Religion

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis repeated his appeal for people to build bridges of understanding, not walls as he marked a feast day of a Sudanese immigrant amid a global uproar over the Trump administration’s attempts to impose a travel ban on seven mostly Muslim countries. “In the social and civil context as well, I appeal not to create …

The Toledo Blade reports: The Toledo City Council unanimously approved a ban on conversion therapy today while also making gender identity a protected class in the city. The proposal was lauded earlier in the day during a public hearing by supporters but also criticized by clergymen who asked if they would be prohibited from counseling people who are gay. Conversion …

The BBC reports: A Church of England theological college has expressed regret after trainee priests held a service in the antiquated gay slang language Polari. The service at the chapel of Westcott House in Cambridge was to commemorate LGBT history month. The congregation was told the use of the lexicon was an attempt to “queer the liturgy of evening prayer”. …

Brian Tashman reports at Right Wing Watch: Yesterday, Jim Bakker continued to make the case that the people protesting Donald Trump are possessed by demons. Bakker told evangelist Billye Brim that he encountered “four rotten little girls” demonstrating against Trump during the president’s inauguration, asserting: “It was a possession, it’s the demons.” “What’s happening is we’ve had leaders who have …

The Nation reports: A leaked copy of a draft executive order titled “Establishing a Government-Wide Initiative to Respect Religious Freedom,” obtained by The Investigative Fund and The Nation, reveals sweeping plans by the Trump administration to legalize discrimination. The four-page draft order, a copy of which is currently circulating among federal staff and advocacy organizations, construes religious organizations so broadly …

The New York Post reports: The pastor of a largely immigrant Catholic church in Queens has a suggestion for his anti-Trump parishioners: Go take a flying leap off the nearest building. “Show your hate for Trump. Do it for social justice. #JumpAgainstTrump,” read a meme posted by the Rev. Philip Pizzo just hours after he celebrated Sunday Mass. The message …

The Florida hate group leader who once declared that it was “worth dying” to stop same-sex marriage is very upset about yesterday’s rule change by the Boy Scouts. Via press release from Christian Newswire: “This is a profoundly sad but inevitable decision on the part of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The ‘key three’ leadership of the BSA assured …

At today’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer dodged a question from Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about reports of an impending anti-LGBT executive order. Johnson: “The LGBT group the Human Rights Campaign has issued a statement citing rumors that the president is about to sign a religious freedom executive order that would undermine LGBT rights. Is this …

JMG reader Bill tips us to this story from the Christian Post: The Rev. O. Jermaine Simmons Sr., pastor of the popular Jacob Chapel Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida, who recently authored a book focused on issues of godly manhood, was sent running for his life last Tuesday after one of his parishioners found him in bed with his wife. …

The Christian Post is very upset about how a group of infamous street preachers was treated at last Saturday’s women’s march. They write: Bible-believing street evangelists warning against all sin, including abortion and homosexuality, were shouted down, spat on and had water thrown on them by participants of the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday afternoon. As hundreds of thousands …

The New York Times reports: There may be a Gingrich in the Vatican just yet. Callista Gingrich, the wife of Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a friend of Mr. Trump’s, is in the running to be ambassador to the Holy See, according to a person briefed on the discussions. Mr. Gingrich, reached by telephone, said that he was …

The New York Times reports: President Trump will order the construction of a Mexican border wall on Wednesday, White House officials said, and is mulling plans to stop Syrian refugees from entering the country and to slash immigration of refugees from “terror prone” nations, perhaps as early as this week. During an appearance at the Department of Homeland Security on …

LOL. Via press release from the Vatican: “Upon your inauguration as the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office. At a time when our human family is beset by grave …

Via email from openly gay Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims: This afternoon I announced with Mayor Kenney and the American Psychiatric Association (APA), legislation banning the practice of conversion therapy on minors, aimed at changing their sexual orientation. In my experience, there is oftentimes a deeply rooted connection to religious fundamentalism that underscores the thought processes of many advocates of …

From ACLU of Wyoming: Late last week, a bill popped up on the legislature’s 2017 bill list with the title, “Government Nondiscrimination Act”. With a title like that, interested citizens might understandably believe the bill would be solidifying Wyoming’s stance against discrimination in the Equality State. But they would be wrong. More aptly titled The Wyoming Government Discrimination Act, HB …

The Texas Observer reports: A Republican lawmaker filed the “Abolition of Abortion in Texas Act” Wednesday, which would ban and criminalize abortions in Texas at any stage and direct state officials to ignore federal law established by Roe v. Wade. House Bill 948, authored by state Representative Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington [PHOTO], is the newest and most straightforward attempt by Texas …

Last week another gay teacher at a Catholic school filed a lawsuit after being fired for getting married. Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue responds with a new twist via press release: Lonnie Billard knew when he “married” his boyfriend, making it public on his Facebook page, that Charlotte Catholic High School, his employer, would object. He sued when he was …

Brian Tashman reports at Right Wing Watch: Conservative televangelist Jim Bakker declared on his program last week that had Donald Trump lost the presidential election, freedom in America would have been lost, but thanks to his victory there is a chance to save America. However, Bakker warned that terrorists have already infiltrated the government. “I wonder how many terrorists have …

Via World Net Daily: The U.S. Supreme Court has been handed a bombshell: An appeal of a lower-court ruling that banned Christian counselors from talking with teens about the biblical standard for sexuality. The case challenges laws that force licensed counselors to affirm homosexuality, prohibiting them from helping clients overcome same-sex attractions. Such laws have been adopted in New Jersey, …

Catholic League blowhard and well-known supermodel Bill Donohue today used a just-issued study to declare that the female reporters at MSNBC are unattractive. It’s what Jesus would want. The reason that the study comes to its conclusion is rather interesting. The Washington Post reports: Research has found that being attractive influences many things in a person’s life — their salary, …