It’s December 26 as I write. The banner headline of the Philippine Daily Inquirer announces the pope’s Christmas message: Pope prays: Break rods of oppressors. The sub headline is: Resist persecution, Christians urged.
On the surface, the pope’s message sounds beautiful, and it is – as far as it goes. He actually is targeting the oppressors in Iraq and china, and could well include Saudi Arabia and wherever Moslem extremists blow up Christian churches on Christmas and around the year. (One such bombing in our own country was reported in the same edition.)
“Help us to recognize your face in others who need our assistance,” the pope prays, “in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family.” And surely thatg is our prayer, too.
But, Holy Father, may I humbl;y ask you to see the limitations of your prayer as shown in your action s and policies. Your own LGBT people are suffering. Your own LGBT people are forsaken by you and your church. Please don’t tell me you love the sinner, but hate the sin.
If you really want to see the face of God in all people, help us to live together as brothers and sisters. Please stop trying to set up barriers between us and our loving God. We want to be one family, but we are indeed excluded.
Jesus never showed prejudice once in his whole life, but you, your bishops and your church show prejudice in every statement, in every action against God’s beloved L:GBT people, who by birth were supposed to be your beloved people, but we have been rejected from the family.
You pray for an end to oppression. But what about the oppression from within?
You say, “Resist persecution.” Holy father, when I preach sex-positive theology, I am urging God’s beloved LGBT people to ‘resist Persecution’
When your emissary from the Vatican spoke to me a few years ago, he looked at me and said, “You are hard on the church.” Holy Father, I told him; "Monsignor, I have nothing but respect and love for the church, the church of my grandmother, the church of my parents, the church where I was born, baptized and ordained. It is not the church I denounce, ever, in any way. It is persecution."
What your emissary heard me doing was heeding your advice to Christians to “resist persecution.” It is doing what you urged Christians to do in your Easter message. It is “resisting persecution.” I love the Mass and the sacraments. I resist the persecution which comes from ostracizing and causing suffering for LGBT people who love god, who love their neighbor, and who yearn to “become one family,” as you say.
Holy Father, we all want the Moslem extremists to stop blowing up Christians. One of my very good friends, a good nun had her legs blown off while praying in the cathedral of Jakarta on Christmas Eve a few years ago. We all find that kind of persecution abominable. But Holy father, try to see that your unbiblical NO NO NO rules are also abominable, especially when you condemn the love we have for one another.
Well, what can we do?
We all want to respect the Truth, know the truth. We learn how to do that from our conscience. Avoid sin, and avoid persecution. 68% of Filipinos have done that with regard to condoms. 68% of Filipinos have formed their conscience on the RH Bill which would give Filipinos in civil society some rights about condoms.
But in the same newspaper today, a Catholic bishop is still persecuting Filipinos about the Reproductive Health Bill.
What can we do? We can keep hope alive. We can see God’s Truth prevailing. We can even now, envision 2011 with more hope, more people breaking free from the bondage of persecution. 2011 will see more and more people awakening ti the Truth of Sex-Positive Theology. 68% have a glimpse of it. More will see the whole Truth.
God’s truth is eternal;. It is not like “Yesterday all condoms were sin; today condoms are not sin for male prostitutes.”
The problem with that is, it does not open the eyes to the eternal Truth. It does not see the Light of the World who never showed prejudice and never declared condoms a sin.
Oh my! We all know that. Let’s go further. Let’s make 2011 SPT year.
Let’s get more and more of our friends to join us in the Sex Positive Theology Seminar It’s all by email. (saintaelred@gmsil. com) No charge. No travel. No weekend away from home. Just be comfortable wherever your computer is. Join the battle against persecution. Join the march in celebration of God’s Truth.
Jesus told us He is the Truth.
The Truth will set us free.
2011 will be a year of hope. 2011 will be a better year.
Yes, Holy Father, we will resist persecution.
I join with STRAP, our dear trans gender friends , in their powerful greeting:
“STRAP wishes everyone a Christmas filled with warmth, laughter and hope and a New Year that affirms our dignity, protects our right to self-determination and ensures a good quality of life for all! Happy Holidays!”www.facebook.com/strap.manila
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