What does a church open to L.G.B.T. Catholics look like?

In America Magazine today, Fr. James Martin, SJ asks What does a church open to L.G.B.T. Catholics look like? It is a deeper question then he realizes and I am calling him out on it.

There is more here then the question of human dignity, although that is an essential part of the equation. More important is the basic question if sinfulness. This question is, who does sin hurt. God? The community? Others, not abstractly, but individually? Oneself?

While some say sin offends God, that is really not true. A God that can be altered by Its creatures would not be much of a god. Any such inference is creating God in our image.

Next, there is the community. Some sins are so strong that they rip the Church apart. While God cannot be moved by this, Her work is harder to accomplish. This also very much the case when a sin affects another person. It makes it harder for the one injured to connect with God.

The worst part of sin is how it effects the self. Grave sin twists the soul of the sinner, making it harder for them to find a true relationship with God.

This is why those who demonize our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters are so hard to reach. They simply do not want to let love for God, the Church, their LGBTQIA brothers and sisters into their hearts. It is the nature of sin to do this.

The same schema is necessary in dealing with the question if homosexuality. Gays and lesbians do not wish to be separated from the Church. It is up to us to teach them they do not have to be. They must have the courage to forgive the intolerance of their brothers and sisters in Christ and, if they lose heart and are dragged into sexual excess through promiscuity, we are there to help them heal their hearts, the hearts of any that they have cheapened and their own hearts, as promiscuity is ultimately a sin against the self. God created us all to find love. Love is in the giving, not the taking.

There is nothing more special for the Church, their families, their partner or themselves as finding a person to celebrate and be celebrated by. If they allow themselves to believe otherwise, it is easy to surrender to self-loathing. Loving another is a path to Heaven and cannot be a sin.

The Church sins against itself by not celebrating this love and inviting their families to do the same. It is time to boldly say this. Simply affirming the dignity of LGBTQIA Catholics is too mild. We must speak out in favor of their right to fully love another as God created them to. God is not an Ogre who throws hardships at whole groups of people to test their loyalty. God simply does not demand loyalty or obedience. God invites is to love, as God is love. The real courage is to accept a God of Love, not a god of certainty.

'Death with dignity' dangerously normalizes suicide

'Death with dignity' dangerously normalizes suicide
The Church should offer compassion, hope and care to the dying, but having the power of the state weigh in on this matter is the issue at hand. Laws against suicide are designed to prevent people from seeking a permanent solution to a temporary problem and to force treatment on the mentally ill who are to sick to seek it.

It was never meant to interfere in the right to end a long term illness because people would often die more quickly. We must also allow people to give up when doctors will not. We are a resurrection people. Some truly believe that God is an Ogre who damns us for ending pain. That is the implication if you start talking about sin in this context.

Links for 8/29/19

Links for 8/29/19
A really good paid adult education on both sides of the border will lift everyone up into tolerance. Poverty allows reactionaries pawns. Get rid of wealth extremes and brotherhood really does come about. Catholics and Protestants do fine on the golf course together, even the ones owned by Trump. Brexit will not happen because it will dismember the realm. If that happens and Wales and Scotland leave the UK, Boris will have to answer to the Queen. If the Queen lets it happen, even at the risk of a constitutional crisis (and dismemberment is such a crisis), then the blame will be her Majesties and all the Plantagenet descendants will call for restoration, achieve it and behead Boris.

The hurricane missed. Reprogramming DHS money is easier than MILCON, but it will never happen. Trump knows nothing about government contracting. He was a failure in private construction. You cannot just grease the skids with a few bribes. He will be long gone, even if he does not resign once Deutchebank records are revealed to GOP Senators who still decline to vote for removal and even wins the election with pro-life lies about appointing Justices and overturning Roe (the last 4 GOP appointees vote pro-Roe), before the environmental impact statements and lawsuits are completed. There will be no wall. In a few months, Trump will die, like Nixon almost did, once removed - even if he is getting the best medical care Walter Reed in Bethesda provides all its mental patients.

Trump cannot roll back logging until after comments and lawsuits, as far as I know. The Administrative Procedures Act will stop most of his mischief and the permanent government will not tell his criminal appointees until it is too late.

It is not the activists who should be polled. It is the Democratic National Committee and State Committee members. Wikileaks was bad but not wrong. They have a thumb on the scale that is hard to cut off. Mayor Pete likely will not and his constitutional reforms have become tropes on the order of the Pro-Life Amendment. Presidential candidates talk about such things to keep the rubes happy, but Presidents have absolutely no say (nor do governors) in amending the Constitution. Small states prevent the electoral college from going anywhere, Blue states stop any pro-life amendment (which makes it safe to propose one) and the rich will easily stop any campaign finance amendment unless the parties are already honoring its principles. Taking money to stop the donors from giving it to you is the height of irony.

Rachel Bitecofer's models beat up the common wisdom on elections. How they will respond to Trump being gone or the usual shenanigans by the pro-life movement will change her predictions, but they will be correct. Unless Edsall takes them into account, he is sadly mistaken.

Modern liberalism includes while modern reactionaries find scapegoats. Catholics, the Irish, Freemen, Latinos, Gays and Lesbians have all been used in both ways. Tammany Hall did it. FDR did it. Nixon did it. Lee Attwater and the moral majority did it. Read the Reactionary Mind by Corey Robin to understand why this is not a new thing. LGBT reactionary politics and the pro-life movement are two sides of the same coin.

Why are Hispanic Catholics pro-life? What politics can’t explain.

J.D. Long-Garci'a of America Magazine asks Why are Hispanic Catholics pro-life? What politics can’t explain. Here are my comments:

Most pro-life volunteers, including Latinos and Catholic bishops do not understand that letting states handle abortion laws also overturns federal protected class for them. Hernandez v Texas would fall as well as protection for the Church against states that still believe the Pope is the Antichrist.

Only Congress can change the status of the unborn in early pregnancy, which would void the Rhode Island law. Federal power on abortion works both ways. Federal status means that anyone who has must get protection as a person and states would have to investigate all of their deaths and try mothers. They cannot selectively investigate abortion and not miscarriage (5th Amendment due process of law). Privacy rights (9th Amendment) prevent investigating either. Due process means they must investigate all.

Another commentator asked if pro-choice Catholics were Catholic at all and not CINOs

There is no pro-life voting for legislators. The last 4 GOP justices vote pro-choice. While Box v Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky was denied Certiorari under Rule 10 (no conflicting Circuits), Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Gorsuch and Kavenaugh could have insisted in hearing it to re-examine Roe. No bishop could make them by denying Communion. First, it would be sedition because they were appointed by a foreign government and second, they would have to recuse themselves on either side. No case could be heard and none if the three would repeal anyway. There is no such thing as overturning Roe without repealing the Constitution.

Catholics must not procure a particular abortion or advocate it as a positive good for students, Down's parents or zero population growth for environmental reasons (resource scarcity, climate).Eugenics either. Or NFP, strictly speaking. The right to childbirth must be guaranteed by subsidies if necessary. (Casti Connubii, #119-122) of the Magisterium of Pius XI.

Opposing such support or being a Catholic business owner and not providing an adequate income, if not an identical living standard for the children of your workers is more pro-abortion than arguing against the rights of all women to have no investigation when their pregnancies end (unless someone else caused miscarriage).

Not forcing society to adopt Catholicism, as opposed to economic justice, was promulgated by Paul VI and Vatican II in Dignitatis Humanae, although the Council Fathers likely did not consider abortion rights part of it. Freedom is messy that way.

The question of contraception in the global South was raised.

Abortion has existed since the first time a midwife had to deal with a miscarriage. Indeed, the Book of Numbers specifies a test that would result in abortion If the wife was thought to be pregnant by another, at which time stones would be used to reunite mother and child. That was what the Gospels meant by Joseph did not want to subject Mary and Jesus to the Law.

Abortion only became a prohibition under the Didace and was not a legal issue until obstetrics replaced midwifery. We did not impose abortion on anyway, although they did offer contraception for economic aid and for women to have more reproductive choices. Of course, moving from feudalism to capitalism requires mass labor. Socialism happens when workers demand equality of result with their employers, or at least a basic level beyond subsistence and the right to universal education, health and opportunity. Dangerous things if you want wealth to be a zero sum game. On this question I stand with Pope Benedict on birth control v. Socialism.

Marx's idea of Critical Thinking scared the papacy of his day. St. John Paul was not exactly a fan, both as a Vatican II theologian fighting with Murray, Kung and Ratzinger and as Pope. Benedict is still a social democrat, but he was put off by students who questioned everything, especially authority in the Church. He was and is an organization man. Critical thinking is not rejection so much as reexamination. Every generation does that, although most follow what they are taught. Those of us who question simply ask embarrassing questions rather then accepting what we are taught. Among academics, the good ones believe they know less for certain with age. That is uncomfortable for bishops, who question their faith and fear the question rather than use it to find true faith.

The question of the Real Presence survey came up.

Interesting question. I posted comments on the editorial and the earlier briefer. It is not the Real Presence so much as the magic of Transubstantiation that vexes them. Miracle or Magic? Loyalty or Love? Certainty or Faith? Power or Rights? They are all the same question. Blood Lust for God on the Cross or Vision Quest by God? Ogre or Papa? Basic questions that say more about the Church than God. Which choices are the narrow gate? Self reliance or community? Examine your conscience or show this to your pastor and see what he says.

Lamenting the destructive legacy of a disruptive president: Trump at G-7

Lamenting the destructive legacy of a disruptive president: Trump at G-7
World and business leaders know that Trump is a flash in the pan. Dr. Bitcofer has the Blue Wall at 278 electoral votes. Of course, pro-lifers can breach the wall. That is a big reason Trump won in 2016. Unless we bust the perception that electing a GOP President could give us that one more justice, the madness will continue and the G-6 has reason to fear our electorate. If business people want to hedge their bets, call (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to Senator McConnell. Also, quit giving money to GOP Senators and candidates. Trump needs that Nixon moment to resign and face SDNY like a man.

Links for 8/27/19

Links for 8/27/19
Bankruptcy did teach her empathy. It taught Trump nothing...Most CEOs are in the same boat, statements of purpose included. Evangelicals are often there too. ...The one lesson of spirituality is the destruction of self-centeredness. It is what the Master meant about being born again. Not Baptism or being saved.  Australian and American Trads need to learn this too.

Amy Democrat can beat Trump. The Blue Wall is at 278 before swing voters. No one likes to talk about, since that would scuttle a year of campaign coverage. Speaking of self centeredness...The whole safety thing, the DNC did not not help Obama,  Bill Clinton or Carter early on. Kerry and Biden and Hillary had or have DNC support, as Wikilinks demonstrated. Not news to me or anyone in politics....  Mayor Pete certainly defies expectations. I still think he should run for Governor. Winning there will prove something. 2024 beckons. Democrats seem to like bold. GOPeons too. It explains Trump.

Climate is important, however, trees grow back quickly. Plowing rainforest has mixed success. Not great soil.

Ministerial exception is a necessary safeguard for our rights of conscience

Ministerial exception is a necessary safeguard for our rights of conscience
Dealing with the ministerial exemption is hardly a cake walk. Of late, the Catholic hierarchy is taking a mile from that inch the ELCA provided them. This will not work out well for them, both in the Court and public opinion.

On October 8, the Court will hear 3 cases that may greatly alter these matters. While the Constitution allows leeway in ministers, it is not a license for bigotry. If homosexual and heterosexual civil marriages are treated differently, no one will buy it, especially because the priesthood puts the G and A in LGBTQIA. Sometimes the Q too.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act can be changed by the Court and Congress. The stupidity of the bishops may bring about the heat to change it if the laity sees the light. That goes doubly true for both institutional arrangements. Infallibility does not protect stubbornness on Medievalism, misogyny nor modern sexual ethics. 2020 approaches. The bigger they come...

US bishops should drop everything and focus on preventing schism

US bishops should drop everything and focus on preventing schism
The worst part of the Trump reign is that he has no sense of humor.  Part of it is ignoring fools or laughing at them. I suggest we do that with LifeSiteNews. Schism is when bishops take their flicks to another or their own sect. There is no evidence if that here. Not even the local ordinaries care enough to notice them. Policing the Internet is not their job. Spend your time lifting others up and unbookmark LSN. The rest of us are not hard to find and we like vigorous discussion. We care about the Church as it is now, not the Church of 1958.

Links for 8/22/19

Links for 8/22/19
On ecclesiology, too much Weigel and not enough Kung, Douglass and Pagels. Objectivity never comes from your friends.

I doubt Pence will bring up the issue of heritage, assuming he survives a primary race with Graham. Graham would raise the issue. She needs to memorize the phrase "the Bush and Trump appointees all vote to keep Roe." That will beat Pence.

Dr. Rachel "Doc" Bitecofer projects that under Trump, the Blue Wall is 278.  Trump and not removing Trump will be the issue. Using reducing abortion to raise the Child Tax credit will kill any talk of socialism if we hang Trump around the Bishop's necks and make them go aling. Trump won the Rust Belt in 16 because pro-life voters came out over partial birth abortion ( which was already ) and Clinton picked the whitest VP in the Senate. She would have won with Booker.

The current climate is what Doc B calls negative partisanship. It's all about the base. Note that her research started with Virginia elections.

CEO packages depend upon rent seeking, aka wage theft, to grow so large. That is true everywhere, not just Catholic hospitals; even movie theaters. Putin has become the ultimate CEO in Russia, Syria and the White House. The CEO revolution is finally waking up the working class. They have nothing to lose but their chains.

The Pell verdict: Various shades of justice

The Pell verdict: Various shades of justice
Bloviations from the reactionary Catholic press are unworthy of comment. They become more irrelevant with time. Pell's politics within the Church is also irrelevant. At least Burke is silent. The state of the Australian justice system, or for that matter, of the Church's is also a mere detail.

The sex of the victim is a part the issue. Abuse is a crime of opportunity. Pell had more opportunity with boys because the clergy shuns girls, especially the reactionary clergy.

Most important is that a horror beyond sin was visited upon a real person. It is so horrible that not even the perpetrator cannot face it.

Jesus said he would it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a milestone around his neck. Jesus may have been talking about suicide, not punishment. Pell will have ample opportunity for suicide in prison. His fellow inmates will make sure he suffers, although he does not deserve the release of death for now.

The victim is now almost as badly afflicted. Great compassion toward him will be required to get him back to fine, including forgiving Pell,  but for his own sake.

The sexuality of Pell is important to understand why this happened. To this day, Pell, his friends, and the Church have no clue. Indeed, their focus is how to spare him from justice. It shouldn't be.

It is unlikely Pell is gay. Sexually integrated gay men are not abusers. This is not a question of celibacy. Abuse is pathological. To have a chance at stopping most abuse, we must understand that pathology. This is not a question of heterosexuality gone wrong. Sexually integrated heterosexuals are not abusers either.

While Pell chose celibacy, which is essentially an asexual lifestyle, his demons followed him into the priesthood. Whether he was abused or simply running from himself, there is little chance of escape. The Church offered him no help, just organized repression. This is no release. It only tortures and often explodes.

The Church makes the problem worse by covering it up publicly and considering it an incidence of sin privately. The laity let's it happen and is also clueless on how to stop it.

Laity and clergy see the denial of sexually as holy. It is not. Asexuality is simply a different sexuality on the LGBTQIA spectrum. Well integrated asexuals can indeed be holy if they are well integrated, finding celibacy fulfilling, not burdensome.

Sexual self-acceptance, or rather asexual self-acceptance, provides a peace from which to love others. Well-integrated homosexuals and heterosexuals have the same peace, which is why celibacy need not be a job requirement. Sexual self-acceptance must be. The Church realizes this but has little clue in how to get there. Denying that sexual identity is a thing makes matters worse.

Condemning homosexuality and offering priesthood is no solution. Well integrated gays do well in male fellowship, especially if they ignore the demand of chastity. Those who are not may become abusers.

Well integrated gays and lesbians can also do very well on the outside, especially in a monogamous relationship. For this reason, the Church should embrace gay marriage. Sexuality is for humanity, not for God.

The assumption that sexuality is a sin leads some to promiscuity because if you think you are once damned, two is no problem. Promiscuity is a sin against oneself, not God. Every incidence hurts more, not less.

Some unintegrated gay men and unrealized asexuals who pushed into marriage, as well as unintegrated heterosexuals are all equally as likely to be abusers. It is even more ghastly to abuse your own child or the child of a sibling.

The key to sexual integration is honest self-awareness. Accepting that there is an LGBTQIA spectrum is a start, although maybe we should add an S on the end for straights.

Everyone who is self-fulfilled is healthy. Being in the center of the normal is statistics, not morality or health. Likewise, being sexually different is not sinful or unhealthy. We are what God made us. How we respond to it is what makes us well or pathological.

This is the truth upon which to base our sexual morality. As long as asexual priests are considered holy, rather than simply different, they will assume that their truth is true for the rest of us. In accepting that, they will find happiness for themselves. Happy people do not abuse children. Knowing this allows the Church to care for unhappy people in their own ranks and the world at-large.

Sadly, it is too late for Pell and his victim, at least for now. Christ does offer us healing, but not until we are honest with ourselves.

Links for 8/20/19

Links for 8/20/19
They are worthy because their claims are ignored at home.

LSN is so fringe that they are making the pro-life movement irrelevant. Telling truth that the 4 recent GOP are pro-Roe does the same thing.

ZPG activists are so fringe that they marginalize the environmental movement. It is also bad economics. Over-population in an are yields industrialization and development. This is necessary to move to social democracy.

The exit to America may turn Florida deep blue. The island will also vote out the new Governor and her GOP linked party.

Unless another candidate messed up like Clinton on running mates and partial birth abortion, the Blue Wall is back. Google Rachel "Doc" Biticofer. Her number? 278 before toss-ups. It is based on an energized base, not pandering to moderates. She had the best model for 2018 and has best explanation for 2016, and why Hillary lost (white VP). Let Warren be Warren and the Democrats still win. Indeed, it makes winning more likely.

Trump will not be around much longer after McGahn (if not before). Never underestimate the ability of Republican to try and save their own skins. I only hope that Pence as nominee doesn't mess up the wall. It will make abortion an issue. What will MSW do? I suspect Pence may solidify the Dems even more. I wonder how Texas will vote? If Latino Dems are turned on, we could have an early night. If network projections stop before Texas reports, it will be a worse night for the GOP than even Doc currently projects.

Wicks' book explains how the Second Vatican Council achieved renewal

Wicks' book explains how the Second Vatican Council achieved renewal
Sadly, an authoritative treatment that shows Vatican II as a repudiation of Pius IX and X on error and modernity will simply harden their hearts further. They will simply reject Dei Verbum and all that flows from it. The take away is that reform is not continuity. I would add that putting loyalty to tradition to faith and investigation is the height of relativism.

There is more to do, starting with a treatment on undifferentiated asexuality in the clergy and its impact on moral teaching and sexual abuse.

Book looks deep into Vatican II, at the minute level

Book looks deep into Vatican II, at the minute level
The modernization of Theology as an academic discipline rather than a priestly role explains why modern bishops do not use them. We simply cannot spare the priests, whose graduate work is now in Canon Law.

As for the Council itself, I am interested in whether it is considered evolution or rebolution (especially regarding Popes Pius IX and X) how St. John Paul and Pope Emeritus Benedict have steered the Church in response and how each evolved to support or resist it's reforms and how does Veritatis Splendour fit in with all of this? Have have modern theologians responded to the Council and it's aftermath? Of course, these may be questions for a subsequent book.

Links for 8/15/19

Links for 8/15/19
Cuccineli is either an idiot or a saboteur. His remarks have guaranteed that his new regulations will be rejected in an Administrative Procedures Act challenge.

Gardner could probably be beaten by a blue dog. 2020 will be a wave election.

Maduro shooting members of his military would be illegal. Insisting that they honor their oaths rather than supporting a counter-revolutionary pretender is not.

Speaking of disloyal pretenders, Burke should be ignored. He has become the crazy uncle at Easter dinner.

The lawsuits were filed yesterday. The scandal is how much latituded the Diocese enjoyed. The clergy need to be treated like the mere mortals they always have been. It is past time for demystification in the Church.

Hong Kong democracy advocates should lay low for a bit and then quietly move to the interior and foment rebellion. All it takes is a spark to turn the emergent middle class into revolutionaries.

Do Catholics 'actually' believe in the Real Presence?

NCR: Do Catholics 'actually' believe in the Real Presence?
America: Explainer: Why the Eucharist is confusing for many Catholics (and survey researchers)
The question at first is Consubstantiation v. Transubstantiation. It would be sacrilegious to test the host for protein or carb count, although you could use a breathalyzer on a priest to see if alcohol is present in the blood of Christ. I am not risking it, because the appearance of the wine in Communion will still cause me to relapse.

This raises the question of Adoration. Is it iconic/idolatry or real? We cannot know, only believe because the test is reception.

Jesus said my flesh is real food. He did not say the bread is real flesh.

The chief question is faith v. magic. It is the same as faith in God v. loyalty to the group and whether papal infallibility and Dogma are true by agreement or dependent (doctrinal relativism) or really true through some miraculous Gnosticism. It ranks up there with whether morals are for us in this life or God in the next; between compassion and disobedience; living God v. Divine Ogre insisting on rigor; Sheep and goats v. pluck out your eye (and whether Jesus was serious or satirical). Will prostitutes enter Heaven before the CDF? Is Mass a common meal or worshipful sacrifice in a dead language (historical accuracy would favor Greek or Aramaic)? It is whether we can't ordain women or simply won't.

The question is not about polling at all. It is about Theology. Are questions of Church discipline and doctrine nest explained by theology or sociology and culture?

Here is where I had my moment of faith when I heard this Gospel while serving Mass. Jesus is gentle and humble of heart, his yoke easy and his burden light.

On the second, I sat in on a doctrinal course on Cultural Theory offered by Aaron Wildavsky- one of its founders, with Mary Douglass. Purity and Danger should be required reading in Seminary. It raises the question of which came first: real theological disputes or branding for group identity? Faith or power?

The Hillary factor: Worries about Warren's electability miss big differences

The Hillary factor: Worries about Warren's electability miss big differences

Hillary threw the election because she defended late term abortion and lost the Midwest and put a white guy on the ticket, which kept black men who voted for Obama at home. Young Bernie voters did not come out in droves either.

Warren needs Abrams, Harris or Booker on the ticket. She needs to have a good answer on abortion, unless she is running against Weld or Steyer, it will be essential in beating Pence or Graham and their conservative pro-life base. Trump will be taken out by McConnell once McGahn testifies or even when the Court case to enforce the subpoena from the Judiciary Committee.

Links for 8/13/19

Links for 8/13/19
President's who nod and wink at terrorism are called fascists. Hernandez v. Texas ended official racism. If Roe fell, it might fall two. Some on the right would consider it a win-win, although the Church would not. The fact is that many Mexican-American families have been on what is now U.S. soil when the Drumpf family spoke German. Indeed, some for Millennia. GOP voter suppression is also fascism. That goes double for some parts of Florida, especially the panhandle.

Warren needs Sanders out in such a way to get his DSA army in. She needs Booker or Harris on the ticket to rebuild the Blue Wall, as well as a good answer to the pro-life movement and what repealing Roe would do and why electing GOP presidents to force repeal is a myth. She is more qualified than Hoover due to her senatorial experience.

A blue Texas increases the likelihood that the GOP dies (especially if the pro-life movement shifts to family income). Then there will be a Democratic rift that sorts neo-liberals and socialists into two parties, starting in the House.  A Warren vs. Biden battle may also move the needle.

Democrats running for office, this is how you talk about 'free college'

Democrats running for office, this is how you talk about 'free college'
The biggest abuses against student load borrowers are predatory loads targeting marginal students and the practice of deferring payment and capitalizing the interest. Interest and payments for the first two years of school should be refunded, as well as capitalized interest paid to date. Any remaining debt due to capitalized interest would be forgiven and added to the debt (to be paid back by a surtax on high income tax payers).

Community college and tech school and apprenticeships (including plumbers) should not only be free, students should be paid to go - with such college including the last two years of high school. This would be financed by a subtraction value added tax, which employers could avoid by hiring students, paying their tuition and salaries themselves. The subtraction VAT would also include a medium income sized negative income tax for each child, also paid with wages. Middle income is roughly $1000 for month, but should be indexed quarterly (and adjusted for costs when the program passes).

Education after that would be funded by the same tax or through the employer with a service obligation (and loan program if that does not work out. Getting paid to go to school should end the right to ask for a higher salary because you have an education. Instead, graduates would receive a bonus paid in shares. Paying parents to support their kids and end their role in education finance takes away two of the big reasons to get an abortion.

Corporations and students would decide where to to go to school, including private school. Bulk purchasing of education will lower the price. Blaine amendments should either be struck down in federal court, but first the case needs to be brought. Catholic schools should also quit blocking union rights if they want these funds. Forget about concerns about unions supporting Roe as it is settled law. End the scam that there is any impact on it because of which party appoints justices.

Pope Francis is truly the holy father, the priests' priest

Pope Francis is truly the holy father, the priests' priest
He is the world's parish priest. NCR should run his homilies as a daily feature.

That is not to say he has all the answers. He needs to do his homework on the LGBTQIA community, especially the A part, asexuality. Many priests are closeted Aces, especially to themselves. Priests who cannot face their sexuality may be stunted in their personal growth, which increases the likelihood of acting out.

As a whole, Catholic sexual teaching suffers from the same unstated Asexual bias. It needs to grow up and rethink the role of women everything from the Eden myth and sacred Continence to Humanae Vitae and ordination. This includes his own office. Our Lady, who spoke the Magnificat, would approve.

The safe haven of denial serves no one, especially the priesthood. Vatican II could not have gone there. A new Council should do so now. It should also address unity, inviting observers the other Real Pressence Churches to attend. They have something to teach us. The laity should be included as well. Lumen Gentium needs some edits.

Links for 8/8/19

Links for 8/8/19
Chaput should be ignored. Tobin went as far as he could on guns. GOP Catholics should take the hint on Trump and the culture they participate in. There are ways to stop the flow of guns and ammo completely through restrictions on government contractors. The GOP should take the deal.

Dealing with unfettered liberty on hate speech and on mental illness takes political will. We know how to do both if we have it. Simply offer people with a diagnosis and the chance to put themselves on the no firearms  background list. Put White supremists on a watch list and ban people on the list from buying guns and ammo. They can speak however they want, but if they do, they should not be considered part of a well regulated militia. That is doubly true for racist cops. Their actions have caused Democratic Socialists to call for banning policing altogether.

The criterion on capital punishment should be danger, not retribution. Permanent incarceration, especially in solitary confinement, is slow torture. Euthanasia should always be an option for untreatable sociopaths. Many, if not most, lifers would probably take the needle. Cathecism and speeches are not doctrine. Papal appointees using Eucharist as a tool is seditious.

That I am agreeing with Burke on capital punishment and Michael on Warren is a sign that Hell should rev up the snow blowers. Steyer or Huntsman should still run in the GOP primary. Trump, Pence or Graham are all unacceptable, regardless of the economy. Biden may get the nomination because the DNC thinks it is his turn. He is a good public servant but a lousy campaigner. We cannot take the chance.

After weekend of mass killings, we have to decide what we are called to do

After weekend of mass killings, we have to decide what we are called to do
Last night, Rachel Maddow highlighted the previous Southern Poverty Law Center strategy of going after groups that encourage this violence. The suit was just filed in Charlottesville. Also, anyone who denounces the SPLC is flying racist colors. Call them on it.

Chaput and MAGA are on the way out. MAGA is about 20 funerals away from being gone. Chaput is unlikely to get a reprieve, since Cardinal Sean is likely the gatekeeper on that.

The 24-hour news cycle is part of the problem. Ending wall-to-wall coverage takes away noteriety that hate groups crave. Trump tweets and rallies should not be covered at all. That would bother Trump to no end.

Vice President Pence could end all of this by exercising his 25th Amendment duty. His lack of moral courage in this era makes him morally responsible. The pro-life movement is equally so by propping up both Trump and Pence. The Church is responsible for its involvement in this. Anyone who supports the charade that we are one vote away from repealing Roe, when this is demonstrably a lie, also shares the guilt. There are 8 pro-Roe Justices, including the last 4 GOP appointees. That means no Roe case will ever be heard again.

As for the guns, a simple FAR clause prohibiting manufacture and sale of guns and ammo to civilians would not only work, it would be constitutional as providing for the regulation of militias. Mass murder is not freedom. We need laws because people are not angels; not even Catholics. We have met the enemy and it is us.

Links for 8/6/19

Links for 8/6/19
The tragedy is that, come election day, many do vote on the dark side anyway, especially if they believe, against all evidence, that we are one vote away from repealing Roe (rather than four). Abortion coverage is slanted because the media loves a horse race even when there is not one. Ignorance on the true state of the issue is how both sides raise money and why neither side tells the truth. Paywall on Times article. Not telling the truth on abortion or not sending Steyer to primary are the only ways Trump can win.

Post paywall on article. Peer review is mostly about tenure. To use it for more than that is laziness by editors. Sadly, even peer reviewed articles miss errors on inferences if the math is right or the author is well respected. A classic example is Down's theory of not voting. Down's puts in a population variable for the likelihood the individual will be the deciding vote without adding a variable about the perception that others will vote for her candidate and not the others. This is why essentially everyone votes in multi-party democracies. In a proportional environment, Trump could never lead a ruling coalition and abortion would be a fringe issue rather than a wedge.

Liz is correct, like any broken clock. If we never rule out a first strike, no other nuclear nation will go to conventional war with us nor we with them. That is the core of nuclear strategy. This is one of those things that peer review catches.

Gun control only requires buy-in by defense contractors. Stop doing business with arms merchants who do business with the public and few will and they can be managed. Without Scalia, no Second Amendment challenge is possible.

The money quote of the America article was that Barron is trying to evangelize Peterson. That is silly on its face. Also, Barron shares in the delusion that moral certitude, especially on avoiding Hell, can evangelize the Nones. It won't. Evangelization should teach that Christ on the cross experiences human brokenness on the Cross and that salvation through Him ends that apartness. Peer review would never allow this view to be published.

Democrats have moral obligation to talk about health care intelligently

Democrats have moral obligation to talk about health care intelligently
The 2018 election was not so much about health care as not trusting Trump on health care. He needs to be stopped in the primaries. Until the Midwestern bishops give up on the lie that voting pro-life has any impact on Roe, we are in danger of keeping him in office, regardless of Democratic proposals to expand health care reform.

One party cannot do reform alone. Even in the Democratic Party of 2009, compromises were made (sadly, they accommodated members who retired or lost anyway).

Some kind of cost control is necessary while providing universal coverage.  Coverage must include all immigrants, so solving health care requires compromise on immigration too.

Single-payer catastrophic funded by an employer payroll or consumption tax fits that bill.  Employers can provide an additional health savings account or comprehensive coverage. Medicaid beneficiaries and those with pre-existing conditions uncoverable by employer comprehensive plans would be funded by a public option. Senior Medicaid is moved to Medicare and federalized.

Any broad based program should be funded by a broad based tax, but with no income cap. This will also fund a middle class level negative income tax for each side. Such a credt prevents most abortions too, since Roe cannot be repealed. High income surtaxes would be used to pay net interest and paydown debt, not fund current operations.

Such a non-partisan plan can be passed after the election, but why wait? That is the real question at the heart of our politics.

After the July round of back-to-back debates, Warren is two-for-two

After the July round of back-to-back debates, Warren is two-for-two
Biden washed out of his prior runs for a reason and it still applies. Warren and Sanders are in the same universe and Bernie has a huge following. Harris will definitely be on the ticket and we can forget the rest.

At least one if them should jump to the GOP race. There is plenty of room in the debate stage and it is the best way to beat Trump or Pence. Steyer may actually win. Republicans need a new billionaire and the planet needs him to win and bring the GOP.

Links for 8/1/19

Links for 8/1/19
Sympathies on Ambrose. Dogs are our Guardian Angels, even after they pass.

Only sociopaths who can never be reached should be killed. All others should be treated and released after minimum sentence. While bishops are papal employees, none should comment on politicians and appointees receiving. That would be sedition.

Dogma is only set by agreement because it is otherwise unknowable; discipline by fiat and is absolutely relativistic; and natural law doctrine should be by evidence and argument that can be rejected if demonstrably wrong. Discipline too.

Pokorsky, Peterson, Barron and the anachronistic fringe are in a whole other class of wrong. No one is forcing anyone to read about them. I suspect that transcription errors may have to do with Androids than Filipino trolls.

Stutzman needs to comment on the GOP race if Steyer switches. Everyone should, or rather, must. He needs to get in before Trump quits. Meadows loathes Trump but fears being primaries. Not a problem after McGahn testifies and GOP Senators jump a sinking ship (like other rat infestations).

ILWRG is spot on regarding J-1 being slaves. This happens all the way down the shore. All low wage workers, especially undocumented Latinos, have it bad - although only white kids work in public at resorts. In the Midwest, it used to be teens who did those jobs. I had more than a few years in a hot dishroom.