Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Via New Civil Rights: Senator Challenges Pope To Rein In Cardinal Who Keeps Calling US Ambassador A 'F****t'

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin engaged in some international diplomacy this week to defend a gay American U.S. Ambassador.

Even before stepping on Dominican Republic soil, James "Wally" Brewster has been the target of anti-gay and ugly attacks by a Dominican Catholic Cardinal. Since his appointment as U.S. 

Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Brewster, who married his husband the same day he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden, has had to deal with homophobic attacks from the Catholic Church abroad.

Earlier this month, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez (photo) said Ambassador Brewster should focus on homemaking, because he's married to a man.

"Let him focus on housework, since he's the wife to a man," López Rodríguez told reporters after conducting mass.

In 2013, after discussing Brewster's appointment with reporters, López Rodríguez claimed the U.S.Ambassador would attempt to establish marriage for same-sex couples in the Dominican Republic. He then mockingly said we've been "talking about faggots and lesbians."

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, has had enough. 

On Tuesday he penned a letter to Pope Francis asking His Holiness to rein in his homophobic cardinal.

"Even before Ambassador Brewster’s arrival in Santo Domingo in 2013, Cardinal Rodriguez launched a personal attack against him with public statements quoted in the popular press," Sen. Durbin's letter reads.
The Cardinal used the hateful slur “faggot,” which he continues to use to this day.  In a recent interview Cardinal Rodriguez again described the Ambassador as a “faggot” and falsely claimed the Ambassador was setting out to promote “faggotry” in the Dominican Republic.  The Cardinal described the Ambassador as a “wife” who “should stick to housework.”
Calling Cardinal López Rodriguez's comments "intolerant," Durbin observes the Catholic Church’s "teachings on gay marriage are well known but the Church also teaches us to show tolerance for those with different sexual orientations."
 
"Since your selection as Pope, you have shared a message of compassion, tolerance, and love," the Illinois Democrat writes, then artfully reminds the Pope of his address before Congress when he told them of their "responsibility to 'defend and preserve the dignity'" of our "'fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good.'"

"I accept that challenge and I am calling on you to ask nothing less of the hierarchy of the Church," Durbin requested.

Image by PresidenciaRD via Flickr and a CC licenseHat tip: Washington Blade

MEET OUR DAD




Ian McKellen on coming out at "just the right time." (Dec. 14, 2015) | Charlie Rose


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor de dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 16/12/2015

“A falsa autoconfiança se baseia no controle. A pessoa tenta controlar tudo o que acontece pois somente assim ela pode sentir-se segura. A autêntica autoconfiança não depende de nada externo, ela vem de dentro. Se você confia de verdade, tudo pode estar caindo lá fora, mas você permanece o mesmo.”

“La falsa autoconfianza se basa en el control. La persona trata de controlar todo lo que sucede pues solo así puede sentirse segura. La auténtica autoconfianza no depende de nada externo, viene de adentro. Si confías de verdad, todo puede estar cayéndose afuera, pero sigues siendo el mismo.”

“False self-confidence is based on control. The person tries to control everything that happens because it’s the only way they can feel secure. Authentic self-trust does not rely on anything external – it comes from within. When someone truly trusts, regardless if everything is falling apart on the outside, they simply remain the same.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Patterns of Body, Patterns of Mind

Patterns of Body, Patterns of Mind
As we inhabit our body with increasing sensitivity, we learn its unspoken language and patterns, which gives us tremendous freedom to make choices. The practice of cutting thoughts and dispersing negative repetitive patterns can be simplified by attending to the patterns in the body first, before they begin to be spun around in the mind.
—Jill Satterfield, "Meditation in Motion"
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