Hiss a genius and we need his maaaaand! - Franck Eggelhoffer Saturday. April 25, 2015... I did not know that. I saw nothing on local news about it - although I didn't see anything on the earthquake in Nepal either. (I watched News at 6PM yesterday.) Maybe I'll catch it tonight. It's weird though, things like that just don't get attention I guess. Washington (AFP) - Several thousand people including religious leaders marched in Washington on Saturday against same-sex marriage as the US Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the deeply divisive issue in the coming days. Crowds rallied from the US Capitol to the Supreme Court, carrying placards reading, "A Child Needs a Father and a Mother" and "March for Truth. - Source Fr. Z is in the news - can haz cake and eat it too. Just a Heads up - no action item yet! He came up with a plan to save Christian business owners who would otherwise refuse to provide services for gay weddings - and the Wisconsin State Journal picked it up. He is treated fairly and apparently had been interviewed for the story as well. Fr. Z's plan is kind of a dumb idea - but it makes a point. I doubt anyone is rich enough to donate their profits to a pro-marriage campaign while buying religious uniforms for their employees - but the plan sends a message, doesn't it? What goes around comes around. The GoFundMe business refused service to Melissa's bakery, which had refused to bake a cake for two women who wanted a wedding cake for their wedding to one another. GoFundMe dropped the fund: Because pro-marriage Sweet Cakes by Melissa has already been charged with violating an Oregon law against "discrimination," the crowd-funding company has pulled the bakery's campaign. - Story Fair is fair - right? The CRS VP in a same sex marriage - what's the big deal? It turns out that CRS has a non-Catholic employee working in a technical post, nothing to do with faith or morals, who’s in a same-sex marriage. - John Allen, Crux So why is that a big deal? Because lesbians are denied Communion at their mom's funeral. A Catholic teacher is refused a job because he's gay and lives with his lover. A lector is kicked out because he lives with a long-time-companion. Two old queens in the choir are told to sell off their house and possessions, move apart, if they want to receive Communion and sing in the choir. It's a big deal because gay Catholics are fired from their jobs in Catholic parishes and schools - right down to preparing meals for Loaves and Fishes. It's a big deal because pro-LGBTQ theory and policy has long been part of the Catholic education system, as well as Catholic aid programs - until someone is outed or called out for another person's definition of a cover-up. Then they get fired. While CRS functionaries have the ability to operate as a sort of NGO or ideological colonists - those are the Pope's words, and I highly doubt he is speaking exclusively about Governments when he points to such corruption. A vice-president has a hell of a lot more influence on LGBTQ rights within the Church than a Loaves and Fishes lady making sandwiches, or a music director for some parish. It isn't because we are so rich and have the luxury or leisure time to address this stuff - it is because there appears to be a deliberate, blindsided approach to handling domestic issues such as these within the USCCB, CRS, and other agencies under the Catholic Bishops' purview. The problems start at the top - and trickle down. Like I said, a vice-president has a hell of a lot more influence on LGBTQ rights within the Church than a Loaves and Fishes lady making sandwiches, or a music director for some parish. As Catholics we are concerned about doctrine and Catholic teaching - here in our country, our dioceses and our parishes - just as we are concerned about those Christians suffering in other lands. As Catholics many of us have been longtime contributors to CRS - despite not being rich, maybe we can find another agency more willing to accept donations. Organizations with less overhead, bureaucracy, and political interests. They all want money. That's what they want. Song for this post here.