Catholic Priest now Episcopalian Minister

Father Alberto Cutié, who was removed from his Catholic parish in early May after photos surfaced of him sharing physical affection with a woman on a Florida beach, has left the Catholic Church and preached his first sermon before an Episcopalian congregation today, Sunday May 31st.

An exceptionally well known Miami Beach based Catholic Priest, Father Cutié was known as Father Oprah, because of his media popularity.

When the photos first came to light, Father Cutié appeared before a variety of news programs, appearing at times contrite and apologetic for his behavior. In at least one program, he defended the Catholic Church's requirements of celibacy for priests.

Now, he has decided to leave the Catholic Church, but not his profession as a minister.

Although it is certianly not unusual for individuals to change denominations as a result of doctrinal disagreements, for an individual as visible (as now) Rev. Cutié to do so, particularly after he was caught violating a tenet he had vowed to keep is indeed troubling for the following reasons:

1. It sends the message that the individual is pre-eminent, not the doctrine or the rules of the church or organization to which one belongs,
2. It diminishes the concepts of integrity and commitment. Certainly it might be said that we must be true to ourselves, but when that concept is used as a justification to ignore or violate commitments that we have made to others, to a community, or in this case to a church, then we are effectively saying that we are not governed by any rules other than the ones we choose to obey at a particular time.

To read the ABC News story, click here.
To read the Fox News story, click here.

Fairfax High in Los Angeles Elects Gay Male Prom Queen

Sergio Garcia, a gay male Fairfax High student, was elected prom queen this month.

Garcia indicated that this all started out as a stunt and challenge, but ended up being a serious effort which generated discussion at the school about gender roles.

Garcia's success in being elected Prom Queen brings to mind Robin Byler's statement, posted to this blog on August 20, 2008, in which she declared that the Gay Marriage battle was already won, although perhaps for the next generation, because young people already believed in it.

A solid majority of young people under the age of 24 believe that same gender partners should have the right to marry. So the Supreme Court is just one more battle in a war we have already won, be it for the next generation.” (emphasis added) (Robin Byler, Lesbian News, March 2008, Vol. 33 Issue 8, p.

Read more about this story, at GLBT.TwoMinuteBriefing.com.


- TwoMinuteBriefing thanks JP for recommending this story.

Federal Lawsuit Filed to Overturn Prop. 8

On Wednesday May 27th, the American Foundation for Equal Rights held a news conference and announced the filing of a complaint in federal court requesting a permanent injunction against implementation of Prop. 8 and a judgment that Prop. 8 violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution as well as 42 U.S.C. 1983.

Read more about this story at GLBT.TwoMinuteBriefing.com.

Empowering Girls - Brooke Shields Wishes She had Lost Her Virginity Earlier

In an interview posted on Health.com, Health Magazine's website, Brooke Shields stated that her biggest health regret was not having had sex earlier.

Shields states that as a consequence of not having lost her virginity earlier than age 22, she carried around a protective 20 extra pounds in college, and was not as in touch with herself as she might have been.

Brooke Shields appears on the cover of the June 2009 issue of Health magazine. The online article is entitled, "Brooke Shields Gives Back: Her Mission to Empower Girls and More".

To access the Health.com article, click here. The remarks referenced above appear on page two of the article.

Church of Scotland Endorses Gay Minister

On May 24th, CNN reported that the Church of Scotland's ruling body had voted 326 to 267 to support the appointment of Rev. Scott Rennie who is openly gay. His appointment is causing dissension within the denomination similar to what has been seen in the Episcopal Church over the last few years.

Read a brief summary of the story at GLBT.TwoMinuteBriefing.com.

Sonia Sotomayor nominated to serve on the Supreme Court

Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated to fill the vacancy being created by Justice David Souter's retirement.

Sotomayor is currently serving on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She was nominated to that position by President Clinton after having served in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She was nominated to her District Court position by President George H.W. Bush.

Although generally considered a judicial centrist, she is on record making comments about the policy making role of the court. Her confirmation to the Court of Appeals was delayed for over a year, an anonymous senator having placed a "secret hold" on her nomination.

Being of Puerto Rican ancestry, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, Sotomayor would become the Court's first Hispanic Justice.

The examination of the arguments made in favor or in opposition to her confirmation, not merely for their content but for the level of divisiveness they may or may not engender, will be as important as examining her judicial background.

The Selling of Homosexuality

The din subsequent to the California Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8 to be issued May 26^th at 10:00 a.m. may cause attention to focus on the protests, the protesters, their cause etc. and by doing so, two critical points may become lost: first, the legal decision itself, and second, and perhaps more important, how the protest or celebrations themselves fit into the broader plan of selling homosexuality to America.

Read about how a plan written in 1990 for selling Homosexuality to America is being implemented today in a new TwoMinuteBriefing entitled “The Selling of Homosexuality”.

To access this TwoMinuteBriefing, visit www.TwoMinuteBriefing.com or simply click here.

Study contends immigrants don't impact unemployment

The Immigration Policy Center recently released a study entitled The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect. This study compares immigration and unemployment figures across the United States and concludes that there is no correlation between immigration rates and unemployment figures, and hence that immigration should not be blamed as a cause of unemployment.

A Salt Lake Tribune article reports that Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services questions whether immigration rates can be fairly compared with unemployment rates. Knold does agree, however, that an immigrant population can serve to lubricate a stalling economy.

Links:

Immigration Policy Center
Part I of the report: The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect I
Part II of the report: The Unemployment and Immigration Disconnect II
To read the Salt Lake Tribune article, click here. (Note: The Tribune article mis-identifies the center as the Center for Immigraiton Policy)

A far more conservative agenda for Utah?

A Los Angeles Times blog posting commenting on the "political fallout" from Governor Huntsman's appointment as Ambassador to China, noted that conservatives were pleased to be rid of Huntsman and his relatively moderate stance on various issues.

The Times blog posting quoted Dr. David Magleby, dean at Brigham Young University, as saying:

This state will see, I think, a far more conservative agenda shared by both the governor and the Legislature than we've had in two decades.

A more conservative agenda by both the legislature and the governor's office may, oddly enough, not be all good news for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which has its headquarters in Salt Lake City. Although the Church would likely favor a conservative attitude toward same-sex marriage and perhaps even domestic partnerships, a more conservative approach in dealing with illegal-immigrants might hamper the Church's missionary efforts among that population.

Having the legislature and the governor's office both at the same end of the political spectrum raises the concern that "group think" may develop. In such a situation, either everyone thinks alike, or they are afraid to express a different opinion for fear of retribution.

A statement attributed to General George S. Patton serves as a word of caution here:

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

To read the Los Angeles Times story, click here.

Pope Encourages Bishops of Peru to Relaunch Missionary Spirit

The Vatican Information Service reported in its May 16-18 summary that during their ad limina visit, the bishops of Peru had been encouraged by the Pope to relaunch a missionary spirit. The Pope told the bishops

This means relaunching the missionary spirit, not out of fear of the future, but because the Church is a dynamic presence, and the true disciple of Jesus Christ takes pleasure in freely transmitting His divine Word to others and sharing with them the love that flowed from His open side on the cross.

Although it might seem odd for the Pope to be calling for renewed missionary spirit in a highly predominant country in a highly predominant region, this is very much in keeping with previous conferences of bishops in Latin America where concern was expressed over the success of "North American" churches in obtaining converts.