government shutdown negotiations and now, that Obama has hardly ever gone to the American people to insist firmly that there are some things he would never abide.
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Obama might end up being Reagan-like, but not in the way he used to mean it. Now that I think about it, Reagan-like would be an improvement. Reagan at least raised Social Security payroll taxes and cut benefits only to future retirees, and only way, way down the road. Obama is cutting those taxes and (probably) cutting benefits now, and taking his fellow Democrats’ best campaign issue (the Ryan budget) out from under them. It's all quite reasonable--but I don't think it's the kind of transformation most of his 2008 voters had in mind.

Bachmann Shoots Herself in the Foot With Endorsement of Slavery Statement

While continuing to pander to the most ignorant and bigoted elements of the GOP base, the utterly insane Michele Bachmann shot herself in the foot in a major way by signing onto the Family Leader's "Marriage Vow" which in reality translates into ugly anti-gay marriage and racist language. Bachman is apparently trying to deny that she endorsed the portion of the hate group's vow that stated that black children were better off under slavery than in toady's broken families. The statement is indicative of (i) the latent racism that I find always just beneath the surface of all of the "family values" Christianist organizations and (ii) the ease with which these supposed Christians rewrite history to suit their agenda. As for Bachmann, it demonstrates that she's a liar - just like her husband who claims not to engage in ex-gay therapy even though it has now been documented that he does precisely that. Once again, if a self-congratulatory conservative Christian's lips are moving, the safest bet is to assume that they are lying. The Washington Post has coverage of Bachmann's lame attempt to lie her way out of the slavery statement debacle:
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A socially conservative group has apologized for including a passage about slavery in a pledge it asked the Republican candidates to sign as a prerequisite for the group’s endorsement in the presidential race. Rep. Michele Bachmann had been the first GOP hopeful to sign “The Marriage Vow,” which included in the introduction a section that lamented that “the Institution of Marriage in America is in great crisis.”
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One piece of evidence it offered was the claim that a black person born into slavery “was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American president.”
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The suggestion that African American babies may have somehow been better off under slavery touched off sharp criticism from liberals and commentators, who noted that U.S. slaves had been forbidden from marrying and were often sold at auction and separated from their family members.
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Saturday, Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart said that the Minnesota congresswoman had only endorsed the 14-point “candidate vow,” which did not include the slavery passage. However, the entire document was only four pages, including two pages of footnotes, and the slavery section was the first bullet point within the preamble.

What Does the Bible Really Say About Marriage and are Gay Catholics Masochists?

I do not hide the fact that I hold the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in total contempt. Its members for the most part are deliberate liars, hypocrites and accessories to sex crimes against children. There is really no way to sugar coat the truth. Nonetheless, millions of Catholics - some are relatives of mine - continue to financially support these horrible men and send a strong signal that they have no reason to clean out the cesspool like Church power structure. As long as the sheeple mindlessly send in the money, NOTHING will change and these financial supporters of the Church become quasi-accessories themselves. Meanwhile Church spokesman like Timothy "Porky Pig" Dolan, Archbishop of New York, continue to send out a ceaseless stream of denigrating statements about gays and lies about what the Bible says about marriage. Yet many gays remain in the Church in what I can only see is an example of a sick form of masochism. Why remain in an institution where the leadership truly hates you and wants you regarded as less than fully human? A piece in Huffington Post by Greg Carey, a professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary, looks at what the Bible really says about marriage - and it's not what Dolan and the Christianists say it is. Here are some highlights:
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When you attend a wedding at church, what passages of Scripture do you expect to hear? . . . . Someone invariably mentions 1 Corinthians 13, the famous "Love Chapter." Love is patient, love is kind, love never insists on its own way and so forth. Wonderful advice for marriage, but Paul was not talking about marriage. He was addressing a church fight: the believers in Corinth had split into factions and were competing for prestige and influence.
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Others call out, "Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16; NRSV). Another moving passage, but it's certainly not about marriage. Ruth addresses this moving speech to her mother-in-law Naomi.
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The point is, Christian weddings rarely feature passages that directly relate to marriage. Only one passage, Genesis 2:24, seems especially relevant, while other passages require us to bend their content to our desire to hear a good word about marriage. Things are so bad that the worship books for many denominations turn to John 2:11, where Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding feast, to claim that Jesus blessed marriage.
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So we know Jesus blessed marriage because he attended a wedding? That's the best we can do? No wonder it's common for couples to struggle over the choice of Scripture for their wedding ceremonies. The Bible just doesn't have much to say on the topic.
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Unfortunately, many Christians use the Bible to support their own prejudices and bigotry. They talk about "biblical family values" as if the Bible had a clear message on marriage and sexuality. Let's be clear: There's no such thing as "biblical family values" because the Bible does not speak to the topic clearly and consistently.
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It's high time people came clean about how we use the Bible. When Christians try to resolve difficult ethical and theological matters, they typically appeal to the Gospels and Paul's letters as keys to the question. But what about marriage? Not only did Jesus choose not to marry, he encouraged his disciples to abandon household and domestic concerns in order to follow him (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:28-30; Luke 9:57-62). He even refers to those "who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:10-13).
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Paul likewise encourages male believers: "Do not seek a wife" (1 Corinthians 7:27, my translation) -- advice Paul took for himself. If neither Jesus nor Paul preferred marriage for their followers, why do some Christians maintain that the Bible enshrines 19th-century Victorian family values?
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Let's not even go into some of the Bible's most chilling teachings regarding marriage, such as how a man's obligation to keep a new wife who displeases him on the wedding night (Deuteronomy 22:13-21), his obligation to marry a woman he has raped (Deuteronomy 22:28-30) or the unquestioned right of heroes like Abraham to exploit their slaves sexually. I wonder: Have the "biblical family values advocates" actually read their Bibles?
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Again, it's far past time that distorted versions of Christianity cease being enshrined in the civil laws and given special rights and privileges. As for gay Catholics who remain in the Church, another piece in Huffington Post tries to make the case for remaining in the Church. While the article is sincere and I can feel for its author, I think he deludes himself if he believes that change will come to the Church absent mass departures of members and more importantly, absent a huge drop in financial support. Money is the Vatican's only true god. Here are brief highlights:
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So what does this mean for gay Catholics? It means that we should choose to stay while embracing Christ's guidance -- ask questions, seek answers and never stop knocking -- because one day the door will be opened. Perhaps we should start asking these questions and seeking answers with regards to the application of Church teaching on the issue of homosexuality.
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So where does all of this leave LGBT Catholics? In the pews. The realities call all LGBT Catholics to live our lives as examples of Christian love. By living our lives prophetically, we can continue to help others evolve in their understanding of our community. As people who believe in the all welcoming and loving message of Christ, we must remind ourselves and others that LGBT Catholics and their allies, in the words of Bishop Sullivan, "are not rebels in their churches, but people who have taken spiritual messages of inclusiveness and welcoming to heart."
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By staying in the Church and living our lives, we are expressing our belief in the inclusive message of Christ; we are choosing to ask, seek and knock with the hope that one day "the door will be opened" (Luke 11:10).