Riots Inside The People's House - A Day That Will Live In Infamy

I've been so upset for so long by the divisive and inflammatory rhetoric of our President and by his actions. It upsets me so that he has actually convinced so many people that any news not presented by him or alternative media is Fake. Actual facts no longer matter to so many people.

The underlying and often overt racism of so many, so afraid of change to their status quo is appalling.

Yesterday I hit a wall and am beyond upset but am now afraid. I'm afraid for our Democracy. I'm afraid of what could happen in the next 10 days and after that for the safety of our new President and Vice President. I'm afraid for people of color. I'm afraid that we won't be able to speak civilly to friends and neighbors who may think about things differently from ourselves.

I've tried to have open and honest dialogue with those I don't agree with on politics. If I state facts or look up information they've sent or provided facts regarding misinformation they've sent, I'm told I'm lecturing and shouldn't have to check their information for accuracy. I've been dismissed in discussions with others as citing fake news on everything from what the President said to my quoting National Geographic stating there's no proof that Covid 19 was manufactured in China.

As I get older I get weepy more easily. Today I spoke to 2 different Customer Service Agents from 2 different companies regarding different matters. I found myself tearing up as I started to say goodbye to the first. We ended up continuing the conversation.

This young black woman agreed with my concern She told me several friends texted her yesterday saying if that were a Black Lives Matter Protest (see photo below), the preparation and handling of the crowd would have been different. Like me, she was glued to the TV and stayed up until the early hours of the morning watching events unfold. She too turned on the TV again this morning to check to see if it was just a bad dream.

We talked through the events and gave each other a chance to vent our feelings a little to someone outside of our bubble of conversation. We agreed that yesterday was not a protest. It was a planned show of force by a mob of rioters intent on harm. They came in from around the county and were egged on by a 90 min in-person speech, not a tweet, by our President. They came prepared with their own helmets vests and riot gear and there was no show of force to protect the Capitol Building and the people discussing our democratic process inside. I finally said goodbye and told her to take care of herself and to be careful in the days to come.

I later had the good fortune to speak to a Supervisor in another company about an issue that has taken me weeks to try to resolve. Once again, I found myself starting to tear up and had trouble speaking at first. I apologized and told him that I've just been so upset by recent events and this unresolved issue didn't help my state of mind.

This African American man calmed me down and told me it was going to be OK, we were going to be OK. He helped resolve my issue and left me with these words "One thing I know for sure and one thing I know for certain, We are a Great Nation and We Shall Overcome".

May God or whomever you look to in time of need, protect us, and may he bless this Country.

https://mashable.com/article/capitol-police-trump-riot-black-lives-matter-protest/

Uproar over Pope France comments on Gay Civil Unions

I’ve received a flurry of emails from my more conservatives Catholic friends regarding Pope Francis’ comments in an interview about gay Civil Unions. The wailing and nashing of teeth by those trying to assure each other that this is NOT Catholic Doctrine! The Pope is NOT infallible. Gays are NOT  allowed to be married in our Church, the Pope is a little careless in his choice of words, etc. etc. 

I guess I made the mistake of responding to one validating that these were just comments the Pope made in an interview trying to open up discussion. I added the fact that when I was in Catholic school 100 years ago, we were taught that the Pope was infallible. I sent along a link to a history of the few times the Pope’s declaration have been deemed infallible.  My email either want clear that I agreed with the sender and my fact based links were not read so I got more responses of assurance sent to me.

Once again, I was forwarded an email sent to a congregation by a priest assuring his flock that “It ain’t true!” 

So, fool that I am, I responded with three following:

 This agrees with what we both said. The Pope’s comments are just that, comments. They’re not set in stone as Church doctrine. As mentioned, he is starting a discussion about inclusivity just by talking about gay Civil Unions. 

Interesting though that Fr. Gregg soothes folks about the opinions of one Pope, with those of another made in 1975! The footnotes are from Bishops Conferences, etc. in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. 

Surely the world has changed since then, and continues to change?  Surely discussion about concepts are allowed to take place without misinterpretation of fact or fear of change? Hopefully, we learn and grow with it along with our understanding of others unlike ourselves. What was once a very insular church has slowly continued to change, as it has throughout the centuries. Thank goodness we no longer send out armed soldiers on Crusades or hold Inquisitions to persecute Jews and Muslims, or in more recent times, the Irish persecuting and mistrusting Italian immigrants who came here after them, and not tolerating their Churches or Church traditions surrounding celebrating feasts of Saints.

I find it curious that so many people are already up in arms even about the concept of civil Unions of gays in 2020. In a time when it’s so important for us to at least try to understand all of our differences, folks want to retreat into their comfortable shells. 

No discussion, just send out a flurry of emails assuring each other it’s not true, not happening, not allowed, instead of “Why did Pope Frances make the comment? What was the context of the remark? Why would a gay person want to be married in a civil union? Could I ever accept that notion if the church did condone it? How do I feel about interracial marriage? How would I feel if a gay person, or gay couple, a Trans person, or a black family moved next door to me?” 

People were very upset after the Second Vatican Council under John XXIII. You were too young at the time to remember the full impact, but trying to drag people into the modern world was a life changing event and a lot of people came along kicking and screaming! 

Switching from a Latin Mass to English or in language was HUGE, along with turning the altars around so the priest faced the congregation, stopping the use of very ornate robes and trappings, bringing in non traditional music, guitars and so many other changes, physical and mental. 

Change is hard. Moving away from what is comforting and familiar is hard. Accepting new ideas is hard.

I hope to always be able to keep an open mind no matter how old or set in my ways I become.

Subject: Fr. Gregg's Response to Recent News about Pope Francis



Dear OLV Family, This week a documentary was released that contains quotes from Pope Francis that make it sound like he is promoting Same-Sex Civil Unions, which would be contrary to Official Church Teaching.     Whether this segment was edited intentionally to mislead people (see article here *) or whether he said them and meant them, a Pope's comments in an interview do NOT equal Official Church Teaching.  Just like a Pope's comments at a cocktail party do not equal Official Church Teaching.  So, no, the teachings of the Church have not changed at all. Because these confusing statements from the film have circulated around the world, Pope Francis should issue a statement of clarity for the sake of the faithful.  If he does not, it would be a grave sin of omission and negligent of his Office. To learn the Church's Official Teaching on this issue please read the short document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Fatih, promulgated by St. John Paul II,   CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION TO UNIONS BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS (here). Here is a quote from paragraph 11, Conclusion: "The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."  Forgive the brevity of this response, I hope to address this topic more fully soon. In Christ, Fr. Gregg * the linked article does not mean that I support the author, website, or even all the statements from the article, it is simply one example to show that the Pope's statements came from a longer conversation and that YouTube has removed the original interview so that it cannot be viewed in United States.

COVID-19 Punishment from God or a Call to Live Differently?

I told my husband yesterday COVID 19 is God’s Plague of Pestilence on us for all of the nasty, hate filled stuff that’s been going on the past few years.

All of the lies and discrimination are now catching up with us. 

Pope Francis says “It is a time to decide to live differently, live better, love more and care for others” 

Potato, Potahto

(See The Old Testament Book of Exodus Chapters 7 through 11 for the 10 Plagues brought upon Eqypt)