Like a Phoenix...

4 years ago I began a series of rants and somewhere between life and indifference I stopped.

I no longer find myself straddling that divide.

24 hours ago a dear friend sent me an email with a link to a story whose headline read Vatican Cardinal links homosexuality with pedophilia and abuse scandal.

His email ended with the following eight words, you believe in a church that says this?!?!?

My post 4-year inaugural rant will not be a pedagogical essay about pedophilia and homosexuality -- I am not so naïve to think that I can eviscerate such nonsense with a few brief paragraphs. The following is my not-so-eloquent explanation as to how I can reconcile my religious briefs with my status as a member of the LGBTTIQ community; two seemingly opposing dynamics.

First, as a member of the Catholic and the LGBTTIQ communities, this story affected me greatly. At the most fundamental level, pedophilia is a predatory behaviour. The dynamic is one of unequal power where an adult preys on a child and, with force, turns that dynamic into something sexual.

A relationship between two same sex individuals is just that, a RELATIONSHIP. There is no power imbalance. There is no predatory component and what's more, should the relationship turn sexual, there is informed consent.

To have such a senior ranking Cardinal make such a horrific comparison is irresponsible. And, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, caution must be exercised when making such polarizing statements because inevitably some will believe such statements to be factual, which they are not; they are subjective.

I have reverence for my Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican but, at times, I find myself doubting the congress of men who serve as administrators of the Catholic Church and the spiritual advisors tasked with preaching the word of God.

For me, there are three components to my belief system:

• FAITH. It is the most personal. It is my unwavering belief in existance of God and my active life of obedience to Him.
• RELIGION. It is the practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
• CATHOLIC CHURCH. It is both the physical structure and the term I use to collectively describe the clergy/the formal religious leadership.

The Catholic Church is in crisis. The vile comments of an ignorant Cardinal won't shake my FAITH in God but the continual lack of action by Pope Benedict XVI and his congress will affect my relationship with the CATHOLIC CHURCH.

What in the name of????

Good shot.

Great cause.

But with only a few weeks until our Party's Leadership convention, was this a smart move?

**Picture from "What Men Are Made of" calendar. The calendar was produced by the Nova Scotia theatre group Women of Wolfville with proceeds going to prostate and ovarian cancer research.

For Only Love Can Conquer Hate.

Well, George, it appears you were correct. There is no way I can refrain from blogging about this whole Mel Gibson "thing".

This is me uncensored...

Those who know me know that I like to have an "occasional" drink or two or twenty. And, in those rare instances I find myself in public and sufficiently inebriated, I will admit, I have been known to say and do the stupidiest of things.

For instance, I vaguely remember being on a stage at 5ive at some ungodly hour dancing like an idiot. Wanting to get off the stage, I boldy took a step forward, only to realize the ground was some 3 feet farther down than first thought. I landed, quite proudly I might add, on my knees instead of on my back with my feet in the air. Then there was the time I approached a certain provincially elected official (a person whom I have a sick child-like crush on) and told her that she had the best legs I have ever seen. Oh, and then there was the time I couldn't stop myself from telling a police officer that I would gladly let her take me home and handcuff me (that one almost got me arrested).

Am I proud of my actions? Not really. But, they do represent the 'normal' actions of an inebriated person. Alcohol can and does lead to unlady-like/ungentleman-like behaviour.

What's my point? Mr. Gibson was intoxicated. He is not refuting that--besides there are numerous pictures and videos to prove it. And, yes when he got pulled over his 'celebrity' went to his head and it appears he tried to intimidate his arresting officer. But what I don't get is how he made the leap from 'do you f**king know who I am? I am Mel Gibson' to those anti-Semitic remarks' --again something he is not denying. Intoxication is not to blame for such vial comments. There is no connecting link, well none that is readily apparent to me.

In the end, sadness and disappointment trump my anger. I am saddened by the way the law seems to bend for someone who is rich and famous; I am saddened that a person, who until now, seemed like a tolerant man, may be quite the opposite; and I am greatly saddened by the way Hollywood has seemingly said 'it's okay...it was the alcohol speaking not good ol' Mel'.

The average person who has had a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt live through acts of racism will not easily forget. A person is never ever only Anti-Semitic, there is most always a hatred of other races and cultures just festering under the surface.

Money and power affords a person may luxuries in life but, at the end of the day, when whichever God that person believes in calls them home, they will be judged by their words, their actions and most importantly their character.

The Audacity of Hope.

Coming soon...

A Journey to Israel. One World. One Love. One Pride.

In a few hours about a dozen or so of my closest friends and I will be heading to a pub for a send off party for our dear friend B.

The poor misguided lad will be heading to Israel tomorrow to help organize World Pride in Jerusalem. For the better part of a month we have tried to convince him not to go.

Each of us, in our own way, has tried to impart on him the gravity of the escalating violence in Israel and the real danger he will be in but because of some asinine sense of 'duty' he is determined to go. To his credit, his selflessness is commendable as much as it is ridiculous.

I don't pretend to know all the issues surrounding the current Israel-Lebanon conflict (Operation Truthful Promise come Operation Just Reward come Operation Change of Direction) but from what I have heard both sides have their roots firmly planted and I fear many more will be injured or killed unless one side acquiesces (something that seems very unlikely).

So far diplomatic talks have been ineffective and the UN imposed sanctions suggested by the Bush Administration (an Administration that not so long ago gave the UN a single finger salute before invading Iraq) is laughable at best.

I am reminded of the saying 'anything worth having is worth fighting for'--I wonder if the person who said it had a rocket launcher parked in striking distance of their home.

My heart weeps for those whose reality my friend will be stepping into for a few short weeks.

Jerusalem World Pride 2006...Love without Borders

The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene.

Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code begins with the murder of a curator by a monk who is sent to find the legendary Holy Grail, a fabled vessel often theorized to be the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. However, Brown puts a new spin on the Holy Grail--a mere cup it is not, rather a vile that contains the blood of Jesus. The importance, if not readily apparent, is that with a vile of blood, Jesus’ ancestry could be mapped--that is if testing of blood that is some 2000 years old could produce viable data. What's more, it could prove or disprove the theory that His bloodline still endures (it has been theorized that He had a child with Mary Magdalene)--a concept, if true, would have unsung ramifications in the Catholic church.

So, who was Mary Magdalene and why is she so central to the story of Jesus Christ.

Mary Magdalene was born in Magdala, a fishing village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. She is believed to have had flaming red hair and, although never proven, she is said to have been a whore. Many have argued that such a label was given to her by the church to hide the true nature of her relationship with Jesus.

What's more, scholars have long thought Mary Magdalene was defamed because of her threat to the male controlled church. The fact that she was the first to speak to the risen Christ and the fact that she was the one to inform the other male Apostles speaks volumes of her importance -- she was the Apostle to the Apostles. Moreover, she is thought to have had a better understanding of the teachings of Jesus and was seen as a rival to Apostle Peter for leadership of the early church.

In his book, Brown suggests that she still had one more hold on Jesus--as his wife. A notion that some say is belittling to both Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Some argue that Jesus wasn’t conventional in any other sense, so why would he feel the need to be married? Others say that relegating Mary Magdalene to the role of wife and thereby reducing her only importance to a sexual connection with Jesus, is like saying Hillary Rodham Clinton is only important because she’s married to Bill Clinton. [I, for one, would never compare Jesus and Mary Magdalene to Bill and Hillary--doing so seems almost sacrilegious, no?]

For all the hoopla and conspiracy theories, this remains true of Mary Magdalene:

• she did exist;
• she was a follower of Jesus;
• she was at His side when He was crucified; and
• she has a Gospel.

For Love of the Game.

Today, CTV will air the Series Finale of the West Wing.

I must admit this show has been a bit of an addiction for me. Hardly a realistic portrayal of government and politics it nonetheless made me believe in the nobility of government and in the idea that those entering politics do so for love of country, not for love of the game.

Naive? Maybe.

Do I care? Not really.

I guess I will have to focus my attention on something else. Billable Hours seems promising.

Daisy in Bloom. Congrat's Kinsella et al.

It's about friggin' time, Warren!

Daisy Consulting Group

For those who don't know Warren Kinsella or what he brings to provincial and federal politics, I suggest you do some serious reading.

He is a legend among us OYL and his taste in music ain't too shabby. Now, if only we could get him to run for office.

**Thanks to those who pointed out that Warren ran in 1997 in North Vancouver and lost (to Ted White, I believe). My comment above was re: him running for leadership of the Fed. Liberals. HIGHLY unlikely, I know. But much like my insane belief that the Leafs will one day win the Stanley Cup again, I can't help but dream.**