Browse by category
by Soulforce
REPRINT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 7, 2012
Michael Cole-Schwartz | michael.cole-schwartz@hrc.org | (202) 216-1553
Federal Appeals Court Agrees: California’s Proposition 8 Is Unconstitutional
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Discriminatory Amendment
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization – today praised the historic decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirming the August 2010 conclusion of U.S. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown) that the amendment to the California Constitution barring marriage for same-sex couples, adopted in November 2008 as Proposition 8, violates the U.S. Constitution. In a 2-1 decision authored by Judge Reinhardt, the court agreed that Proposition 8’s only purpose in denying gay and lesbian Californians the freedom to marry was anti-gay animus, something the Constitution does not permit.
(more...)
by Soulforce
Today is a time when what is right and what is wrong is overshadowed by what seems right and what seems wrong. Controversial issues deepen the difficulty for each one of us as we determine what we believe and why we believe it. The issue of gay marriage is one of these controversies that leave our society searching for answers.
It shouldn’t matter if a person is straight, homosexual or transgender. If two people find happiness, then they should be able to commit to the other person without restriction from the government.
Same-sex marriage should be legal for many reasons, such as the defined separation between religion and government, the benefits of marriage, and minority discrimination.
(more...)
by Soulforce
Live From All Saints Pasadena, Sunday, December 18, 10:15 a.m.
“The Role of Progressive Religion in the Occupy Movement”
with Serene Jones and Cornel West
Dr. Cornel West is a prolific essayist, public speaker, social activist, and major figure in African American academia. Commenting recently on his decision to return to the faculty of Union Seminary in NYC, Dr. West said that his liberal politics were formed in Progressive Baptist churches, and that Union was “the institutional expression of my core identity as a prophetic Christian.” His work exemplifies synthesis and innovation and we are honored to welcome him to the Rector’s Forum. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Seminary is a popular scholar in the fields of theology, religion and gender studies and a long-time friend of All Saints Church. Dr. Jones not only returns to the Rector’s Forum to reflect with Dr. West on the theological context of the Occupy Movement, she will be in the pulpit at both the 9:00 & 11:15 services preaching “Visceral Reckonings.” From the All Saints Forum.
Click to view!
(more...)
by Soulforce
Written By Kara Speltz and Eugene McMullan
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York addresses the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, Marylalnd November 14, 2011. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
One of the scariest things coming out of the November annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is their false claim that our religious freedom — and they claim to speak for all Catholics — is under attack. In the midst of the worst economic crisis this country has seen since the Great Depression, rather than focusing on economic inequalities the bishops have created a bogus distraction, hoping to move the Catholic electorate to the right.
Oakland’s “Catholic Voice” recently carried a lead story stating that our religious freedom is at risk. Many of us ordinary Catholics think that while our religious freedom is not now at risk, it could be put at risk if the hierarchy continues to bring scandal to the church by its handling of the sex abuse crisis, its contempt for the laity, and its shady interventions in U.S. politics (Prop 8 for example). (http://tinyurl.com/7nrw6ls)
The days of the persecuted Catholic Church in America are over, as the country is no longer dominated by Protestants. There is not even a single Protestant left on the Supreme Court, which is now comprised entirely of Catholics and Jews. The bishops are using the defense of religious freedom as an excuse and/or mask for their prejudice and discrimination.
Their real goal is to have Catholic dogma — as defined by them — “trump” and subvert the rights of those whose faith supports equality. Ironically the United Church of Christ, descended from the Puritans and formed when Protestantism was still dominant, supports marriage equality, while the once-persecuted Catholic Church is opposed. Who is the bully now?
The religious freedom at risk is that of persons in the UCC and other pro-equality believers, including the majority of Catholics. A UCC military chaplain, for example, is not allowed to perform a wedding of same-gender spouses in a military chapel in California.
According to the Voice article, the bishops seek to protect “the right of a private individual to deny renting an apartment to a same-sex couple on religious grounds.” The article then raises the fearful specter that a “public school teacher could be fired for refusing to talk about same-sex marriage as a justice issue.” They don’t believe this for a minute. The bishops are not ignorant people; they know exactly what they are doing with their deliberate distortions.
Their real concern is access to government funding: “A religious organization that does not recognize same-sex marriage can be considered discriminatory by a state or local government and lose any contract for services.”
Churches are already tax exempt, which frees up more of our donations to be used for anti-gay activism! Now the bishops want to secure a privileged access to taxpayer monies, while refusing to respect the rule that those who feed at the government trough must respect its definitions of civil rights.
by Soulforce
Written by Joe Perez
I am joining other leaders in the LGBT community in calling for a boycott of the Salvation Army during this holiday season, but I want to add an important qualification.
Join in a boycott of donating to the fundamentalist Christian organization during the holiday season IF you do so as a intentional practice of ethics that arises from your Unique Self. That is to say, boycott if it is the way you can most beautifully and splendidly express your inner divinity out in the world. And if a different impulse of Love arises from your perspective on the world which leads you to make a different choice, I want to respect and even applaud that impulse as well. There is no one-size-fits-all response to the Salvation Army’s red kettle.
The fundamentalist religious organization needs to hear the message that if they are going to support discrimination and gays and lesbians, there is a price to pay. But it will hear this message no matter what you or I do, as there are already thousands of individuals committed to boycotting the organization. The choice you and I make could be one of following the hordes who donate or the hordes who boycott based on spiritual beliefs or ideological principles, or we can choose based on doing what comes naturally to us when we act out of our Unique Self.
(more...)
by Haven Herrin
Some of the more anti-LGBTQ, conservative media will tell you that Wheaton’s troubles with the “homosexual agenda” started back in 2006 when the Equality Ride first visited the school. The New Amerian actually remembered a great quote from a schoolwide presentation we held there attended by 1,500 folks. In response to Wheaton’s policy that essentially made even straight allies forbidden, Ride Co-Director Jake Reitan stated to the crowd:
“It is unacceptable for an institution of higher education with a reputation like Wheaton’s to suggest that a student could not, after study, thought, and prayer, come to the conclusion that homosexuality is not a sin without risking expulsion.”
(more...)
by Soulforce
The following is in response to a September 28, 2011 article in the Windy City Times entitled Catholic Conference Creates Anti-Gay Marriage Initiative. Click Here to see Soulforce’s full updates on Roman Catholic news and updates.
Alert from Rainbow Sash Movement News
Letter to the Editor
I am writing in response to the article in the 9/28/2011 issue of the Windy City Times titled “Catholic conference creates anti-gay marriage initiative.”
It is unfortunate that the Windy City times author Kate Sosin appears not to have outreached to any Gay Catholic Organizations for input. I find it very curious given the large size of the Gay Catholic population in the city of Chicago that our voices were not included in the article.
While I appreciate what Rev. Cindi Love, the executive director of Soulforce was quoted as saying in the article. I hope it is not Rev. Cindi’s intent to speak for other faith communities when it comes to the Civil Rights of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender people such a behavior could be interpreted as being anti-Catholic.
It is true that the Illinois Catholic Conference is opposed to Gay Marriage as it was opposed to Civil Unions. In my opinion, that diversity of voices within the LGBT Community, and that includes Catholic LGBT Voices, are not dismissed just because they are Catholic.
Hopefully this was an oversight, and the Windy City Times will make a concerted effort to try to network within our LGBT Catholic Community for future articles.
Joe Murray
Executive Director
Rainbow Sash Movement
