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Local Muckracker Passes Judgement on Upcoming Bishop: MN Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:48 am (GMT -5) Nick Coleman: Future archbishop's compassion stops short when it comes to gays Nick Coleman, Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/ John Nienstedt, Coadjutor Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, has been quoted as saying he believes homosexuality is the result of some kind of childhood trauma. Today, he is inflicting trauma of his own. That's the opinion of many Catholic friends and relatives of gay and lesbian people in the Twin Cities. They say they have been wounded and angered by comments Nienstedt made about homosexuals in the Nov. 15 edition of The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the archdiocese. "Those who actively encourage or promote homosexual ! acts or such activity within a homosexual lifestyle formally cooperate in a grave evil," wrote Nienstedt, who is scheduled to succeed retiring Archbishop Harry Flynn in May. "If they do so knowingly and willingly, [they] are guilty of mortal sin." Nienstedt went on to set three conditions for such church members to receive communion: They must experience a "conversion of heart," express "sorrow for their action" and receive absolution from a priest. His views, a church spokesman said, merely reflect Catholic teachings as delineated in The Catechism of the Catholic Church which also requires individual homosexuals to be accepted with "respect, compassion and sensitivity." The catechism, in my reading, says homosexual acts cannot be approved but does not label them a "grave evil." Homosexuals, like all baptized persons, are "called to chastity." But somehow, the sins of homosexuals always get denounced before the sins of straight people. And if gays! must be accepted with compassion and respect, those qualities! seem no tably missing from Nienstedt's statement. "He's the only archbishop in the country to put this aggressive of a spin on Catholic teaching," says Mary Lynn Murphy of Catholic Rainbow Parents. "We knew he was very conservative, but people had hoped that he wanted to bring people together. Then, right out of the chute, he fired this cannon. It's extreme talk, and it gives license not just to homophobia but even to violence. This bishop says gays are 'evil.'" Dennis McGrath, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said Nienstedt's comments were not aimed at families of gays, or at individual homosexuals. "It was about the sin, the activity -- not the person," McGrath said. "He didn't mean you must stop loving your child. But if you say, 'Why don't you go hit the gay bars tonight? ...' He was talking about those who encourage or promote homosexual activities, like a pornographer might." But as Nienstedt prepares to succeed Flynn, who tried to steer a l! ess confrontational course, gay Catholics and their families are feeling more and more isolated. "It's getting worse and worse," says Brian McNeill of Dignity Twin Cities, a group of gay Catholics who have been pushing for acceptance in the church. "They want us to go away, to make the church so hostile for the gay and lesbian community that we won't want to be there anymore. "And it is working." Vigil planned Maybe so, but McNeill and other members of the extended GLBT family in the church aren't giving up yet. This Sunday, they plan to hold a 2 p.m. vigil on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Paul to demonstrate against Nienstedt's comments, and to deliver an open letter to the Chancery, across Summit Avenue from the Cathedral. For Mary Lynn Murphy, who has been cursed, spat at and manhandled by good churchgoers in the past as she demonstrated on behalf of her grown gay son, it is important to speak up and show u! p. "It is a human right to express your sexuality," says Murphy, who met last week with Catholic parents of gays who were in tears over Nienstedt's statements on homosexuality. "They are being tormented by a church that is driving a wedge between parent and child," Murphy said. "They believe they are being asked to choose between loving their church and loving their child. And they are furious. For the most prominent religious leader in the state to use that kind of language, well, it brings shame on him." Nick Coleman • ncoleman@startribune.com _________________ nemo se tradere tenetur

Pat Robertson Endorses Giuliani Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:07 am (GMT -5) Pat Robertson Endorsement Sparks Backlash Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:57 PM By: Tom Squitieri Article Font Size When the Rev. Pat Robertson endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the presidency, he created a schism among evangelical Republicans – one that may cost the GOP the White House next year. Since Robertson, the founder of the influential 700 Club, stood with Giuliani at a joint press conference on Nov. 7, a major backlash has been under way in the evangelical community over the endorsement. "It is my pleasure to announce my support for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said during the news conference in Washington, D.C. Robertson, himself a former presidential candidate who ran on a staunchly pro-family platform in 1988, has bewildered Christian conservatives by backing Giuliani, a staunch supporter of abortion and gay rights. "This is the final straw. It is just bizarre," Steve Scheffler, head of the Iowa Christian Alliance, told Newsmax. Scheffler's organization split from Robertson's Christian Coalition just over a year ago. "It's going to hurt him," Scheffler says. "For years and years he talked about what issues are important. This makes a mockery of it all. It is a complete betrayal to our movement. It's a disgrace." Scheffler, who worked on Robertson's 1988 presidential campaign in Iowa, says he and many others in the evangelical movement feel betrayed. While many leading Christians like Dr. James Dobson have remained silent and refrained from directly criticizing Robertson, they have made clear they will not support Giuliani, even if he wins the Republican nomination. But dozens of grass-roots Christian leaders are fuming over Robertson's move. Michael Cromartie, director of the Evangelicals and Civic Life Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, says the Giuliani endorsement was "past Mr. Robertson being the pragmatic politician." Cromartie tells Newsmax: "He is not taken seriously. For the religious conservative movement, it has moved on. Mr. Robertson is important only as a curiosity to the mainstream media. I don't know anybody in the evangelical [movement] who is sitting around saying 'I am going to wait for what Pat does.'" The backlash against Robertson started even as the first reports surfaced that he was backing a candidate at odds with core evangelical beliefs. The blogs lit up. "Pat Robertson has sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver," said one blogger. "Shame on Pat Robertson," wrote another. The Web site RFFM.org blasted Robertson for sacrificing "many of the issues he claimed to fight for in his attempt to, once again, bask in the public limelight. Robertson seems willing to overlook all of these 'flaws' within the former New York Mayor's political character, in order to do what?" Robertson insisted his endorsement was aimed at a movement among some evangelicals to support a third-party candidate if Giuliani becomes the Republican nominee. But that rationale only deepened the ire of many. Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, led a protest against Robertson at the headquarters of the Christian Broadcasting Network on Nov. 10. "Mr. Roberson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani is a betrayal of the unborn children Pat Robertson is sworn to protect, and treachery of the highest order against the Gospel Mr. Robertson professes to believe," Terry said in a statement. Wiley Drake, former vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said Robertson sold out the pro-family community. Drake encouraged people to call the Christian Broadcast Network "and let them know that until Pat Robertson repents and comes back to the Lord, we will not listen to The 700 Club and we will not make any donations to The 700 Club." This is not the first storm of controversy that has engulfed Robertson. He raised hackles by declaring God may have caused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to have a stroke as punishment for giving up the Gaza Strip. Robertson had to apologize for saying that the United States should assassinate President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela for his anti-American views. He has suggested that God sent Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans to punish the United States for its acceptance of abortion. But with these controversies, Robertson kept his base – Christian evangelicals who saw him as one leader willing to take on the liberal media and unabashedly proclaim his fundamentalist religion. The Giuliani endorsement, however, appears to be beyond the pale. Others suggest that Robertson's influence has waned dramatically in recent years. "Someone has to matter to have a backlash," Dennis Goldford, Drake University political science professor, tells Newsmax. "I don't see him as much of a factor anymore. He has receded to the point of making enough comments that are strange or bizarre, so outside of his particular strong support area nobody pays him much attention." Still, Goldford says outrage should be expected, especially from those who once believed in the purity of Robertson's message. "For purists, if you are not with them 100 percent of the time, you are their enemy," he says. "It's always been a problem. "Politics had been immoral; there should be more attention to principle and values. So they got active and thought there ought to be less compromise. But politics is about compromise and negotiation." Still, Giuliani may benefit from the Robertson endorsement. "For Giuliani, this is an unalloyed plus among Republicans," Larry Sabato, one of the nation's premier political scientists, tells Newsmax. Sabato, whose most recent book is "A More Perfect Constitution," explains that the endorsement is "a symbol, a stamp of acceptability, a laying on of the hands in language that says, 'he'll do.'" Sabato says the headlines themselves accomplished Giuliani's goal. © 2007 Newsmax. All rights reserved. _________________ nemo se tradere tenetur

Did his past come back to haunt him? Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:46 am (GMT -5) Did his past come back to haunt him? Stockton bishop loses bid for chairmanship of committee on child protection after sex-abuse survivors group registers protest California Catholic Daily November 28, 2007 http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=de556cee-1cf9-482a-b9c8-c47d9743b938 Stockton Bishop Stephen Blaire failed to win the chairmanship of the U.S. bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People -- though he has served on the committee for several years. Instead, at their semi-annual meeting in Baltimore on Nov. 20, 130 U.S. bishops voted to give the committee chairmanship to Bishop Blaise Cupich of Rapid City, South Dakota. Blaire, who is also president of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, received the support of 101 bishops. Blaire's candidacy to head the committee, which is tasked with developing policies dealing with clergy abuse of minors, was opposed by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which describes itself as a "volunteer self-help organization of survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters." SNAP opposed Blaire in part because he had wanted a California law that removed the statute of limitations of one year in cases of sexual abuse of minors to be overturned, according to the Nov. 14 Stockton Daily Record. The state law in question removed for 2003 the statute of limitations both in criminal and civil cases involving sexual abuse. In June 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that removing the statute of limitations in criminal cases was unconstitutional. The court's ruling did not affect civil cases. In an Oct. 16, 2003 letter to California bishops, SNAP said it was "deeply troubled by recent legal maneuvers by one of your colleagues to overturn California's new child sex abuse law." Blaire, said the letter, "is challenging the constitutionality of this law." SNAP criticized Blaire as well for his handling of the case of defrocked priest Oscar Pelaez. In 2001, Blaire learned of allegations that Pelaez, a priest of the Stockton diocese, had molested a 14-year old boy at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock in 1997. Blaire immediately suspended Pelaez, according to a March 6, 2003 Stockton Daily Record story and sent him to a medical facility on the East Coast -- but he did not report the incident to civil authorities. Blaire told the Record that, because the victim was an adult when he alleged the abuse, the diocese saw no need to report it. Blaire said his critics "made an issue about not reporting. We had no [legal] obligation to report." The victim's therapist, however, reported Pelaez to authorities, and in the summer of 2002, the priest pleaded no contest to 12 counts of child molestation and was sentenced to 40 months at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione. The Stockton diocese settled with Pelaez's victim in 2002 for $1 million. The diocese agreed to the settlement, Blaire told the Record, because of "the uncertainty involved in what would be litigated." Stockton diocese's spokeswoman Sister Terry Davis told the Nov. 16 Record that, under Blaire, the diocese has instituted sexual abuse policies in compliance with U.S. Bishops' Conference directives. These include suspension of a priest from ministry during an investigative period and turning all information over to law enforcement.

"Just go find another parish" Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:44 am (GMT -5) "Just go find another parish" Controversial poster promoting parish carnival leads to discord at Hollywood church California Catholic Daily November 28, 2007 http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=23a757a2-a0b2-4098-9635-40321b399b03 A poster promoting a 2006 parish carnival at Hollywood's Blessed Sacrament Church has provoked a series of escalating problems – to the point that some parishioners have asked the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to reign in their pastor. Parishioner Larry Bugbee, spokesman for the "Committee of Hundreds of Parishioners and Friends" of Blessed Sacrament parish, says that their pastor, Fr. Michael Mandala, S.J., has promoted indecent entertainment at the last two parish carnivals, which included scantily-clad dancers making sexually suggestive movements in front of an audience of all ages. The committee's foremost complaint is over a poster promoting the 2006 carnival, which prominently displayed photographs of scantily clad women in suggestive poses. When a similar poster was circulated for the 2007 carnival, Fr. Mandala told one parishioner, "It's not as bad as last year's." According to the Los Angeles archdiocese's document Respecting the Boundaries, "sexual abuse can include… showing sexually suggestive objects or pornography." Bugbee says the carnival poster fits that description. "All the children of Blessed Sacrament Parish were able to see this poster inside and outside the Church and school buildings," he said. "Any child and any adult anywhere in the world was able to look at this poster for most of a year on the Blessed Sacrament website." Copies of the 2006 poster have been hand-delivered to Cardinal Roger Mahony, as well as his Vicar for Clergy, the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board and the director of Safeguard the Children for the Archdiocese. In March 2007, a detailed letter was delivered to the same people, as well as to the Jesuit provincial. One of the signers of the letter was a former prioress of the Monastery of the Angels, a cloistered Dominican nun who lives near the parish. Neither Cardinal Mahony nor anyone else from the Archdiocese has responded to the letter, Bugbee said. During the 2006 carnival, parishioner Russell Brown came out of church after Mass to find several men whistling. He witnessed a female performer shaking her breasts, then her buttocks onstage. Before the 2007 carnival, the committee persuaded associate pastor Fr. Wayne Negrete to ask Fr. Mandala to do three things: (1) Throw away the posters or cut the offensive photo from them; (2) Write a letter to the entertainers giving them a clear code of conduct for the event; and (3) Appoint monitors from within the parish to ask entertainers to stop any sexually explicit behavior onstage if it should occur. Instead, says Bugbee, Fr. Mandala ignored their requests. With 2,900 families registered at the parish, Bugbee says thousands of children and teens were exposed to the posters and entertainment. Bugbee says he has incurred Fr. Mandala's wrath for taking a stand. On Oct. 23, 2006, Fr. Mandala, flanked by security guards, snatched posters from Bugbee's hands when Bugbee was cleaning up after the carnival, he said. One guard, Isabel Avina, shouted, "Get the hell out of here!" according to Bugbee. Bugbee says he responded by asking Fr. Mandala if he thought any employee should talk to any parishioner that way. One week later, Mandala arranged for and supervised the towing of Bugbee's car from the Church parking lot after Mass. The pastor also threatened to take out a restraining order against Bugbee, Bugbee said. For his part, Fr. Mandala says there is no committee of hundreds. "It's just Larry Bugbee, and he's a one-man show," said Fr. Mandala, who also says the posters were not inappropriate. "His read on the posters is very far off," said Fr. Mandala. "We've shown them to legal counsel for the archdiocese, the provincial for the [Jesuit] order. He's trying to tell the church, social services and every other administration how they should be running things. Even [Auxiliary] Bishop [Edward] Clark wrote him a letter saying to just go find another parish." Fr. Mandala also has a different take on the allegations of assault and illegal towing. "He (Bugbee) was in front of the church, waving these posters, saying something like, 'Look what they do around here' to this terrified woman," said Fr. Mandala. "We told him to get out of here and the security guard reinforced that. Sure we had his car towed away. He was selling things here – pamphlets -- out of the back of his car. We told him that this was absolutely forbidden. He left his car here on private property and took off. At some point I was told we had a car in the lot that didn't belong and I had it towed just like I would anybody else." Bugbee laughed when asked to respond to Fr. Mandala's explanations. "There was a lady on the church porch and I was showing her the poster, but that was before he came," said Bugbee. "She wasn't terrorized. The only thing that's true is that years ago, I offered subscriptions to Magnificat to a few -- very few --interested people in the parish. He keeps dragging that up and it was years ago. This is beyond belief. It's downright pitiful. When we sent that ten page letter to the diocese, we had literally dozens of signatures on it. We would have had hundreds, but that takes a lot of time and we needed to get the letter off."

Teen Life Mass Priest leads service despite suspension Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:30 am (GMT -5) Priest leads service despite sex-case suspension Jim Walsh The Arizona Republic Nov. 28, 2007 http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1127fushek1128.html A Roman Catholic priest awaiting trial on misdemeanor sex charges broke the rules of his administrative suspension by leading a non-denominational service in Mesa on Thanksgiving Day and faces possible punishment. Monsignor Dale Fushek, who once was second in command at the Diocese of Phoenix, was placed on administrative leave in December 2004, after he was accused in a civil suit of watching while another priest had sex with a boy. Fushek was ordered not to function as a priest or in any other form of public ministry. "He's not supposed to engage in public ministry. It doesn't matter if he is acting as a priest," said Jim Dwyer, diocese spokesman. "They are in conversations with him about his status as a priest. Obviously, what he did Thursday may affect his status as a priest." The diocese might not punish Fushek if he agrees to not participate in any more services, but "if he continues to oppose the directives, we'll see what happens," Dwyer said. Fushek and Mark Dippre, a former Catholic priest, launched the Praise and Worship Center with a mailing address in Chandler and led a non-denominational service at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel in downtown Mesa. Dippre served as associate pastor at St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Mesa from 1995 to 2000, acting as Fushek's assistant. Fushek served as pastor at St. Timothy's for 20 years and launched Life Teen, a national ministry for Catholic teenagers. Fushek was indicted in November 2005. The misdemeanor sex charges stem from his relationship with five teenage boys between 1984 and 1993 at St. Timothy. Fushek is accused in the indictment of engaging in explicit conversations about sex with the boys, inviting one into his bed and into a hot tub, "kissing and snuggling" the boys, and exposing himself to a boy. San Tan Justice of the Peace Sam Goodman granted Fushek a jury trial on an indecent-exposure charge, but ruled that sexual-exploitation-of-a-minor and assault charges would be handled in a bench trial. Fushek appealed Goodman's ruling on the bench trial, requesting a jury trial on all counts because prosecutors are seeking a court order requiring him to register as a sex offender if convicted. The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal but has not set a date. The diocese eventually settled the civil suit out of court in December 2006, for $100,000. Dwyer said Dippre left the priesthood in 2002 to get married. He had been pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Tempe. The diocese had heard that Fushek might conduct a service but wasn't sure if he was going to follow through, Dwyer said. "I believe there was a reminder" from the diocese to Fushek that he was not supposed to participate in public ministry under the terms of his administrative leave, Dwyer said. Dwyer said the church has been paying Fushek "sustenance" for nearly three years, as required by church law for suspended priests, but would not divulge Fushek's salary. "It's a private matter between him and the church," Dwyer said. Fushek did not return calls made to a representative of the Praise and Worship Center. The center's Web site said that the next service is planned for Dec. 23 at the Mesa Convention Center. Bob Huhn, a Mesa spokesman, said the religious organization has a reservation for the Dec. 23 service but has not signed a contract. He said the rental fee would be up to $1,200. The center's Web site said services are neither Catholic nor Protestant. But is indicated they are for "people who are searching for something to supplement their own spiritual journeys." It says the center would focus on "unconditional love, acceptance of each person in a non-judgmental way, the centrality of Christ's message of love and forgiveness, and the teachings of the Gospel." Dwyer said the diocese does not support Fushek's actions. A statement from Vicar General Fred Adamson said the service is not Catholic and encouraged Catholics to attend Mass. Adamson declined interview requests.

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