Zeek	Sick Enough for Religion Jay Michaelson Zeek, NY - 30 minutes ago What are these needs that spirituality (as distinct from religion) is being asked to fill? For a start, let's recognize that it's not spirituality in …

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Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:16 pm (GMT -5)
Greece may allow same-sex marriages

13:24 | 31/ 03/ 2008

© 2007 RIA Novosti

old version

ATHENS, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Greek authorities are considering adopting a law that would allow same-sex couples to marry in a civil ceremony, the country’s NET TV said on Monday.

The Greek Justice Ministry pledged to establish a working group on the rights of gay couples living together, which would "analyze all aspects of the issue, international practice and the existing domestic legal and social framework.

The move follows a request by the country’s National Commission for Human Rights that proposed a civil union registry that would allow both same-sex couples to marry.

Parliament could approve the law in a few months, national media said

The current 1982 marriage law does not specify the gender of the groom and the bride. However, civil authorities refuse to marry same-sex couples. They say the move could result in a number of further legal difficulties, including the issue of adoption by gay couples.

The Greek Orthodox Church, which strongly opposes same-sex marriages, called the possibility a "catastrophic bomb" which threatened Greek society.

Modern Greece is a largely conservative society, strongly influenced by the dominant church. Civil marriages became legal just 15 years ago, while most Greeks still prefer a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony.

The first Gay Pride parade in Greece was held in 2005.

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Original post by mattpruett@faith-net.net (Faith Community Church of Canton NC) and software by Elliott Back

Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:07 pm (GMT -5)


Rev. Wright and Fr. Michael Pfleger

Rev. Jeremiah Wright delivers blessing at Chicago Catholic church

Chicago, Mar 31, 2008 / 06:26 pm (CNA).- Senator Barack Obama’s controversial former spiritual adviser, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, made a surprise appearance at a Catholic church on the South Side of Chicago on Friday night. During the visit, the pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church praised Wright and asked him to deliver a blessing for the church’s lecture series, CBS2 Chicago reports.

Wright, who was Senator Obama’s mentor for twenty years, became the center of controversy after clips of his sermons condemning America were posted on the internet.

Senator Obama, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency, has distanced himself from Wright’s remarks. Wright’s visit to St. Sabina’s was reportedly his first public appearance since the controversy over his remarks began.

According to CBS2 newscaster Diann Burns, the crowd at St. Sabina parish, though surprised by Wright’s appearance, was “quick to show their support.”

The church’s pastor, Father Michael Pfleger, publicly welcomed Wright to the event. “We love you. We praise God for you,” the priest said to Wright. In later interviews with the press, the priest defended Wright from criticism.

Father Pfleger had invited Wright to the church’s African-American Speaker Series, which featured writer and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou.

Father Pfleger explained to CBS2 the reason for Wright’s invitation.

“I wanted him to come tonight as a guest because he loves Dr. Angelou, and I wanted him to see the love of people for him,” he said. “And so when I asked him about coming, he said he’d be honored to come. And it was a blessing for us to have him here.”

According to CBS2, Reverend Wright did not speak about Senator Obama at the event, but gave a blessing to the congregation. After the blessing, Wright went to a nearby office where dozens of people lined up to greet him.

The church’s pastor has praised Senator Barack Obama’s presidential run. The Obama campaign’s website identifies Father Michael Pfleger as the senior pastor at St. Sabina Church.

The priest is quoted as saying, “I’m concerned by issues of poverty and issues of justice and equal access and opportunity especially when dealing with children and education and healthcare. Also, the war in Iraq is non-negotiable: end it! The faith community has to be a prophetic voice to bring us to where we ought to be as a country. Its voice should call every individual to be their best and not assimilate into anything less. Obama is calling back those who have given up and lost hope in the political system both young and old in the belief that we can fix it. He has the intellect for the job and I haven’t heard anyone since Robert F. Kennedy who is causing such an emotional and spiritual awakening to the political possibilities.”

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Father Pfleger has called recent criticism of Wright “shameful.”

"I wanted him to come here so he could see that people really stand with him and support him while he’s under all this attack," Father Pfleger said on Saturday, the Sun-Times reports. "America, unfortunately, has been really cheated of knowing the real Dr. Wright."

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Original post by mattpruett@faith-net.net (Faith Community Church of Canton NC) and software by Elliott Back

Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:06 pm (GMT -5)
St. Mary’s home to conflicting views

Flap over female referee is just latest in a string of controversies tied to St. Mary’s Academy and College

By Jan Biles

The Capital-Journal

Published Sunday, March 30, 2008

Five months ago, Charles Baylor severed his ties with St. Mary’s Academy and College in St. Marys. He agreed with the academy’s traditionalist Catholic beliefs, attended its Latin Masses and was a member of its St. Joseph Businessmen’s Association.

But things changed.

Baylor said he made the mistake of hosting a fundraiser for Congresswoman Nancy Boyda’s re-election campaign on Oct. 20, 2007, in his St. Marys apartment. Although he is against abortion and disagrees with Boyda on that issue, he shares her views on the Iraq war and the NAFTA super highway.

Parishioners became incensed when they learned he was supporting Boyda and organized a protest that drew from 15 to 25 people outside his apartment the day of the fundraiser, he said. The protestors included parishioners as well as other St. Marys residents.

"People wanted to lynch me," he said.

At first, he said, the Rev. Vincente Griego, rector at St. Mary’s Academy, wasn’t upset over the fundraiser and even called the uproar a "Phariseeical scandal."

"But the day before the fundraiser his tone had changed," Baylor said.

When he talked to Griego again, he said, "it was clear he thought I was wrong." In the course of their discussion, Baylor offered to not attend Mass anymore at the academy. He said Griego didn’t argue with the suggestion.

"My interpretation was I was no longer welcome at the parish," he said.

Baylor said some parishioners later told him if he made a public apology and renounced his actions, he could probably get back into the parish.

He didn’t.

Baylor said he was surprised and disappointed when St. Mary’s Academy and his church friends turned on him. He had moved from his home in Nebraska to St. Marys in June 2001 to become a part of the parish after members told him about the traditionalist views promoted there.

"I thought, ‘They’re kicking me out of the parish (when) I moved down here for the parish," he said.

Attempts to reach Griego for comment were unsuccessful.

Baylor, who relocated to Topeka, now attends Latin Masses at St. Joseph’s Church in Topeka.

The academy’s core

St. Mary’s Academy and College, established in 1978, is owned and operated by the Society of St. Pius X, headquartered in Platte City, Mo. The society was founded in 1970 in France by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in the late 1980s because he opposed the liturgical reforms and doctrinal teachings of Vatican II.

The private, nonaccredited Catholic school, which sits on 465 acres on the east side of town, had an enrollment of 50 students in grades K-12 and 60 students in its two-year college in 2003. The academy’s Web site states the parish had grown to include "2,450 souls" by that year.

St. Mary’s Academy is conservative in its views and teachings. For example, female parishioners are instructed to dress modestly in long skirts and long sleeves. Boys and girls attend separate classes and are to have little, if any, interaction with each other on or off its campus.

Nearly half of the population of St. Marys — about 1,250 people — have ties to St. Mary’s Academy. Most of the parishioners have moved into the small community from other towns across the United States. A small number have married people outside of the parish. Many have set up successful businesses.

Joseph Trummer, who owns Tully’s Pub, moved to St. Marys 19 years ago with his wife and two children from an area near Lake Placid, N.Y. They made the move because they heard about St. Mary’s Academy and liked its curriculum and "moral-based atmosphere."

Since then, Trummer said, the family has grown to include seven children, who are now home-schooled because the academy’s fees exceed their budget.

The Trummers continue to attend Mass at the academy and accept the guidance Griego gives them in and outside of the church, he said.

A while back, Trummer had booked a blues band to play at his pub. The advertisement for the band included language that Griego found objectionable. The priest sought out Trummer to discuss the matter.

"The priests, being pastors of our souls, they’re just concerned," he said. "I don’t see anything wrong with that."

The Society of St. Pius X and St. Mary’s Academy are not in full communion — good standing — with the mainstream Roman Catholic Church, according to Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan.

While the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the validity of the Eucharist performed at the academy, Naumann said, "We question the validity of confessions and marriages because they have to have the approval of the appropriate bishop who has jurisdiction for the area, which is me.

"My desire would be to bring all of them back into full communion," he continued, "but the leaders at St. Mary’s don’t accept my authority."

In the news

St. Mary’s Academy has made its share of headlines over the years. Here are a few found in The Topeka Capital-Journal archives:

• March 1993: After he and 15 families of about 93 people broke away from the academy, the Rev. John Rizzo said he received a death threat from a caller who said, "If you come near us, you are a dead priest." After the threat, a $1 million life insurance policy was taken out on Rizzo.

Rizzo was ordained a priest in the Society of St. Pius X in 1985. He left the order and St. Mary’s Academy in the spring of 1993 because he felt "there was something sick or dysfunctional taking place there."

He continued to say Mass, often in vacant downtown buildings, for anyone who wished to attend. In late March, police said someone used super glue to fill the locks of the doors at a community center where Rizzo was to say Mass for the breakaway followers.

"The Society is losing its credibility," Rizzo said at that time. "There are people — professional, educated people — who are observing these things, such as the denouncing of people from the pulpit and the denying of sacraments. Intimidation is one of the worst tools. There is no room for that in a Catholic community."

Rizzo guided the 15 Catholic families in establishing a traditional chapel and school in Maple Hill, now part of the St. John Vianney Latin Mass Community, which is in good standing with the mainstream Roman Catholic Church.

• May 1995: Federal agents questioned three St. Marys residents but found no evidence linking them to the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. The FBI agents were looking for information on John Doe 2, an unidentified man thought to be involved in the bombing on April 19, 1995.

The FBI was looking into activities of homegrown militia groups and reportedly conducted interviews with three staff members at St. Mary’s Academy and College. Local law enforcement said no apparent link was found between the academy and the bombing.

• June 1997: St. Marys Police Chief Howard Bishop had a Texas arrest warrant for former St. Marys resident Richard Keyes III, a member of the Republic of Texas separatist movement who had fled into the mountains after a standoff with law authorities. Keyes was being sought on two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity.

The Rev. Ramon Angles, the rector at St. Mary’s Academy at the time, told the newspaper the Keyes family was among 20 families who joined a "breakaway group" he described as "militant."

"The Freemen types, all that militant mentality was floating around this town and in that group," Angles said. "It is total nuts, the conspiracies, the militias, the too much government and too much taxes. I tried from the pulpit to bring sanity to all this nonsense. It’s harmful, it’s anti-Christian, and it’s not wanted.

"But (the Keyes family) was antagonistic toward what I was doing. First, they pulled their children out of school, then they left the church."

Referee controversy

St. Mary’s Academy was back in the spotlight recently when academy officials told Michelle Campbell she couldn’t officiate a boys basketball game at their school because she was a woman.

Campbell and two male referees walked off the court at that Feb. 2 game, resulting in national media coverage that ranged from "Good Morning America" to The Washington Post.

The incident was reported to the Kansas State High School Activities Association, and the implementation of a policy that would prohibit its member and approved schools from discriminating against referees was placed on the agenda of its March 11 executive board meeting.

Although representatives of the academy chose not to attend that meeting, they weren’t silent about possible action taken by KSHSAA.

In a Feb. 21 letter, Griego restated the academy’s belief that training of boys and girls is best accomplished by same-sex adults who can act as role models for the children. Thus, only a man should referee a boys sporting contest.

Then he turned the tables and questioned KSHSAA’s motives for the investigation.

"Is our policy under investigation because the Association finds something fundamentally wrong with the principle of non co-education or with traditional Catholic pedagogy?" he asked. "Or does the Association feel impelled (sic) to investigate because of media pressure?"

Griego continued, "A ‘disqualification’ of our school’s participating in KSHSAA would certainly seem discriminatory. Should your judgment be negative in regards to our school, I will expect an explanation of the KSHSAA policy that directs you in your choice and that allows you to discriminate against our philosophy of education."

Musselman responded in a Feb. 29 letter that the purpose of the hearing wasn’t to evaluate the decisions made by leaders of St. Mary’s Academy or how they exercise their religion.

"In short, the hearing will not be adjudicative in nature; rather, it will pertain to rule-making," Musselman wrote.

Baylor said he wasn’t surprised by the female referee controversy.

"It reflects the puritanism that is infused in the whole parish," he said.

Jan Biles can be reached

at (785) 295-1292 or jan.biles@cjonline.com.

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Cor Immaculatum Mariae, ora pro nobis.

EENS

Original post by mattpruett@faith-net.net (Faith Community Church of Canton NC) and software by Elliott Back

Spirituality: The Next Starbucks? EVLiving - Mar 31, 2008 Are meditation and spirituality going mainstream? I hope so. Spirituality isn't just confined to the New Age movement anymore, it is undeniably migrating to …

Original post by spirituality - Google News and software by Elliott Back

Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:53 pm (GMT -5)
Hilary Clinton Rally at Erie PA Catholic College Causes Bishop to Cancel Appearance

Pro-Life Group Plans Demonstration

By John-Henry Westen

Monday March 31, 2008

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08033103.html

——————————————————————————–

ERIE, PA, March 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hillary Clinton is going to hold a campaign rally at Mercyhurst College tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1, 2008. The Catholic College boasts of the pro-abortion Senator and Presidential candidate’s appearance on its web page. LifeSiteNews.com has also learned that Erie Bishop Donald W. Trautman has cancelled his scheduled appearance at the upcoming Mercyhurst graduation ceremony in protest.

Ad on college website’s main page at http://www.mercyhurst.edu/

Tim Broderick of the pro-life group People for Life is urging "all pro-life people to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to be at Mercyhurst for a pro-life informational demonstration from 5:30 PM until 7:30 PM, Tuesday — rain or shine." Broderick is urging pro-life individuals who are unable to attend to contact the university with their concerns.

University President Thomas Gamble permitted the Clinton appearance despite a directive from the United States Conference of Bishops which specifically forbids pro-abortion politicians from such engagements.

Broderick told LifeSiteNews.com that Clinton’s appearance at the Catholic institution would "mislead the general public about Hillary and Bill Clinton’s extreme commitment to actively promoting abortion in America and around the world." Moreover, he said that it would "mislead the public in general and Catholics in particular about the Catholic Church’s very cogent recognition that abortion is precisely the murder of an innocent human being, and that establishing legal protection for the unborn is a matter of tremendous urgency."

Demonstrators are being asked to meet at the Parade Blvd. entrance to the Mercyhurst Campus. Broderick will be on hand with picket signs from 4 PM.

"We are hoping the Erie Catholic Diocese will be able to force a cancellation of this event," said Broderick.

To politely express concerns contact:

Dr. Thomas J. Gamble

President of Mercyhurst College

Main 111

Office: (814) 824-2311

Fax: (814) 824-3333

E-mail: tgamble@mercyhurst.edu

Sue Johnson

Administrative Assistant to President Gamble

Main 111

Office: (814) 824-2311

Fax: (814) 824-3333

Email: sjohnson@mercyhurst.edu

Original post by mattpruett@faith-net.net (Faith Community Church of Canton NC) and software by Elliott Back

The Therapist's Notebook for Integrating Spirituality in … Psychiatric Services (subscription) - 43 minutes ago Despite this, spiritual concerns typically receive short shrift in psychotherapeutic education and are often looked at as potential clinical quicksand, …

Original post by spirituality - Google News and software by Elliott Back

Tranquility in remembrance The New Nation, Bangladesh - 4 minutes ago The Qur'anic stories of the Prophets offer us a reminder and an emotional connection towards the spirituality that Muslims strive for. …

Original post by spirituality - Google News and software by Elliott Back

Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:35 pm (GMT -5)

"Stop these abortions.”

March 29, 2008

Categories: Barack Obama

Ben Smith

Out in western Pennsylvania, the issue of abortion can strike a nerve. Democrats there often describe themselves economic liberals and social conservatives who favor gun rights and oppose abortion rights.

So, it was not unusual to see a woman stand near the end of Barack Obama’s town hall meeting in Johnstown, Penn., and offer a hurried, passionate plea for him to "stop these abortions."

The ability of politicians like Obama to thread the needle between their own support of abortion rights and their constituents’ opposition can be deteminative in Pennsylvania. And Obama, who supports abortion rights, handled the questioner deftly.

"This is a very difficult issue, and I understand sort of the passions on both sides of the issue," he said. "I have two precious daughters — they are miracles."

But politicians must trust women to make the right decisions for themselves, he said.

"This is an example where good people can disagree," the Illinois senator said. "The question then is, are there areas that we can agree to that everybody can get behind? We can all agree that we want to reduce teen pregnancies. We can all agree that we want to make sure that adoption is a viable option."

The exchange appeared to be prompted by Obama’s earlier comments that he does not favor abstinence-only education, but rather comprehensive sexual education that includes information on abstinence and birth control.

"Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information."

By Carrie Budoff Brown 03:20 PM

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Original post by mattpruett@faith-net.net (Faith Community Church of Canton NC) and software by Elliott Back

Enter the ninja Allied News, PA - 59 minutes ago Spirituality is an important concept in Sampson’s teaching, which combines his own Christian values with the Eastern disciplines of Ninjutsu. …

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