“My Transsexual Summer”: Watch it if you can.

I have been slow to start watching “My Transsexual Summer”, which has been airing on (British) Channel 4 for some weeks. I have just watched the first episode on 4OD catch-up TV. The series follows a mixed group of seven trans women and men through part of their transition journeys. Some are old, some young. Some have only just started transitioning, some are years along the road. Some have experienced outright rejection from their families, some have had direct help and support – and some have not yet come out to their families.

The series opens with the participants as a group coming together for a weekend retreat, getting to know each other and hearing their stories in a comfortable house. Later episodes show the individuals going about their daily lives at home , as well as reuniting in further get-togethers.

The participants of My Transsexual Summer.

I am not going to comment at all on the people, or the presentation by the programme – their experience is so far removed from my own, I feel it would be presumptuous of me to do so. If you want commentary, see the excellent insider view at the Guardian. What I will say, is that I can’t wait to catch up on the rest of the series.

If you are able to view it – do so.

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My Experience as “The Bridegroom of Christ”

Yesterday, was the feast of Blessed Bernardo de Hoyos, who saw himself, in a mystical vision, as “the spouse of Christ”, united with him in what today we might call a gay marriage.

Always holding my right hand, the Lord had me occupy the empty throne; then He fitted on my finger a gold ring…. “May this ring be an earnest of our love. You are Mine, and I am yours. You may call yourself and sign Bernardo de Jesus, thus, as I said to my spouse, Santa Teresa, you are Bernardo de Jesus and I am Jesus de Bernardo. My honor is yours; your honor is Mine. Consider My glory that of your Spouse; I will consider yours, that of My spouse. All Mine is yours, and all yours is Mine. What I am by nature you share by grace. You and I are one!”

(quoted at Jesus in Love from “The Visions of Bernard Francis De Hoyos, S.J.”

by Henri Bechard, S.J.)

Kittredge Cherry has the story, in a useful post at  Jesus in Love blog. This reminded me of my own, somewhat similar experience while on retreat, as seeing myself as a “Bridegroom of Christ”. I have already described this briefly, as one that changed my life. I now want to share more fully on the experience.

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“Catholic Truth Scotland”: Are the readers doomed to Hell?

Catholic Truth readers see nothing wrong with gay marriage.

Catholic Truth Scotland has flattered me by placing a prominent, front-page link to my recent post on Archbishop Vincent Nichols’ Balanced, Sane Response to Gay Marriage”, using it to introduce their on-line poll.

Go ahead, vote. When I did, I found the response was that

So: 13% see nothing wrong with gay marriage, and a further 73% say “all of the above” – they see nothing wrong with gay marriage, and also believe that the bishops are afraid of unpopularity, or have skeletons in cupboards.

All told, 86% 0f CTS readers see nothing wrong with gay marriage (and, truth be told, neither do the majority of all Catholics, in Scotland, the rest of the UK, Australia or the USA ). But coming from CTS, this result really is a surprise. Still, it’s good to see CTS publicising widespread Catholic support for equality and inclusion. (more…)

Gay Marriage: Catholics and the (Selective) “Common Good”.

The British group “Catholic Voices” have now held their meeting to formulate a Catholic argument against the introduction here of full marriage equality – a “Catholic” meeting on gay marriage from which, bizarrely, gay Catholics were specifically excluded. A report on the meeting at their website described the argument they will be adopting – the so-called “common good” one, which proceeds from the biological fact that children are produced only by the interaction of one man and one woman, to the conclusion that marriage, likewise, can be only between one man and one woman.

This reasoning is seductive, and avoids the lunacy spouted by some Catholic bishops and other ardent opponents of legal recognition for queer families. The premise is indisputable, a simple matter of basic biology, and we all want the best for children. Protecting them is surely a matter of the common good, and an important Catholic value. However, the argument remains deeply flawed, substituting motherhood and apple-pie platitudes for sound reasoning. The “common good” they claim to be promoting is a selective one, which actively discriminates against some children.

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Gay Marriage, Riverdale

 Coming, January.

Story at Huffington Post

 

 

 

Australia, It’s Time!

Next weekend (Dec 3) Australia’s governing Labour Party will be deciding whether to change party policy to endorse gay marriage.

Watch the ad.

 

Posted in Uncategorized. 4 Comments »

Give Thanks for Archbishop Nichols’ Balanced, Sane Response to British Gay Marriage.

The British don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but Catholics in England and Wales have good cause this week to give thanks all the same, this week. The head of the Catholic Church here, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has responded to the planned introduction of civil marriage for same-sex couples with words that are measured, balanced, and fully in keeping with Catholic teaching on sexuality – all of it, including the bit about “dignity, respect and understanding” that so many of his colleagues elsewhere seem never to have read.

When British PM David Cameron announced his personal backing for the move, it was on the basis that marriage was a statement of love and commitment, which contributes to social stability. Cameron concluded that it was right, therefore, to support marriage for all as a Conservative value. It did not take long for Catholic bishops in Scotland to wade into the fray, loudly expressing strong opposition. At the time, I noted to friends that Archbishop Nichols’ response was remarkable only for one thing:  there was none. That was two months ago.

This week, following the bishops meeting in Leeds, he answered some questions on the subject at a press conference. The answers are revealing, and impressive.  They are remarkable for, for demonstrating clearly:

  • Archbishop Nichols’ response is totally free of the lunatic fringe claims made elsewhere, that simply bring the Catholic Church into disrepute.
  • The archbishop’s tone is demonstrates that he is mindful of the full Catholic teaching on marriage, sexuality and homosexuality – including the usually forgotten bit about “dignity, respect and understanding”
  • The bishops’ stance on same – sex relationships is evolving, and now includes some respect for civil partnerships / civil unions.
  • Fighting gay marriage is not a priority for the English bishops. (more…)

Is this Thanksgiving – or April 1st?

I’ve seen many loonytune arguments against marriage equality (including those by Catholic bishops), but this takes the cake. If the bishops’ arguments are on “the outer fringes of Crazytown”, these guys are way out in the exurbs.

By their reasoning, calls for same-sex marriage have nothing to do with equality, and still less to do with love and commitment. From their perspective, lesbians will shack up together, but continue to have sex with men – to entrap the innocent suckers into impregnating them, thus becoming liable for hefty child-support payments to those crafty, scheming women (who will also be pulling in government handouts). It’s all a feminist plot, in collusion with acquiescent government, to hand over control and money to the feminists.  This collusion with government is then described as a form of polygamy – two women, plus government. (No, really).

Feminist “marriage” is a three-way contract between two women and government.  Most women will have children, and few women can afford or will go to the length of using artificial insemination to get pregnant.  Government is the automatic third party collecting “child support” entitlements for children borne in these marriages.

Children will be borne of extramarital affairs backed by welfare guarantees and child support entitlements.   Feminist marriages are automatically entitled with many entitled, tax-free, governmental income sources for having children.

Feminist marriage is a marriage between any two women and the welfare state.  It constitutes a powerful feminist takeover of marriage by government, and places the National Organization for Women in the position of dictating government policy as a matter of “feminist Constitutional rights”.

And the gay men, starved for real sex, will continue to go out and fuck women, creating hordes of illegitimate children, in a deliberate attempt to create a male underclass, to siphon off government welfare payments. (No, I can’t unravel the reasoning, either). Here’s the text.

Male-Male marriages:  Marriages between two men are designed to be a “marital underclass”.  In most cases, these men will become “fathers” without consent.   Women in feminist marriages will not mention they stopped using birth control.   Male-male marriages will be forced to pay child support to feminist marriages and become economically-enslaved to them.  The taxpayer will be forced to pay for child support men cannot afford to pay, as occurs in out existing welfare state.

Male-male marriages cannot reproduce naturally (a primary factor in Constitutional case law).  They can acquire children only by artificial means, and at great expense, by adoption or renting a womb.  Most men in these marriages will still have regular sexual encounters with women.

-The Centre for Marriage Policy

Are these guys serious, or is it some kind of unseasonal April Fool’s Joke?

No, wait, perhaps this is truly seasonal, after all.  If this new outfit campaigning against same – sex marriage can only get enough coverage for their turkeys, perhaps they can discredit the entire case against. Then we’ll all have something for which we can be truly thankful.

Have a great Thanksgiving, all you guys stateside.

(H/t to Right Wing Watch)

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Barbara Grier’s “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking the Silence”

There has been quite a lot written recently, about the high proportion of gay men in the priesthood, and the reasons for this. There is not nearly as much written about the counterpart, lesbian nuns.  One notable exception is ”Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence” (1985), by Rosemary Curb and Nancy Manahan.

At Nihil Obstat, there’s a reflection on lesbian publishing, prompted by an obituary for Barbara Grier, publisher of Naiad Press, which includes some useful thoughts on Curb and Manahan’s book.

The book resonated with a large swathe of Catholic lesbians, especially former women religious, who left their communities because their lesbianism was not compatible with either their vows, or the forced invisibility of homosexuals in the Catholic Church.  The spiritual community they experienced in religious life was missed, and it left an ache in some that was never healed. 

There is an interplay between sexuality and spirituality in Catholicism especially, with its emphasis on sensuality and the body.  Think of the suggestive pose of St. Sebastian, and the orgasmic rapture of St. Theresa of Avila.  Even Christ hanging on the cross often has his loincloth positioned in a pretty erotic angle. How can anyone avoid the subtle message of these images or even avoid making them an object of desire?

Unlike many of the other titles in the Naiad list, this book went on to be a smash hit, and made money – a lot of it. Eventually, some of the stories were sold to Penthouse.

The tremendous irony of the whole thing is that Barbara Grier, who spent a lifetime working hard to publish lesbian literature, had her greatest notoriety from providing lesbian sex thrills to men.

Read the full reflection at Nihil Obstat

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“Two Kinds of Catholics”

Here’s a great quotation about Catholics I’ve been wanting to share for a long time. Trouble is, while I know exactly where I read it, and the background of the speaker, I can’t track down the magazine where I saw it, so I can’t share the name. Here it is, anyway – details will follow when I have found them:

There are only two kinds of Catholics: those who think, and those who don’t.

I was reminded of this once again, reading the hysterical rant at California “Catholic” Daily over the inclusion by the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, San Francisco, of Bishop Charles Otis in a roster of speakers for an Advent lecture series.

Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, San Francisco

CCD’s horror at the invitation to Bishop Charles appears to be inspired by this

“...on April 24, 2004, he “married” a man named Felipe Sanchez Paris in a ceremony at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco“. 

Bishop Charles did not “marry” his husband, he married him, as the law and records of California clearly show. The scare quotes so beloved by CCD are not appropriate – and it is in the same spirit that I refer to them above, as California “Catholic” Daily. (more…)

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