…New York City had the largest gay population in the United States. It was also the city that most aggressively upheld anti-sodomy laws. In the mid-1960s New York created police vice squads to raid gay bars and baths, and began using decoys to solicit and entrap gays. By 1966 over 100 men a week were arrested as a result of this effort. "It was a nightmare for the lesbian or gay man who was arrested and caught up in the juggernaut but it was also a nightmare for the lesbians or gay men who lived in the closet," Yale Law School professor William Eskridge says in the film. "This produced an enormous amount of anger within the lesbian and gay community in New York City. Eventually something was bound to blow."
…In this 90-minute film, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE draws upon eyewitness accounts and rare archival material to bring this pivotal event to life. Based on David Carter's critically acclaimed book, Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution, Stonewall Uprising was produced by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner.
Read more:
Stonewall Uprising
1969
PBS Video - April 25, 2011
A Sense of Euphoria Settles on the West Village
The New York Times
June 24, 2011
People reacted outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City after the New York Senate passed a bill legalizing gay marriage. Photo
Supporters of the same-sex marriage bill danced in the streets of the West Village after the State Senate approved it on Friday night.
Crowds gathered, screamed and embraced in Sheridan Square near the Stonewall Inn, where the gay-rights movement began more than 40 years ago. Many stood on park benches to get a better view. Gay and lesbian bars in the neighborhood were packed with patrons, and the neighborhood had the feel of jubilant celebration.
“Equality is what this means; this is our right as people,” said John Huls, 52, standing in the Stonewall with his partner, Jay Hoff, 50. “It’ll be our same relationship. We’re the same people as when we met, except now it’s proper in the eyes of the state, and I’ll be able to look at people and say, ‘This is my husband.’ ” …
Read complete report:
Catholics Coming Out - Fr. Marty Kurylowicz & Ricky Martin - March 29, 1997, 2010 - Leading Support Gay Marriage - NY Gov Cuomo & Vatican Attacks
Parishioners supportive of gay priestBy Charley Honey,
The Grand Rapids Press - March 29, 1997
The Rev. Martin Kurylowicz got lots of hugs after Good Friday services at Sparta's Holy Family Catholic Church…
"I was just filled with tears, there were so many hugs," said Kurylowicz, 47, following Friday's well-attended afternoon service. "It means more now, because they know the real me."
…He spoke up after attending a national conference on gay issues and the Catholic Church in early March. He was disturbed by accounts of homosexual children feeling isolated and parents feeling they did something wrong.
"I just couldn't walk away from it," he said. "I couldn't deny the pain."
He hopes his admission will raise awareness of violence against homosexuals and teen suicide, and help teach others that homosexuality is not a choice…
Read complete report: Archived - The Grand Rapids Press
Kurylowicz comes out
By Charles Honey
June 28, 1997, The Grand Rapids Press
"It was one part [being gay] of myself that was just closed off," says the youthful-looking 47-year old. But the feelings persisted.
"Just like any heterosexual, those feelings are always there," explains Kurylowicz, who speaks with a nervous but friendly intensity. "You're shamed by it every time they come up. Then you (start) running away.
"You stop being who you are. You become something that you think others will find more acceptable." Kurylowicz became a workaholic…
But he thought the source of his growing depression was overwork. He went into counseling, where in time he opened up about his sexuality.
"Every time I faced it, the better I felt," he recalls. He smiles often, furrows his brow frequently as he describes those days. Eventually he attended support groups for gays, which helped him shed layers of shame and fear. "It was the first time I saw more positive images of (gay) people," he says.
"I thought, 'What was I running away from?' "
…Meanwhile, classes in psychology and his own studies convinced Kurylowicz that homosexual orientation is not chosen,…
Kurylowicz says his decision was triggered by a report that homosexually oriented children as young as 4 realize they're different. He was moved by the pain those children feel. Photo
"Then I realized they don't have a voice, and I'm the one [a Catholic priest] that's supposed to say something," Kurylowicz says. "That's why I couldn't walk away from it."…
Read complete report: Archived - The Grand Rapids Press
No US Civil Laws To Protect Out Gay Priest Protecting Children - From Vatican Attacks To Silence http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/gay-marriage-separation-between-church.html
By Alan Duke
CNN.com, March 29, 2010
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Pop singer Ricky Martin declared publicly this week what he avoided discussing for years: He is gay.
"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote on his official Web site. "I am very blessed to be who I am."
…Now, Martin wrote, "these years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed."
The 39-year-old Puerto Rican native started off with the Latin boy band Menudo before launching his solo career in 1991. Photo
His song "Livin' La Vida Loca" rose to the top of the music charts in 1999 and propelled Martin to stardom.
Martin said he decided years ago to not share "my entire truth" with the world because people he loved warned him that "everything you've built will collapse."
"Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage," he wrote. "Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions." …
Read complete article – CNN.com
Ricky Martin Comes Out: 'I Am a Fortunate Homosexual Man' - ABC News – Read more
“I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.” Ricky Martin – Read more
Ricky Martin,
In deep appreciation for your courage and kindness to children, with all best wishes to you and your family, Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
About Sexual Orientation
It's a natural part of life to have sexual feelings. As people pass from childhood, through adolescence, to adulthood, their sexual feelings develop and change.
During the teen years, sexual feelings are awakened in new ways because of the hormonal and physical changes of puberty. These changes involve both the body and the mind, and teens tend to wonder about new — and often intense — sexual feelings.
It takes time for many people to understand who they are and who they're becoming. Part of that understanding includes a person's sexual feelings and attractions…
Do People Choose Their Sexual Orientation?
Most medical professionals, including organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Psychological Association (APA), believe that sexual orientation involves a complex mixture of biology, psychology, and environmental factors. A person's genes and inborn hormonal factors may play a role as well. These medical professionals believe that — in most cases — sexual orientation, whatever its causes, is not simply chosen…
By Jonathan Capehart,
March 21, 2011 – The Washington Post
The Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that same-sex marriage is supported by 53 percent of those surveyed. That's amazing. For the first time in the poll's history, the level of support for marriage equality cracked 50 percent. For the first time, a majority of men (53 percent) say yes to allowing gays to wed. But what's truly historic is where white Catholics are on this issue.Photo
The question was straightforward: “Do you think it should be illegal or legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?” In February 2010, an astounding 55 percent of white Catholics said "legal." In the current poll, the number jumped 8 points to 63 percent. This Post-ABC News poll corresponds with a Gallup poll I gasped at in June 2010. That survey showed that Catholics (62 percent) and men (53 percent) were leading the charge on acceptance of same-sex marriage, which was supported by 52 percent of all surveyed…
Read complete report, access related links:
Related links:
CATHOLICS In the United States More Accepting Gay Marriage Than General Public – Following Personal Conscience
Report: Parting With Rome, Most American Catholics Favor Gay Rights
by Eyder Peralta,
March 22, 2011 – National Pubic Radio NPR
A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute suggests a majority of Catholics are supportive of gay and lesbian rights…
— Only 39 percent of Catholics give their church top marks for its treatment of the issue of homosexuality.
— 56 percent of Catholics believe that homosexual sex is not a sin.
— When marriage is defined as a civil marriage "like you get at city hall," 71 percent of Catholics support it.
…Dr. Michelle Dillon, professor of sociology and chair of the Sociology Department at the University of New Hampshire,… It also, she said, highlights the division between American Catholics and the Vatican. Photo
"Most American Catholics believe that one can be a good Catholic and disagree with the Vatican and the bishops on issues of personal conscience," said Dillon…
Read complete report, access related links:
Majority of U.S. Catholics back gay rights in survey
March 22, 2011 - Reuters
In spite of, or perhaps because of, Roman Catholic church teachings condemning homosexuality, many lay Catholics in the United States be more accepting toward same-sex relationships than the general public, a new survey found.
“The big finding here is that American Catholics are at least 5 points more supportive than the general population across a range of gay and lesbian issues,” said Robert Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute,…
Overall, the survey found 53 percent of Catholics supported the idea of same-sex marriage, while the general public is evenly divided on the issue. Fifty-six percent of Catholics did not believe sexual relations between two adults of the same gender constituted a sin, compared to 46 percent of the general population…
Read complete report, access related links:
Majority Of Catholics Support Same-Sex Marriage, Same-Sex Sex Not A Sin
March 22, 2011 – The New Civil Rights Movement
Gay marriage -> Restoring
"Hope of Love"
To Children In Early Childhood
March 23, 2010 – by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Marriage Equality, like Galileo, is the truth about the facts of growing up gay. Marriage Equality will not become a reality until people learn that its most vital purpose is that it restores the “hope of love” to children in early childhood – essential to their development and well-being for life.
Without Marriage Equality we teach children how to hate love and how to be mean and indifferent to people as adults. With all due respect, without Marriage Equality we would teach them in much the same way as has been shown by Benedict XVI and the hierarchy, especially in their lack of care and protection of children for decades.
Sexual Orientation is less about sex and more about Love, being one with another human being. Attachment Theory
Nothing in life is more precious than the intimate relationships we have with love ones. Healthy love relationships delight us give us confidence to take on challenges and support us in difficult times.
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New York - GAY MARRIAGE Bill - Gay Catholic Priest Sends LETTERS to All NY STATE SENATORS - June 7, 2011 - How Strong is the VATICAN in the USA? - June 20, 2011
Are the New York State Republicans Senators Colluding with Catholic Hierarchy to maintain secrecy and to guarantee Immunity from any future prosecution regarding the Psychological, Physical Violent Child abuse and Teenage suicide caused by their reckless promulgation of unorthodox unsubstantiated anti-gay teachings and attacking religious (such as priests, sisters, etc.) informants to silence them – as found in the Ireland Murphy Report? Photo
Protect Religious Freedom – but not TYRANNY in Religion
The way to begin for us all, not only the NY State Senators, to protect Religious Freedom and not Tyranny in Religion is by obtaining a well-informed conscience. We start by individually approaching and studying in (great detail because it involves the lives of children) from the best and the brightest (1) scripture scholars regarding the references related to homosexuality and (2) scientists in the field of study of human sexuality, in particular, but [not] limited to, the onset of sexual orientation. The prerequisite to the formation of a well-informed conscience is making a thorough study of all sides of the issue from all available authoritative data and research, including opposing views. Then in this way we are better equipped to decide who and what needs government protection in regards to the gay marriage bill. This exhaustive procedure follows to the letter the Gospel quotation about the “plank” and the” speck.”
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”. Luke 6:42
The “plank” for us is ignorance. If we satisfactorily resolve this ignorance, then together we will be able to see more clearly, whether or not, as NY State Senators (government officials) and as citizens we are colluding with the Catholic Hierarchy and are harming children, as was found to be the case in the Ireland Murphy Report.
Benedict XVI/Ratzinger – 30 years of power in the Vatican and in SecrecyFor the past 30 years, beginning in 1981, Benedict XVI has been able to establish a well-oiled machine of electing bishops, cardinals and procuring outside personnel to handle in secret “behind closed doors” (1) the silencing, removal of academics, theologians, priests, sisters and other religious personnel regarding issues related to the teaching of sexual orientation and (2) the ordering of the covering-up of child sexual abuse cases by use of intimidation in order to silence the victims and by removing any priest, sister, or Catholic personal who breaks the silence of these cover-ups. In 2002, beginning in Boston this well maintained secrecy began to break up regarding decades of cover-ups of child sexual abuse with the global emergence of the internet. The use of the internet became an unstoppable vehicle of communications that help organize the sexual abuse victims to be able to go public – telling how they were intimidated, threatened and mistreated when they came to their local bishops for help… Photo
Catholics Coming Out - Fr. Marty Kurylowicz & Ricky Martin - March 29, 1997, 2010 - Leading Support Gay Marriage - NY Gov Cuomo & Vatican Attacks
…The fact that the New York Republicans having been meeting now several days in secret regarding the gay marriage bill – it is a sign that Benedict XVI and the Hierarchy are already desperately trying to weave them into their decades of corruption. This is the same way that so many government officials were involved in the child sexual abuse cover-ups and are now being held responsible and being convicted. Why all this secrecy surrounding the gay marriage bill? What is so secret that cannot be discussed publicly? There is something wrong here – KILL THE SECRECY – bring everything into the light – do not get caught up in their web of deceit.
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
What New York Republican Senators do not want to protect is (1) the Vatican (Benedict XVI and the Hierarchy) from the legal repercussions related to the lifetime harm and violence that is caused to children by their unsubstantiated antigay teachings, because that would perpetuate the harm caused to children. Secondly, (2) the New York Republican Senators do not want to protect the Vatican (Benedict XVI and the Hierarchy) from the legal repercussions and prosecution related to gay priests or any Catholic personnel who becomes a whistle-blower regarding the mistreatment and abuse of children, because that would maintain the secrecy and the cover-ups of child abuse in the Catholic Church. If one thing that became vividly apparent from learning about the decades of Benedict XVI’s and the Hierarchy cover-ups is that there are “no checks and balances” in the Catholic Church and that is the Tyranny in Religion you do not want to protect...
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AUSCHWITZ – Benedict XVI’s Christmas 2008 - A flashback far more severe than in --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
To The New York Republican Senators
The Importance of Acquiring a Well-Informed Conscience
On The Issue of Gay Marriage
This piece of legislation the gay marriage bill is not like any other in that it involves the well-being of children, at its very root. You have been given a “hot potato” because children do not have a voice to protect them, you are, and we are their voices. The responsibility that is involved in this gay marriage is tremendous and overwhelming. I know this because this is the same “hot potato” that landed in my lap, March 1997. If you run from this responsibility, you will live with unending regret that you allowed innocent children to be continually harmed knowing that you had one chance in a lifetime to do something extraordinary for the well-being of children and people around the world. If you face and accept this responsibility of protecting children, you risk your political career, indeed your very life, as you know it. However, when I came out to my great surprise it was successful at my parish - Holy Family Catholic Parish, Sparta, Michigan and this was 1997. I think that for the NY State Republican Senators today 2011 - the social climate as polls indicate is significantly better than it was in 1997 with the majority of Catholics now accepting gay marriage. The reverse may be truer today for NY State Republican Senators that “not supporting gay marriage” could have an adverse effect on your political career. Photo
I believe this to be true – because gay marriage (human sexuality, sexual orientation) is like Galileo it is about the true facts of science. Condemning Galileo showed real ignorance on the part of the Vatican, which Pope John Paul II confirmed and apologized for in 1992. Even though, it is indeed a most unfair situation to be placed in. How I resolved this situation was through hours upon hours of continuous prayer. Afterwards, I came to the realization that my life had already been altered – changed forever. Because there was no way I could pretend I did not know what I knew, how severely children are harmed for life by the [Vatican's/Benedict XVI's] unsubstantiated antigay teachings and antigay social norms. I decided that I could not live with the regret knowing that I had a chance to make a profound difference for the better for others, most especially children and that I did nothing. My life would be nothing. I took the bungee jump and I came out to my parishioners. It definitely was not easy, but one thing that happened to me is - I gained a real sense of peace and well-being that has remained constant and unshaken. The scripture passages that kept repeating over and over in my head were:
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:25
“Anyone who loves their FATHER or mother more than me is not worthy of me;… Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:36-38
“…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
Even after Benedict XVI and his accomplices’ mistreatment of me and the serious harm they have caused me that sense of peace has never left me. It is remains rock solid. I believe that is the benefit of spending the time and energy of acquiring a well-informed conscience regarding sexual orientation...
Read more:
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2011/06/ny-gay-marriage-bill-gay-catholic_20.html
Written by:
Fr. Marty Kurylowicz - June 20, 2011 Read more:
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2011/06/ny-gay-marriage-bill-gay-catholic_20.html
Gay marriage -> Restoring
"Hope of Love"
To Children In Early Childhood
March 23, 2010 – by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Marriage Equality, like Galileo, is the truth about the facts of growing up gay. Marriage Equality will not become a reality until people learn that its most vital purpose is that it restores the “hope of love” to children in early childhood – essential to their development and well-being for life.
Without Marriage Equality we teach children how to hate love and how to be mean and indifferent to people as adults. With all due respect, without Marriage Equality we would teach them in much the same way as has been shown by Benedict XVI and the hierarchy, especially in their lack of care and protection of children for decades.
is less about sex and more about
Love, being one with another human being.
Attachment Theory
April 30, 2009 - by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Nothing in life is more precious than the intimate relationships we have with love ones. Healthy love relationships delight us give us confidence to take on challenges and support us in difficult times.
AUSCHWITZ – Benedict XVI’s Christmas 2008 - A flashback far more severe than in --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN …I think in truth on a much deeper level I was frightened, really frightened, to hear Pope Benedict XVI’s Christmas remarks against homosexuals and transgendered human beings and even more frightened by the silence from the larger global community of human beings. What is so frightening is, even if there is agreement that one person does not matter or is not important, in truth then no one matters… Photo & more & even more
INSTITUTIONALIZED -> STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE – Vatican’s UNSUBSTANTIATED ANTIGAY TEACHINGS - severe harm lasting throughout a child’s lifetime | Benedict XVI & Hierarchy CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE COVER-UPS
Direct violence is horrific, but its brutality usually gets our attention: we notice it, and often respond to it. Structural violence, however, is almost always invisible, embedded in ubiquitous social structures, normalized by stable institutions and regular experience. Structural violence occurs whenever people are disadvantaged by political, legal, economic, or cultural traditions. Because they are longstanding, structural inequities usually seem ordinary—the way things are and always have been. But structural violence produces suffering and death as often as direct violence does, though the damage is slower, more subtle, more common, and more difficult to repair... Photo & more
Dear ...... .....,
My name is Fr. Marty Kurylowicz, a Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Grand Rapids Michigan ordained June 16, 1979.
In March 1997, after attending a National Symposium of the New Ways Ministry that was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I learned that children as young as 4 and 5 years of age know that they are different. This feeling "different" is only identified in their adult years as being gay. However, the harmful influence of antigay social and religious norms -- in particular, for Catholics, the Vatican’s unsubstantiated antigay teachings -- are severe and last throughout a child’s lifetime. Photo
The harmful effects are not isolated only to these children who grow up to be gay, but also affect their families, siblings, friends and anyone whom they might consider special in their lives. They are a prescribed societal sentence of implicit isolation, which place at risk of suicide so many innocent adolescents and young adults. They stifle an enormous amount of human potential in the world that otherwise could be put to use for finding cures for diseases, offering better ways of maintaining peace among people and improving the quality of life for everyone in the world…
The harmful effects are not isolated only to these children who grow up to be gay, but also affect their families, siblings, friends and anyone whom they might consider special in their lives. They are a prescribed societal sentence of implicit isolation, which place at risk of suicide so many innocent adolescents and young adults. They stifle an enormous amount of human potential in the world that otherwise could be put to use for finding cures for diseases, offering better ways of maintaining peace among people and improving the quality of life for everyone in the world…
On - July 2010 - this same Letter was also sent to:
President of the United States
United States Congress
United States Supreme Court
United States Department of Justice
50 United States Governors
Read complete letter:
New York State Senators - In Reversal, 3 Democratic Senators Will Back Gay Marriage - By Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro – June 13, 2011
ALBANY — Three wavering Democratic lawmakers in the State Senate on Monday announced that they now support the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, marking a potential turning point for the long-debated measure. Photo
Within an hour of the announcement by the three Democrats, a Republican senator said that he, too, is open to supporting same-sex marriage.
“If the bill comes to the floor the way that I would like to see it, I will support it,” Senator James S. Alesi, a Monroe County Republican, …
The three Democratic senators — Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. and Shirley L. Huntley of Queens and Carl Kruger of Brooklyn — all voted against the measure in 2009, when it failed by a wide margin. Their switch to the yes column leaves all but one Senate Democrat supporting same-sex marriage — and the fate of the legislation in the hands of the Republican majority in the chamber…
Mr. Cuomo called on Republicans to ignore pressure from leaders of the state’s Republican and Conservative parties and support the marriage measure.
“Represent the people of the state, not the party leaders,” he said. “Vote your conscience, not your fears.”...
Read complete article:
Vatican Pledges to Submit UN Report, 14 Years Late - due 1997 – ABC News International - June 20, 2011
The Vatican will submit a long-overdue report on its treatment of children to the United Nations this fall, the Holy See's envoy in Geneva said Monday.
The Holy See was originally due to submit a progress report to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1997, but failed to do to year after year without explanation…
Human rights groups have urged the Vatican to explain in the report its role in the cover-up of child abuse committed by Catholic clergy.
"It will be interesting to see if they come clean on this in September," said Roy Brown of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, a secular group that frequently criticizes the Vatican at the U.N. "We've been waiting for this report for a very long time."…
Read complete report:
Vatican letter “Jan. 31, 1997” told Ireland's Catholic bishops not to report child abuse – January 18, 2011
“…the Holy See used its diplomatic-immunity status as a tiny city-state to try to thwart the Irish fact-finding probe has long been known.” Photo & more 
Letters place Pope at centre of child abuse scandal – March 25, 2010Secret documents today placed Pope Benedict XVI at the centre of allegations of cover-up by the Catholic church of a priest sex abuse scandal in the United States.
Letters from the Vatican show that the enforcement department headed by the pontiff, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, took control of the efforts to bring paedophile priest Father Lawrence Murphy to justice, first ordering in 1997 that a church trial could only go ahead in conditions of total secrecy and then changing tack in 1998 and quashing it… Photo & more http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7075981.ece
Amnesty names Vatican over human rights abuses – May 13, 2011
The Vatican: included for the first time in an Amnesty report examining human rights in 157 countries. Amnesty found "increasing evidence of widespread child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy . . . and the enduring failure of the Catholic Church to address these crimes".
It has found that, in Ireland, “child protection standards were inadequate in both law and practice” and that “the Holy See did not sufficiently comply with its international obligations relating to the protection of children”… Photo
Where the Vatican was concerned, the Amnesty report says that “in May (2010), the Holy See submitted its initial reports on the optional protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which, at the end of the year, had yet to be considered by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.” Photo
However, it continued, “by the year’s end, the Holy See had again failed to submit its second periodic report on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, due in 1997…” It found there was “increasing evidence of widespread child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy over the past decades, and the enduring failure of the Catholic Church to address these crimes properly, continued to emerge in various countries”…
Read complete report:
N.Y. Gay Marriage Bill Gains Key Votes
- a vote of conscience – June 24, 2011
…Senator Stephen M. Saland, a Poughkeepsie Republican, became the critical 32nd vote, telling his colleagues in an emotional address that he believed the issue came down to a question of equality.
“I know my vote is a vote of conscience,” he told a hushed chamber. “I am at peace with my vote. It was a struggle. It was an extraordinary deliberation.”… Photo
…“After many hours of deliberation and discussion over the past several weeks among the members, it has been decided that same-sex marriage legislation will be brought to the full Senate for an up or down vote,” the majority leader, Senator Dean G. Skelos of Long Island, said in a statement. “As I have said many times, this is a very difficult issue and it will be a vote of conscience for every member of the Senate.”...
Read complete report:
Speaks On Same Sex Marriage Bill
June 24, 2011
A Vote of Conscience
Four Republican senators helped legalize Gay Marriage for New York – June 25, 2011
A vote of conscience has left the four Republican senators who helped legalize gay marriage already facing retribution from the Conservative Party…
…But Gov. Cuomo and gay rights advocates had the backs of the four senators - Sens. James Alesi of Rochester, Roy McDonald of Saratoga Springs, Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie and Mark Grisanti of Buffalo - Friday night after the historic vote. Photo
Cuomo, a Democrat… deemed all four "people of courage, people of principle" and recognized that for them, the vote to support gay marriage was "politically more dangerous."
"I represent the people of this state of New York and I'm going to tell them what I believe and that is what I believe," Cuomo said. "To the extent that is the truth and it helps them, so be it."…
…The four Republicans know their votes could cost them their political careers, but said they felt compelled to do what they now believe is the right thing…
Read complete report:
The Road To Gay Marriage New York - By Michael Barbaro - June 25, 2011
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the bill-signing Friday with Thomas K. Duane, second from right, the Senate’s only openly gay member More Photos
…Would the donors win over the deciding Senate Republicans? It sounded improbable: top Republican moneymen helping a Democratic rival with one of his biggest legislative goals.
But the donors in the room — the billionaire Paul Singer, whose son is gay,…
…Mr. [John L.] Sampson, a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, advised Mr. [Carl] Kruger to focus on the [gay] nephew, not the political repercussions. “When everything else is gone,” Mr. Sampson told him, “all you have left is family.”
With Mr. Kruger suddenly a possible yes vote, the same-sex marriage organizers zeroed in on the two remaining Democrats who had previously voted no but appeared open to switching sides: Shirley L. Huntley and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., both of Queens…
…Mr. Cuomo’s girlfriend, Sandra Lee, has an openly gay brother, and she frequently reminded the governor how much she wanted the law to change…
…Mr. Cuomo…told Senator [James S.] Alesi that as the first Republican to endorse same-sex marriage, he “would show real courage to the gay community.” …
..Mr. Alesi walked into the room, which erupted into applause. In emotional remarks, he apologized to them for what he called his “political vote” against same-sex marriage in 2009…
…The Catholic Church, arguably the only institution with the authority and reach to derail same-sex marriage, seemed to shrink from the fight.
…As the marriage bill hurtled toward a vote, the head of the church in New York, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, left town to lead a meeting of bishops in Seattle. He did not travel to Albany or deliver a major speech in the final days of the session…
Read complete article:
Dean Skelos, NY State Republican Senate majority leader – allowed the Gay Marriage vote – June 25, 2011 - NPR
…Dean Skelos voted against gay marriage in New York, but the Family Research Council is furious with him anyway. In a statement, the conservative group said Democrats pushed gay marriage through, but as the Republican Senate majority leader, Skelos is responsible for allowing that to happen. Photo
Skelos told NPR why he decided not to block the bill.
"Because I believe in democracy," he said. "I believe legislators are elected to make their own choices to vote — to vote their constituents, to vote their conscience."
…Jim Alesi was one of the four Republican senators who supported the bill — after voting against gay marriage just two years ago in a decision he says was political.
"Even though there are only four Republicans who voted for it, the bill would never have passed if it hadn't been brought to the floor by the Republican majority," he told NPR's Rachel Martin…
Read complete report:
Key vote for N.Y. gay marriage 'not just Catholic' – June 26, 2011
New York Catholic leadership vociferously [shouting noisily] opposed legalizing gay marriage… But when it passed the state Senate on Friday night…, it was with the help of a yes vote from a Catholic senator, Mark Grisanti… Photo
“Someday,
maybe, there will exist
a
well-informed,
well considered
and
yet
fervent public conviction
that the
most deadly of all possible
sins
is the mutilation of
a
child’s spirit.”
bring everything into the light
– do not get caught up in their web of deceit. June 20, 2011
Several New York State Republican Senators have refused to collude with Catholic Hierarchy to maintain secrecy of any kind of child abuse. Who are unwilling to guarantee any type of lifetime immunity from any future prosecution from the legal repercussions related to the lifetime harm and violence that is caused to children [another even more severe form of child abuse] caused by the Vatican’s (Benedict XVI and the Hierarchy) unsubstantiated antigay teachings.
As well as, their refusing to guarantee any type of lifetime immunity from any future prosecution from the legal repercussions related the decades of mistreatment and discrimination against Catholic personnel regarding sexual orientation and those known as whistleblowers alerting the public to the child sexual abuse cover-ups and this even more severe form of ongoing child abuse being committed by Benedict XVI ‘s and the Hierarchy regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, also in direct relationship to their continuous promulgation of their unsubstantiated antigay teachings.
…"Kids as young as 4 or 5 know they're different," said Kurylowicz, a psychotherapist… "They grow up with this pervasive guilt, which sabotages their growth and motivation." The result is thousands of dollars in therapy to accept their natural orientation, he said, adding, "Does the Vatican want to take that on, like the tobacco industry had to take on for the damage it caused consumers? "… October 8, 2005
Read complete article:
by Charles Honey - Religion Editor
The Grand Rapids Press – Archives
Dean Skelo, NY Rep. Senate Majority Leader “There is a concern right now as to the unintended consequences of some of the religious causes, carveouts, protections and we’re reviewing that,” Skelos said after emerging from a nearly three-hour conference of the Senate’s GOP majority. “People want to feel comfortable if it is reported to the floor, there will not be as Archbishop Dolan mentioned, unintended consequences to this legislation,” Skelos added. Read more: Photo
Greg Ball, NY Rep. Sen..,Gay-rights advocates have said that Ball’s stance is wrong because the state’s human-rights laws would protect any group from lawsuits if they refuse to acknowledge same-sex marriage. But Ball said instances could arise where businesses or religious groups are SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION, citing examples in other states that have legalized same-sex marriage.
Read more:
Pope Blasts U.K. Anti-Discrimination Laws
by Associated Press,
February 2, 2010 – CBS News
In Speech, Benedict Raises Fears that Vatican Could Be Prosecuted for Stances Against Gays Photo
Ireland Murphy Report: “…the police force for the republic failed to investigate reports of priest abusing children and conspired to protect Catholic officials in Dublin for 30 years…
… the report exposed "misguided or undue deference" shown by the police to religious institutions and said, "That has no place in criminal investigations…”Photo
"This is not about failings or learning curves. This about the reckless endangerment of children in a calculated, purposeful strategy to protect the institutional Church,"…
"The state's role in all of this is actively being engineered and manufactured to give the public the idea that it is to the forefront in investigating this but the opposite is true," Read more:
Ireland's police colluded with the Catholic church in covering up clerical child abuse in Dublin on a huge scale…
The three-volume report found that the "maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church and the preservation of its assets" was more important than justice for the victims….Read more:
“If one thing that became vividly apparent from learning about the decades of Benedict XVI’s and the Hierarchy global cover-ups of child sexual abuse cases is that there are “no checks and balances” in the Catholic Church and that is the Tyranny in Religion we do not want to protect.”
– as –
LAWSUITS are to BENEDICT XVI
SILENCE & CAUTION
Begins for Catholic Hierarchy – Speaking or Writing Regarding the Sexual Orientation of Children – as it did briefly in 1997 - After I came out
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2011/03/catholics-coming-out-fr-marty.html
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2011/03/catholics-coming-out-fr-marty.html
“ALWAYS ARE CHILDREN”
Before Benedict XVI altered it to be abusive towards Children clarifying his unsubstantiated antigay teachings
Final Days of NY Gay Marriage Vote – Catholic leaders – “…seemed to shrink from the fight” – June 25, 2011
… It was befuddling to gay-rights advocates: The Catholic Church, arguably the only institution with the authority and reach to derail same-sex marriage, seemed to shrink from the fight. Photo
…As the marriage bill hurtled toward a vote, the head of the church in New York, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, left town to lead a meeting of bishops in Seattle. He did not travel to Albany or deliver a major speech in the final days of the session…
Read complete article:
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan did not exactly hide his opposition to efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Photo
Yet on Sunday, Archbishop Dolan made no mention of gay marriage during the 10:15 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He did not criticize state lawmakers, or offer an impassioned defense of the church’s view of marriage…
Archbishop Dolan says he's not anti-gay, but pro-marriage – June 27, 2011
Dolan..."I'd say to the gay community: I love you very much. If anything I ever said or did would lead you to believe that I have anything less than love and respect for you, I apologize, but that doesn't take away from my resolute disappointment to this particular measure."
Dolan was very vocal in his opposition to same sex-marriage, calling on lawmakers to vote against the bill…
…His message to the gay community: "I love you very much."
…The money trail shows that gay marriage was not even the church’s top priority this session. Records show the New York State Catholic Conference spent far more lobbying against bills to extend the statute of limitations for bringing civil lawsuits or criminal cases for sex crimes against children. The church has been hobbled for years by an ongoing controversy over sex-abuse cases among clergy members… Photo
…Despite fiercely opposing gay marriage on his blog, [NY Archbishop] Dolan repeatedly paused to reiterate that he was not antigay. (“If I have offended any of you in my strenuous defense of marriage, I apologize, and assure you it was unintentional,” he wrote. [July 7, 2011])…
Read more:
…Speaking in the East Room of the White House, Obama lauded the recent move by the New York Legislature to legalize same-sex marriage, calling it "a good thing." Photo
"I think what you're seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other American. And I think that principle will win out," he said…
…Obama touted his administration's accomplishments on behalf of the gay community, including ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and refusing to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
"We're moving in a direction of greater equality, and I think that's a good thing," he said…
Obama backs repeal of Defense of Marriage Act - July 20, 2011
President Obama has endorsed a new bill by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, another step in what the president has termed his "evolving" views on same-sex marriage.
"The president has long called for a legislative repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people — our families, friends and neighbors," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. "He is proud to support the Respect for Marriage Act."…
"It is rare that a White House endorses a bill that has yet to pass first in either the Senate or the House," Rick Jacobs, chairman of the gay rights advocacy group Courage Campaign, said in a statement. "His support makes clear to all Americans that the Defense of Marriage Act has no place in our society."…
The vote approving same-sex marriage in New York is the latest and most glaring confirmation of some gloomy news for the Catholic church in the United States, and it’s not that gays have achieved the right to marry. Photo
Rather, affirmed in the recent vote is the disturbing reality that the Catholic hierarchy has lost most of its credibility with the wider culture on matters of sexuality and personal morality, just as it has lost its authority within the Catholic community on the same issues. There are reasons -- and they have little to do with secularism, relativism or lingering influences of the wild 1960s -- why people are no longer listening to the bishops.
While we don’t want to minimize the seriousness of the concern of some over a societal redefinition of marriage, there are reasons we think the bishops’ hyperbolic reaction to laws such as that enacted in New York are not only wrong-headed but counterproductive.
First, even if bishops retained the stature they once had in the wider culture, it is evident in polls and politicians’ votes that neither most of the Catholic world nor the wider culture buys the church’s teaching that homosexuals are disordered and are thus relegated to sexless lives in order to remain in the Christian community…
The Importance of Acquiring a Well-Informed Conscience
On The Issue of Gay Marriage – June 20, 2011
By Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
...If you run from this responsibility, you will live with unending regret that you allowed innocent children to be continually harmed knowing that you had one chance in a lifetime to do something extraordinary for the well-being of children and people around the world. If you face and accept this responsibility of protecting children, you risk your political career, indeed your very life, as you know it. However, when I came out to my great surprise it was successful at my parish - Holy Family Catholic Parish, Sparta, Michigan and this was 1997. I think that for the NY State Republican Senators today 2011 - the social climate as polls indicate is significantly better than it was in 1997 with the majority of Catholics now accepting gay marriage. The reverse may be truer today for NY State Republican Senators that “not supporting gay marriage” could have an adverse effect on your political career. Photo
I believe this to be true – because gay marriage (human sexuality, sexual orientation) is like Galileo - it is about the true facts of science. Condemning Galileo showed real ignorance on the part of the Vatican, which Pope John Paul II confirmed and apologized for in 1992…
Benedict XVI Ordered – A first time - Exhibition From Vatican’s Secret Archives - Including the codex [ancient manuscript text in book form] of the trial of Galileo Galilei in the 17th century – July 5, 2011
ROME — The Vatican will unveil 100 documents from its Secret Archives, including unpublished papers from the World War II era, in an exhibition in Rome next year, it announced on Tuesday. The exhibition, to be held at the Capitoline Museums from February to September, marks the first time that the papers from the Pope’s private archives have been allowed to leave the Vatican… Photo
University Of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School Of Law
http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/galileo/galileo.html
http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/galileo/galileo.html
Galileo Galilei was born in 1564--the same year that Shakespeare was born and Michelangelo died. From an early age, Galileo showed his scientific skills... Eventually, he would be recognized as the father of experimental physics. Galileo's motto might have been "follow knowledge wherever it leads us."
…When depositions in the Galileo matter concluded, the Commissary-General forwarded two propositions of Galileo to eleven theologians (called "Qualifiers") for their evaluation: (1) The Sun is the center of the world and immovable of local motion, and (2) The Earth is not the center of the world, nor immovable, but moves according to the whole of itself, also with a diurnal motion. Four days later, on February 23, 1616, the Qualifiers unanimously declared both propositions to be "foolish and absurd" and "formally heretical." Less than two weeks later, Pope Paul V--described by the Florentine ambassador as "so averse to anything intellectual that everyone has to play dense and ignorant to gain his favor"--endorsed the theologian's conclusions…
The Trial of 1633
Galileo's admonition stopped the Copernican movement dead in its tracks. For Galileo, his admonition marked the beginning of a period of silence…and adjusted to a world which elevated mindless conformism over scientific understanding.
The Trial of Galileo: Key Figures
Gay Marriage & Galileo
The Trial of Galileo - by Douglas O. Linder (2002)
University Of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School Of Law
Pope described as …"so averse to anything intellectual that everyone has to play dense and ignorant to gain his favor"
Benedict XVI & Galileo - February 15, 1990
On February 15, 1990, in a speech delivered at La Sapienza University in Rome, Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, cited some current views on the Galileo affair as forming what he called "a symptomatic case that illustrates the extent to which modernity’s doubts about itself have grown today in science and technology." As evidence, he presented the views of a few prominent philosophers including Ernst Bloch and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, as well as Paul Feyerabend, whom he quoted as saying:
“The Church at the time of Galileo kept much more closely to reason than did Galileo himself, and she took into consideration the ethical and social consequences of Galileo's teaching too. Her verdict against Galileo was rational and just, and the revision of this verdict can be justified only on the grounds of what is politically opportune.”…
The Suppression of Galileo II - A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts – video
Irapuato: Vatican announces it will unveil secret archives of World War II in special exhibit – July 6, 2011 - Video
Pope John Paul II - After 350 Years, Vatican Says Galileo Was Right: It Moves – October 31, 1992
More than 350 years after the Roman Catholic Church condemned Galileo, Pope John Paul II is poised to rectify one of the Church's most infamous wrongs -- the persecution of the Italian astronomer and physicist for proving the Earth moves around the Sun. Photo
With a formal statement at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Saturday, Vatican officials said the Pope will formally close a 13-year investigation into the Church's condemnation of Galileo in 1633. The condemnation, which forced the astronomer and physicist to recant his discoveries, led to Galileo's house arrest for eight years before his death in 1642 at the age of 77.
The dispute between the Church and Galileo has long stood as one of history's great emblems of conflict between reason and dogma, science and faith. The Vatican's formal acknowledgement of an error, moreover, is a rarity in an institution built over centuries on the belief that the Church is the final arbiter in matters of faith…
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/31/world/after-350-years-vatican-says-galileo-was-right-it-moves.html
Child abuse tragedy made worse by Irish bishops and Vatican – July 14, 2011
IRISH BISHOPS and the Vatican have played a major role in exacerbating the tragic story that is clerical child sex abuse in Ireland. Photo
The Cloyne report has found that the Vatican’s reaction to the (Irish bishops’) 1996 framework document was “entirely unhelpful” to any Irish bishop who wanted to implement it and gave individual Irish bishops freedom to ignore it.
The Vatican refused to give the document “recognitio”; told the Irish bishops it was “not an official document of the Episcopal Conference but a study document”; and warned that it could be in breach of canon law. It also said the document’s advice on mandatory reporting gave rise to “serious reservations of both a moral and a canonical nature”.
The Vatican did so in a confidential letter circulated by the then papal nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Luciano Storero to every Irish bishop in January 1997, a year after the Irish bishops’ guidelines came into play.
Nor has the Vatican ratified or given the “recognitio” to the Irish Catholic Church’s 2005 updated guidelines. The papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza refused to explain any of this to the Cloyne commission, as was the case beforehand with the Murphy commission.
Msgr Denis O’Callaghan, vicar general and delegate in Cloyne diocese, “stymied” implementation of the 1996 document in Cloyne. He was allowed do so by Bishop John Magee who “took little or no active interest in the management of clerical child sexual abuse cases until 2008 . . .”
Angry Ireland finally confronts Vatican over abuse – July 21, 2011
The Irish are broadly lauding this week's thunderbolt from Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who denounced the Vatican's role in the past 17 years of abuse scandals. He accused the Holy See of downplaying "the rape and torture of children" and hiding behind its status as a sovereign state with its own secrecy-obsessed canon laws… Photo
Ireland PM Enda Kenny damns Vatican for covering up 'the rape and torture of children' – July 25, 2011 …He furiously denounced what he called 'the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism - and the narcissism - that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day.'…
Read more:
Ireland excoriates Vatican over new reports of abuse – August 12, 2011
...Given the clear teaching of the Catholic Church, I am puzzled, shocked and horrified that the scandal, sin and crime of sexual abuse of children by clerics of the Catholic Church continues to harm the church, and that Pope Benedict XVI seems unable to grasp the damage. It is now beginning to raise embarrassing questions about the pope's management of the church. Photo
Perhaps Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach or prime minister of Ireland, still one of the most faithful Catholic countries in the world, may help bring the pope to his senses.
Kenny used his high office and the Dail (parliament) to deliver a withering damnation of the church authorities, declaring "the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism, the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day…
The 400-page Cloyne report claimed that the attitude of the Vatican had been "entirely unhelpful" in describing guidelines on how to deal with abuse claims as "merely a study document."
…Kenny claimed that the report exposed, "an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago ... The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation.
"Far from listening to the evidence of humiliation and betrayal with St Benedict's 'ear of the heart,' the Vatican's reaction was to parse it and analyze it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer. This calculated, withering position being the polar opposite of the radicalism, humility and compassion upon which the Roman Church was founded."…
Gay marriage: O'Malley takes a risk for what's right - July 25, 2011
We applaud Gov. Martin O'Malley for his bravery in standing with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Marylanders as he throws his support behind marriage equality ("O'Malley to back same-sex marriage, July 23). In doing so, Governor O'Malley risks the scorn and abandonment of his church, as well as marriage opponents of all stripes throughout Maryland and beyond. Our prayers and gratitude are with him as he stands up for what is right, in the face of potential personal repercussions… Photo
New York - Marriage Equality:
Historic vote of conscience affirms same-sex couples and their families - June 26, 2011
History was made Friday night in Albany when a much-maligned political body stood up and did the right thing. Photo & More
After a dramatic week, the New York State Senate voted 33-29 to allow gays and lesbians to marry. The Assembly quickly passed the Senate’s version of the marriage equality bill and Gov. Andrew Cuomo immediately signed it…
…The Buffalo Republican (once a Democrat) ran for office promising to oppose same-sex marriage. After agonizing for months, [Mark] Grisanti concluded he was wrong.
“I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the state of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife,” Grisanti said.
And then he voted yes…
Another tip of the hat goes to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Long Island, who allowed his chamber to vote its conscience. “The days of just bottling up things, and using these as excuses not to have votes — as far as I’m concerned as leader, its over with,” he told The New York Times. Perhaps next he can put an end to the secrecy and backroom dealing that preceded the vote.
In the end, the vote to approve same-sex marriage was about conscience — how, in good conscience, the state could no longer deny gay couples the 2,462 rights and responsibilities conferred by civil marriage…
Read complete report:
Italy's parliament rejects anti-homophobia bill – July 27, 2011
Gay rights organisations and other activists are lashing out at the Italian government's decision to reject a bill calling for tougher sentences for those involved in hate crimes against homosexuals and transsexuals.
Parliament's lower house, dominated by Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives, rejected the bill yesterday.Photo
Opponents of the proposed bill maintain that gays must be treated like any other citizen.
Amnesty International said Italy's parliament "wasted an opportunity."
Read more:
Machinations of Benedict XVI Denials Leaking Documents Homosexual Overtones To Publicly Discredit Prominent Catholic Editor Who Criticized Italian PM - A Supporter of Benedict XVI Issues - February 9, 2010 Photo
Silvio Berlusconi attacks gays to ‘woo’ Roman Catholics
by Fred Attewill
28th February, 2011 – Metro.co.uk
Related links:
Vatican accuses Italian media of smear campaign
by Philip Pullella,
February 10, 2010 - Reuters South Africa
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican accused Italian media on Tuesday of waging an "insulting" smear campaign against it and Pope Benedict by running embarrassing stories about palace intrigue and Byzantine plotting inside its walls.
With a rare statement issued by its Secretariat of State, the Vatican broke its silence after two weeks of stories about events that led up to the resignation last September of Dino Boffo, influential editor of the Catholic newspaper Avvenire.
The reports said top Vatican officials had sent an Italian newspaper owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family a false document alleging Boffo had been accused of harassment by a woman with whose husband he was having a homosexual affair.
Since January 23, Vatican officials have seen stories with headlines such as "The Poison of Cardinals," "Vatican Intrigue" and "Hunger for Power in the Vatican."…
Read complete report:
Related links:
Vatican intrigue hits new level over leak,
by Associated Press,
February 9, 2010 - msnbc.com
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican denied Tuesday that it leaked documents that led to the resignation of a prominent Catholic editor, intervening in a tale of ecclesiastical intrigue that has dominated Italian headlines for weeks.
The Vatican No. 2 issued a statement saying reports that Vatican officials leaked the documents were false and that Pope Benedict XVI himself "deplored these unjust and insulting attacks" that were "defaming the Holy See."
The statement — unusual in its line-by-line denial of unsourced rumors — was confirmation that what had been a strictly Italian church scandal had reached the highest echelons of power in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace and that the pope clearly wanted to put an end to it…
Italian newspapers routinely publish unsourced stories about the latest Italian political intrigue. They also publish unsourced reports about machinations in the Vatican. Rarely, though, do such reports elicit such a thorough and high-ranking denial as the one issued by Bertone.
Read complete report:
Gay Marriage & Benedict XVI “…HITLER YOUTH brainwashed young Germans into support of their prejudices and policies against homosexuality.”
Hitler’s Anti-intellectualism - HITLER YOUTH Benedict XVI’s Rejection of Gender Theory – Gay Marriage
What Does The Bible Actually Say About Gay Marriage? - By Lee Jefferson – June 29, 2011
…Same-sex marriage is rejected as un-Christian and immoral on the basis of a myopic reading of a very few Biblical texts. And the texts in question are scant indeed. The most referenced texts are Genesis 19; the holiness codes of Leviticus 17-26, and in the New Testament, Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 6:9 and his Letter to the Romans 1:26-27. Not only does one have to "hunt" for references to same-sex practices, but there are no gospel texts that treat the matter. There is nothing attributed to Jesus of Nazareth that has anything to do with same-sex orientation. According to the gospels, Jesus never commented on same-sex practices; that fact certainly bears repeating to anyone criticizing the gay community on Christian grounds. Largely, same-sex practice is a topic of little interest to the Biblical authors... Photo & More
Read complete article:
New York - Marriage Equality:
Elected officials’ Catholic dilemma on same-sex marriage - By Robert P. Jones - June 30, 2011
New York politicians …New York’s Catholic Bishops have expressed outrage over the vote, and nearly 40 percent of New York voters are Catholic. But, the polls show a surprising reality that may ease the worries of some elected officials even as it makes their job harder. There are in fact two very different Catholic voices that elected officials in New York and elsewhere around the country have to navigate: the big “C” voice of the Catholic bishops who are adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage, and the little “c” voices of Catholics in the pews who are largely supportive… Photo
...Catholics are generally more supportive of legal recognitions of same-sex relationships than Americans overall…
Two days before Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) announced plans to sponsor a same-sex marriage bill, a Catholic archbishop strongly urged that he reconsider the move, suggesting the governor was acting out of “mere political expediency.” Photo
Edwin F. O’Brien, the archbishop of Baltimore, said in a letter late last month that sponsoring the bill would “deeply conflict” with O’Malley’s Catholic faith and that he should resist pressure to do so after New York’s recent legalization of same-sex marriage…O’Malley responded to O’Brien on Thursday, citing a litany of issues on which he shares the church’s views. But, O’Malley wrote, “when shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice.”
Both letters were released Monday by O’Malley’s office in response to media requests. The exchange lends fresh insight into the pressures that public officials can face as they attempt to reconcile their religious faith with the policy positions that they advocate…
“I have concluded that discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation in the context of civil marital rights is unjust,” O’Malley wrote to the archbishop. “I have also concluded that treating the children of families headed by same-sex couples with lesser protections under the law than the children of families headed by heterosexual parents, is also unjust.”…
Galileo
facing the Roman Inquisition - Read more
Biblical quotes used to Condemn Galileo
Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New International Version)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New American Standard Bible)
5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (New International Version)
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (New American Standard Bible)
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed in majesty
and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Psalm 93:1 (New American Standard Bible)
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Psalm 96:10 (New International Version)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
Psalm 96:10 (New American Standard Bible)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity."
Psalm 104:5 (New International Version)
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
Psalm 104:5 (New American Standard Bible)
5 He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
Read more:
- Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way. Emile Zola
What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. Luke 12:3 Photo
Letters sent out:
July 2010
President of the United States
United States Congress
United States Supreme Court
United States Department of Justice
50 United States Governors
Dear -- --------,
My name is Fr. Marty Kurylowicz, a Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan ordained June 16, 1979.
In March 1997, after attending a National Symposium of the New Ways Ministry that was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I learned that children as young as 4 and 5 years of age know that they are different. This feeling "different" is only identified in their adult years as being gay. However, the harmful influence of antigay social and religious norms -- in particular, for Catholics, the Vatican’s unsubstantiated antigay teachings -- are severe and last throughout a child’s lifetime.
The harmful effects are not isolated only to these children who grow up to be gay, but also affect their families, siblings, friends and anyone whom they might consider special in their lives. They are a prescribed societal sentence of implicit isolation, which place at risk of suicide so many innocent adolescents and young adults. They stifle an enormous amount of human potential in the world that otherwise could be put to use for finding cures for diseases, offering better ways of maintaining peace among people and improving the quality of life for everyone in the world.
Gay Marriage - “SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE” Does Not Give Churches Or Benedict XVI - The Freedom To Abuse Children or Adults. July 2010 - By Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
California - Prop 8 judgment, August 4, 2010
Gay marriage
“Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
Judge Vaughn Walker
Schwarzenegger: Let Same-Sex Weddings Resume Now – Associated Press – August 7, 2010 - Fox News
SAN FRANCISCO -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who twice vetoed legislation that would have legalized same-sex marriage, has surprised gay rights supporters by urging a federal judge to allow gay couples to resume marrying in the state without further delay…
"Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."
Jerry Brown, Attorney General California - Prop. 8 Ruling – August 2010
… [Jerry Brown], he took the unusual step of refusing to defend Proposition 8, the statewide initiative barring gays and lesbians from marrying. He argued instead that the courts should strike down the measure because it unconstitutionally denies a minority group its rights. Politics Daily
"While there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by this Court’s conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," Brown [Attorney General California] wrote. "Accordingly, the harm to the plaintiffs outweighs any harm to the state defendants." The Advocate
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/08/06/Calif_Atty_General_Opposes_Stay_of_Prop_8_Ruling/
GAY YOUTH SUICIDE | BENEDICT XVI & BISHOPS Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups – Negligence Protecting (1) Children & (2) LGBT Children | Family of Rutgers suicide victim lends name to bill – November 19, 2010 – CNN Photo
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee - unyielding force supporting - DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL Repeal Act of 2010 – ENDS discriminatory policy that “forces young men and women to lie,” – to lie – “about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.” December 2010
Gov. Quinn to 'follow conscience' on unions
by Dave McKinney,
December 2, 2010 - Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief
Cuomo Says He’ll Push for Vote to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
By Thomas Kaplan
February 9, 2011 - The New York Times
Gay marriage: Obama administration won't defend part of marriage act
By David G. Savage and James Oliphant,
Washington Bureau,
February 23, 2011 – Los Angeles Times Photo
Eric Holder, Attorney General,
U.S. Department of Justice
Defense of Marriage Act
February 23, 2011
… while sexual orientation carries no visible badge, a growing scientific consensus accepts that sexual orientation is a characteristic that is immutable, seeRichard A. Posner, Sex and Reason 101 (1992); it is undoubtedly unfair to require sexual orientation to be hidden from view to avoid discrimination, see Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-321, 124 Stat. 3515 (2010).
Same-sex marriage: Courts expected to heed Obama move
by Bob Egelko,
February 24, 2011 – San Francisco Chronicle
“Gays and lesbians have been oppressed historically, lack substantial political power, should not be asked to suppress their identities, and have the same ability as heterosexuals to contribute to society, Holder said.”
Obama Ending Defense of DOMA Draws Gillibrand Praise
February 23, 2011 – Politics on the Hudson
Gillibrand To Albany: Pass Gay Marriage, End ‘Institutionalized Discrimination’
Capital Tonight
Md.'s top leaders cross Catholic hierarchy on gay marriage
By John Wagner,
February 24, 2011 – The Washington Post
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley regularly attends a weekday Mass and has sent his four children to Catholic schools.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) used to teach and coach at his old Catholic high school in Annapolis.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) grew up serving as an altar boy in the idyllic wood-frame Catholic church his family helped build in Clinton.
But the presence of three Catholics at the helm in Annapolis hasn't stopped a same-sex marriage bill from wending its way through the legislature, triggering deep disappointment among church leaders as it suggests a waning of Catholic influence in this heavily Catholic state…
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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
Letter from the Attorney General to Congress on Litigation Involving the Defense of Marriage Act
WASHINGTON – The Attorney General sent the following letter today to Congressional leadership to inform them of the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman. A copy of the letter is also attached.
The Honorable John A. Boehner
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Defense of Marriage Act
Dear Mr. Speaker:
… Excerpt
Standard of Review
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the appropriate level of scrutiny for classifications based on sexual orientation. It has, however, rendered a number of decisions that set forth the criteria that should inform this and any other judgment as to whether heightened scrutiny applies: (1) whether the group in question has suffered a history of discrimination; (2) whether individuals “exhibit obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics that define them as a discrete group”; (3) whether the group is a minority or is politically powerless; and (4) whether the characteristics distinguishing the group have little relation to legitimate policy objectives or to an individual’s “ability to perform or contribute to society.” See Bowen v. Gilliard, 483 U.S. 587, 602-03 (1987); City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 441-42 (1985).
Each of these factors counsels in favor of being suspicious of classifications based on sexual orientation. First and most importantly, there is, regrettably, a significant history of purposeful discrimination against gay and lesbian people, by governmental as well as private entities, based on prejudice and stereotypes that continue to have ramifications today. Indeed, until very recently, states have “demean[ed] the[] existence” of gays and lesbians “by making their private sexual conduct a crime.” Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 578 (2003).iii
Second, while sexual orientation carries no visible badge, a growing scientific consensus accepts that sexual orientation is a characteristic that is immutable, see Richard A. Posner, Sex and Reason 101 (1992); it is undoubtedly unfair to require sexual orientation to be hidden from view to avoid discrimination,see Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-321, 124 Stat. 3515 (2010).
Third, the adoption of laws like those at issue in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), and Lawrence, the longstanding ban on gays and lesbians in the military, and the absence of federal protection for employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation show the group to have limited political power and “ability to attract the [favorable] attention of the lawmakers.” Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 445. And while the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act and pending repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell indicate that the political process is not closedentirely to gay and lesbian people, that is not the standard by which the Court has judged “political powerlessness.” Indeed, when the Court ruled that gender-based classifications were subject to heightened scrutiny, women already had won major political victories such as the Nineteenth Amendment (right to vote) and protection under Title VII (employment discrimination).
Finally, there is a growing acknowledgment that sexual orientation “bears no relation to ability to perform or contribute to society.” Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 686 (1973) (plurality). Recent evolutions in legislation (including the pending repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell), in community practices and attitudes, in case law (including the Supreme Court’s holdings in Lawrence andRomer), and in social science regarding sexual orientation all make clear that sexual orientation is not a characteristic that generally bears on legitimate policy objectives. See, e.g., Statement by the President on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (“It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.”)
To be sure, there is substantial circuit court authority applying rational basis review to sexual-orientation classifications. We have carefully examined each of those decisions. Many of them reason only that if consensual same-sex sodomy may be criminalized under Bowers v. Hardwick, then it follows that no heightened review is appropriate – a line of reasoning that does not survive the overruling of Bowers inLawrence v. Texas, 538 U.S. 558 (2003).iv Others rely on claims regarding “procreational responsibility” that the Department has disavowed already in litigation as unreasonable, or claims regarding the immutability of sexual orientation that we do not believe can be reconciled with more recent social science understandings.v And none engages in an examination of all the factors that the Supreme Court has identified as relevant to a decision about the appropriate level of scrutiny. Finally, many of the more recent decisions have relied on the fact that the Supreme Court has not recognized that gays and lesbians constitute a suspect class or the fact that the Court has applied rational basis review in its most recent decisions addressing classifications based on sexual orientation, Lawrenceand Romer.vi But neither of those decisions reached, let alone resolved, the level of scrutiny issue because in both the Court concluded that the laws could not even survive the more deferential rational basis standard…
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A $363,000 Tax Bill to Widow Led to Obama Shift in Defense of Marriage Act - by Andrew M. Harris,
February 28, 2011 - Bloomberg
First Openly Gay Person the:
White House Announces Jeremy Bernard as Social Secretary
February 25, 2011
Office of the Press Secretary – The White House
Key To the Protection of Children Is:
CONTINUOUS EDUCATION OF ALL THE FACTS OF HUMAN SEXUALITY –
Beginning first with:
Early Childhood Psychological Development Growing Up Gay
Safeguards - Gay Marriage From REPEAL
The CENTRAL ROUTE To Decision-Making - Permanent Change In Attitude
ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL
Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
All the Vatican's ANTIGAY TEACHINGS are UNSUBSTANTIATED = Anti-intellectualism (Hitler Youth, Book Burning) = NOT based on any Authoritative Facts from the bible or science = IRRATIONAL = Vatican Condemning Galileo 1632 ≠ ROMAN CATHOLIC ≠ Victimization of Opponents to Gay Rights = Kids Are Being Hurt!!! | * * * * * * Benedict XVI 30 yrs Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups – 3/9/11
Obama 1st US call for gay rights at the UN
“Human rights are the inalienable right of every person, no matter who they are or who they love”
US Ambassador - March 23, 2011
Vatican tells U.N. that critics of gays under attack
by Tom Heneghan,
March 22, 2011 – Reuters Africa
GENEVA (Reuters) - People who criticise gay sexual relations for religious or moral reasons are increasingly being attacked and vilified for their views, a Vatican diplomat told the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi said the Roman Catholic Church deeply believed that human sexuality was a gift reserved for married heterosexual couples. But those who express these views are faced with "a disturbing trend," he said.
"People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behaviour between people of the same sex," he told the current session of the Human Rights Council.
"When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature ... they are stigmatised, and worse -- they are vilified, and prosecuted..,
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"Authoritarian ≠ Authoritative,
Unsubstantiated Antigay Teachings ≠ Well-informed Conscience ≠ Roman Catholic"
Homosexuality & The Bible - Galileo | Homophobia | Well-informed Conscience = Roman Catholic
What you cannot do is accept injustice.
From Hitler – or anyone.
You must make the injustice visible – be prepared to die like a soldier to do so.
Mahatma Gandhi
Kids Are Being Hurt !!!
Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry
by Jamie Doward,
April 24, 2005 - The Observer
Benedict XVI Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups
TC 2/21/11
Vatican blocks gay human rights vote at the UN.
Peter Tatchell Photo
If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.
Jackie Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Ted Kennedy Eulogy May 23, 1994
