Suspicious Berean: Indecency

Showing posts with label Indecency. Show all posts

Sunday, 19 January 2020

30 years ago: The death of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. Mark 13:22 (also Matthew 24:24)

On January 19, 1990, Indian "holy man" Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh died of heart failure at the age of 58. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, born Chandhra Mohan Jain, was a Hindu guru who became a philosophy professor and a popular lecturer in the 1950s and '60s. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh became known as the "sex guru" because of his liberal teachings on sex. He began initiating disciples in 1970, and created an ashram. The ashram began attracting Western followers, especially after 1975, when therapists promoting human potential, aka New Age teachings arrived. Violence and abundant sexual activity between members attracted critical attention from Indian authorities, and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and he relocated to Oregon in 1981, where American followers Sheela Silverman and her husband John Shelfer had purchased property.

The Rajneesh organization created the city of Rajneeshpuram, accumulating 93 Rolls Royces and encountering stiff opposition from local residents. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had taken a vow of silence in April 1981, but ended the public silence in October 1984, and almost a year later publicly denounced Ms. Silverman and her associates, accusing them of serious crimes, including a 1984 salmonella attack on local residents. Rajneeshpuram collapsed, and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was indicted in October 1985 for conspiracy to evade U.S. immigration laws; he ended up making a deal including a fine and an agreement not to return to the United States for five years. After various stops around the world, he landed in Mumbai in July 1986, returning to his ashram in Pune six months later. He suffered from declining health, which he blamed on poisoning in U.S. jails, and in 1989 took the name Osho Rajneesh.

It's interesting to note that a disproportionate number of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's followers had backgrounds in psychology. I was a student at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton in the early 1980s, and the college had a psychology instructor under the surname of Narayan, who was a Rajneesh devotee. Mr. Narayan was a Jew whose original name I've forgotten, but he changed his name after falling under the spell of the Bhagwan.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's organization continues to proclaim his false teachings, using the name OSHO. As for the current whereabouts of Rajneeshpuram's 93 Rolls Royces--we're not sure. False Christs such as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh come and go, but the Lord Jesus Christ lives, and will return to Earth (Acts 1:11).

Thursday, 19 December 2019

Alphabet pervert altarpiece removed from Swedish church after 10 days on display

(Paradise)

A church in Malmo has a new altarpiece meant to celebrate inclusivity by replacing Adam and Eve in paradise with gay couples in suggestive poses, while depicting the serpent tempting them as a transgender woman.

The controversial work of art is not new. Photographer and artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin painted it in 2012 and tried to donate it to the Skara Cathedral just before the church was preparing to conduct the first same-sex wedding in its 1,000-year history.

The openly lesbian artist, who has a history of blending religious imagery with pro-minority activism, said at the time that she wanted to test if the Church of Sweden was as gay-friendly as it claimed to be when it embraced same-sex marriage in 2009. The Skara Cathedral politely declined the gift, saying it was about political activism and not faith.

But over seven years have passed, and now Wallin has got her way, even if it isn’t in her home city. St. Paul’s Church in Malmo accepted the painting called “Paradise” as its new altarpiece and unveiled it on Sunday, the first day of Advent. Helena Myrstener, the pastor, said that “history was written” in the hanging of the “LGBT altarpiece” as she tweeted a photo of the painting.

Wallin’s reimagining of paradise was inspired by one of the works by Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder. The artist/activist said she wanted to show that, since the beginning of time, the place for gay people was in paradise rather than hell. The modern interpretation interestingly seems more prudish in terms of nudity than the 16th century originals as both “lesbian Eves” have their breasts covered by leaves rather than concealing only their genitals, as is traditional.

But it’s probably not because the artist has problems with nudity. After all, her most famous photo exhibition – the 2012 Bible-inspired “Ecce Homo” – featured an image portraying the baptism of Jesus with the model standing for Christ having his penis fully exposed.

Ecce Homo

The Church of Sweden, the state Church of the Scandinavian country until 2000 and still by far its largest denomination, prides itself on embracing a laundry list of woke agendas. Despite this, Swedes have been leaving the Church in record numbers lately, according to surveys.

Judging by some comments on social media, the new altarpiece won’t help much with stopping the exodus. “The politization has gone too far,” one member commented on the news as she announced leaving the Church. Another one said that while there were plenty of enlightened priests in the Church of Sweden, radicals from a “PC-pack” have turned it into their own arena.

As reported by Sputnik News, December 12, 2019 (links in original):

Barely a fortnight ago, the controversial LGBT painting called "Paradise" was hailed for “making history” and revered as a milestone in the church's acceptance of sexual minorities. Now it's removed for sending the wrong signal about transsexuals, as it depicted the Serpent as a transsexual woman.

After only ten days, St. Paul's church in Malmö has decided to remove its new altarpiece depicting same-sex couples in suggestive poses.

The inauguration of the homoerotic painting “Paradise” by controversial artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin as the church's new altar on the first day of Advent was widely celebrated by church officials and the media.

However, the Swedish Church has announced that the altar will be removed, because it “leaves too many unanswered questions".

The church suggested in a press release that it is “totally uncontroversial” to have two gay couples in the artwork, and confirmed its commitment to the LGBT cause, being one of the first in the world to start blessing same-sex couples.

“But there is the Serpent, which traditionally stands for evil, and it also turns out to be a trans person, which may be interpreted in a way that a trans person is evil or even the devil. The Church of Sweden absolutely cannot support this,” the church said in a press release.

According to the church, the depiction of the forbidden fruit is also problematic, as it raises questions on what kind of knowledge it represents.

“At first I did not realise the complexity, but upon closer reflection and careful discussion with the management, there is no alternative but to move the painting from the church premises,” pastor Per Svensson said, adding that the Church has “listened to criticism”.

Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin's “Paradise” depicts the Biblical Garden of Eden and is a variation of Lucas Cranach's work, only with Adam and Eve replaced with black and white gay people in sexual poses.

Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, herself a lesbian, is known as a staunch supporter of the LGBT cause. In 1998, her exhibition Ecce Homo, held in Uppsala Cathedral, sparked a major controversy for depicting Jesus as the champion of homosexuals and transvestites, even riding a bicycle in a gay pride parade.

The Church of Sweden maintains a rather liberal position on a plethora of issues, such as homosexuality, mass immigration, and climate change. At over 5 million members, it remains Sweden's largest religious organisation and Europe's largest Lutheran denomination, despite a rapid decline in worshippers (at a pace of about 2 percent annually). The Church of Sweden went from 95 percent of the Swedish population to barely 57 percent within a matter of several decades.

The perceptive reader will notice that in addition to supporting the alphabet pervert agenda, this apostate denomination takes liberal positions on other issues, such as women in leadership, mass immigration, and climate change.

Sunday, 1 December 2019

Backlog: Today's university life includes organized orgies and paganism

A pair of items from the University of Alberta that are a few years old, but still relevant. As reported by Jamie Sarkonak in the U of A student newspaper The Gateway, October 27, 2015 (bold in original):

The rumours are true: there’s going to be an orgy for University of Alberta students..

The location and date of the “sexual mixer” is still tentative, but it will be held on November 13 at one of three tentative locations. It’s open to any student of the U of A, as long as they are willing to be screened by organizers.

Gender and sexuality ratios will be kept as close to equal as possible, to make sure nobody feels outnumbered or left out. The group is sex-positive, and said they are accepting of anyone on the gender and sexuality spectra to attend. It’s challenging to keep a balance, but keeping relatively equal numbers from all groups is important for the group’s comfort, U of A student and organizer Matthew James Hardy said.

“This way they can actually explore and not feel suppressed,” he said.

Despite the popular view that only males want to participate in group sex, there’s been equal anonymous interest from both men and women. “Slut-shaming” culture tends to make women more hesitant, but there are indeed confirmed female attendees for November’s event. There has also been interest from LGBT individuals as well, Hardy said.

“I think there’s a significant number of people out there with an interest in group sex,” Hardy said. “They just never really take the plunge.”

All levels of experience are welcome; the orgy is open to anyone who wishes to explore their fantasies in that context, he said.

The fun and thrill that comes with seeing other couples enjoying themselves in group sex can strengthen one’s own relationship, Hardy said. There’s also a greater confidence that comes after expressing oneself naked in the presence of strangers, he said. Hardy is experienced with group sex, so he will act as a moderator to make sure rules are respected.

Hardy added that orgy is not a free-for-all; no one has to interact if they don’t want to. Guidelines for etiquette, consent, and safety must be followed.

Hardy said he is willing to be the face of the group to help others express themselves without having to face any judgement. Participants themselves can stay anonymous and only need to reveal their names to Hardy himself for security purposes. Names will remain confidential and are mainly used for the screening process, which ensures participants aren’t random people who will show up and make others feel uncomfortable, Hardy said. Within the orgy, attendees can remain anonymous or disclose a fake name. Identity security will be taken very seriously, he said.

“Discretion is my number one concern,” he said. “I want to give (participants) a safe environment to express themselves in that regard and not have to worry about any peering eyes.”

Regarding STIs, there’s no way to completely know if an individual is negative since tests quickly become outdated, so Hardy is not requiring participants to get tested. They are encouraged to bring and use barrier contraceptives however. Condoms will also be supplied.

Orgy-goers can bring partners from within or outside the U of A, as long as these partners are also screened. The idea is to make sure everyone is as comfortable as possible — if bringing a friend helps, all the better, Hardy said.

The orgy will start at around 7 p.m. and end around midnight. It’s currently undecided whether alcohol will be permitted and full details will be up to the finalized in the upcoming weeks. Also undecided is the location, which will be either a Fantasyland hotel room, the local lifestyle club 4-Play, or the host’s own home. Details will be finalized closer to the date to get the most input from participants.

Hardy is open to answering questions from anyone interested. He can be contacted on Facebook or as “Duraflame” on fetlife.com in the group UAlberta Kink.

The idea in the end is to just help people express themselves in a safe environment, Hardy said.

“I don’t like the idea of having to hide what you enjoy just because someone else may find it distasteful,” he said.

Hardy’s Orgy Guidelines

1. Safe environment — Consent must be given for any interaction: participants are not to touch or initiate without first reviving explicit permission. Flirting is not always a sign they’re interested in anything beyond the verbal exchange. Coercion is not considered consent, and is thereby prohibited.

2. Etiquette — This orgy in particular will be accepting to all types and whatever part of the sexual spectrum they may consider themselves on. Nobody has to interact if they’re not interested or comfortable, but basic etiquette expects participants to decline if asked to interact. To join a particular part of the orgy, participants must ask permission. This allows things to run more smoothly. Overt aggression can result in expulsion from the orgy

3. Cleanliness — Wipe up any bodily fluids, and dispose of any contraceptives. Participants are guests, and should behave as such.

I don't know if the orgy actually took place, but given reports of what's happening at other universities, such as the University of Toronto, I wouldn't discount it. Such activities, as far as I know, haven't been made compulsory at Canadian universities--yet.

The other item, by the same writer in the same issue of The Gateway, is an interview with the U of A's Wiccan chaplain--yes, they have one:

An old Wiccan saying says, “What is remembered, lives.” The idea of life through remembrance is the backbone of both ancient and modern Halloween celebrations.

Samhain, pronounced SOW-en, is the Wiccan celebration of the last harvest of the year, and the time to consult one’s ancestors for guidance. It’s a Sabbat, a Wiccan festival aligned with the lunar and solar cycles. The Sabbat of Samhain in particular is about “putting the world to bed,” University of Alberta Wiccan Chaplain Samuel Wagar said.

Community Samhain celebrations are all different, but usually include a divination where a Wiccan acts as the Crone Goddess and gives ancestral advice to individuals seeking direction. The evening ends with traditional food and drink: pork, apples and nuts.

Wagar still remembers his first Samhain from his early 20s. He had only recently become Pagan, and attended a community celebration at the Wiccan Church of Canada in Toronto. The ceremony was a divination, where a priestess went into a trance and embodied the Pagan Goddess to give advice, which Wagar had thought of as “very cool.”

“I thought it was very moving,” Wagar said. “I liked the idea of talking to the ancestors at this time of year. It felt right to me. It also was helpful to break past the normal fear of death … The idea that the ancestors are available to consult was very heartwarming to me.”

Smaller family celebrations closely resemble a typical Thanksgiving dinner. There’s a traditional feast for the living, but also a plate and candle lit for the dead at the end of the table.

Samhain also includes the classic dressing up and going door-to-door; it’s the parent of today’s secular trick-or-treating. Hundreds of years ago, homeowners would treat disguised anonymous figures as temporarily-returned ancestors and give them gifts. Later, for a lot of European descendants, those gifts became candy.

The feeling that goes though people in Samhain celebrations is one of remembrance, Wagar said. Wiccans reflect on loved ones who have died, and even attempt to communicate with them. This time of year most appropriate, as the late fall is considered by Wiccans to be the time when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Though the ancestors can always be asked for advice, they’re believed to be most communicative in this time of the year, Wagar said.

“Death is in the air,” Wagar said. “It’s a difficult time, especially for people in early agricultural societies.”

Historically, the late Fall was a time of foreboding since there wasn’t always enough harvest to make it through the winter. Winter was a time of risk and death, especially hundreds of years ago. Daily life has since changed considerably, but rituals still are used to recreate the old experiences, Wagar said.

This time of year opens up the opportunity to talk about the fact that everyone will eventually die, something most people avoid talking about on a daily basis. Death is inevitable, so people might as well accept it, Wagar said. The entire process of being alive is much more meaningful if one can understand the beginning and end of it, he added.

“It’s good to remind yourself that life is uncertain,” Wagar said “You have to be to be in good with your family, your community, your ancestors, and the natural world. And Halloween’s a good time to do that.”

Thursday, 19 September 2019

Race takes precedence for some in hierarchy of diversity among alphabet perverts in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston Pride Week has begun, but not all of the Lowcountry’s LGBTQ community is celebrating.

A group of Charleston Pride members have split from the organization, claiming it wasn’t meeting their needs.

One of those members was Regina Duggins, a former Charleston Pride board member and an African American lesbian. In June, she started a new local organization created to support LGBTQ people of color. It is called Charleston Black Pride.

Duggins said she felt like other Charleston Pride board members, many of whom are white gay males, were not actively seeking and supporting diversity within the organization. There are at least five people of color, out of 15 members, currently on the Charleston Pride board.

When she became a board member two years ago, Duggins was the only African American lesbian to fill the role, but she said the board wasn’t the only place in the organization lacking people of color. Many of the organization’s programs, she said, were inherently exclusive, from their locations to their themes to their pricing.

“Most of the events have a downtown location, while a lot of the LGBTQ black community is in North Charleston and Summerville,” she explained.

Last year, she said Charleston Pride also dropped the ball in flying a variation of the Pride rainbow flag that represents LGBTQ people of color, though it was approved during a board meeting. That broke trust within the organization, she said.

Yet Duggins said she didn’t found Charleston Black Pride to start a rivalry. Instead, she wants to show that awareness, inclusivity and diversity have to be more present within the organization. There are hopes to rejoin with Charleston Pride once those values have been prioritized...

...Charleston isn’t the only city to have a Black Pride organization. Duggins attended an August conference in Kansas City hosted by the Center for Black Equity that convened Black Prides from across the country and beyond, including New York City, Atlanta and Paris. There is also a South Carolina Black Pride organization based in Columbia.

During a weekend of training, Duggins and the others discussed issues that they’ve faced in regards to other non-black Prides. One unique aspect to Charleston that poses a challenge is that religion is closely tied with the local African American community.

“People of color are in a hidden society when they’re in a Bible Belt state because of religious affiliation and people feeling ostracized from their families and their churches,” Duggins said.

Reverend Robert Arrington, pastor of the Unity Fellowship Church of Charleston, said he is the area’s only openly gay African American reverend. He’s been supportive of Charleston Black Pride since Duggins founded it.

“So much of the LGBTQ community of color are in churches where they are abused and talked down to because of their sexuality,” Arrington said.

He said that’s a part of the local black religious culture, but he’s trying to change that...

...A new role of Chief Strategy Officer was created within Charleston Pride, in part to address diversity issues. The person filling that role now is Evan Nowell, and he says it’s all about listening, observing, being a citizen and engaging.

“As a white, gay queer male, I want to use my privilege to sit back and listen to those who haven’t had a seat at the table,” Nowell said.

Nowell helped Charleston Pride launch a physical space, which was rented to unite the Alliance for Full Acceptance, Charleston Pride and We Are Family under one roof so that they might better collaborate to meet the needs of the entire LGBTQ community. It also provides a space where conversation can be had and brainstorming can take place.

This year at the festival, he added, all of the Pride flags will be flown, including the one for people of color which was left out last year...

Friday, 31 May 2019

First openly sodomite Orthodox Jewish rabbi ordained in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A gay rabbinical student denied ordination by a liberal seminary in New York was welcomed into the rabbinate in Jerusalem, breaking a longstanding taboo against homosexuality in the Orthodox community.

Daniel Landes, a prominent American-Israeli rabbi, granted semichah, Hebrew for ordination, to Daniel Atwood alongside a mixed group of men and women at the Jerusalem Theater on Sunday evening during a ceremony attended by more than 200 guests.

Atwood was informed earlier this year that he would not be ordained after completing his studies at New York’s Yeshivat Chovevei Torah despite the school previously saying it would ordain him.

While there has been a significant increase in empathy for LGBT Jews in recent years within the Orthodox community, inclusion has rarely reached the level of communal leadership, and same-sex marriage is universally prohibited. Atwood became engaged to another man last fall.

“I was told three years ago that my giving woman semichah would create chaos and damage them and their families and dumb-down Torah learning. The opposite has been the case,” Landes, who until recently was the longtime head of the co-ed, nondenominational Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, told attendees at the ordination ceremony.

“Here’s the real question. Is our Torah and halachic system so weak and devoid of resources that it cannot be challenged by a new situation?” Citing the verse “The Torah is perfect, restoring the soul,” Landes thundered that “it is a perfect Torah only when and if it restores the soul. That’s what we need to work for.”

In 2016, Landes ordained eight Orthodox women as rabbis in a ceremony here. The ordination program is part of Yashrut, an organization he heads that aims to build “civil discourse through a theology of integrity, justice, and tolerance.”

Atwood — a 27-year- old graduate of Yeshiva University, Modern Orthodoxy’s flagship institution — smiled throughout the ceremony, dancing with Landes and his fellow ordainees.

“I feel very excited to be receiving semicha and very grateful to Rabbi Landes and Yashrut for taking me on,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, adding that his joy was tempered by “a little sadness to not be with the cohort and teachers that I learned with for many years at YCT.”

Asked how he felt to be a representative of the LGBT community within American Orthodoxy, Atwood replied that he felt “that responsibility very strongly” and that while he had not set out to be a symbol, he hoped that he could become “a rabbinic presence for LGBT [Jews] and Jews of all sorts, whatever their orientation, who feel left out.”

Many young gay Orthodox Jews who would have previously left the fold are staying “and it’s almost unimaginable for them to not have a place,” he continued. “They are demanding a place and I think that having spiritual leadership guide that along is important.” He also downplayed any conflict between his LGBT and Orthodox identities, saying that he was not “looking for labels that are going to get in the way of the good work that needs to be done.”

Orthodox Judaism had traditionally firmly opposed same-sex relationships, although there is a growing movement toward inclusion among more liberal elements of the community. However, Atwood’s case shows that even this tolerance has limits.

While Chovevei Torah initially welcomed Atwood with full knowledge of his orientation, the yeshiva’s dean told JTA that a recent, unspecified event caused a reevaluation of the decision to grant him ordination. Six months ago, Atwood and his partner got engaged on the stage of a concert in New York City.

“He came out to us in the end of his first year and we were fully prepared to give him semichah until certain circumstances arose over a few months ago,” Linzer told JTA last month. “Because this is such a sensitive issue, it took us a few months to come to the decision that I came to. I was trying to figure out if there was a possible way forward. I came to the conclusion there was not.” He acknowledged that the process of denying Atwood ordination “was not handled well.”

The Reconstructionist and Reform movements began ordaining gay rabbis in the 1980s, with the Conservative movement following in 2006.

Atwood’s fiancé, Judah Gavant, told JTA that he is very proud of both his partner and “our whole community” and that Atwood’s ordination was part of a process of “moving things forward and making a Jewish world that is available to more people that want to be a part of it.”

Late last year several dozen Israeli and American Orthodox rabbis co-signed an open letter in support of the LGBTQ community in response to a letter from some 200 other Orthodox rabbis in Israel that called its members “perverts” and an “organization of abominations.”

For his part, Landes does not believe that the Biblical prohibition of same-sex relations applies to people for whom homosexuality is “not an act of volition” and thinks that there is room for LGBT Jews in the wider community.

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, another prominent rabbi who has occasionally come into conflict with the Orthodox mainstream, agreed with Landes, telling JTA that while he didn’t have a rabbinic source to back it up, he believes that “the prohibition [on homosexual acts] only applies to those who are purely heterosexual.”

“I think that people really trying to serve the Jewish people should be looked after and that I have a small role in that,” Landes told JTA. “And when they are totally outstanding I want to be helpful.”

Asserting that Orthodox views of homosexuality have been slowly changing, he said that there is a new awareness that “they’re not pedophiles, they’re not people of falsehood or whatever, they’re good people.”

Landes said that the genesis of his transformation from the mainstream Orthodox position, which views homosexuality as a grave sin, came several decades ago after he explained to members of his own congregation in the United States why he had declined to attend a conference organized by the Central Conference of American Rabbis after the Reform-affiliated group passed a resolution on LGBT inclusion. A young man with whom he was close walked out of the explanation with a hurt look on his face.

“I saw his eyes the look of betrayal,” Landes said. “I never suspected. What did I do wrong? I knew I did something terribly wrong. So that has haunted me. And did I ever find him? I found him. He didn’t want to speak to me. So there is no happy ending to the story.”

And while the rabbi initially couldn’t imagine gay Jews wanting to remain in the Orthodox community, let alone become Jewish scholars under its auspices, he now has a different view. “I think we will start within the gay community itself and if there is the ability to create a real community on the religious level it will lead to acceptance or maybe it will be limited for a long period,” he said. “Things happen when you have some openings.”

Asked for comment, Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman of the Orthodox Agudath Israel organization, told JTA that “if ‘Orthodox’ retains any meaningful meaning, the adjective is merited neither by the institution that declined Mr. Atwood nor the individual who is ordaining him.”

Sunday, 10 February 2019

Mainstream media belatedly discovers sexual abuse within the Southern Masonic Baptist Convention

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6 (also Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2)

As is so often the case, mainstream media are late to come to a story, and then act as if they were the ones who discovered it. An example is 20 years, 700 victims: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms by Robert Downen, Lise Olsen, and John Tedesco in the Houston Chronicle, February 10, 2019--the first of three articles on the subject, mentioning names and incidents.

It comes as no surprise to this blogger to see mainstream newspapers exposing sexual abuse in the SBC; I just wonder why it took them so long to get around to it. All anyone had to do was do a Google search using the term "Baptist" and "predator" to find the website Stop Baptist Predators and blog Stop Baptist Predators, both by Christa Brown, who has been warning about this matter for more than a decade. I recommend her site and blog for research purposes, although I don't think she's doctrinally sound.

Another useful blog is let's stop pastor darrell gilyard together by Tiffany Croft, which is on my blogroll. The information provided in these sites isn't particularly current, but is still relevant. The fact that the sites go back a few years shows how long that sexual abuse within the SBC has been an issue that some have tried to draw attention to, before its belated discovery by mainstream media.

February 24, 2019 update: Click on the links for the rest of the Houston Chronicle series:

Part 2: Offend, then repeat: Southern Baptist churches hired ministers accused of past sex offenses (February 12, 2019)

Part 3: Preying on teens: All too often, Southern Baptist youth pastors take advantage of children (February 13, 2019)

March 19, 2019 update: The same thing has been taking place in Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches, as reported in a series of articles by Sarah Smith in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 9, 2018:

Hundreds of sex abuse allegations found in fundamental Baptist churches across U.S.

These ‘men of God’ sexually abused children. Then they found refuge at other churches

‘It’s ruined me.’ Former independent fundamental Baptists describe life in the church

‘My earliest memory of being molested was when I was 4 years old. It was Sunday school’

HT: Vox Popoli

Friday, 23 November 2018

Erotic fresco found in bedroom of Pompeii home

(Photo credit: Parco Archeologico Di Pompei/Cesare Abbate)

Erotic art seem to have been commonplace in Pompeii--and the city was suddenly destroyed. Coincidence? No--decadence! As reported by Russia Today, November 20, 2018 (updated November 21, 2018) (link in original):

A “sensual” depiction of a legendary Spartan queen having sex with a swan has been unearthed in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Further evidence, not that it was needed, that people just love erotic pictures.

The newly discovered fresco, which captures a scene from classical mythology, was found in a bedroom in the town that was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.

It depicts the figure of Leda being impregnated by the Roman god Jupiter, who has taken the form of a swan. The incredibly detailed artwork shows Leda protecting the swan with her cloak as he sits on her lap.

Archaeologists uncovered the, incredibly vivid, fresco on Friday during works to bolster Pompeii’s structures after rains and wear-and-tear caused some ruins to collapse, the body that oversees the ancient site said.

Depictions of Leda and Jupiter were not uncommon in Pompeii but the archaeological park’s director Massimo Osanna praised the discovery as exceptional because the skilled artist had painted it to make it appear that Leda was looking at whoever entered the bedroom.

“Leda watches the spectator with a sensuality that's absolutely pronounced,” Osanna told Italian news agency ANSA.

He noted the fresco's context in the Greek “myth of love, with an explicit sensuality in a bedroom where, obviously beside sleep, there could be other activities.”

The painting was found in an opulent house where another splendid fresco was discovered earlier this year. Osanna said one theory is that the owner was a rich merchant who wanted to display his good taste by filling his house with myth-inspired art.

Leda is an important figure in classical mythology. She was said to have borne children fathered by the god Zeus, the Greek version of Jupiter, and by a mortal king of Sparta. She is the mother of Helen of Troy and the twins Castor and Pollux.

Centuries after the destruction of Pompeii the story of the swan's seduction of Leda became a favoured subject in Renaissance Italy and inspired works by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

The fresco is the latest in a series of impressive recent finds in Pompeii. Last month graffiti was discovered that shifted the timeline of the catastrophic eruption by several months while the separate discovery of six skeletons huddled together shed further light on how people reacted as Vesuvius laid waste to their world.

Monday, 24 September 2018

New Jersey hotline to report abuse by Roman Catholic priests is overwhelmed

As reported by James Nash and Nicholas Pugliese of the Bergen Record, September 18, 2018:

A hotline the New Jersey attorney general set up to report sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has been "ringing off the hook" for nearly two weeks, the state's top prosecutor said.

"We've had to put extra resources into taking those calls," Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Tuesday. "We're triaging those complaints for follow-up. If there's something that requires immediate follow-up, hypothetically someone alleging current abuse, that moves to the top of the list."

Grewal would not characterize the nature of the calls his office has received, including whether any of the callers alleged ongoing misconduct.

On Sept. 6, Grewal announced that his office was forming a task force led by a veteran sex-crimes prosecutor to investigate any claims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in New Jersey, as well as any evidence that the church attempted to cover up misconduct.

The office also set up a round-the-clock hotline, 855-363-6548, for people to lodge allegations.

The action followed disclosures by the Pennsylvania attorney general that identified more than 1,000 victims of abuse at the hands of more than 300 priests over 70 years. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro also outlined evidence of a cover-up by church leaders and accusations of sexual abuse against at least four priests who spent part of their ministries in New Jersey.

Pat Brannigan, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, said this month that he expects a far smaller number of abuse claims in New Jersey. He noted that the church has had an agreement with prosecutors since 2002 to immediately report any current or past abuse claims to civil authorities.

"We will remain vigilant to ensure the safety of every child we serve," Brannigan said by email.

Grewal spokesman Peter Aseltine declined to say how many calls the hotline has received so far or whether any of those calls have led to formal criminal inquiries. Taking questions from reporters at an unrelated news conference, the attorney general would not say whether the task force has issued any subpoenas so far.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who encouraged Grewal to set up the task force and hotline, said his office also has gotten calls from alleged abuse victims.

“Since the announcement of the attorney general’s creation of a task force and his plans to empanel a grand jury to investigate clergy abuse in the state of New Jersey, many victims have reached out to my office to ask what they can do to help," Vitale said in a statement.

Saturday, 15 September 2018

Pope Francis accepts West Virginia bishop's resignation, launches investigation into allegations against him of sexual misconduct

Yet another one, as reported by Peter Smith of Block News Alliance, September 13, 2018:

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., on Thursday and launched an investigation of allegations of sexual harassment of adults against him.

The Pope accepted Bishop Bransfield’s resignation almost immediately after the bishop’s 75th birthday. That’s when Roman Catholic bishops of dioceses are required to offer their resignations, but typically the Vatican takes some time before finding a replacement.

Instead, the Pope appointed Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore to be apostolic administrator of the diocese and to oversee the harassment investigation.

“My primary concern is for the care and support of the priests and people of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston at this difficult time,” Archbishop Lori said in a statement. “I further pledge to conduct a thorough investigation in search of the truth into the troubling allegations against Bishop Bransfield and to work closely with the clergy, religious, and lay leaders of the diocese until the appointment of a new bishop.”

Baltimore is the “metropolitan see” of the church province that includes Wheeling-Charleston, a diocese with about 117,000 Catholics.

Tim Bishop, spokesman for the Charleston-Wheeling diocese, said Thursday he could not provide any specifics about the complaints. Bishop Bransfield was not available for comment.

The announcement came as top U.S. bishops were in Rome to talk about the crisis over the church’s handling of sexual abuse of children, as well as of sexual exploitation of adults. High on the agenda is the handling of disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington who’s accused of both.

Bishop Bransfield was ordained a priest in 1971 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and consecrated a bishop in 2005 in Wheeling. One of the co-consecrators was Archbishop McCarrick.

Bishop Bransfield moved to Washington in 1980 for a series of prominent assignments at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He was elevated to bishop of Wheeling in 2005.

In 2007 a former student at a Catholic school where the bishop taught accused the bishop of molesting him in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The former student’s accusation did not become public until additional allegations against Bishop Bransfield emerged during the 2012 child endangerment trial of Msgr. William J. Lynn.

Bishop Bransfield strenuously disputed testimony in 2012 indicating he knew of abuse and alleging he participated. His West Virginia diocese said the allegation was unfounded.

Still, how much those past allegations may have played into Pope Francis’ decision Thursday to accept Bishop Bransfield’s resignation remains uncertain.

In addition to handling the investigation into Bishop Bransfield, Bishop Lori was appointed to temporarily take over the Wheeling diocese until a permanent replacement can be named.

Mr. Bishop, the spokesman for the Wheeling-Charleston diocese, said Thursday that Bishop Bransfield was unavailable for comment and that Pope Francis had instructed him to live outside of West Virginia pending the conclusion of the sexual harassment investigation.

Thursday, 6 September 2018

Roman Catholic priest in Venice calls for "decency tax" on brides with plunging necklines

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.
Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. I Peter 3:3-5a (NIV)

And now for something completely different, for those who are tired of hearing scandals involving Roman Catholic clergy and homosexuality. As reported by Nick Squires of the London Daily Telegraph, September 5, 2018:

Brides showing too much decolletage should be made to pay more for their wedding ceremonies, an Italian priest has proposed.

Cristiano Bobbo says he has noticed wedding dress necklines plunging lower and lower over recent years. Father Bobbo says brides who display too much flesh at the altar should be subjected to a sort of decency tax.

"We could establish a sort of offering to be levied in proportion to the decency of the dress of the bride, who often present themselves looking coarse and vulgar, so the least dressed pay the most," said the priest, from Oriago, near Venice.

Writing to parishioners, he said an increasing number of brides turned up in gowns that were “inappropriate for the circumstances” of a church wedding.

Weddings had turned into glamorous social events, rather than solemn spiritual occasions, he said. Brides should enter into holy matrimony wearing outfits that are simple and in “good taste”, he added.

Father Bobbo said his suggestion was a "jocular provocation" but something that he would like to implement given half the chance.

The proposal prompted a debate on social media, with many Italians accusing the priest of being prudish and out of touch.

“It feels like we’re going back to the 1940s when there were loads of taboos in place,” one man wrote on Twitter. “Does a low neckline really still cause a stir?”

Another wrote: “So should we fine the Church on the basis of how many victims were sexually abused by members of the clergy?”

But others were more supportive. “Finally, a bit of common sense. If people want to turn up in church semi-naked, why are they getting married in church?” wrote "Nicoletta", commenting on the story on an Italian news website.

Tuesday, 4 September 2018

North Carolina pastor and principal charged with numerous sex offenses with a minor

Yet another one--as reported by Mark Price of the Charlotte Observer, August 30, 2018 (links in original):

A North Carolina man who is pastor of a small-town Baptist church and principal of its private academy is facing more than a dozen sex-related charges involving a minor, says the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.

Kevin “Scott” Heffner, 48, is being held in the Rockingham County Jail under a $1 million bond, said a sheriff’s office press release.

He is charged with 12 counts of disseminating obscene materials and two counts of statutory sex offense, the release said. He was arrested at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the release.

Investigators said Heffner allegedly sent “photographs of his genitalia” to someone age 15 or younger between June 15 and August 29, reported TV station WGHP.

“This investigation is ongoing. Information about the minor involved is not being released,” said a statement issued by the sheriff’s office.”

Heffner, who lives in Pelham, is pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Ruffin and principal of the church’s Victory Baptist Academy, sheriff’s office officials said.

The latter is a private Christian school of about 20 students, that is listed as being at the same address as the church on Oregon Hill Road, according to GreatSchools.org. It covers grades 3-12, says Private School Review.

Ruffin is an unincorporated community of about 400 people, according to SuburbanStats.org. It is about 32 miles northeast of Greensboro, near the Virginia state line.

A Sept. 9 court date was set for Heffner, the sheriff’s office said.

Friday, 31 August 2018

Australian Roman Catholic leaders refuse to violate confidentiality of confession to report child abuse

As reported by Agence France-Presse, August 31, 2018 (links inserted by London Daily Telegraph):

Australian Catholic leaders vowed on Friday that the church's "shameful" history of child abuse and cover-ups will never be repeated, but rejected a national inquiry's call to report such assaults disclosed in confession.

The church was formally responding to a five-year royal commission into institutional child abuse, ordered by the government after a decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations across the country.

"Many bishops failed to listen, failed to believe, and failed to act," said Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge.

"Those failures allowed some abusers to offend again and again, with tragic and sometimes fatal consequences. The bishops and leaders of religious orders pledge today: Never again."

The commission was contacted by more than 15,000 survivors who detailed harrowing claims of abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools, often dating back decades.

Among the inquiry's recommendations was that priests break the traditional confidentiality of confession if they are told of abuse, but the church said such a requirement impinged on religions liberties and was "non-negotiable".

"This isn't because we regard ourselves as being above the law or because we don't think the safety of children is supremely important - we do," said Coleridge.

"But we don't accept... safeguarding and the seal (of confession) as mutually exclusive. Nor do we believe that abolishing the seal will make children any safer."

In its response the church argued that a perpetrator or victim might be less likely to raise abuse in confession if confidence in the sacramental seal was undermined.

"So an opportunity would be lost to encourage a perpetrator to self-report to civil authorities or victims to seek safety," it said.

The inquiry also called for celibacy among priests to be voluntary, and Australian Catholics agreed to seek expert theological and canonical advice in consultation with the Holy See on the issue.

The royal commission, which heard horrific stories during often emotionally exhausting public and private hearings, delivered its final report in December.

It found that Australian institutions "seriously failed" children in their care with tens of thousands sexually assaulted.

During the hearings, it was told that seven percent of Catholic priests in Australia were accused of abuse between 1950 and 2010, but the allegations were never investigated, with children ignored and even punished when they came forward.

Coleridge acknowledged the church's "colossal failures" in Australia, like elsewhere in the world, had left it damaged.

"We know that only actions, not words, can rebuild trust. And until trust is rebuilt, all the apologies in the world will miss the mark," he said.

"There will be no cover-ups, there will be no transferring of people accused of abuse, there will be no placing of the reputation of the church above the safety of children.

"We will respond swiftly to accusations against church personnel. We will improve our governance structures, we will be more transparent, and we will listen."

Sister Monica Cavanagh, president of Catholic Religious Australia, said the church accepted 98 percent of the recommendations, calling the inquiry "an important and necessary period for the Australian community".

"The process is already under way to reform the church's practices to ensure that safeguarding is integral in all that we do as part of our ministry and outreach in the community," she said.

"Making the church a safer place for our children and vulnerable persons is at the heart of our commitment to mission."

I can't resist mentioning that it was 425 years ago today--August 31, 1593--that Pierre Barrière was executed by breaking on the wheel and dismemberment, four days after attempting to assassinate King Henri IV of France (justice was swift and sure in those days). Mr. Barrière was denounced by a Dominican priest to whom he had confessed the crime; obviously the priest didn't consider the confessional sacred and confidential in that case.

Monday, 30 July 2018

Pope Francis accepts Cardinal McCarrick's resignation

The scandals keep on coming; as reported by Hannah Brockhaus of Catholic News Service, July 28, 2018 (first link in original, second inserted by blogger):

Vatican City - Saturday Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals, and suspended him from the exercise of any public ministry.

Pope Francis accepted McCarrick’s resignation from the cardinalate July 28 and applied a suspension a divinis, which according to canon 1333 in the Code of Canon Law, prohibits him from acts of the power of order and governance and from the exercise of the rights or functions attached to his office.

The pope also directed McCarrick to observe “a life of prayer and penance in seclusion” until the end of the canonical process against him, stated a July 28 press release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, responded to the Pope’s actions in a Saturday morning statement.

“I thank the Holy Father for his leadership in taking this important step. It reflects the priority the Holy Father places on the need for protection and care for all our people and the way failures in this area affect the life of the Church in the United States,” he said.

According to a statement from the Vatican, McCarrick submitted his letter of resignation to Pope Francis Friday evening.

Only a pope can approve the resignation of a cardinal from his official status, and it is a measure which, historically, the Church has used very rarely – though this is the second time Pope Francis will have employed similar measures.

The first was in March 2015 when the pope accepted the resignation of now-deceased Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

Cardinal O’Brien lived in similar conditions to those now imposed on McCarrick, until his death in March of this year; though while he resigned the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal, he was allowed to keep the title.

O’Brien stepped down as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland following the February 2014 revelation of allegations that he had participated in inappropriate sexual behavior with other men in the 1980s.

Because of the scandal, O’Brien recused himself from participating in the March 2013 conclave that elected Francis. In May 2013, after meeting with the newly-elected pope, O’Brien left Scotland for a time of prayer, penance and reflection. Almost two years later Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate.

The Vatican’s decision to suspend McCarrick follows more than a month of unfolding allegations concerning the prelate.

On June 20, the Archdiocese of New York announced that it had concluded an investigation into an allegation that McCarrick had sexually abused a teenager, finding the claim to be “credible and substantiated.”

The Vatican was informed of that accusation, and as a result, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, by order of Pope Francis, prohibited McCarrick, 88, from public ministry.

Since that announcement, media reports have detailed additional allegations, charging that McCarrick sexually abused, assaulted, or coerced seminarians and young priests during his time as a bishop. The Diocese of Metuchen and Archdiocese of Newark disclosed that they had received reports that McCarrick engaged in sexual misconduct with adults, and reached legal and financial settlements in two cases.

The New York Times reported July 19 a Virginia man’s allegation that McCarrick began sexually abusing him in 1969, when the priest was 39 and the man, “James,” whose full name has not been reported, was 11 years old. McCarrick was reportedly a friend to the alleged victim’s family.

The man says that he continued to be sexually abused by McCarrick for almost two decades, the Times reported.

The man claims the abuse contributed to alcohol and drug habits that plagued him for years. He also says he attempted to disclose the abuse to his father several years after it began, but was disbelieved, according to the Times.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Former Archbishop of Canterbury admits "fobbing off" victims of pedophile bishop

The Roman Catholic Church isn't alone in its shame when it comes to sex crimes committed by the clergy; as reported by Olivia Rudgard of the London Daily Telegraph, July 24, 2018 (links in original):

A former Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted "fobbing off" victims of sex abuse who complained about a paedophile bishop.

Lord Carey of Clifton said Lambeth Palace failed to deal properly with letters sent by victims and their families after the arrest of Peter Ball in December 1992.

Ball, then the bishop of Gloucester, was arrested following disclosures by Neil Todd, who had been a pupil on his scheme for young men considering a monastic life, that Ball had sexually abused him.

Young men and their parents told the Archbishop's office that Ball had behaved inappropriately, including asking a 17-year-old schoolboy to masturbate in front of him during a counselling session at a boarding school, and asking another 17-year-old to share his bedroom.

In an extraordinary day at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Lord Carey was by turn contrite, apologising to Ball's victims and admitting that he had not dealt with the case properly, and defiant, arguing repeatedly that it was not the church's role to investigate his crimes.

Asked by Fiona Scolding, the lead counsel to the investigation into the Anglican church, why he did not disclose the letters to the police, he said: "No-one came to see me and said 'hand the letters over'."

He added: "At the time we assumed the police were investigating this thoroughly, and interviewing people. There was no awareness at the time that one had to pass these letters on, that one might have assumed today."

Following his arrest Ball received a caution and resigned from his role but over the next five years was allowed to return to influence in the Church, eventually performing 25 confirmations and gaining the same status as a retired bishop.

He was convicted and jailed in 2015 for misconduct in public office after admitting abusing 18 young men. Neil Todd killed himself in 2012.

Lord Carey also admitted that the church had "mishandled" the case, after the inquiry heard evidence that many of the letters had received holding responses and victims had been forced to follow up to gain a proper reply.

"We have been fobbing people off. They should have had direct replies. We should have carried on our enquiries and dealt with it in a much more serious and adult manner than we did," he admitted.

The inquiry also heard that a "personal message" from the former Archbishop had been sent to the diocese of Gloucester in January 1993, several weeks after the allegations had been received, expressing a hope that the ongoing police enquiry would "clear his [Ball's] name".

He also wrote to the chief constable of Gloucestershire and the director of public prosecutions in 1993 on Ball's behalf after the bishop's psychiatrist told him that he was suicidal, and wrote to Ball himself telling him "you are in my prayers".

Lord Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury between 1991 and 2002, oversaw Ball's return to ministry and the payment of thousands of pounds to the bishop, including money for holidays, which came from his own discretionary funds, used to support church leaders in need.

He claimed he had been manipulated by Ball, describing him as a "consummate actor" who may have faked illness to gain more sympathy, and said the Church had not regarded his crimes as serious enough at the time.

"All of us were saying at the time - 'well he wasn't raping anyone, it wasn't penetrative sex'", he said.

However, he also said his own aides had "missed the point" in a 2000 memo which set out Ball's guilt.

"They should have recognised that Peter Ball has also lost a great deal - he's lost everything, in fact, and to this day a man of such gifts will alway be remembered in the Church as a man who failed and who destroyed others," he said.

The inquiry also heard that Ball was given the role as Bishop of Gloucester in 1993 after then-appointments secretary to the Prime Minister Sir Robin Catford wrote a glowing letter recommending him, including mentioning that he was a "squash blue" at Cambridge and that he had a "quite extraordinary sparkling personality" and was "loved and revered by everyone who crossed his path".

Lord Carey, who told the hearing that the Church's panel had favoured Ball's rival for the job, described the letter as "quite appalling".

"The secretary was influencing the mind of the prime minister and going beyond his responsibilities," he said.

Tuesday, 3 July 2018

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide sentenced to 12 months for covering up crimes of pedophile priest

As reported by Vatican Insider, July 4, 2018:

ROME - Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide might be able to avoid imprisonment after the Newcastle tribunal, north of Sydney, will evaluate his eligibility for 12-month home detention. The decision will be taken on 14 August. The Prelate will be eligible for parole after serving six months.

Wilson, 67, who suspended himself but did not resign as Archbishop of Adelaide and Vice President of the Australian Bishops' Conference, was sentenced for covering up serious crimes - the sexual abuse of children committed by priest James Fletcher in the 1970s, when both served in the diocese of Maitland, near Newcastle. Fletcher died in prison at the age of 65 in 2006, one year after being sentenced to almost eight years for nine paedophile crimes committed between 1989 and 1991.

"The whole community is devastated in so many ways by decades of abuse and its concealment," magistrate Robert Stone said over pedophile abuse within institutions, in his sentencing. Given the seriousness of the offence and the need for general deterrence, only a custodial sentence can be imposed, whereas a suspension of the sentence would not correspond to this need, he said. The only option is therefore to serve a sentence in prison or at home. Given the age, mental and physical condition of the defendant and the absence of any criminal record, also 12 months of home detention would be an appropriate punishment.

During the trial, the prosecution insisted on a custodial sentence for "deterrence" and "reporting" reasons, in such a high-profile case. Public prosecutor Gareth Harrison had asked the court for an appropriate verdict for the "breach of trust" towards the vulnerable minor who - along with another altar boy - had approached Wilson in 1976 accusing Fletcher, the priest. "A 15-year-old boy had turned to him for help, and the defendant lied in court about his knowledge of allegations of abuse? The root of each of those lies is the unflinching loyalty to the Catholic church and protecting it at all costs," Harrison said.

Ian Temby, the prelate's defender, in turn, had asked to spare him prison time because of his poor state of health and because his safety would be at risk behind bars. And he had presented reports from various doctors with details of his medical conditions including diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart problems, saying that in prison his health would worsen, while his personal safety would be at risk.

"The Archbishop has not been convicted of any sexual offenses and there are no indications that he has been involved in any of the crimes committed by Fletcher, but could be seen by the prison inmates as a pedophile and thus exposed to assault by other detainees," lawyer Temby said.

Sunday, 1 July 2018

Geriatric sodomite Church of England vicar defends his "marriage" to a young male model

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:24-32

The following item speaks volumes about the current state of the C of E. As reported by Thomas D. Williams of Breitbart, June 30, 2018 (links in original):

A 79-year-old gay Anglican priest in the U.K. has defended his marriage to a 25-year-old male model from Romania, insisting he is not “a dirty old man” but just wants “to show people we are normal.”

Appearing Thursday on “The Jeremy Kyle Show” with husband Florin Marin, the Rev. Philip Clements, a retired rector and boarding school chaplain, said he is not being taken advantage of despite buying Marin a house in Romania and letting him see other men.

The now retired vicar, who married Marin last year after meeting him on Gaydar two years earlier, said that the younger man was not a gold-digger, adding that their rocky relationship was “not quite as simple” as the media had made it out to be.

The couple faced criticism after it was revealed that Rev. Clements had sold his £215,000 home in Sandwich, Kent, to buy an apartment in Bucharest, where Mr. Marin is originally from. Clements was reportedly left penniless when the couple split up five months into their marriage.

“I bought a beautiful new flat in Bucharest. We were living there and we had married by that time,” Clements said.

“That’s where I was going to settle. I’d put the house in his name so he’d feel secure when I die – because you’ve got to think about those sorts of things when you get to my age,” he said.

“But we had a bit of a tiff, as most relationships do, based on the fact that he was asleep at two o’clock in the afternoon having come in at five o’clock in the morning because he likes clubbing,” he continued, adding that the couple’s split was not based on financial motives but on personal differences.

“He said I was too old to go to a club. It was like I was Cinderella, I was left at home. I woke him up and he was very cross; he started punching my leg a bit,” Clements said.

Host Jeremy Kyle asked Clements whether he felt that Marin was making a fool of him since they stopped living together so soon after their marriage.

“Being made a fool of can be very nice, especially if it’s a very young man making a fool of you,” the vicar replied.

He also revealed that he and his younger husband have had “moments of physical relationship,” but admitted that due to his age, he is limited in that regard, adding that he and Marin “have an arrangement.”

“I’ve said to Florin that if he has any relationships he should tell me, but I’m not going to be angry about it.”

Marin himself joined the show, saying, “I love this man.” He denied being a gold digger taking advantage of the elderly vicar for money.

“They don’t know me, they don’t know us,” he said of critics.

Both men said that although they are not currently living together, they look forward to being together on a more stable basis in the future.

Trans People Urged to Become Priests in Church of England Drive ‘to Honour LGBT+ People’ https://t.co/1Mb4gKGLZJ

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 28, 2018

Officially, the Church of England teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, while some regional Anglican bodies, such as the Scottish Episcopal Church, have endorsed gay marriage. In 2015, the U.S. Episcopal Church voted to officiate same-sex marriage ceremonies in church.

Some conservatives Anglican bodies, such as the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), have resisted the move toward accepting same-sex marriage.

Last week, over 2,000 Anglicans gathered in Jerusalem for a GAFCON networking event, seeking new ways to “move Gospel ministry forward” at a time when the global Anglican Communion is perceived as “theologically confused” on issues such as same-sex marriage.

Thursday, 28 June 2018

Vatican court convicts former diplomat of child pornography charges

Yet another one--instead of being "a bump in the road" of his priestly life, it should be the end of the road. As reported by Catholic News Service, June 25, 2018:

VATICAN – A Vatican court found Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella, a former staff member at the Vatican nunciature in Washington, guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Judge Giuseppe Della Torre, head of the tribunal of the Vatican City State, delivered the verdict June 23, and sentenced Msgr. Capella to five years in prison and fined him 5,000 euro ($5,833).

The Vatican press office said he would serve his sentence in a Vatican cell located in the building of the Gendarme Corps of Vatican City State, as the Vatican police force is formally known.

It is presumed to be the same cell prepared for Paolo Gabriele, the former papal butler who leaked reserved papal correspondence in 2012, and Msgr. Lucio Vallejo Balda, former secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, who was found guilty of leaking confidential documents about the Vatican's financial reform in 2016.

Both Gabriele and Vallejo Balda were pardoned after serving a few months of their sentences.

Msgr. Capella was accused of having and exchanging with others "a large quantity" of child pornography; the quantity is such that the charges are considered "aggravated" by the Vatican City court.

Prior to verdict, the judges presiding over the case listened to Vatican prosecutor Roberto Zanotti who recommended the court sentence the Italian prelate to five years and nine months and fine him 10,000 euro ($11,668).

Roberto Borgogno, Msgr. Capella's lawyer, pleaded with the court to give the monsignor a reduced sentence and referred to his client's crimes as "a problem" that required intense therapy and not a heavy sentence.

Before adjourning in the morning, Msgr. Capella addressed the court, saying that the "mistakes I have made are evident as well as this period of weakness. I am sorry that my weakness has hurt the church, the Holy See and my diocese. I also hurt my family and I am repentant."

Referring to his possession and distribution of child pornography as "a bump in the road in my priestly life," the former Vatican diplomat said that he wants to continue receiving "psychological support."

The Vatican press office said a decision regarding Msgr. Capella by the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith would be made at a later date. The congregation's investigations of clerical sexual abuse cases is separate from how those cases are handled by criminal courts.

The U.S. State Department notified the Holy See Aug. 21 of Msgr. Capella's possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images. The 50-year-old Italian monsignor had been working in Washington just over a year when he was recalled to the Vatican.

On Sept. 28, police in Canada issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Msgr. Capella on charges of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.

Thursday, 21 June 2018

Jews and Muslims in Malmo, Sweden unite in support of perversion

MALMO, Sweden — This city is not the best place to fly rainbow flags emblazoned with a Star of David.

Its crime rate — among the highest in Scandinavia — and a large Muslim community make Malmo a flashpoint rife with interethnic and religious tensions. It is also notorious for its high rate of anti-Semitism, including harassment of Jewish leaders, attacks on synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, and anti-Semitic chants at protests.

That’s why Barbara Posner, one of Malmo’s approximately 1,000 Jews, was slightly apprehensive when she joined the Jewish contingent at the city’s gay pride parade earlier this month. It didn’t help that the event fell on one of the hottest days of the year and at the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month when Muslims fast daily between sunrise and sunset.

“I had some concerns, yes, but not enough to keep me away,” Posner, 66, said about the June 10 event. “I think it’s important Malmo’s Jews take an active part in all of the city’s major events, our backs straight and proud of our identity,”

It was the third consecutive year that local Jews organized their own group inside the parade, complete with flags bearing Jewish symbols and Israeli music blasting from a large trolley speaker that one participant, a Christian supporter of Israel, had schlepped all the way from Stockholm.

Posner’s apprehension was partly justified.

This year, the some 15 participants of the Jewish group were targeted with insults and threats, including by cyclists who shouted “f*** Zionists” at them and one man who ran a finger across his throat. But they also found their ranks joined by an Arab waving a Palestinian flag, a refugee from Syria and another one from Libya, as well as several non-Jewish Swedes who marched with them to show support.

To some Malmo Jews, that experience and others indicate that the combination of Jewish outreach and visibility can lead to change even in a city that some consider Europe’s anti-Semitism capital. But other observers say that animosity toward Jews runs too deep to be treated effectively in small events lasting several hours.

In addition to the Jewish presence at the pride parade last week, Jewish leaders in Malmo have reached out to Muslims and other non-Jews. In 2016, one of the city’s rabbis, Moshe David HaCohen, formed a partnership with a local imam, Salahuddin Barakat. In a state-funded project called Amana, HaCohen, who works for the Jewish Community of Malmo, and Barakat hold small interfaith study groups together and visit schools jointly.

“It’s definitely making an impact,” said HaCohen, 38, who moved to Malmo in 2016 from the West Bank settlement of Tekoa, about Amana and its activities. “There’s more quiet than before.”

Quiet is the ultimate goal for the Jews of Malmo. Many of them say they feel growing anxiety and even despair amid extreme expressions of anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism in the city of roughly 350,000 residents, where Muslims account for about a third of the population.

The city’s Chabad rabbi, Shneur Kesselman, has complained to police more than 120 times over anti-Semitic assaults over the past decade. The problem erupted in Malmo in 2009, when protests over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza turned into anti-Semitic violence. That January, the local Jewish cemetery was firebombed.

Weeks later, riots broke out over the attendance of Israeli players at an international tennis tournament. Thousands staged an unlicensed protest march that included demonstrators hurling paint and bricks at police protecting the stadium.

The following year a bomb threat and later a firecracker were placed outside the local synagogue. In 2012, the same synagogue was attacked with firecrackers. Kesselman was physically assaulted in 2014. The synagogue was attacked again last October. Two months later, a protest rally over the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital featured calls to “kill the Jews.”

The city registers dozens of anti-Semitic incidents annually — a vastly outsize share of the national tally in a country with some 20,000 Jews mostly residing in the capital city of Stockholm. In 2010, the Simon Wiesenthal Center published a “travel warning” on Malmo, advising Jews to skip it for safety reasons.

“It took a while until we decided to have a Jewish group at the gay pride parade,” said Ilana Edner, an Israel-born Swedish teacher living in Malmo who organized the Jewish parade marchers. “But we have to show we’re also here. It’s the only way we can negotiate a place for us here.”

At the June 10 march Edner, a Sephardic Jew who speaks Arabic, made a point of reaching out to non-Jews and Muslims. Logal Bet Kako, a gay refugee who belongs to Syria’s Assyrian minority, sang along to the songs of Dana International, the transgender Israeli woman who won the 1999 Eurovision song contest.

“I have many Jewish friends, and I didn’t see any Assyrian group at the gay pride parade, so why not?” Kako told JTA about his decision to join the Jewish contingent.

But the “highlight of the event” for Edner began when she noticed a 15-year-old Malmo-born Palestinian girl named Iman defiantly waving a Palestinian flag near the Jewish group.

“I asked her to join us,” Edner said of the moment she saw the girl. “There was a moment of hesitation and we were off, waving an Israeli flag and a Palestinian one, showing Malmo that we can get along.”

Edner’s invitation moved Iman to tears.

“I was just so touched by it, I was not expecting it at all,” Iman, who did not give her last name, told JTA. “It was so welcoming and so beautiful, I feel fortunate to have been part of this beautiful moment.”

Some onlookers applauded the unusual scene, which was featured prominently in local news articles about the parade.

But Iman’s presence, waving a Palestinian flag alongside Israeli ones, also triggered hostility. Other onlookers shouted at the girl to go away, yelled “Shame on you” and made gestures at her head suggesting that she was crazy. To protect Iman’s identity, Edner gave her a mask borrowed from another marcher who came dressed in a Pharaoh costume.

HaCohen, an Orthodox rabbi, said he is not too keen on the Jewish group’s presence at the gay pride parade. But he and Edner agree that visibility is key to the fight against anti-Semitism in Malmo.

“It’s understandable, but Malmo’s Jews perhaps have not been open enough with their identity,” he told JTA. “It’s a Catch-22: Jews are afraid so they lower their profile, people aren’t used to seeing them and it doesn’t allow for interaction. It’s not a good dynamic.”

Visibility notwithstanding, Malmo’s anti-Semitism is “widespread and deep,” Kesselman, the Chabad rabbi, told JTA. Which is why “the audiences reached through these [outreach] sessions are not necessarily where the problem is rooted.”

Kesselman says he and his family have experience repeated anti-Semitic harassment on the street, and told JTA he has not “seen any change on the ground because” of any outreach program.

“But it’s also unfair to expect or demand change,” he said. While Kesselman supports interfaith dialogue, he says it has “a limited potential for doing that in the short term. The long term is also a question.”

Posner said she would not feel safe wearing a Star of David pendant in the heavily Muslim southern parts of Malmo.

“It’s a no-go zone for me,” she said.

Frida Eriksson, a Jewish widow and mother of one from Malmo, says there are areas where she does not feel safe walking not only because she’s Jewish, but because she’s a woman.

HaCohen is more optimistic. He cites how leaders of pro-Palestinian groups and Muslim faith leaders have made a series of statements rejecting violence against Jews.

“These things are unprecedented,” he said.

Edner said that HaCohen’s outreach efforts “have resulted in little more than rhetoric.”

“Malmo’s city authorities, which fund Amana, are obviously seeking a PR project that they can use to deflect pressure,” she said.

On Facebook, Edner dismissed a joint statement that HaCohen and Barakat published last week as “political bullshit.”

The statement said that “Jews and Muslims stand united in the struggle against anti-Semitism, hate of Muslims and all forms of hatred and discrimination against minorities.” The Jewish community called it a “peace declaration between Jews and Muslims.”

HaCohen defended the text, saying it was “significant” because it was the first time a leader of the Muslim community in Malmo had stated those sentiments in writing.

Posner, the retired city worker, says she supports both HaCohen’s vision of outreach and Edner’s activities.

But her long years working in the city’s education system has made her unsure whether Jews will be able to remain there long term. With local schools suffering “extreme segregation” between ethnic Swedes and those with an immigrant background, she said, “I fear there may not be such a future.”

These people can try all the friendship gestures they want, but the differences between Jews and Muslims ultimately can't be bridged. It's long past time for Sweden to deport her Muslim population, and it's time for Jews to go to the land God intended for them. I think God is using the increasing instances of anti-Semitism to draw them back to Israel, where they belong.

That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deuteronomy 30:3-5

Monday, 4 June 2018

Wiccans join Edmonton's perversion pride parade

EDMONTON—Wiccans have long fought against perceptions that their religion is shadowy, scary and sinister—but this June, they’re wearing their differences loud and proud.

For the first time, Wiccans will be marching in the Edmonton Pride Parade on June 9.

Local Wiccans — a religious group that describes itself as a revival of paganism — say they’ve long been one of the most LGBTQ-friendly religions, but now they’re looking to step up the advocacy.

The Congregationalist Wiccan Assembly of Alberta has participated in interfaith events at Pride for the past four years, but this year members are holding their own celebrations and plan to march in eye-catching Wizard of Oz-themed costumes during the main parade.

The Stony Creek Temple will also host a ritual the day after to show the community what they’re all about.

They say they’ve always been LGBTQ-friendly, but now they want to play a bigger role.

“Our community is so different than the typical church environment,” said Stony Creek Temple high priest Keegan Quinton. “A lot of people have come to our religion because they have felt like they don’t have a safe place because of how they identify.”

Quinton, who said he was more in touch with his feminine side, having grown up as gay man with six sisters, said Wicca helped him discover and embrace a non-toxic masculinity.

“I feel like I was very unbalanced before because I didn’t strongly connect with being a man and what that stereotypically means,” he explained. “Coming to a religion where I was encouraged to be who I am, but also explore that other side of me, has really made me more balanced as a person.”

Quinton said Wicca didn’t feel like something he had to convert to; rather, it was something that fit with his own beliefs and understandings about the world.

“I’m eternally grateful to have become comfortable in my own skin,” he said.

The Stony Creek Temple of Alberta, part of the Congregationalist Wiccan Assembly of Alberta, is currently made up of 25 people from diverse backgrounds, including Norse Pagans, Indigenous spiritual practitioners, traditional Wiccans and feminist Wiccans.

With growing diversity and membership in the temple, Quinton said the timing was right for Wiccans to have their own presence at Pride.

“When we’re involved with the Pride interfaith service, it’s wonderful to be a part of that group, to be a part of this mosaic, to be a part of these different religions, but I also think it’s important for people to come and experience who we are completely as we normally are and express ourselves fully,” he said.

This wouldn’t be the first time Wiccans have tapped into a broader social movement — the religion was founded in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and its members have been social activists right from the beginning.

Since then, practitioners coming from naturalist communities, non-traditional relationships and the LGBTQ community found solace in the “live and let live” Wiccan philosophy.

High Priestess Kayleen McKie, who identifies as a cisgender bisexual woman, explained that while Wicca is a very individual practice, the basic tenets are a match with many members of ostracized groups.

“At the end of the day, if you’re not directly negatively impacting somebody else, you should be able to do what you see fit in your life and what resonates with you,” McKie said.

There is no hierarchy and no equivalent of a Bible, Torah, or Qur’an with written rules of conduct, said McKie, making it appeal to people who want to express themselves freely.

With the only rule being “if you cause no harm, do as you will,” McKie said Pride is a perfect time to promote love over hate.

Sam Wagar, the Wiccan chaplain at the University of Alberta, has activist roots intertwining with his faith. He was the founding high priest of the Pagans for Peace tradition of Wicca in 1982, working toward non-violence.

Wagar said Wicca has long been a haven for those outside of mainstream society — from nudists to people in non-traditional relationships.

The polytheistic nature of Wicca means there is representation in gods, goddesses and deities for non-binary people, he said.

“There are goddesses who are very butch. Warrior goddesses who are dangerous and powerful, goddesses of war,” Wagar said. “There are also soft, nurturing, caring aspects of masculinity expressed in the gods.”

He gave the example of Loki, whom Wagar called “genderqueer,” a Norse trickster god said to have transformed into a female horse and gave birth before reverting to a male form.

From feminists attracted to a role of women in the spiritual practice, as well as the worship of goddesses and female deities, to environmentalists who see the appeal in a nature-based faith, the religion draws those looking for justice and has long been aligned with social activism.

Gender and sexual minority community members are the latest in a lineage of activists and marginalized people seeking acceptance and spirituality.

Pride is the perfect venue to showcase that.

Alyssa Demers, chair of the Pride Society of Edmonton, said her organization is happy that more religious groups are part of the movement, as people should not have to choose between their sexual orientation or gender identity and their faith.

“I think when someone feels they’re torn between the two, that can be really discombobulating because those are two really fundamental parts of yourself,” Demers said.

There are a number of other faith groups participating in Pride, a fact that hasn’t always been the case.

Some religious organizations, such as the United Church, have been very accepting. The Pride Society of Edmonton is working with Catholic and Islamic groups, and while Demers said there is a way to go yet, a number of LGBTQ Muslims, Christians and Jews will be marching.

“Some people see religion as an excuse to be exclusionary, but some people see it as a reason to be inclusive,” she said.

Demers said Wiccans definitely appear to be the latter, so when the group applied to march and to host an event this year, the choice was clear.

“Obviously, if a lot of queer-minded individuals are finding their faith within that group, they are affirming and accepting,” she said. “We love that they’re coming to celebrate with us.”

On top of being a natural partnership, Wagar said it’s critical for the Wiccan and LGBTQ communities to support each other.

As an activist who has fought for religious freedom, Wagar is concerned about authoritarian elements in society.

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” said Wagar, quoting Benjamin Franklin. “The unfortunate rise of fascism, literal fascism, these days makes that abundantly clear: We really all have to stick together.”

The Edmonton Pride Parade will take place June 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Congregationalist Wiccan Assembly of Alberta will host an “open circle” on June 10 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Richie community league at 7727 98th St.

An open circle is a ritual done at significant times of the year, usually involving a change of season or light. It can involve crafting, singing, dancing, giving back and asking for positive change in the world.

For further reading on the actual origins of Wicca, see Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality (1999) by Philip G. Davis.

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