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Former President Donald Trump's United States of America

President Donald Trump nominated federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett is Catholic and has anti-LGBTQ views.

Pope Francis supports same-sex unions. Pope Francis just nominated Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. to be the first black American cardinal. Grregory.

U.S. Archbishop Tells Transgender Catholic: “You Belong to the Heart of This Church”

From link.

Archbishop-Gregory-Sermon-1024x614.jpg

Archbishop Wilton Gregory

A leading U.S. archbishop has told a transgender Catholic that they “belong to the heart of this church” and mentioned positively the dialogue he has had with the Catholic parents of LGBTQ children.


Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. made his remarks during a Theology on Tap event earlier this month where he addressed LGBTQ issues in responses to two questions. Rory, a transgender Catholic involved with Dignity/Washington, asked Gregory, “What place do I as a confirmed transgender Catholic and what place do my queer friends have here in this archdiocese?” The archbishop replied:


“You belong to the heart of this church. There is nothing that you may do, may say, that will rip you from the heart of this church. There is a lot that has been said to you, about you, behind your back that is painful and is sinful. I mentioned my conversation with Fortunate Families. We have to find a way to talk to one another, and to talk to one another not just from one perspective, but to talk and to listen to one another. I think that’s the way that Jesus ministered. He engaged people, he took them where they were at, and he invited them to go deeper, closer to God. If you’re asking me where do you fit, you fit in the family.”


Rory also invited Gregory to meet with Dignity/Washington, something his predecessor, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, had chosen not to do. Gregory did not respond directly to that invitation, but his answer to another question may provide insight. Asked about healing in the church, the archbishop shared about his previous experience on LGBTQ dialogue:


“While I was the bishop of Atlanta, I was invited into a conversation with a group of parents who had sons and daughters who were gay and lesbian. They invited me, and I’m grateful that they did, to be in dialogue with them, to have me tell them first of all that they had to love their children and that the church had to love their children. That group was called Fortunate Families. It’s a loosely-knit national group. I was happy to do that.”


Gregory also referenced his support for Fr. James Martin, SJ, who the archbishop invited to speak in the Atlanta archdiocese despite some criticism. The archbishop’s record on LGBTQ issues has been quite positive. He acknowledged in 2014 that the Church needed to improve its pastoral care for LGBTQ persons. After marriage equality was legalized in the U.S., he called for all sides to be respectful and civil. Gregory has suggested the work of the 1960s civil rights movement continues today and includes efforts for lesbian and gay protections. In 2016, Gregory supported the Georgia governor’s veto of a “license to discriminate” bill that would have expanded anti-LGBTQ discrimination.


Archbishop Gregory has a full agenda in the Archdiocese of Washington, which is still recovering from the clergy sexual abuse scandals involving former Cardinal Donald Wuerl and the once-Cardinal, now-laicized, Theodore McCarrick. But the new archbishop should not neglect the pressing realities of LGBTQ Catholics both in the Washington-area and, given the prominence of his see, nationwide. Meeting with Dignity/Washington’s members per Rory’s invitation would be a fine initial gesture of his willingness to keep the dialogue begun in Atlanta going in D.C.
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Wonder if the "Cardinal" will be at the inauguration for "President" Biden? Wonder if he'll have "words" for the new "Justice"?
 
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Admiral Beez said:
I'm watching Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing on CNN and I have to say I'm not seeing from a right-wing zealot. That said, she will be a strict follower of the Constitution, so the days of using the court to circumvent the legislature to promote social change may be coming to an end.
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Not if "originalist" judges stop getting nominated.
 
Under Trump, US no longer leads world on refugee protections
Refugees from places like the Congo and Iraq have seen their protections in the U.S. fade over the last four years as the Trump administration chips away at policies once designed to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people

From link.

For decades, America led the world in humanitarian policies by creating a sanctuary for the oppressed, admitting more refugees annually than all other countries combined.

That reputation eroded during Donald Trump's presidency as he cut the number of refugees allowed in by more than 80%, and Canada replaced the U.S. as No. 1 for resettling people fleeing war and persecution.

Trump has arguably changed the immigration system more than any U.S. president, thrilling supporters with an “America first” message and infuriating critics who call his signature domestic issue insular, xenophobic and even racist.

Before November's election, The Associated Press is examining some of Trump’s biggest immigration policy changes, from halting asylum to stepping back from America’s humanitarian role.

The pain from a dismantling of the 40-year-old refugee program reverberates worldwide, coming as a record 80 million people have been displaced by war and famine.

They include an Iraqi woman who can't get to America even though her father helped the U.S. military and a woman in Uganda who hasn't been able to join her husband near Seattle despite a court settlement requiring cases like hers to be expedited.

“My kids here cry every night, my wife cries in Uganda every night,” said Congolese refugee Sophonie Bizimana, a permanent U.S. resident who doesn't know why his wife isn't with their family. “I need her, the kids need her.”

Trump has lowered the cap for refugee admissions each year of his presidency, dropping them to a record low of 15,000 for 2021.

The State Department defended the cuts as protecting American jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said the administration has sought to have refugees settle closer to their home countries and work on solving the crises that caused them to flee.

“You cannot solve this problem through American domestic resettlement. The solution has to be one of foreign policy,” Miller told the AP.

The administration also narrowed eligibility this year, restricting which refugees are selected for resettlement to certain categories, including people persecuted because of religion and Iraqis whose assistance to the U.S. put them in danger.

Democratic lawmakers denounced the lower cap and said the categories are shutting out many of the most needy. Democrat Joe Biden promises to raise the annual refugee cap to 125,000 if he wins Nov. 3.

As many as 1,000 refugees who were ready to travel now may not be eligible because they don't fit into one of the categories, said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a refugee resettlement group. For example, many Syrians may no longer qualify because no category is for those fleeing war, he said.

Even those who qualify are seeing their cases stalled because already-extensive vetting measures have become extreme. For instance, refugees now must provide addresses dating back 10 years, a near impossible task for people living in exile, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The Trump administration also has rolled back other humanitarian protections, like Temporary Protected Status for 400,000 immigrants fleeing natural disasters or violence.

Those from countries like Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Nepal and Syria now face deportation under a plan to end the program in January. Among them is Lili Montalvan, who arrived from El Salvador alone at 16 a quarter-century ago.

Living in Miami, she has a 6-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son who are American citizens. She can't fathom raising her youngest in El Salvador. Their father was deported back to Peru last year.

“We have children, we have homes, we are part of this country,” said Montalvan, who cleans houses and sells baked goods.

The administration’s efforts to drastically reduce both illegal and legal immigration has triggered a slew of lawsuits.

Bizimana, the Congolese refugee, was a plaintiff in one settled Feb. 10 by a federal court in Seattle, which required the government to expedite the cases of some 300 families. But more than eight months after the legal victory, he's still waiting for his wife to join him, and no one can tell him why.

Since arriving in 2014, Bizimana has hit hurdles every step of the way in his quest to reunite his family.

After one son arrived in 2016, the door slammed shut for everyone else in October 2017, when the Trump administration suspended refugee admissions for four months and then required more vetting of spouses and children on the verge of joining their families in the U.S.

After a federal judge limited those restrictions in December 2017, seven of his children were admitted, but not their mother. The International Rescue Committee, the resettlement agency that helped Bizimana, said the reasons for the delay are unclear.

He's not the only one without answers.

Across the globe, an Iraqi woman whose father helped the U.S. military does not know why her case stalled. She spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear her family could still be in danger.

Her father worked closely with the U.S. Army as an Iraqi government official. Because of the relationship, American military doctors agreed to treat her two rare disorders, including one causing her immune system to attack her organs.

But her frequent visits to U.S. bases led to death threats from militias in her Baghdad neighborhood, and she and her family fled to Jordan in 2016.

The 51-year-old mother has waited ever since to get to the United States, where she has a brother in Syracuse, New York. Her family has been interviewed by U.S. officials and finished their background checks.

The New York-based International Refugee Assistance Project was helping her but closed the case in 2019 because there was nothing more it could do, caseworker Ra’ed Almasri said.

“I’ve been working for three years with these people, and they still have not gotten a decision, and yet this is a case with someone who has medical issues, her family helped the U.S. military and has been through so much,” he said. “I don’t see why it hasn’t moved forward.”

The woman still texts Almasri every few weeks asking for news.

Her family first lived off savings, then help from her parents until that dried up when her father died. She sold some of her gold jewelry to pay rent on their modest apartment.

So much time has passed that her identification document from the U.N. High Commission on Refugees has expired, which means she can no longer prove a legal right to be in Jordan. She fears deportation to Iraq.

“This is our fifth year in Jordan, we are running out of money, we hope to receive the good news very soon,” the woman said.

Life has grown tougher for the more than 750,000 refugees in Jordan amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many cannot work or even leave their neighborhoods in Amman, where official checkpoints sealed off areas to slow the spread.

Almasri, the caseworker, said the desperation has become so acute some have attempted suicide.

“People feel stuck," Almasri said. “They already are in a tough situation, and now they only see things getting worse."
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W. K. Lis said:
Under Trump, US no longer leads world on refugee protections
Refugees from places like the Congo and Iraq have seen their protections in the U.S. fade over the last four years as the Trump administration chips away at policies once designed to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable people

From link.
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Under Trump, the United States would end up sending more refugees to other countries (primarily Canada) than receiving refugees from other countries.
 
Another shooting of a Black man by police, this time in Philadelphia, sets off unrest.


The person in question was armed with a knife; but was also mentally ill; his family called 911 for help; the man was not close to police physically when he was shot...........14 times.

I will say, the family's handling of this has been exemplary, not only in calling for calm, but in stating they don't want the officers charged with murder as they fault improper training and equipment.

They are being more understanding than I might be in similar circumstances.

Pennsylvania is also, a critical swing state. Will this incident, or the subsequent riots/looting affecting the outcome?
 
Northern Light said:
Another shooting of a Black man by police, this time in Philadelphia, sets off unrest.


The person in question was armed with a knife; but was also mentally ill; his family called 911 for help; the man was not close to police physically when he was shot...........14 times.

I will say, the family's handling of this has been exemplary, not only in calling for calm, but in stating they don't want the officers charged with murder as they fault improper training and equipment.

They are being more understanding than I might be in similar circumstances.

Pennsylvania is also, a critical swing state. Will this incident, or the subsequent riots/looting affecting the outcome?
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It could give Biden a small boost.
 
Northern Light said:
Another shooting of a Black man by police, this time in Philadelphia, sets off unrest.


The person in question was armed with a knife; but was also mentally ill; his family called 911 for help; the man was not close to police physically when he was shot...........14 times.

I will say, the family's handling of this has been exemplary, not only in calling for calm, but in stating they don't want the officers charged with murder as they fault improper training and equipment.

They are being more understanding than I might be in similar circumstances.

Pennsylvania is also, a critical swing state. Will this incident, or the subsequent riots/looting affecting the outcome?
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And the idiot black looters looted a business owned by a BLM supporter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1321966203812929536
 
gabe said:
Rioting and looting will give Trump a boost.
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All of that rioting and looting is very counterproductive. Those actions cause people to gravitate towards increased security and parties that support greater police presence such as the Republicans.

Please stop abusing privileges!
 
At this point, the preemptive measures taken to combat election/post-election rioting and looting (barricaded buildings and streets, et al) might have more impact than the actuality of the same--and *maybe* less on behalf of the "those Dems are maniacs!" GOP than the "America's come to this under Trump" Dems...
 
Johnny Au said:
All of that rioting and looting is very counterproductive. Those actions cause people to gravitate towards increased security and parties that support greater police presence such as the Republicans.

Please stop abusing privileges!
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Riots are not a one way street. It's not like one side starts rioting out of the blue. Riots are typically manifestation of protests. And protests are typically the result of an action or event. Send strong police presence to a peaceful protest and then we have a riot.

So I don't agree with these blanketed statements. We look throughout history at some of the biggest riots that came from peaceful protests that were met with aggressive police presence.

Would love to see the responses if the internet existed during the civil rights era. The bolded is laughable to me.
 
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