Rick Santorum Is Not The Perfect Catholic He Claims To Be

Rick Santorum has been touting himself as a Catholic of conservative values- toeing the line of Rome.

Hardly.

He’s conveniently forgetting to advocate for several key social justice positions of the hierarchy. He’s picking and choosing- much the argument that conservative Catholics accuse their more progressive brethren of doing. To wit: John Gehring’s breakdown in the Huffington Post (thanks to Enlightened Catholicism):

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GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a proud Catholic who often speaks about his faith on the campaign trail, is attracting some formidable buzz from pundits who view his strong showing in the Iowa caucuses as a sign that the former Pennsylvania senator might have enough mojo to rally a coalition of religious and blue-collar voters.

New York Times columnist David Brooks waxed poetic Monday about Santorum’s Catholic conservative sensibilities and touted the candidate as an authentic antidote to “the corporate or financial wing of the party.”Evangelicals are also taking notice. Writing on CNN’s Belief blog, Chris LaTondresse, the founder and CEO of Recovering Evangelical, calls Santorum a post-religious right candidate “whose concern for poor and vulnerable people” is “firmly rooted in his Catholic faith.”

It’s easy to see why Santorum might appeal to some culturally conservative Catholics and moderate evangelicals who are wary of Democrats but also turned off by the Republican Party’s cozy embrace of economic libertarianism and tireless defense of struggling millionaires. Santorum is more comfortable with communitarian language, has been a strong supporter of foreign aid to impoverished countries and connects with personal stories of his blue-collar upbringing.

But it’s a political delusion to think Rick Santorum is a standard-bearer of authentic Catholic values in politics. In fact, on several issues central to Catholic social teaching – torture, war, immigration, climate change, the widening gap between rich and poor and workers’ rights – Santorum is radically out of step with his faith’s teachings as articulated by Catholic bishops and several popes over the centuries.

Santorum is conveniently forgetting key Catholic teaching on poverty, immigration, torture, worker’s rights, financial inequity and climate change- obviously to court the Christianist voter.

But Catholics should not be fooled. Read the full breakdown here.

And don’t miss this: Rick Santorum’s Top 10 Most Outrageous Campaign Statements

Santorum receives endorsement from Catholic advocacy group (thehill.com)
Santorum’s Catholic Problem (huffingtonpost.com)
John Gehring: The Catholic Case Against Rick Santorum (huffingtonpost.com)
Conservative Catholics feeling the Santorum surge? (dailykos.com)
Santorum gets ‘Christian,’ not Catholic, surge (getreligion.org)

Rehberg Says Congress Is Just As Functional As Lindsay Lohan

Jan5 by D Gregory Smith

After 35 years in politics, Congressman Dennis Rehberg is now telling Montanans that Congress is functional–even after his historic vote against middle-class tax relief and Montana Keystone Pipeline jobs–and despite historically low job approval ratings.

“Montanans are unhappy with Congressman Rehberg and his party bosses because their out of touch partisanship is on fully display,” Said Ted Dick, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Congressman Rehberg doesn’t want Montanans to know what he’s doing in Congress because he’s only serving himself, not Montana. To a career politician like Dennis Rehberg raising taxes on the middle class for political gain is business as usual – he just doesn’t want anyone to notice.”

Congressman Rehberg recently told the Bozeman Chronicle editorial board that Congress is functioning well: “I just hope that we don’t destroy our government, or our trust in government, because of the constant, constant, constant

Image via Wikipedia

observation of the sausage being made.”

Here is a complete transcript of Congressman Rehberg’s response:

Bozeman Chronicle Question: “The perception outside of Washington is that Congress is essentially dysfunctional, that it’s deadlocked on almost any issue and it can’t really accomplish anything. Is that perception, amongst you and your colleagues — that it’s ceased to function?”

Rehberg Answer: “Not necessarily, again I go back to the earlier conversation about people seeing the sausage made more than they’ve ever seen before. It bothers me when I see Rasmussen or somebody else put out a poll saying that we have 5 percent approval and Lindsay Lohan is held in higher esteem than us.”

“Well, I would suggest that if Fox News and CNN and everybody else focused as much on a 24 hour basis, 7 days a week on Lindsay, she’d be right down there with us or you. I mean, it’s the close scrutiny that’s occurring and that’s a good thing, I just hope that we don’t destroy our government or our trust in government because of the constant, constant, constant observation of the sausage being made.”

Right. Because unobserved government is healthy, trustworthy and sane… Just like Lindsay.

“25 Things Montana Voters (And Media) Need To Know About Dennis Rehberg” (dgsma.wordpress.com)
World AIDS Day in Montana (dgsma.wordpress.com)

Hartford Archdiocese To Offer Abstinence Groups For Gays

Jan4 by D Gregory Smith

Image by tdietmut via Flickr

The Hartford Courant reports today that:

The Hartford Archdiocese wants gays and lesbians to practice abstinence in the new year.

On Tuesday, the archdiocese announced it was launching a local chapter of a national ministry called Courage “to support men and women who struggle with homosexual tendencies and to motivate them to live chaste and fruitful lives in accordance with Catholic Church teachings.”

In a press release, the archdiocese stated that its Office of Diaconate director, Robert Pallotti, had been working to establish an area program for more than four years. The Courage ministry is based in Norwalk, led by the Rev. Paul Check of the Bridgeport Diocese, and claims to have more than 100 chapters around the country.

Gay attraction is not the sin, the ministry preaches — only when one acts on those feelings is it immoral.

This teaching is based on the “natural law” argument: that sex is only appropriate when it is procreative- as shown/proven in/by the natural world- i.e. animals in nature.

Problem is, it’s a fallacy. Sexual activity is not limited to procreation in nature- nor is it limited to opposite-sex activity. See this article: Homosexual Behavior In Animals. It also goes against an important part of Catholic theology, which says that intercourse has two purposes: procreation and the promotion of conjugal love between the partners.When there is only one half of this equation being promoted, the limitation of marriage to young, fertile, childbearing-able couples is the only appropriate response.

That leaves out sterile, aged or sexually dysfunctional persons from the benefits of marriage- and that’s obviously not the case. Any two opposite sex persons can be married in the church, regardless of their ability or intention to bear children.

Gay feelings are not immoral, the church says, acting on them is.

Hmmph.

Let me see if I follow. So these non-immoral feelings are natural, and are a consequence of creation by God. By this equation God is a torturer, since the naturally created feelings are there to be felt but not acted on?

It’s a simplistically flawed argument, and I don’t buy it.

Full story here.

Gay-friendly clergy disinvited from Castro church (sfgate.com)
Sunday Protest Set In Response To Cardinal George’s KKK Statement (lezgetreal.com)
Los Angeles: archdiocese’s gay, lesbian ministry celebrates 25 years (catholicculture.org)

“25 Things Montana Voters (And Media) Need To Know About Dennis Rehberg”

Jan3 by D Gregory Smith

Don Pogreba over at Intelligent Discontent, has an excellently ordered post about vital Rehberg activities that need to be noticed by voters- and covered by media (The media is, apparently and statistically, securely in the back pocket of Rehberg’s designer jeans):

Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr

I’ll admit that typically when I write about Montana’s sole representative in the House it’s to criticize him for not really doing anything. This year, however, no doubt inspired by his desire to move up an office, Rehberg has been a dynamo of activity. Unfortunately, most of it has been bad for Montana and the nation.

Back home, he’s made such poor business decisions that his net worth somehow dropped by over 50%, he’s claimed to struggle with the burden of being cash poor, he’s pursued a failed lawsuit against the City of Billings and its firefighters, and he’s managed to get Montana’s media to ignore many of his terrible decisions in Washington.

Honestly, guys, you need to do better. When Rehberg makes national news, you need to cover it.

While I’m sure I’ve missed more than a few Rehberg actions this year, these are simply 25 Things Montana Voters Should Know About Dennis Rehberg:

READ THEM HERE.

Rehberg Supports Raising Medicare Premiums (dgsma.wordpress.com)
MT Democrats: Rehberg’s Standing Against Jobs And Tax Relief (dgsma.wordpress.com)
Montana most-competitive Senate race as 2012 nears (politico.com)
Nonprofits triumph over House Republicans in 2012 budget battle (thehill.com)

Janus, Chaz, Hillary, The Military, Barack, Science And HIV

Jan1 by D Gregory Smith

Image via Wikipedia

(Also Published on LGBTQNation)
Janus was the Roman God of Thresholds, of transition, of beginnings and ending. He is often depicted with two faces, one for looking forward and one for looking back. January, the beginning month of the new year is named for Janus, and so, it’s natural that humans take this time to look back- and look forward- at the approach of the New Year.

As I take a look back, I’m very grateful for some amazing things that have happened this year in the U.S.- things that I never thought would happen in my lifetime- including:

Marriage equality in New York and the Suquamish Nation
Civil Unions in Delaware, Illinois, Rhode Island and Hawaii
Groundbreaking legislation mandating gay history components in schools, and greater awareness and legislation against school bullying
The end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
Chaz Bono on Dancing With The Stars
Marriage equality polling high
The President not pursuing DOMA
Domestic Partner benefits for Marquette University
The US Department of Labor and the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Nevada banning discrimination based on gender identity
The Presbyterian Church officially allowing openly gay clergy
American Catholics polling high in favor of marriage equality, rights
An amazing number of openly Gay/Lesbian officials elected all over the country– including Montana
Hillary Clinton declaring to the United Nations that LGBT rights are human rights, and
Hillary Clinton calling for greater attention to treatment of HIV
The President releasing an additional 50 million dollars to fund HIV treatment and prevention
The HPTN 052 Study, showing early antiretroviral treatment decreases HIV transmission by as much as 96%
New medications approved for the treatment of HIV, Edurant and Complera
And many other things too exhaustive and amazing for one article.

All good stuff.

But what I am finding amazing is the conspicuous absence or light mentions in the LGBT media about the dramatic advances in HIV treatment and prevention in the “best of” roundups this year. A year when there have arguably been more advances in treatment, prevention and scientific breakthroughs than in any other year in the 30 since AIDS was discovered. A year when top government officials committed time, money and policy to ending this disease. A year when Science magazine called the HPTN 052 Study the scientific breakthrough of the year.

It’s puzzling.

Are we getting complacent about HIV? Are we in denial about the very real danger it still poses to our community? Do people understand that having HIV is difficult- creating financial, medical, emotional and social problems that can be devastating for people, families and communities?

It seems so.

I am, like I said, grateful for all the things listed above. I am grateful for Chaz and trans representation. I am grateful for relationship rcognition. I am grateful for advances in employment nondiscrimination. I am grateful that my government is taking LGBT rights seriously. I am especially grateful that the elected administration of this land is treating HIV like it should be treated- as a disease, a viral infection- and not as some Divine Punishment inflicted on the sexually and socially repugnant dregs of society. That is a big deal.

In fact it’s huge.

So why did we miss it?

The Top Ten LGBT News Stories Of 2011 Revealed! (queerty.com)
HIV Study Named 2011 Breakthrough Of The Year By Science (bioresearchonline.com)
2011: An Extraordinary Year For Gay Rights (npr.org)
The Top Ten LGBT News Stories Of 2011 Revealed! (queerty.com)
Secretary Clinton Calls To “Embrace Treatment As Prevention” (dgsma.wordpress.com)
“The Race To End AIDS” (dgsma.wordpress.com)

The Catholic Hierarchy: “Suffer The Little Children.”

Dec29 by D Gregory Smith

Illinois Catholic bishops are taking their ball and going home in the face of federal non-discrimination requirements for foster care and adoption. The New York Times:

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Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois have shuttered most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in the state rather than comply with a new requirement that says they must consider same-sex couples as potential foster-care and adoptive parents if they want to receive state money. The charities have served for more than 40 years as a major link in the state’s social service network for poor and neglected children.

The bishops have followed colleagues in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts who had jettisoned their adoption services rather than comply with nondiscrimination laws.

The vilification of LGBT persons by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church is quickly becoming hysterical paranoia. What I find interesting is that it flies in the face of most of the opinions of people in the pews as well as the experience of many of the clergy and bishops themselves. They know gay people, they minister to gay people, and- I know this from personal experience- many of them are gay people.

Yet, this real-life, personal experience has no credibility in the face of freakishly ideological edicts from Rome. It’s absolutely backward. The experience of the people is supposed to form the church, form the hierarchy.

Not to mention the disregard for social and biological science. This is a church that would rather let the little children suffer. It saddens me.

Where’s the love, people?

Read the full story here

Catholic Bishops’ Lie About Threats to Religious Freedom (bilerico.com)
In Adoption Controversy, Put the Children First (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
NYT: Bishops say rules on gay parents limit religious freedom (msnbc.msn.com)
Catholic bishop doesn’t know when to shut up: compares gays to Ku Klux Klan (whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com)

“The Race To End AIDS”

Dec28 by D Gregory Smith

On Today’s Morning Edition from NPR, a story about HIV Treatment As Prevention:

2011 has been a momentous year in the 30-year-old AIDS pandemic.

The big breakthrough was the discovery that antiviral drugs can prevent someone who’s infected with HIV from passing the virus to others. It’s nearly 100 percent effective. That led President Obama to declare earlier this month that the U.S. will expand HIV treatment in hard-hit countries by 50 percent.

As recently as last year, many of those experts were saying that just giving more people with HIV more drugs would never work. “For every one person that was put on antiretroviral therapy or treatment, we would have two to three new infections identified,” Dr. Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, says.

It looked like a losing game, but not anymore.

The new research shows that antiviral drugs not only save the lives of infected people, they also stop people from spreading the virus and causing new infections, if the drugs can be given early enough after someone gets infected. The new strategy is called “treatment as prevention.”

“So we suddenly are looking at a moment where we can treat our way out of the epidemic,” Goosby says. “That’s the turning point that we’re looking at.” Still, it’ll take decades to end AIDS, according to experts. But many say the world has to be much more aggressive about treating HIV.

But just the fact that this is being reported on and is being taken seriously is a big deal.

You can read and/or listen to the whole story here

Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.: World AIDS Day 2011: Working to End the Pandemic (huffingtonpost.com)
UNC HIV Prevention Research Named Scientific Breakthrough Of The Year (medicalnewstoday.com)
Drugs that Prevent HIV Transmission Named ‘Breakthrough of 2011’ (livescience.com)

The Real Catholic Response To LGBT Persons

Dec27 by D Gregory Smith

…is set forth in this week’s America magazine– a journal by American Jesuits.

Image via Wikipedia

After the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago compared gays and the KKK, after all the fear-mongering anti-marriage rhetoric thrown out by the Catholic hierarchy, finally, a cautious voice of reason:

In mid-December Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a passionate speech in Geneva on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, encouraging nations to support human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Much of what she says can, and should, be supported by Catholics. Same-sex marriage has been strongly opposed by the church. But Mrs. Clinton’s speech is referring to the more fundamental right of gay and lesbian people to live without fear and without threat of death. Americans may have become so focused on the question of same-sex marriage that they overlook the dire conditions under which many gay and lesbian people live throughout the world.

In Uganda, for example, there are moves to make homosexual activity punishable by death. This is extreme, but Uganda is far from an isolated case. In Kenya conviction brings up to 14 years in prison; in Tanzania up to life in prison; and in Saudi Arabia the penalties include fines, whipping, prison and death. As Mrs. Clinton said, “It is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation….” The Catechism teaches that gays and lesbians should be accepted with respect, sensitivity and compassion: “Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” The church should continue to raise its voice in defense of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who suffer unjust discrimination.

Bravo, America Magazine. It’s a good reminder- and a fair beginning.

Catholic Intellectuals See LGBT Church Equality as Inevitable (bilerico.com)
Cardinal George, LGBT People, and the Klan (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
Catholic Church’s Continued Fracturing Over LGBT Rights (lezgetreal.com)
A Gay Catholic in Uganda Speaks; Cardinal George Should Listen (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)

Christmas Eve 2011

Dec24 by D Gregory Smith

From the First Reading of the Christmas Vigil Mass:

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“You shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the Lord….. No more will you be called ‘Forsaken,’ or your land ‘Desolate. But you will be called ‘My Delight,’ and your land ‘Espoused.’ For the Lord takes delight in you…”
Isaiah 62.2

A God that takes delight. I love that image. On this night when we celebrate the birth of a baby who changed the world, I think it’s worth asking the question: Who among us can resist the face of a delighted baby?

Not me.

That’s the kind of delight I believe in on this night. It’s what I’m counting on. It’s the joy of a crazy universe that may not make much sense, but then again, love never does. Not really.

It’s built on a type of joy that transcends doctrine and moral posturing- that simply enjoys and revels in the craziness of creation, desperate for attention, aiming for hope, betting on simple kindness, compassion and the better nature that can’t help but smile at the face of a delighted baby.

Because it’s just that simple….

I’m in.

Petition: Cardinal George Should Resign For Comparing Gays To The KKK

Dec24 by D Gregory Smith

I admit it- I’m a petition signer. I like adding my voice to others to make a point about something I believe in. There’s strength in numbers, and it usually only takes a minute.

I signed this petition on Change.org as a gay man, a formerly active priest and as someone deeply concerned about the message that this sends to Catholics around the world about LGBT humans. It’s patently untrue and more than patently screwed up.

Background (from the petition site):

Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Francis George foolishly compared the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan. He has crossed so far over the line of basic decency that he couldn’t see it with a pair of binoculars. George’s over-the-top remarks were extreme to the point where they shredded his credibility and permanently damaged his ability to serve as a respected voice of reason.

This outrageous comparison of the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan was so degrading and hurtful that apologizing will not be sufficient. George’s only road to redemption is handing in his resignation. If he has a shred of dignity and a shard of class he will immediately step down. George’s offensive remarks came during a dispute over the scheduled starting time of the annual gay pride parade in June. The event was originally set to begin at 10am, but a priest bitterly complained that the starting time would interfere with morning services.

In an interview with Fox News in Chicago, Cardinal George said: “Well, I go with the pastor. I mean, he’s telling us that they won’t be able to have Church services on Sunday, if that’s the case. You know, you don’t want the Gay Liberation Movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism. So, I think if that’s what’s happening, and I don’t know that it is, but I would respect the local pastor’s, you know, position on that. Then I think that’s a matter of concern for all of us.”

Such backward and bigoted remarks cannot stand. We must stand up, speak out and fight back against the intolerance displayed by Cardinal George. If we don’t take a stand when we are compared to the KKK – when will we? The time to act is now by demanding that George immediately leave his post.

Now I’m really not so naive to think that the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago will look at a few thousand signatures and immediately resign his post, but it may give him something to think about the next time he opens his archepiscopal mouth to make ignorant comparisons. People expect more tolerance and compassion from the spiritual leader of a million people- at least I do- so I signed it. Because I also think Jesus would have expected better, too.

If you agree, sign the petition here.

Oh, and have a very Merry Christmas. Because it’s still all about love and redemption- even when the leaders don’t represent.