Welcome to the Short List, where you’ll find all the news or entertainment tidbits worth digesting for the day.
On this lovely Friday here’s the breaking news you’ll need to spark discussions all weekend, from egregious Church goings-on to gays running for office.
*This weekend, LGBT groups are going to protest against Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, the way-out-of-touch priest who compared gays to the KKK. Wear a sweater, people—it’s cold! [LezGetReal]
*Remember those two terrible anti-gay bills that the Tennessee Legislature is considering? Here’s a on-point piece by Michelangelo Signorile that takes down these hypocritical measures. The title is clutch: “Don’t Say Gay”—But “Sodomite,” “Pervert” Are Fine. [HuffPo]
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
*Archbishop John C. Nienstedt (right), Minnesota’s head-priestess-in-charge, has put a muzzle on any priests who might express reservations about the passage of an anti-gay-marriage amendment being put to voters in November. “There ought not be open dissension on this issue,” Nienstedt wrote in a private letter to state clergy. [TAI via Progressive Catholic Voice]
*Over in Connecticut, the Catholic Church is being more sneaky in its approach to homosexuality: It’s quietly started up Courage, a Vatican-endorsed program that helps clergy “form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love.” Platonic love, guys. Platonic. [CNN]
*Last church news item, and it’s a downer: Reverend Mark Bidwell, a gay church pastor from the Detroit suburbs, overdosed on methamphetamine in his home Tuesday. Sad sad sad. [Daily Tribune]
*But horray for young queers vying for public office! Tyler Johnson (at left), a 23-year-old fellow kicked out of his house at 16 for being gay, is running for a spot on the Toronto District School Board. [Advocate]
*Right now, Mitt Romney has a 94% chance of winning the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Ron Paul has a 6% chance and “fun” candidate Rick Santorum has a 0% chance. Knowing that, Rick’s already focusing on the South Carolina primary, though his odds there are crappy too. [Five Thirty Eight]
*And finally: Mormons, Jews, guys with pets—”The 8 Best Sexy Guy Calendars Of 2012″ has something for (almost) everyone. [Jezebel]
Images via Tyler Johnson, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Toby Hudson/Alfred Handel
TASTEY GOODIES
SO SAD THAT MARK BIDWELL OVERDOSED ON METH.
TASTEY GOODIES
I WENT TO A CATHOLIC MASS FUNERAL FOR MY LATE FATHER-IN-LAW AND I FOUND IT TO BE VERY RITUALIZED AND ROBOTIC. NO FEELINGS OF SPIRITUALITY DURING THE MASS. YOU CONSTANTLY SIT DOWN, KNEEL, AND STAND. IT JUST SEEMS 2 ME THE CATHOLIC RELIGION PAYS ALOT OF LIP SERVICE DURING CHURCH. THANK GOD I HAVE ENOUGH SENSE 2 BE A UU MEMBER AND BE FREE TO EXPRESS MY OWN BRAND OF SPIRITUALITY. BUT HEY, 2 EACH IS OWN. WHATEVER IS YOUR CUP OF TEA. I JUST KNOW THAT I DETEST THAT CUP OF TEA CALLED CATHOLICISM. TOO RESTRICTIVE.
Spike
Catholic Taliban
Catholic Taliban
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Steve
Note that Cardinal George does not apologize for condemning gays.
He apologized for the _way_ that he condemned gays in this one instance.
The Cardinal, and the entire Catholic Hierarchy, continues to ask themselves the wrong questions. They are concerned with, how to condemn gay people.
They should be concerned with, how to minister to gay people.
They should ask, “How would Jesus minister to those people?”
When you ask the wrong questions, you are certain to get the wrong answers.