As The Roman Catholic Church continues to cling to celibacy for Priests the Church is again embroiled in scandal.
ROME (RNS) Lurid accusations of priests involved in sex orgies, porn videos and prostitution have emerged from several parishes in Italy recently, sending shock waves all the way to the Vatican and challenging the high standards that Pope Francis has demanded of clergy.
In the southern city of Naples, for example, a priest was recently suspended from the parish of Santa Maria degli Angeli over claims he held gay orgies and used internet sites to recruit potential partners whom he paid for sex.
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In the northern city of Padua, a 48-year-old priest, the Rev. Andrea Contin, is facing defrocking as well as judicial proceedings amid accusations he had up to 30 lovers, some of whom he took to a swingers’ resort in France.
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Since his election the pope has taken a tough line on ethical behavior in the church though he has also recognized the reality of human imperfection and personal flaws.
In recent weeks he has spoken out many times against “temptation,” and last week he told a gathering of clergy at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome that faith could not progress without the challenge of temptation.
“Temptation is always present in our lives. Moreover, without temptation you cannot progress in faith,” he said.
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“The remedy for those who succumb to temptation is forgiveness and a fresh start,” Ivereigh told RNS. “The problem is when priests turn their backs on the people, lead hidden lives and end up justifying their conduct. That’s corruption.
“And it’s only possible in the priesthood because of clericalism. That’s why the pope is so intent on rooting it out.”
Maybe it is time for the Church to come to grips with the reality it is unwise to expect humans to act in ways that are, well, completely unnatural for humans.
One can commit their lives to accomplishing the works of Christ and the Church without denying one of life’s most basic and necessary needs.
Something tells us that at base level this is about power. Like so many other things.
On this Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is just another libertarian dunderhead. Repeal without a replacement first makes about as much sense as jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.
Not that the republican establishment’s replacement plan is a good one mind you.
Rand Paul is not backing down.
Hours after President Donald Trump exhorted the Kentucky senator to get behind his Obamacare replacement plan, Paul reiterated his opposition in an interview with POLITICO.
“Republicans across the country are unified on repeal, not on replace,” Paul said Wednesday morning, after Trump singled him out in a tweet. The libertarian-leaning lawmaker insisted that Republicans should vote on stand-alone legislation to repeal the Democratic health care law and figure out later what would replace it. He said he told the president as much in a telephone conversation Monday.
“The compromise that I … have represented to him is to separate the bill into two separate bills,” Paul said.
Trump’s targeting of Paul was a gift for Republican leaders trying to shepherd their health care legislation through Congress… (MORE HERE)
POLITICO – Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has been offered the job of U.S. ambassador to Russia and is in the process of submitting paperwork to accept the position, two administration sources have confirmed.
Huntsman, who served as ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and then to China under President Barack Obama, was an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump during last year’s campaign.
He was officially offered the Russia post earlier this week.
Huntsman did not respond to a POLITICO request for comment. Sources say he plans to accept the job, one of the most sensitive and high profile ambassadorships, especially given the FBI and congressional investigations into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent efforts to tip last year’s election in his favor and contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.
Should Huntsman accept and be confirmed as ambassador, it could come as a relief to Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, 82, who is up for reelection next year. Huntsman has been seen as a potential challenger.
Last October, Huntsman—who ran for president as a Republican in 2012—called on Trump to withdraw after a 2005 Access Hollywood video surfaced in which he bragged about his ability to sexually assault beautiful women.
But Huntsman has since warmed to the president and the two have maintained a cordial relationship, according to a source with knowledge of their recent conversations.
We believe Huntsman would make an excellent United States ambassador to Russia. Jon Huntsman is a man of integrity, possesses a wealth of experience, and is respected by those he has dealings with.
Having said the above we can’t help but scratch or heads and wonder why a man of Huntsman’s stature and character would want a damn thing to do with Donald Trump.
Perhaps he believes he can have a moderating influence on Trump, the loose American cannon.
