Each week, Queerty picks one blowhard, hypocrite, airhead, sanctimonious prick or other enemy of all that is queer to be the Douche of the Week.
Have a nominee for DOTW? E-mail it to us at [email protected].
We’ve given Douche of the Week awards to individuals, to groups—heck we even gave it to the Republican presidential nominees once. But we’re pretty sure this is the first time we’ve presented the esteemed award to a Catholic diocese.
Good thing we’re going to hell anyway.
How about we take this to the next level?
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The Diocese of Sacramento, CA, announced it was pulling its funding from Francis House, a nonprofit providing services to the homeless, because its director, Rev. Faith Whitmore, made public her support of marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose.
Now we haven’t heard back from Francis House, but we’re pretty sure they don’t perform marriages or abortions there. So even though those things aren’t in line with Catholic doctrine, they really don’t have anything to do with tending to the needy, which we’re pretty sure the Son of God was big on.
In a letter, Rev. Michael Kiernan, the diocese’s social services director, said it was “impossible for the diocese to continue funding Francis House.”
Francis House is one of the largest homeless-services nonprofits in the region, with a budget of $500,000 and some 25,000 clients. For the past twenty years, it’s received between $7,500 and $10,000 from the diocese. But according to Kiernan’s missive, it was dropping coal in Francis House’s stocking because of Whitmore, an ordained United Methodist minister.
In its letter to Whitmore, the Sacramento diocese said it respects the work Francis House does and cannot expect every organization it supports financially to “actively promote Catholic teaching.”
“We can expect, however, that they or their leaders not publicly oppose Catholic teaching and that, unfortunately, is the situation in which we find ourselves,” the letter reads.
Well, we’re pretty sure Methodists don’t believe the Pope is the ultimate authority on religious matters, so wouldn’t Whitmore be “opposing Catholic teachings” by even telling anyone she’s a pastor in the United Methodist Church?
Whitmore, who came in as director after the sudden death of longtime head Gregory Bunker, says the loss of the Church’s donation isn’t devastating but that any cuts hurt in this economy. Thankfully, Francis House is standing behind her. According to the Kansas Star:
“She had some big shoes to fill at Francis House, and she has done that very well,” said Francis House board member Michael Miiller. “We serve the poor. We don’t have a litmus test for homeless people when they come in. We don’t ask them for their position on choice and gay marriage. We just help them. But for whatever reason, the diocese made those issues a higher priority than the mission.”
The Sacramento diocese is engaging in blackmail—which isn’t one of the Ten Commandments, but is still really, really bad.
All together now: What a bunch of douches!
Photo via Red Level Construction
Cam
It’s simple, they hate more than they care.
And their hatred of gays has become much more important to them than any charitable outreach for the church.
Kinda destroys that lie of theirs that they only hate the sin…not the sinner doesn’t it?
dsp
@Cam: +100
Bil
Once again the Catholic Church flaunts it’s messed up thinking. Pedophile priest’s abusing kids? Sure that’s fine just cover it up and relocate the offender. Like the gays? NO WAY! This has always been their history and it will never stop. I’m talking about the Vatican and it’s cronies. I was raised Catholic and chose not to follow their f****d up belief system.
Queer Supremacist
My ex-BF was raised a Catholic by a family that fucked him up seven ways from Sunday, but is surprisingly tolerant of him being gay. He rejected Catholicism, but he was still fucked up enough for me to leave him.
If we taxed all anti-gay churches, synagogues and mosques we might just raise enough money to close the deficit AND pay off the national debt.
Hyhybt
“Well, we’re pretty sure Methodists don’t believe the Pope is the ultimate authority on religious matters, so wouldn’t Whitmore be “opposing Catholic teachings” by even telling anyone she’s a pastor in the United Methodist Church?”
Or, for that matter, by her being a pastor at all. BIG no-no for women, at least according to Catholicism.
Box Turtle Bulletin’s piece on this is also well worth a read.
Wet4U
If you think of toleration as a as a growing element, a trend; the Catholic church has grown a lot since the inquisition hasn’t it?
Bill
It’s a shame the church can’t act in a Christian way
Kurt
You can be a perfectly consservative Catholic opposed to abortion and gay rights. Nevertheless, you would be well advised to consider what Someone once said before you will not help the homeless because it involves working with a person not part of your faith:
Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Hyhybt
@Kurt: Technically, we’re not told the background of either the victim or the innkeeper 🙂
But the story does seem to apply.
GayGOP
So, let me get this straight…This woman is a United Methodist pastor who is not anti-abortion, and who is pro-gay. The Catholic Church had been supporting her ministry for years, but pulled it this year based on abortion and gays, but NOT her being a cleric in a Protestant Christian religion.
The lack of logic is totally astounding. I consider myself pro-life, but if I had any money to give, I definitely would give it to this place. It does good work, whether or not the head supports abortion. It’s not an abortion mill, so why shouldn’t I back it?
Jim Hlavac
The Catholic Church is technically a foreign country that operates embassies (aka Dioceses,) and is a political action group, as well as engages in diplomatic relations with this nation: ergo it and all its employees are illegally operating within the USA by not registering each and every lobbyist (aka its priests, bishops, cardinals, nuns, etc,) in its employ as foreign nationals lobbing for political reasons within our nation. Time to make them register their employees for what they are — agents of a foreign nation, and one aiming to destroy the USA’s long noted tolerance for all religions.
Curtis
@GayGOP:
Umm maybe because the Catholic Archdiocese of Minneapolis & St. Paul and the Catholic Dioceses of New Ulm contributed $700,000 last year to support an anti-gay Minnesota constitutional amendment.
This is one minor event. Please do your research.
Google is good.