Catholic Church

Jimmy Carter Writes On Discrimination Against Women By Organized Religion Worldwide And In America

Ronald 1 Comment

Former President jimmy Carter has written yet another book, and this one is on the widespread discrimination against women, world wide, as well as in the United States.

Carter makes a strong case about the unfairness of the treatment of women in the work place and in society, but his strongest indictment is against traditional organized religions, and not just one religion.

It is clear that Orthodox Jews, Right Wing Evangelical Christians, the Catholic Church, The Mormon Church, Muslims, and Hindus all have mistreatment and second class citizenship of women as part of their basic dogma, although there is nothing in the Old or New Testament that allows Orthodox Jews, Right Wing Evangelical Christians, Mormons, and Catholics to be able to justify their backward attitudes on the role of women in their faiths. Sadly, Muslims and Hindus are even worse in their disregard for the rights of women.

It is encouraging that Conservative and Reform Judaism, many mainline Protestant Churches, and progressive elements of the Catholic faith work to improve the rights and roles of women in their faith.

But it is disturbing to recognize that many Christian churches have, historically, backed slavery and racial segregation (particularly in the Southern states); and that many not only discriminate against women and their reproductive lives, but also, in too many cases, demonstrate anti gay hatred as well.

None of the prophets, particularly in the Western world, including Jesus and Moses, ever spoke out against women, or dealt with the issue of homosexuality or race, so these are the work of evil forces that have politicized religious teachings, in the name of power and wealth!

It is what has made many intelligent people, and young people, to turn against the trappings of organized religion!

Federal District Court Judges And Same Sex Marriage Bans Collapsing!

Ronald 1 Comment

The move toward same sex marriage churns on, with federal judges having utilized the 14th Amendment in four “Red” states in the past two months now to end the discrimination against gays marrying.

So on Valentine’s Day, it now looks more evident than ever that a national Supreme Court decision is in the offing, with Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision in Lawrence V. Texas in 2003 igniting the gay civil rights movement, likely to be the fifth and decisive vote in any case that goes to the high Court!

Who would ever have thought that Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and now, newly turned “Blue” Virginia (the state of the Loving V. Virginia interracial marriage case in 1967), would see such rapid action to defy the bigots and the haters?

The federal courts have been the herald of the future in so much of modern history, as with Brown V. Board of Education on racial integration, and Roe V. Wade on abortion rights, and Lawrence V. Texas on gay rights, and the courage of federal district judges across the nation to push the Supreme Court toward a final determination of same sex marriage is an indication that often we have to leave it to appointed judges to lead us to our better side of human nature, the ending of discrimination and injustice!

Sadly, we see right wing evangelicals, Catholics, and Mormons fighting a rear guard action, which only makes one realize the evils of these organized groups that have in the past been on the wrong side of many moral and ethical issues, overlooking slavery, segregation, women’s rights, and now gay rights. This is a losing battle long term, and these groups fighting against progress and human rights will pay the price in loss of membership by their willingness to fight a battle that is already lost!

We Can Look Forward To The Obama-Pope Francis Meeting In Late March!

Ronald 6 Comments

The announcement by the White House that President Obama will meet Pope Francis in Vatican City in late March, after attending meetings and visiting several nations in Europe earlier, is a great development!

It will allow our path breaking President, who has shown great courage in many areas of domestic and foreign policy, to meet a Pope who has shook up the Catholic Church, and affected attitudes on a multitude of issues in less than one year in the Papacy!

The two men share a concern about income inequality, the greatest concentration of wealth in the hands of a few in America and world wide, and the horrible poverty and deprivation that exists in much of the world, including one out of six Americans, many of them children, in America.

Both are concerned for human rights worldwide as well, and both understand the discrimination that has been visited against women, and gays and lesbians, and the Pope is also aware of the sexual abuse of women and children by evil elements in the Catholic Church, along with the corruption in the Vatican Bank.

Both Obama and Pope Francis have been called Marxists, and Socialists by the right wing, but they wear such appellations with pride, while laughing at the lunatics who profess such ridiculous statements about two brave men, who will be well remembered in history for their principles and values!

The Most Pleasant Stories Of 2013 Vs. The Most Disturbing Stories Of 2013

Ronald 3 Comments

2013 is coming to an end, and as always, there are stories and events that are very pleasant, and also those which are very disturbing.

The most pleasant stories of the year include in no particular order the following:

The Rise of Pope Francis, invigorating and reforming the Catholic Church, with his message of inclusion, compassion for the poor, and condemnation of unbridled capitalism.

The victory of Bill DeBlasio as Mayor of New York City, promoting a change in policy in a city which has catered to the wealthy, and ignored the poor and middle class.

The doubling of states which permit same sex marriage from nine to eighteen, and the growing acceptance of the American people to tolerance on the topic.

Senate filibuster reform on Presidential appointments, which allows the President to gain the people he wants for executive and judicial appointments, a right of any President, but prevented by Senate Republican intransigence.

The most disturbing stories of the year include in no particular order the following:

The Congressional deadlock caused by the Tea Party Movement in the Republican Party, including the government shutdown and dearth of Congressional activity.

The growing inequality and deprivation of the middle class and the poor, caused by a massive redistribution of wealth by tax policy over the years from Reagan to Bush II.

The Supreme Court backtracking on the Voting Rights Act guarantees after a half century, and the damage that continues to be done due to the Citizens United Case.

The rise of mean spirited, aggressive leaders including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, both Tea Party favorites who work against compromise in any form.

Right Wing Heads About To Explode: Good News On Colin Powell And Pope Francis!

Ronald 4 Comments

The right wing talking heads and the hate mongers who are always negative about any kind of progress or reform, are symbolically having their heads explode with the news that:

General Colin Powell supports a single payer health care system as the ultimate answer to the problem of health coverage.

Pope Francis has been named as the PERSON OF THE YEAR by Time Magazine, a richly deserved honor, and a hope for reform of the Catholic Church from its backward, regressive nature!

These are two pieces of news that brighten the day, and both men are great figures in world affairs.

But it will cause Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and the other right wing extremists, along with most of the Republican Party in Congress and in state governments, to be furious beyond belief, raising their blood pressure!

Anytime the right wing suffers a defeat or a loss, is a moment to celebrate, and it reminds us of the poison they spew against our courageous, principled President, who takes the attacks with equanimity, and goes about his business of doing what must be done to advance the nation for all of us, not just the elite wealthy!

This is a day to celebrate! Hallelujah!

Pope Francis An Inspiration, But Like Barack Obama, He Will Have Major Critics Who Fear Change And Reform

Ronald Leave a comment

Pope Francis is a true inspiration to anyone who believes in the true teachings of Jesus Christ, concern for the poor, compassion for the sick, condemnation of materialism, and the understanding that all people, of whatever race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation, deserve equality and justice!

In so many ways, Pope Francis can be compared to Barack Obama, and just like Obama, he will engender hate and condemnation because he fights against prejudice and the evils of wealth, and the selfishness and greed which has arisen yet once again, on the basis of laissez faire capitalism and Social Darwinism, prevalent in the Gilded Age (late 19th century), the age of Imperialism, and resisted by the forces of change and reform in many nations in the 20th century.

But now, those evil forces have reared their ugly head again, and so the battle for progressivism is engaged in a great fight to combat those forces, within the Catholic Church, within organized religion in general, within the capitalistic economy which, in America, has no apparent problem , with the mounting acquisition of wealth by the top one percent, as poverty and the collapse of the middle class continually occur, with no conscience or concern by those who have the stack decked in their favor.

So the right wing forces, that include those who wish death on Barack Obama, will now focus also on the Pope, just as has always happened for those who promote reform and change, including in America, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and also Senator Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We should give thanks for the courage and compassion of our President, and even if we are not Catholic, the Pope, and pray for both men, that they will not fall before any attempted assassination threats of which Obama faces dozens every day!

We live in an age of great hate, and so much of it coming from so called “religious” people, who have no clue as to the true teachings of their faith, and are only out to enrich themselves!

Hatred Of JFK Much More In Reality Than Recalled Today

Ronald 12 Comments

As we come up to the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, it is easy to imagine that JFK was popular, and that the country was united around him.

In reality, there was a lot of hate of our 35th President.

Southern segregationists were furious with him for having taken a strong civil rights stand.

Kennedy was still being attacked for his Catholic faith by many evangelical Christians, who even today do not show any respect for the Pope and the Vatican.

Corporations were furious with JFK for having taken a strong stand against the steel industry price increases in 1962, and the oil industry in Texas was particularly condemnatory of him.

Organized crime was angry with the pursuit of the Mafia by Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Cuban exiles were angry with JFK over the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and unhappy with the survival of Fidel Castro after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

There was discontent within the FBI and CIA, as to the handling of issues by the Kennedy White House, which was challenging the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower talked about in his Farewell Address, after JFK had allowed himself to be influenced early on by these agencies and their agendas.

This is not to say that JFK was killed due to these opposition forces and hatred, but the point is that the nation was not one of unity around Kennedy, and he faced a daunting task to be reelected.

America was not a nation that was united anymore then, than it is now. We remember JFK fondly more for his tragic death than his ability to unite the American people and various interest groups.

Pope Francis Sets A Standard For Evangelical Right Wing Christians, But Will They Accept?

Ronald Leave a comment

Pope Francis has been an amazing leader of the Catholic Church, after only eight months of his tenure.

He has opened up the Catholic Church to more acceptance of women’s role in the Church, and stopped the constant hatred of gays and lesbians.

He has embraced the poor, the disabled, and even the disfigured, in loving ways that promotes the true message of Jesus Christ, compassion, tolerance, and love for those less fortunate.

What are the odds that evangelical right wing Christians, many of whom hate the Catholic Church itself, will follow that lead and stop trashing those who are not part of the powerful elites, and stop demeaning women, and end the poisonous hatred of gays and lesbians?

An example of such a group is the American Family Association, headed by Tony Perkins, but there are many other such hateful organizations, who claim they are following the teachings of Jesus Christ, but are far from doing so! Bryan Fischer is one of the most hateful, divisive leaders of these extremist groups, which are a mockery of Christianity.

What are the odds that they will recognize the sufferings of the poor and the sick, and will not work to undermine the food stamp program, unemployment compensation, and ObamaCare, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security?

If one believes that these extremists are likely to become compassionate, tolerant, and open minded, as Pope Francis has demonstrated he is, then we are indeed in the land of delusion and fantasy!

Time For Change: Pope Francis View Needs To Be Accepted By Republican Party, Conservatives, And Evangelical Christians!

Ronald 1 Comment

Pope Francis has moved the Catholic Church a tremendous distance by his revolutionary statements, declaring it is time to stop obsessing on contraception, abortion, and gay rights!

Instead of promoting hate, division, prejudice, and discrimination, he says it is time to learn to understand and accept different viewpoints, and to avoid condemnation, which makes the lives of millions of people more stressful and torturous.

This is a welcome change, which is certain to cause problems for Pope Francis within the conservative, hard line structure of the Vatican, and the Pope needs to be applauded for promoting an open minded, tolerant attitude that he knows will be vigorously opposed by right wing elements within the Church.

But his bold move opens up another avenue. This is the time for the Republican Party, the conservative movement, and for the evangelical Christians who promote hate, to stop doing that, and to accept that the world is changing, and that accepting contraception, abortion, and homosexuality is not going to destroy the world!

Rather, it is the narrow minded, hateful and intolerant attitudes of these groups which is causing violence, bloodshed, discrimination, and intolerance, against the message of Jesus Christ, and undermining the stated belief of the right wing for less government intervention, which should, therefore, stop interference and the promotion of making life more difficult for gays, women, and privacy rights of the American people!

Will the Catholic Church hierarchy, the Republican Party, conservatives, and evangelical Christians listen to what Pope Francis has uttered?

Sadly, probably not, and the battle for human rights and equality will rage on, ironically against the narrow mindedness of those who claim to believe in freedom and love!

Vladimir Putin’s War On Gays A Threat That Requires Olympic Boycott On Basis Of Human Rights Violations!

Ronald 7 Comments

The Russian government under former KGB head Vladimir Putin has taken a step which, regrettably, requires an Olympic boycott by the United States and other Western nations on the basis of human rights violations that are unconscionable!

Putin has declared war on gays and lesbians in the following ways:

Russian born children cannot be adopted by gay couples or by any couple or single person living in any country that promotes gay rights, including gay marriage.

Russian police can arrest any tourist or foreign national they suspect of being gay, lesbian, or having pro gay sympathies, and detain them for 14 days for questioning.

Any Olympic athlete, trainer, family member, reporter or fan who is gay, suspected of being gay, or accused of being gay, can be sent to jail.

Any teacher, parent or anyone who makes pro gay statements, or argues that being gay is normal behavior, and any lawmaker, lawyer, or judge who has an open mind on the subject of homosexuality, is subject to arrest and fines.

Any couple accused or suspected of being gay could have their children taken from them by the state, whether adoptive or biological parents, as unfit to be parents.

This set of laws and restrictions are a gross violation of human rights, and totally unacceptable, no matter what a person’s viewpoint on homosexuality, as gays and lesbians are human beings who are entitled to the same treatment under the law as straight people are!

This situation reminds one of the campaign against gays and lesbians by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, and the mass murder of this group on a level only second to Jews!

Just as Western Europe and Canada and even the United States and portions of Latin America are moving ahead on gay rights and gay marriage, we see Russia moving in the direction of much of Africa and Asia and the Middle East in demonizing gays!

And joining with them in this regard, sadly, are the Catholic Church and many evangelical Christians and Mormons, who are not teaching the vision and tolerance of Jesus Christ, and are now “bedfellows” of oppressive governments, including Russia!

The United States and Western European countries should make it clear that unless these anti gay laws and restrictions are repealed, that they will boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia!

This would be a sad event for the athletes of these nations, but this is a question of basic human rights that cannot be overlooked by any decent government or any tolerant, open minded people! And remember that Olympic participants could become victims under these Russian laws, as well! So there is no choice but to boycott if nothing is done to repeal these laws!