Category: Religion

Roman Catholic Church Covered Up Child Abuse in Ireland, Panel Finds

Posted on by TL

From the New York Times:

An expert commission says the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of priests’ sexual abuse of children because its bishops were determined to protect the church’s reputation at the expense of victims.

Abuse victims have welcomed Thursday’s publication of a government-ordered investigation into how scores of priests were permitted to molest and rape boys and girls with impunity for decades.

The 720-page report analyzes the cases of 46 priests from 1975 to 2004 against whom 320 complaints were filed. The report names 11 priests who were convicted of child abuse but the others, either dead or yet to face trial, have their names omitted or replaced with aliases.

Investigators spent three years poring over 60,000 previously secret Dublin church files.

The NYTimes indicates that the text above is a breaking news update. A more complete story will follow.

Update: The NYTimes published a longer, updated story filed at 10:52 a.m. ET.  Read the entire article here.

Turning Left will follow this story as it make its way through the Irish legal system. No further comment right now.

Will the Catholic Church in D.C. Stop Feeding Homeless Over Gay Marriage?

Posted on by TL

I hope Allison Kilkenny’s conclusions are off-base regarding the decision of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to stop "social service programs" in the District of Columbia because of gay marriage.

From the Huffington Post:

A few days ago, I wrote about Goldman Sachs’s transition from a bank holding company into a public relations disaster machine. I argued that Goldman’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, has been behaving like he wants to be attacked by a ferocious mob.

Now, it appears the Catholic church is determined to unseat Blankfein in the "Inexplicably Evil Organization Most Disconnected From Real People" category.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn’t change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Yup, that’s right. If gay folk can marry, the Catholic church refuses to feed the homeless.

Well, that all seems very reasonable. After all, the state would force the Catholic church to perform gay marriages, and celebrate the beastly unions, right?

Kilkenny offers a postscript to her article, "In the original article, I wrote that Jesus condemned homosexuality. However, that’s not true. The condemning homosexuality bit is written in Leviticus. Sorry, Jesus." Acutally, Jesus said nothing at all about sex or sexuality beyond his comments regarding marriage fidelity and divorce.

The Washington Post appears to support Kilkenny’s conclusions:

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

"If the city requires this, we can’t do it," Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday. "The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that’s really a problem."

This debate over same-sex marriage is so incredibly heated right now. I understand that the Catholic Church does not support same-sex marriage. How can they possibly use this one issue to justify turning their backs on those very people Christ calls us to serve?

According to the Post article, council members in D.C. don’t seem phased:

The church’s influence seems limited. In separate interviews Wednesday, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) referred to the church as "somewhat childish." Another council member, David A. Catania (I-At Large), said he would rather end the city’s relationship with the church than give in to its demands.

"They don’t represent, in my mind, an indispensable component of our social services infrastructure," said Catania, the sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill and the chairman of the Health Committee.

This from council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large):

"The problem with the individual exemption is anybody could discriminate based on their assertion of religious principle," Mendelson said. "There were many people back in the 1950s and ’60s, during the civil rights era, that said separation of the races was ordained by God."

Allow me to quote Amos the prophet, "Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way." (Amos 2:6-7)

More here from the Washington Post.

ACLU: Rep. Jackson Voted Against the Patriot Act in 2001, So Thank Him

Posted on by TL

Some clarification today from the ACLU:

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Acts of courage on civil liberties should be rewarded. In 2001, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. courageously voted against the Patriot Act—a significant political risk at a time when few others dared to stand up for constitutional rights.

In an email yesterday, through a clerical error, we misstated that fact. We sincerely apologize to both him and you for this mistake.

We were able to count on Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s leadership in 2001, and we’re counting on it now. Thank you for all you do in defense of civil liberties.

Sincerely, 

Lisa Sock

Lisa Sock
ACLU Online Team

And I couldn’t agree more. Please thank Congressman Jackson, and re-elect him.

Jackson’s GOP challenger Isaac Hayes is completely off the wall. In his numerous press releases, he rails against any change to the health insurance system.

This came from Hayes’ office on October 29:

Democrats in Washington — including the scandal-plagued Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — seem intent upon pushing a socialist-style health care plan on an unwilling American public. But the so-called "public option," or government-run health care, has failed everywhere it has been tried in the U.S. already. The laboratory of the states has proven that this experiment is just for mad social scientists, not serious public policy advocates, the public record demonstrates.

"The Public Option proves the status quo in Washington, D.C. is not serious about improving our health care system, but rather fulfilling an ideological dream of a single-payer system," says the GOP’s Isaac C. Hayes, the nominee for Congress in IL-2. "Variations of the Public Option have failed in every state in which it was tried: Hawaii, Oregon, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Maine. When we here the discussion of free-market solutions we will know they are serious about reform."

Hayes also notes that news reports indicate that even the Canadians are backing away from their socialized model of health care, and are embracing "fee for service" healthcare. 

That’s all very nice, except it’s not true. Citing no evidence whatsoever, Hayes is intent to campaign on sound bytes. None of his press releases are much longer than a couple of short paragraphs.

This from November 2:

You know the "public option," otherwise known as socialized medicine, is in trouble in the Congress when even the liberal sister of radical left-wing Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is distancing herself from the legislation.

"Today, WVON’s talk show host, Santita Jackson, admitted on her show that she too was ‘wary’ of the 2,000 page health care bill," says Rev. Isaac C. Hayes, the GOP nominee for Congress in IL-2, where he faces Jackson’s corrupt brother next fall. "Considering that Ms. Jackson is the sister of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., we have a staunch supporter of the Representative questioning a bill he is avidly promoting. Mr. Jackson should listen to his big sister because it is apparent he is not listening to other hardworking Americans."

I really don’t understand why we should be worried about a 2,000 page bill. Can’t the Republicans read? I know the Republicans want to do away with the Department of Education, but are they against literacy as well?

Look, Rev. Hayes, if you want to be an adult in congress, then you’re going to have to read a lot. Step up or quit the race.

My vote is with Jesse.

Best Wishes on the Birthday of Guru Nanak

Posted on by TL

For all of our Sikh brothers and sisters, best wishes on the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, celebrated on November 2.

From the BBC:

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak, and present day Sikhism is still based on his teachings and those of the nine Sikh Gurus who followed him.

Gurpurbs are Sikh festivals which celebrate the lives of these Gurus. Guru Nanak was born in 1469 in what is now Pakistan. At the age of 30 he mysteriously disappeared for 3 days. When he reappeared, he began to preach the Sikh faith and spent the rest of his life teaching, writing and travelling around the world to discuss religion with Muslims and Hindus.

Sikhs celebrate Guru Nanak’s Birthday and the other Gurpurbs with an Akhand Path, a reading of the Sikh holy scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, continuously from beginning to end. This is done by a team of Sikh men and women, each reading for 2-3 hours over 48 hours, beginning two days before and ending early on the morning of the birthday.

On the day before the birthday, processions are held in India and in some parts of England. These are led by five people representing the original Panj Piare (Five Beloved Ones) and followed by singers, musicians and even teams of people demonstrating martial arts.

Roger Ailes for President, and Fox will Film the End of the World

Posted on by TL

Roger Ailes laughing to the end.

When I first heard the other day that Roger Ailes, head of Fox News, was considering a run for the office of President of the United States, I had a bit of a chuckle. It would be quite amusing to see him run, and watch Fox "news" anchors trip all over itself trying to flaunt or break federal election laws as they trip all over themselves campaigning for him.

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews flirted with a run for the U.S. Senate, but abandoned the run shortly after rumors of his campaign first began circulating last December. The issue? Campaign finance questions relating to Matthews position on MSNBC’s Hardball. Would he be able to keep his coveted job as a news anchor and political commentator while running for the senate? Would MSNBC face legal issues if Matthews remained on the air while campaigning?

No doubt. And no doubt Matthews could have taken a leave of absence from his job, or just quit, if he really wanted to run.

At any rate, Matthews never did run, and I’m glad. We need more Hardball.

A candidacy by Roger Ailes bothers me for different reasons.

Yes, the White House had its fun this week dissing Fox, but they really need to dial it down now. I’m not going waste time analyzing the flaws of Fox. However, knowing that anything at all can happen in a political campaign, I was momentarily concerned about a potential run by Ailes.

Then I remembered this from 2006.

David Friend’s book, Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11, received incredible reviews, and Friend’s website has become a focal point for people’s memories and reflections.

What has escaped the attention of many when the book was published was a disturbing quote in the book from Roger Ailes. Friend asked him, "What was the significance of two billion people being able to watch the same thing at the same time on September 11?" Ailes’ response was extremely disturbing:

"The implications from a television standpoint are simply that: When the end of the world comes, we’ll be able to cover it live until the last camera goes out. I believe I mean it literally. If you can witness something like [9/11] by two billion people, live, then there’s nothing that can’t be covered. And if we get into a world war, with nuclear weapons, I assume we’ll be covering it live."

"It’s horrifying to think about. But maybe God set it up that way. You can either figure out how to live in freedom…and hope, or you can watch yourselves burn to death. Nine-eleven is a warning shot that says: Look, this can go either way. It’s your choice, folks."

There you have the heart and soul of Robert Ailes. Does he really believe that the end is near, and Fox News will somehow be blest to cover the final battle? When pressed as to whether he really meant that we would all be watching the Apocalypse live on FOX, Ailes responded, "I believe I mean it literally."

Would an Ailes Administration work to fashion public policy to bring us to the brink, the Final Battle, attempt to lead us to Armageddon?

You betcha. Roger "literally" answered that for us.

16-year-old Derrion Albert Beaten to Death in a Mob of Children

Posted on by TL

According to police, 16-year-old Derrion Albert was an innocent victim who was dragged into a mob of teens fighting on Chicago’s South Side.

The news comes from WLS-TV, ABC 7 in Chicago:

Authorities say 16-year-old Derrion Albert was walking from school in broad daylight when he was beaten to death.

It happened on Thursday in Chicago’s Roseland community on the far South Side in the 300-block of West 111th Street.

According to authorities, Derrion Albert was kicked, punched and beaten to death by several teens near the Agape Community Center.

Police say about a dozen teens were in a massive fight with sticks around 2:30 p.m. Albert got dragged into the mob.

Albert was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Witnesses say the fight that Albert appeared to have walked into was between mostly students from his school, Fenger High, identified by the uniforms they wore.

"These were kids beating kids," said Milton Massie, director, Agape Community Center.

Police are studying video from outside the Agape Community Center. One witness said she saw kids go in after Albert with two-by-fours:

"It looked like 100 kids. We’re talking about kids all over the place, in every direction…On the video, there were kids hopping over cars. The kids had huge sticks. They were going after each other. It seemed as if it was not so much a targeted, but it was random," said Massie.

"Everyone was just letting him get beat…it was basically like he was really by himself," said Tynesha Jackson, witness.

"He was down and they started kicking him. Then I saw they had, like two-by-fours, that’s when we realized that someone need to do something," said Linda Cotton, Agape Community Center.

The center employees pulled Albert’s beaten body to safety.

"He would gasp for a breath a few times but he was unconscious and lying there," said Cotton.

But it was too late.

According to his grandfather who raised him, Albert attended Bible class on Tuesday evenings and church on Sunday.

Our children did this.

I’m simply stunned at this point. I need to reflect and pray about this, how this could have possibly happened. We need to reflect and pray about this one, and for Derrion Albert and his family.

Our children did this.

Read the entire report here.

Open Letter to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Posted on by TL

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) stood up and heckled the President of the United States this evening during the President’s speech to a joint session of Congress.  Rep. Joe Wilson tried to turn the speech into a Republican Town Hall scream-fest.

Rep. Joe Wilson’s office number is busy right now. And his website is running incredibly slow. Bombard him with calls and emails: 202.225.2452.  Contact him here on his Web site, which, we hope, will bear someone else’s name after

Turning Left’s open letter to Rep. Joe Wilson:

Dear Health Insurance Industry Shill Rep. Wilson:

If one Democrat had EVER heckled a sitting president while he was addressing a joint session of Congress, you BET Democrats themselves would be outraged, as would Republicans.

AND THEY WOULD BE RIGHT!

Your actions tonight were a disgrace to the halls of Congress, and the people of the United States of America.

You owe the President of the United States, each and every member of Congress, and the American People an apology…

… and your resignation.

Rep. Joe Wilson, the new voice of the Republican Party.

Tip of the hat to Shannyn Moore for this:

The Republican, Joe Wilson from South Carolina called the president a liar tonight. Joe Wilson has a challenger in Rob Miller, a Democrat.

Here is his donation page.

I called Mr. Wilson and let him know I felt strong enough about his outburst that I donated to his opponent.

And I’m doing likewise.

Would this have happened if the current president was white?  No way, no how.  This is about race, pure and simple.  Rep. Wilson wanted to put Obama back down in his place.

Scott Fawell, All Smiles Out of Prison, Not Sorry About Anything

Posted on by TL

When I think about how over-scrupulous I’ve been at times during my life, I have to wonder about the apparent lack of  scruples among some pols and certain others in government.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Scott Fawell turned on Gov. George Ryan “to save the love of his life,” not because it was the right thing to do.

Well, good for him.  Losing any sleep over the six children who were killed in a fiery crash?

Not at all.

Consider:

Less than a year after his release from the U.S. prison system, Scott Fawell isn’t all that sorry.

Sure, he pleaded guilty and testified against his now-imprisoned ex-boss and mentor, former GOP Gov. George Ryan. But Fawell — Ryan’s onetime chief of staff and campaign manager — says he turned against Ryan to save the woman he loves.

Yes, he understands the public’s perception that the licenses-for-bribes scandal under Ryan led to the deaths of six children in a fiery highway crash. But “do I feel any responsibility?” he says. “No I really don’t.”

And what about all those political friends that Fawell carefully cataloged in lists that the feds seized and used to put Ryan and him away?

They’ve deserted him.

“I’ve been very disappointed in the people that are friends of mine,” Fawell said. “If it was a reverse situation and one of my friends of mine came back, I would have done anything I could to help. You know, that’s friendship. And friendship should go beyond prison.”

Fawell and his co-defendant and fiancée, Andrea Coutretsis, broke six years of silence Wednesday night on WTTW-Channel 11’s “Chicago Tonight.” In a 25-minute interview, they tackled subjects including the despair of leaving their families for prison to the plight of Ryan’s successor, recently indicted ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and Blagojevich’s co-defendants.

Kudos to Carol Marin for landing this interview, and for conducting it so eloquently.

Watch it here.

You know what?  Stick to your scruples. Keep your soul.  Whether you believe in a Higher Power or not, you don’t want to rush in where angels fear to tread.

Lutherans Overwhelmingly Approve Sexually Active Gays as Clergy

Posted on by TL

First, the news from WTAE in Pittsburgh:

MINNEAPOLIS — The nation’s largest Lutheran denomination took openly gay clergy more fully into its fold Friday, as leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gays and lesbians from serving as ministers.

Under the new policy, individual ELCA congregations will be allowed to hire homosexuals as clergy as long as they are in a committed relationships. Until now, gays and lesbians had to remain celibate to serve as clergy.

The change passed with the support of 68 percent of about 1,000 delegates at the ELCA’s national assembly. It makes the group, with about 4.7 million members in the U.S., one of the largest U.S. Christian denominations yet to take a more gay-friendly stance.

“I have seen these same-gender relationships function in the same way as heterosexual relationships — bringing joy and blessings as well as trials and hardships,” the Rev. Leslie Williamson, associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Des Plaines, Ill., said during the hours of debate. “The same-gender couples I know live in love and faithfulness and are called to proclaim the word of God as are all of us.”

Conservative congregations will not be forced to hire gay clergy. Nevertheless, opponents of the shift decried what they saw as straying from clear Scriptural direction, and warned it could lead some congregations and individual churchgoers to split off from the ELCA.

“This will cause an ever greater loss in members and finances. I can’t believe the church I loved and served for 40 years can condone what God condemns,” said the Rev. Richard Mahan, pastor at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston, W.Va. “Nowhere in Scripture does it say homosexuality and same-sex marriage is acceptable to God. Instead, it says it is immoral and perverted.”

So, while the vote was very positive, there are still those who condemn the decision.

But it passed.

An interesting insight from a gay man:

Tim Mumm, a gay man and an assembly delegate from Whitewater, Wis., said the Scripture that guides opponents of the more liberal policy was written by mortals, at a much earlier time, and doesn’t reflect what many Christians now believe.

“I believe for me to marry a woman would be wrong — even sinful,” Mumm said.

I never thought about it that way before, that it would be considered sinful for a gay man to marry a woman.

Look, I don’t want to hear from atheists and agnostics decrying organized religion. Whether you go believe in God or not, this is a huge step forward for gays and lesbians.   And the Lutherans have decided to lead.