Gay Marriage & Christianity: Not Always At Odds!
[Source]:
Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi just tied the knot last weekend officially making gay marriage trendhunter worthy.
But according to Professor John Boswell, the former chairman of the history department at Yale University, gay marriage is an old-fashioned institution getting a new page in the history books.
The Ivy League teacher has done extensive research on homosexuality throughout the ages and discovered that early Christians, including the Pope, were so cool with same-sex committed relationships, they even adorned their churches with frescoes of sweet man love.
A painting found at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Mt. Sinai, Israel, depicts two early Christian Saints, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, getting married back in the 4th Century, with Jesus as the best man. Accounts of their sainthood, up through the 10th Century New Testament, openly united and acknowledged them as “lovers.” But they’re just the tip of the gay Christian iceberg!
Early Christian documents with ceremonial instructions for the “Office of Same-Sex Union” and the “Order for Uniting Two Men” have also been uncovered.
These rituals, which included a kiss, the taking the eucharist, and a traditional feast, are also seen depicted in the illustrations of Basil I, a Byzantine Warrior-Emperor in the 9th Century who married his lover, John.
Across the globe, Irish Historian, Gerald of Wales, recorded many a same sex marriage from the 12th and 13th Century and a 14th century.
Serbian Slavonic tome discussed a homosexual ceremony with the Gospel.
Even the Pope himself presided over 13 gay marriages in Rome alone in 1578.
So when did gay rights go wrong? It’s unclear, but if fashion can bring back the neon ‘80s, anything is possible! And now it’s gay marriage’s turn.
Sure, we may not have golden frescoes of Elton John tying the knot just yet, but at least Hallmark has already started printing a line of gay marriage greeting cards. Congrats to all the new couples taking the ye ole Christian gay wedding plunge!
Adam & Steve?
Buddhists protest at Christian bias
[Source]:
Tens of thousands of South Korean Buddhists are taking to the streets of Seoul in anger over what they allege is pro-Christian bias by the administration of President Lee Myung-bak.
Discontent among Buddhists has been brewing for months over Mr Lee and other public officials’ alleged favouritism towards Christianity.
Buddhists have criticised Mr Lee, a Presbyterian, for filling most of his Cabinet and top presidential posts with other Christians.
Police estimated a crowd of 38,000, including 4,000 monks, gathered at city hall.
Organisers said they would march to South Korea’s main Buddhist temple several blocks away.
Allegations of forced fighting, at Fayetteville church daycare
[Source]:
FAYETTEVILLE – Local police and DHS are investigating allegations that two church daycare workers encouraged children to fight with each other.
Fayetteville police say it was one classroom of about 18 children at Central United Methodist church in Fayetteville. According to parents of 3-and 4-year-old children who were allegedly involved in this activity, two teachers forced their kids to participate in a game they called “Ring of Fire,” one they say is based on a real-life television show called Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Church Administrator Brian Swain says he was sickened, when church management reported allegations of potential inappropriate behavior, in one of the church daycare classrooms. “The alleged behavior was not of an inappropriate sexual nature. It was basically, of children being organized to fight.”
Swain says they immediately terminated the employees in question, and contacted DHS to investigate. Julie Munsell with DHS explains: “I don’t know if they were teaching the children to fight or having them fight during “Circle Time.” It was a group of 3-and 4-year-olds. There have been some reported minor injuries.”
Parents who did not want to be identified say their children told them, two teachers chose the weakest kids, and told them to fight each other: the child that cried first was told they were a loser, and the one who did not cry was rewarded as the “winner.”
Involved parents add that their children told them the game was called “Ring of Fire,” and these parents say they believe the game is based on a TV program called Ultimate Fighting Championship, a belief Munsell says may not be unfounded. “In the teacher’s off-time, that they belonged to a “Fight Club.” We’ve had some bizarre situations happen at facilities, but this is a new one. I haven’t heard of this one before.”
Swain say they are heartbroken and shocked over the allegations, but are now turning their attention to help and healing, for the families. “We’ve been focusing on working with parents, and trying to help them with counseling.”
5News spoke with some parents whose kids were in this classroom; they say they’re frustrated. One man says his daughter tells him she now enjoys fighting, and says, he doesn’t know how to fix that.
The church is taking several measures to ensure against things like this, in the future, from putting cameras in the classrooms, and teacher training, to violence prevention studies, for the children.
Police say this investigation is on-going, and that right now, they’re in the process of speaking with the alleged victims, and their families.
Italian MP vows to ‘continue Knights of Malta fight to defend Christianity’
[Source]:
A report on Islamonline stemming from Cairo has quoted an Italian Northern League politician as vowing to “continue the fight of the Knights of the Order of Malta to defend Christianity”.
The report was in reference to a report published in yesterday’s issue of the Financial Times which said a far-right Italian party is planning to table a draft law that would effectively block the construction of mosques in Italy.
The Northern League will present to parliament next week a bill that requires regional approval and a local referendum for building mosques.
It would also mandate that mosques should have no minaret or loudspeakers calling the faithful to prayer. The motion demands that mosques will have to be at least one kilometre away from any nearby church and that sermons be delivered in Italian, not Arabic.
The motion, according to Islamonline, is only supported by the small, ultra-Catholic UDC party with no immediate support from Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party or from the ex-Fascist National Alliance.
The website also mentioned that on 8 August, Northern League MP Mario Borghezio burst into a church in the northern city of Genoa shouting anti-Islam statements. He vowed to “continue the fight of the Knights of the Order of Malta to defend Christianity.”
The website said the Sovereign Military Order of Malta began as a Christian charity in Al-Quds in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Priest defrocked for child sex abuse
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THE Anglican Church has defrocked a Brisbane priest convicted of child sex abuse.
The church today confirmed it had deposed Robert Francis Sharwood from his holy orders.
Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, was jailed for 12 months in November 2006, after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in Brisbane more than 30 years ago.
He was released from jail in November last year.
Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Philip Aspinall removed Sharwood’s licence to operate as a priest in the diocese in 2002, however, he remained an ordained minister.
The church’s professional standards board, presided over by Justice Debra Mullins, recommended in March after a public hearing that Sharwood’s holy orders be removed.
Sharwood then exercised his legal right to a review of that decision.
The review determined that the appeal against the board’s recommendation be dismissed.
Bishop John Parkes, who is acting for Dr Aspinall while he is on leave, said today he had now formally accepted the recommendation of the board and deposed Sharwood from his holy orders.
“The archbishop has repeatedly apologised to victims of sexual abuse by members of the church and today I repeat that apology to the victims in this case,” Bishop Parkes said in a statement.
“Archbishop Aspinall has previously said that the victims deserved nothing less than a thorough and just process that arrives at a proper decision. That has now been completed.”
Sex abuse victims urged to come forward
[Source]:
Police suspect dozens of boys may have been abused during hypnotic “prayer” sessions at a top NSW boarding school.
St Stanislaus’ College at Bathurst, in central west NSW, is reeling after 13 former students alleged sexual abuse by staff during from the 1970s and into the early 1980s.
A 65-year-old former priest is facing 33 charges, after allegations a pedophile ring of priests and staff operated at the school, which has both boarders and day students.
He was charged on May 23 with offences relating to sexual assault and gross acts of indecency of boys aged between 10 and 18 years old, police said.
The shocking revelations on Wednesday prompted one former student to tell his story of abuse at the school in 1971, for which he eventually received an out-of-court settlement.
The man, who asked only to be known as “John”, said he was sexually abused three times in April 1971 by a priest who left St Stanislaus’ a few years later.
“I still remember it,” John told AAP.
“I carry that stench on my back ever since the day it happened.
“I was a day boy and I was not the only victim back then.”
In the mid-1990s, he contacted the Vincentian order of priests, which run the school and operate separately from the Bathurst Catholic diocese.
He eventually settled out of court for just over $40,000.
He said criminal proceedings against the priest never went past the committal hearing due to lack of evidence.
Currently, 615 boys attend St Stanislaus’, of which 188 are borders.
St Stanislaus’ principal John Edwards said he first became aware of the allegations “several years ago” and referred the claims to police.
“The college received some internet material which contained allegations that I think are linked to the ones that are currently taking place,” he told Fairfax Radio Network.
“Those matters were referred to the police some years ago.”
He said the material included claims of late night prayer and chanting sessions in which boys were sexually abused.
Mr Edwards said the school was served with a search warrant on July 3 which stated the names of three former staff members.
“I’m not able to comment any further,” Mr Edwards said.
Police have released scant information but want other victims of alleged abuse to contact them.
However, they would not confirm reports the abused students were hypnotised and drugged.
“All I can say is that the NSW Police Force will be providing every form of support we possibly can to make the process for them as trouble-free as possible,” Detective Superintendent Michael Goodwin told reporters in Sydney.
Supt Goodwin would not reveal how many suspects were being investigated, but said none still worked at the school.
“I can confirm that there’s no one at the school at the moment that is subject to that inquiry,” he said.
“At this stage, we’re looking at 13 victims and we’re following up those lines of inquiry at the moment.”
A spokeswoman for the Bathurst diocese would not comment, saying the Vincentian priests operates separately from the diocese.
A spokesman for the Sydney archdiocese said Cardinal George Pell would not comment because Bathurst lies outside his jurisdiction.
Father Ian McGinnity, chairman of the National Council of Priests of Australia, said great care was taken at boarding schools, but sex abuse remained in all parts of society.
“It still doesn’t take away the unfortunate reality of human nature,” Fr McGinnity told AAP.
“There are people who sometimes have sicknesses in psycho-sexual arenas and that happens whether they’re priests or lay people.”
The office of Vincentian priests at Bathurst and their provincial office in Sydney did not comment when contacted.
Civil trial over priest sex abuse nears an end
[Source]:
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) – Closing arguments are expected in the trial of a man suing the Diocese of Belleville over sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a priest decades ago.
James Wisniewski (wihs-NOO’-skee) of Champaign alleges that the Reverend Raymond Kownacki sexually molested him in the 1970s when Wisniewski was an altar boy.
Wisniewski says the diocese covered up the abuse and shuffled Kownacki from parish to parish.
Former Belleville Bishop Wilton Gregory on Wednesday testified that key documents about Kownacki’s possible sex abuse were kept from him. Gregory removed Kownacki from the active ministry in 1995.
Wisniewski testified Wednesday that Kownacki sexually abused him 40 or 50 times and threatened to kill his parents if he told anyone.
Kownacki isn’t charged criminally and hasn’t commented on the allegations.
Priest faces 33 college sex charges
[Source]:
FOR years Father Brian Spillane presided over a flock of young, impressionable boys at St Stanislaus College in Bathurst.
A chaplain and a teacher, he officiated at school Masses, led the pupils in prayer and gave them religious guidance.
According to allegations by 13 former students, he also repeatedly raped them.
“The first time I met Father Spillane he was very ‘touch e feel e’ (sic) type person, he was always putting his arms around me,” wrote an alleged victim in a blog he used to expose what he called an “evil pedophile ring”.
That former pupil, who completed year 7 at the Catholic boarding school in 1986 before being expelled, blew the whistle on 65-year-old Spillane’s alleged sex offences.
The allegations are the latest in a string of abuse scandals to rock the Catholic Church.
The school says it first became aware of the allegations five years ago when it was contacted by the same alleged victim. The allegations were forwarded to Bathurst police, who sent the information to the NSW Police’s child protection and sex crimes squad.
It is not known what became of that investigation. But in August last year Bathurst police set up Strike Force Heador to investigate the claims of abuse by Spillane and two other staff members.
The investigation was a watershed moment for the whistleblower, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has spent time in psychiatric care.
Last month police executed search warrants at the school relating to two former priests, one of whom is believed to be Spillane, and a lay teacher.
Four other former pupils came forward to allege abuse and police have charged Spillane with 33 offences.
The charges include six counts of sexual intercourse with pupils aged 11, 12 and 13, and 18 counts of engaging in and inciting to commit acts of gross indecency. The other charges relate to sex with males aged between 10 and 16.
Yesterday Spillane’s lawyer, Greg Walsh, declared his client’s innocence.
Since the charges, eight other former students have come forward to allege abuse and assault.
School principal John Edward said Spillane joined the school in the 1970s, left and then returned as school chaplain in the mid-1980s. He left the school in 1991 or 1992 but remained a member of the congregation for some time.
As late as 2004 he was serving at the headquarters of the Vincentians, the order that runs St Stanislaus. At a hearing last month, his lawyer said he was no longer a priest and had married.
The charges have renewed the concerns of some former students. One who attended about a decade before the whistleblower said he had observed late night visits to priests’ and brothers’ quarters by pupils. He said he suspected a cover-up.
The activities of priests and brothers at the college should have been known to other staff members because they were obvious to students, he said.
The then college president, Joe Keating, died several years ago. The second highest ranking priest at the college during the period was Father Peter Dwyer. He is now a parish priest. He did not return calls yesterday.
Disgraced pastor awaits his fate
[Source] August 27, 2008 :
Disgraced Baptist church pastor Royden Wood will find out next week if he will headed to jail or staying at home to serve his sentence for assault and sex-related charges.
The former pastor at the Ambassador Baptist Church was in court today for his lengthy sentencing hearing after he was convicted in April of 12 charges.
Superior Court Justice Lynda Templeton will hand down her decision on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Wood’s lawyer, Wendy Harris-Bentley, argued for a conditional sentence that would allow Wood to serve his time at home.
Harris-Bentley told Templeton that Wood is bipolar and has agreed to seek treatment for his mental illness.
Assistant Crown attorney Peter Kierluk said Wood should serve his time in jail and be supervised by a three-year probation order once he is released.
Templeton also heard victim-impact statements from Richard Howell, Norman Howell, and John Milonas, the three boys, now adults, who described how Wood’s violent discipline program has scarred their lives.
Nine of the counts involved repeated assaults on three boys who attended the church’s alternative school in the mid-1980s and were subject to Wood’s own discipline program that involved the pastor hitting, punching and pulling hairs out of their faces.
Two female church members were the victims in the three other charges where Wood grabbed their breasts.
Wood, who is currently out on bail, said outside court he isn’t afraid of more incarceration.
“I enjoyed jail. It was fun. It doesn’t scare me a bit,” he said.
“I had a good time there. I have an intense and passionate desire to help people and I was a tremendous blessing to many in jail.
“The other inmates were constantly asking me, ‘Why are you so happy?’”
For the latest local coverage, read The London Free Press on the web or in print.
FREEDOM TO INSULT
By Muhammad Zaidan
When Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Muslim world that his government could not censor religious blasphemy and ban Prophet Muhammad cartoons in their newspaper since it goes against freedom of the press and did not brake any laws, he may have been, shall we say , dishonest.
“it’s important to understand how our society works. In our society the media is completely independent. We have free press and the government has no authority to control the press or interfere with the press. ”
Fogh Rasmussen said.
His counter argument was that the Danish Government does not have any sort of censorship on their “Free Independent Press” . Also , the leading Danish daily Jyllands-Posten and other Daily Newspapers are entitled to express themselves freely without the fear of being prosecuted .
However , blasphemy was criminalized in Danish Law dating from 1683 , where blasphemy was considered a capital crime. Blasphemy ,under the Danish law, is defined as acts which publicly ridicule or insult in Denmark legally existing religious communities dogmas or worship .
The Criminal Code that dates back to 1930 states :
“Any person who, in public, mocks or scorns the religious doctrines or acts of worship of any lawfully existing religious community in this country shall be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding four months.” Danish Criminal Code section 140 (Prohibition against Blasphemy) .
Moreover , there were several case-law concerning blasphemy and religious insult towards a religion or a group of people ; for example , the “Fur 1938.419 “ case in 1938 , where four men were convicted of the publication of anti-Jewish posters , or the Gladsaxe criminal Court case in 1971 where Two persons employed by the Danish National Broadcasting Company were indicted for the broadcasting of a song with alleged blasphemous content. They were acquitted, since the court found the song to be a contribution to the debate on the religious views of the sexuality of women.
Furthermore , An article published by The Guardian titled “Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons” on Monday ,February 6th 2006 , revealed that the same Danish newspaper that is now under the public eye had refused to publish cartoons depicting Jesus Christ in an unfavorable light in 2003 .
Zieler received an email back from the paper’s Sunday editor, Jens Kaiser, which said: “I don’t think Jyllands-Posten’s readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them.”
Nevertheless, the method used by the daily Danish newspaper on those two incidents reveals the “Double Standard ” of Jyllands-Posten on how they dealt with the two cases .
In conclusion , People from different backgrounds have the right to express them selves freely . Also, they have the right to criticize any malfunction that they would encounter , whether it was domestic or global wrongful act ; however , we should draw a clear line to differentiate between freedom of expression and freedom of hate ; also , the implementation of laws should not be biased with a double-standard cause , where it is favorable to execute the Code section 140 (Prohibition against Blasphemy) law for the preference of some religious and races , while not implement the same law for the favor of other religions and races .
Sources :
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/781/in3.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/feb/06/pressandpublishing.politics
http://www.venice.coe.int/docs/2007/CDL-FR(2007)002-e.pdf
http://www.stm.dk/Index/dokumenter.asp?o=6&n=0&t=18&d=2502&s=2&str=stor
