Religion Dispatches
…h, and might become more. I expect no fundamental policy changes, though I welcome distributive shifts; and I await no magic kingdom, as Obama’s detractors have long complained he promised us. But what strikes me as undeniable is that the tone just changed, the self-understanding just changed, our face to the world just changed, in however limited a fashion, and to whatever limited effects. I was stunned by the degree to which, in one of the nasti…
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…2009, the Vatican announced a special “Apostolic Constitution” that would welcome these restive Episcopalians and Anglicans into the Catholic Church, allowing them to bring with them some of the glorious liturgies and music of the Anglican tradition. While I’ve seen no evidence of Anglicans and Episcopalians “swimming the Tiber” en masse (pardon the pun) to Rome, the Vatican’s overture struck me at the time as opportunistic, even cynical. Ignorin…
Read More…ak a rule. The father pleads with the older brother to join the party — to welcome his wayward little brother back into the fold — but he refuses – believe that if God – or in this case his father – will welcome someone like that sinner into his house – then perhaps he wants no part of this. The parable doesn’t reveal what choice the older brother finally makes. The story ends with him left out on the stoop, deciding his fate. We have all been tha…
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…of the Catholic church, and ultimately we want a church where all will be welcome. We want a church that offers hope, not condemnation. Are there any groups doing similar work, or working against LGBT people? How that is playing out? There are other groups working on LGBT issues: Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry is a national organization of people who minister in the Catholic Church to LGBT people. A new group called Catholics f…
Read More…ek that the group and the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) “welcome the decision by the Islamic Republican of Iran to accept 139 of the 291 recommendations and to partially support 59 recommendations put forward by the 28th session of the Human Rights Council that address the rights of sexual minorities.” Despite the limitations, this is the first time the Islamic Republic has acknowledged ill-treatment and torture of the LGBT commu…
Read More…is more inclusive of converts now than before, she doesn’t feel completely welcome in the Indian community. Her husband’s family has trouble accepting her and even tried to delay the couple’s marriage. A common perception exists of converts as less knowledgeable or authentic Muslims than those in the immigrant communities. My father struggled with this when teaching at mosques in New York. Although he had studied Arabic and Islamic fundamentals fo…
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…ansgender inclusion and advocacy because they were looking for the radical welcome edge. Rather, their outreach efforts were a pastoral response to the transgendered people who joined The Crossing community. Out of about 75 people who are part of their congregation, she estimates that about a half dozen are transgendered. “If we love those who are part of our community then we need to go out and stand by them and create more inclusive communities…
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…He said they “unanimously hate me” for saying that but, he proclaimed, “I welcome their hatred!” Republican governors rejected federal money for Medicaid expansion. The result? Harvard and CUNY researchers say the death toll from 25-state ‘opt-out’ may be as high as 17,100 annually; hundreds of thousands more will be harmed by depression, untreated diabetes, and skipping mammograms and pap smears. Who were the victims of these Republicans? Fast f…
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…h a large banner reading “When did we see you a stranger and make you feel welcome?” The line is from Matthew 25, and the activists have also chosen Matthew 25 as their alias. The strangers being referred to in this action are the many undocumented Americans being targeted by the Trump administration. There are close to a million undocumented immigrants living in New York according to Pew Research, yet Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is also the Archb…
Read More…ple and their families, Elke writes: “After Sean’s death we were no longer welcome at our church. Church friends stopped calling – they didn’t want to take sides! We do not belong to any church now.”David Gushee, a Christian ethics professor at Mercer University, recounts Elke’s story and some of the other heartbreaking stories of gays and lesbians crushed and torn by religious hatred in his review of the book in the latest issue of The Christian…
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