November 07, 2006
Tuesday AM

With all of the recent comments about Hate, Greed and Fear, I have tried to keep my big fat mouth shut but once again, I just gotta say:

Most of the comments have been directly related to religious foundations vs. homosexuality. We will take into consideration the exception of the odd fellow who somehow finds same sex relations and bestiality on the same page. (To you sir, I would recommend therapy)

Having said this, let s point out a few obvious points

The religious majority is constantly admonishing us to hate gay/lesbian unions and yet it seems that each time I turn on the news, one religious leader or another is involved in precisely the same thing that they preach against.

Ted Haggard: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15588371/

And just so I don t single out one denomination:

There is a widespread misperception that clergy sexual abuse is an exclusively Catholic problem that does not happen in other churches. In a 1983 doctoral thesis by Richard Blackmon, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner and 38% admitted to other sexualized contact with a parishioner. In separate denominational surveys, 48% of United Church of Christ female ministers and 77% of United Methodist female ministers reported having been sexually harassed in church. Although the actual extent of the problem is unknown, the significance of clergy sexual abuse is acknowledged by the denominational leaders of all Christian churches.

This was in 1983... HELLO?

The Catholic Church has received over 12,000 abuse claims since 1950, including the 783 new accusations raised in 2005. Catholic dioceses have spent over $1 billion since 1950 to deal with the problem, and almost $467 million in 2005 which includes a $22 million settlement by the Hartford Archdiocese and a $56 million settlement by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in California
A review of publicly reported convictions going back 17 years reveals that:

At least 75 clergymen have been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, criminal sexual-abuse charges since the landmark Gilbert Gauthe case in Louisiana in 1985.

About half of those -38 -were Roman Catholic priests. The rest included Baptist ministers, Methodists, Pentecostals, Episcopal priests, and others.

I realize that many of these facts are incidents whereby religious leaders engaged in heterosexual acts, however, having sex with young children or people against their will, DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT!

With this being said, I would like to add that I have had the privilege of getting to know a same sex couple since I decided to become a permanent resident of this little town. The one thing I can say is that they are the most loving and caring people that I have ever met.

In times such as these, where we are constantly threatened to convert or die by radical Islamic sects, one would think that we would truly understand tolerance and acceptance.
My hat is off to the many people who have submitted articles in their support of same sex marriage and benefits.

Alan Miller
Ketchikan, AK


Received November 06, 2006 - Published November 07, 2006

About: "Tired of taxes. Tired of local Government. Hugely tired of road construction. Fan of Jerry Cegelske and SitNews!"

 

Send A Letter -------Read Letters

E-mail the Editor at editor@sitnews.us

Sitnews
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska