lifesitenews--2020-02-13--Cdl Müller: German bishops need ‘religious about-face’ after pope halted female deacons, married pri

Cdl Müller: German bishops need ‘religious about-face’ after pope halted female deacons, married priests

February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – German Cardinal Gerhard Müller said that now that Pope Francis has refused to allow female deacons and married priests in the Amazon region , the German bishops should perform a “ religious about-face.
” “ I hope that a religious about-face will now be carried out in Germany , ” he said in light of Pope Francis ’ exhortation “ Querida Amazonia ” released yesterday .
The German bishops in there “ synodal path ” had called for female ordination , the abolishment of celibacy and a loosening of the Church ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” continued Müller , “ the universal Church and the Holy Father must be asked for forgiveness for the schismatic act of putting the decisions of a body unauthorized for doctrinal questions above the teaching of the Church and thus above Revelation , as if one had never heard of Vatican II.
” Müller , the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , acknowledged the Pope ’ s post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation in a positive way , calling it a “ pastoral letter of prophetic power.
” He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost , that while “ Querida Amazonia ” refers to the final document of the Amazon synod , which took place last October , “ the Pope does not draw from it any dramatic and disconcerting conclusions.
” The final document had actually called for the ordination to the priesthood of married men living in the Amazon region , as well as the permanent diaconate for women .
Müller expressed his happiness over the fact that the Pope “ does not want to fuel existing political , ethnic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but rather to overcome them.
” The cardinal is hopeful that “ Querida Amazonia ” could have a reconciling effect , “ reducing internal Church factions , ideological fixations and the danger of inner emigration or open resistance.
” In that context , Müller continued , it is to be hoped “ that the interpreters of this document will refrain from unnecessary harshness and take up the concerns of the Holy Father like true sons and daughters of the Church in a spirit of agreement and collaboration.
” Müller showed his appreciation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exhortation “ between worship of the Creator and worship of the created as if it were God ” , which must not be forgotten .
Bishop Marian Eleganti , auxiliary bishop in the Swiss diocese of Chur , also praised the document for its “ loving , conciliatory , unagitated and pleasant , humble tone ” across all pages .
Bishop Eleganti went into more detail , however , stating that in one passage , Pope Francis may have been defending the use of the Pachamama statues during the Amazon Synod .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hosted a pagan ceremony with Pachamama statues in the Vatican Gardens and even blessed one of the statues .
At the ceremony , people were bowing down to the ground worshiping the statue .
Additionally , the Pope prayed in front of the Pachamama statue at St. Peter 's Cathedral on October 7 and then accompanied it in procession into the synod hall .
The Pope confirmed that the statue was “ Pachamama ” and apologized for other Pachamama statues being thrown into the Tiber river .
In section 78 of Querida Amazonia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ not be quick to describe as superstition or paganism certain religious practices that arise spontaneously from the life of peoples.
” In section 79 , the Pope continues that it is “ possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way , without necessarily considering it as idolatry , ” adding that a “ myth charged with spiritual meaning can be used to advantage and not always considered a pagan error.
” While admitting the truth of this statement , Eleganti offered some words of criticism .
“ That is true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down before this symbol , nor should one carry it before oneself like a monstrance , as happened in the presence of the Pope and other high church dignitaries during the Amazon synod in Rome.
” Both Müller and Eleganti indicated their admiration for article 101 of the apostolic exhortation , in which Pope Francis speaks of Jesus Christ appearing “ as the Spouse of the community that celebrates the Eucharist through the figure of a man who presides as a sign of the one Priest .
This dialogue between the Spouse and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sanctifies the community , should not trap us in partial conceptions of power in the Church .
The Lord chose to reveal his power and his love through two human faces : the face of his divine Son made man and the face of a creature , a woman , Mary.
” For Müller , this states clearly , in the sense of the defined doctrine of faith , “ that the priest is sacramentally conformed to Christ , the head of the Church , by virtue of ordination .
Therefore , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represent Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church.
” “ We can only be grateful to Francis for this unusual and unexpected clarity .
It means , once again , a rejection of the priesthood for women .
Francis sees the place of women in ministries ( with effective influence also on organization and leadership ) that do not require ordination , ” Eleganti agreed .
According to Müller , Pope Francis ’ approach to the nature of the priesthood falls short , as he defines it through the exclusive power to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sacraments of penance and the anointing of the sick .
“ Bishops and priests represent Christ , in whom he has the total ministry of teaching , sanctifying and governing , ” Müller clarified .
The German cardinal once again emphasized that ordaining married men , often referred to as viri probati , to the priesthood is not an option .
Francis had not mentioned that issue at all in his apostolic exhortation .
“ But a solution , which is praised all too pragmatically by many in the consecration of viri probati @ @ @ @ @ @ @ celibacy in the Latin Church .
For with it , the Church would , in the epochal challenge of postmodern secularism , dispense with the most effective remedy – namely that the servants of the kingdom of heaven symbolically renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God , ” said Müller .
Again , Bishop Eleganti seconded the thoughts of Cardinal Müller , saying that Pope Francis does not open the doors to married priests , but instead calls for priests to be sent to the Amazon region as missionaries .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was ordained a bishop , was critical of Francis ’ plan to extend the competence of the laity , something not mentioned by the German cardinal in his analysis .
In article 94 , the Pope spoke of “ lay leaders endowed with authority , ” referring to a provision made by the Code of Canon Law ( CIC ) .
“ If , because of a lack of priests , the diocesan bishop has decided that participation in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish is to be entrusted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not a priest , or to a community of persons , he is to appoint some priest who , provided with the powers and faculties of a pastor , is to direct the pastoral care , ” canon 517 of the CIC states .
“ Francis does not seem to think about the conflicts between ordained and non-ordained ministers of the Church , which remain a great weakness of his proposal , ” said Eleganti .
“ The German-speaking countries have enough experience and conflicts in this regard which to this day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ origin in the creation of full-time non-ordained community leaders authorized or empowered by the bishops , ” the Swiss bishop argued .
In conclusion , Eleganti praised the portrayal of Our Lady by Pope Francis as she who overcomes “ this pagan idea and worship ” on display in connection with the Pachamama statues .
“ I see here the decisive counterpoint to the previous debate about Pachamama , a kind of pagan-indigenous deification and personalization of the so-called Mother Earth and her cultic worship , ” wrote Eleganti .
The overall positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Querida Amazonia ” did not take into account points made by Cardinal Reinhard Marx , the president of the German bishops ’ conference .
According to his interpretation , Pope Francis referred the readers of his exhortation back to the final document of the Amazon Synod .
“ By no means is it off the table with the publication of the exhortation , ” Marx emphasized yesterday .
Since the final document called for married priests and female deacons , those questions are still open to further discussion , Marx argued .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholics , Thomas Sternberg , expressed his disappointment in the Apostolic Exhortation since it did not allow for married priests or an opening of the diaconate to women .
Sternberg is confident that the document “ reinforces the existing positions of the Roman Church , both in terms of access to the priesthood and the participation of women in the Church ’ s ministries and offices.
” However , Sternberg also echoed what Cardinal Marx had said .
“ We are convinced that the Eucharist , as source and summit , must remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emphasizes in this letter .
The question of the conditions for admission to the ordained ministry must take second place to this , ” he explained .
Sternberg and Marx as the main protagonists and organizers of the Synodal Path in Germany are thus advancing an interpretation of “ Querida Amazonia ” that is quite contrary to what Müller and Eleganti take from the document .
Rumors that his decision not to stand for reelection as president of the German bishops ’ conference was due to his disappointment in “ Querida Amazonia ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with members of the press .
Marx also denied that he was about to leave for a position at the Roman Curia .

February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — German cardinal Gerhard Müller said that now that Pope Francis has refused to allow female deacons and married priests in the Amazon region, the German bishops should perform a “religious about-face.”
“I hope that a religious about-face will now be carried out in Germany,” he said in light of Pope Francis’s exhortation Querida Amazonia, released yesterday. The German bishops in their “synodal path” had called for female ordination, the abolishment of celibacy, and a loosening of the Church’s sexual morality.
“Above all,” continued Müller, “the universal Church and the Holy Father must be asked for forgiveness for the schismatic act of putting the decisions of a body unauthorized for doctrinal questions above the teaching of the Church and thus above Revelation, as if one had never heard of Vatican II.”
Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, acknowledged the pope’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation in a positive way, calling it a “pastoral letter of prophetic power.”
He said in a statement, originally published by German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost, that while Querida Amazonia refers to the final document of the Amazon Synod, which took place last October, “the pope does not draw from it any dramatic and disconcerting conclusions.”
The final document had actually called for the ordination to the priesthood of married men living in the Amazon region, as well as the permanent diaconate for women. Müller expressed his happiness over the fact that the pope “does not want to fuel existing political, ethnic, and inner-Church conflicts and conflicts of interest, but rather to overcome them.”
The cardinal is hopeful that Querida Amazonia could have a reconciling effect, “reducing internal Church factions, ideological fixations, and the danger of inner emigration or open resistance.” In that context, Müller continued, it is to be hoped “that the interpreters of this document will refrain from unnecessary harshness and take up the concerns of the Holy Father like true sons and daughters of the Church in a spirit of agreement and collaboration.”
Müller showed his appreciation for the fine line drawn in the exhortation “between worship of the Creator and worship of the created as if it were God,” which must not be forgotten.
Bishop Marian Eleganti, auxiliary bishop in the Swiss diocese of Chur, also praised the document for its “loving, conciliatory, unagitated and pleasant, humble tone” across all pages.
Bishop Eleganti went into more detail, stating that in one passage, Pope Francis may have been defending the use of the Pachamama statues during the Amazon Synod.
On October 4, 2019, Pope Francis hosted a pagan ceremony with Pachamama statues in the Vatican Gardens and even blessed one of the statues. At the ceremony, people were bowing down to the ground, worshiping the statue. Additionally, the pope prayed in front of the Pachamama statue at St. Peter’s Basilica on October 7 and then accompanied it in procession into the synod hall. The pope confirmed that the statue was “Pachamama” and apologized for other Pachamama statues being thrown into the Tiber river.
In section 78 of Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis states that people should “not be quick to describe as superstition or paganism certain religious practices that arise spontaneously from the life of peoples.” In section 79, the pope continues that it is “possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way, without necessarily considering it as idolatry,” adding that a “myth charged with spiritual meaning can be used to advantage and not always considered a pagan error.”
While admitting the truth of this statement, Eleganti offered some words of criticism. “That is true, but then one should not fall down before this symbol, nor should one carry it before oneself like a monstrance, as happened in the presence of the pope and other high church dignitaries during the Amazon Synod in Rome.”
Both Müller and Eleganti indicated their admiration for article 101 of the apostolic exhortation, in which Pope Francis speaks of Jesus Christ appearing “as the Spouse of the community that celebrates the Eucharist through the figure of a man who presides as a sign of the one Priest. This dialogue between the Spouse and his Bride, which arises in adoration and sanctifies the community, should not trap us in partial conceptions of power in the Church. The Lord chose to reveal his power and his love through two human faces: the face of his divine Son made man and the face of a creature, a woman, Mary.”
For Müller, this states clearly, in the sense of the defined doctrine of faith, “that the priest is sacramentally conformed to Christ, the head of the Church, by virtue of ordination. Therefore, only a man can symbolically and sacramentally represent Christ as the Bridegroom of the Church.”
“We can only be grateful to Francis for this unusual and unexpected clarity. It means, once again, a rejection of the priesthood for women. Francis sees the place of women in ministries (with effective influence also on organization and leadership) that do not require ordination,” Eleganti agreed.
According to Müller, Pope Francis’s approach to the nature of the priesthood falls short, as he defines it through the exclusive power to say Mass as well as to administer the sacraments of penance and the anointing of the sick. “Bishops and priests represent Christ, in whom [they have] the total ministry of teaching, sanctifying and governing,” Müller clarified.
The German cardinal once again emphasized that ordaining married men, often referred to as viri probati, to the priesthood is not an option. Francis does not mention that issue at all in his apostolic exhortation.
“But a solution, which is praised all too pragmatically by many in the consecration of viri probati, would not be a relativization of celibacy in the Latin Church. For with it, the Church would, in the epochal challenge of postmodern secularism, dispense with the most effective remedy — namely, that the servants of the kingdom of Heaven symbolically renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God,” said Müller.
Bishop Eleganti again seconded the thoughts of Cardinal Müller, saying Pope Francis does not open the doors to married priests, but instead calls for priests to be sent to the Amazon region as missionaries.
Eleganti, a Benedictine abbot before he was ordained a bishop, was critical of Francis’s plan to extend the competence of the laity, something not mentioned by the German cardinal in his analysis.
In article 94, the pope spoke of “lay leaders endowed with authority,” referring to a provision made by the Code of Canon Law (CIC). “If, because of a lack of priests, the diocesan bishop has decided that participation in the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish is to be entrusted to a deacon, to another person who is not a priest, or to a community of persons, he is to appoint some priest who, provided with the powers and faculties of a pastor, is to direct the pastoral care,” canon 517 of the CIC states.
“Francis does not seem to think about the conflicts between ordained and non-ordained ministers of the Church, which remain a great weakness of his proposal,” said Eleganti. “The German-speaking countries have enough experience and conflicts in this regard which to this day could not be solved and have their origin in the creation of full-time non-ordained community leaders authorized or empowered by the bishops,” the Swiss bishop argued.
In conclusion, Eleganti praised the portrayal of Our Lady by Pope Francis as she who overcomes “this pagan idea and worship” on display in connection with the Pachamama statues.
“I see here the decisive counterpoint to the previous debate about Pachamama, a kind of pagan-indigenous deification and personalization of the so-called Mother Earth and her cultic worship,” wrote Eleganti.
The overall positive attitude toward Querida Amazonia did not take into account points made by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German bishops’ conference. According to his interpretation, Pope Francis refers the readers of his exhortation back to the final document of the Amazon Synod.
“By no means is it off the table with the publication of the exhortation,” Marx emphasized yesterday. Since the final document called for married priests and female deacons, those questions are still open to further discussion, Marx argued.
The president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, Thomas Sternberg, expressed his disappointment in the apostolic exhortation since it did not allow for married priests in the Latin Church or an opening of the diaconate to women. Sternberg is confident that the document “reinforces the existing positions of the Roman Church, both in terms of access to the priesthood and the participation of women in the Church’s ministries and offices.”
However, Sternberg also echoed Cardinal Marx. “We are convinced that the Eucharist, as source and summit, must remain possible locally, as Pope Francis again emphasizes in this letter. The question of the conditions for admission to the ordained ministry must take second place to this,” he explained.
Sternberg and Marx as the main protagonists and organizers of the synodal path in Germany are thus advancing an interpretation of Querida Amazonia that is quite contrary to what Müller and Eleganti take from the document.
Rumors that his decision not to stand for re-election as president of the German bishops’ conference was due to his disappointment in Querida Amazonia were denied by Marx at a meeting with members of the press. Marx also denied that he was about to leave for a position at the Roman Curia.
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--Is Pope Francis’s Amazon Synod exhortation a relief or the tip of the iceberg?

February 13 , 2020 ( The Catholic Thing ) — Querida Amazonia , Pope Francis ’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation ( released yesterday ) , is , at a first reading , a mostly pleasant surprise .
It shows little of the freewheeling radicalism that bulked large — in the synod hall and Vatican gardens , and even on the streets , during the Synod last October .
He quotes copiously from his own texts , to be sure , but also from St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI .
So much so that Cardinal Gerhard Mueller , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has called the Exhortation an effort at reconciliation .
That may — or may not — be so .
There ’ s no mention of married viri probati as a remedy for the Amazonian priest shortage — but nothing about priestly celibacy either .
Instead , for now , the pope wants bishops in the region to emphasize priestly vocations and the responsibility of priests from the region to stay there instead of heading to North America and Europe .
And he invites priests inclined to missionary work to go to Amazonia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the opposite direction to where it seemed headed , again for now .
Francis says that innovations along that line would be a “ clericalization ” — a strongly negative term for him — of the true contributions women have made and continue to make in accord with their true nature , which is noteworthy for “ tender strength.
” There are hints here and there of liturgical adaptations , but not the full-blown “ Amazonian Rite ” much debated during the synod ( a seeming impossibility given the hundreds of different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have to be accommodated ) .
And there ’ s a bit of what might be called temporary syncretism — a patient toleration of the blending of native and Catholic practices preliminary to a purification of indigenous ways , the kind of thing missionaries sometimes allow and not necessarily a problem , if you ’ re confident about the ultimate goal .
And why it ’ s being done .
And by whom .
The one large caveat in all this , which is presented in a way clearly intended to avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the ambiguity — a Bergoglian trademark — in how this relates to the Final Report of the Amazonia Synod , which was far more radical and controversial on these very points .
The pope says at the outset that he won ’ t quote from the Report because he wants us to read the whole thing .
And beyond reading : “ May the pastors , consecrated men and women and lay faithful of the Amazon region strive to apply it , and may it inspire in some way every person of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an olive branch being offered , at least on the surface .
Or maybe there ’ s been fear in Rome that pressing further at this moment might take the Church to the breaking point .
One of the pope ’ s guiding principles is : “ It is more important to start processes than to dominate spaces , ” as he put it in Amoris Laetitia ( §261 ) .
What is really happening here will only become clearer as the process of striving “ to apply ” the Report — not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bulk of this conceptual iceberg may lie below the waterline .
The Report spoke almost compulsively of the need to “ listen ” to indigenous peoples , so much so that you wondered why they needed missionaries or other outsiders at all .
The Exhortation wants “ listening ” as well , but adds : If we devote our lives to their service , to working for the justice and dignity that they deserve , we can not conceal the fact that we do so because we see Christ in them and because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have received from God , the Father who loves them with boundless love .
They have a right to hear the Gospel .
...
Without that impassioned proclamation , every ecclesial structure would become just another NGO and we would not follow the command given us by Christ : “ Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.
” The bulk of the Exhortation , however , is devoted to various social justice themes .
Of its four chapters , only the last touches directly on central Church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ dream , ” sometimes illustrated with passages from major Latin American poets like the Chilean Pablo Neruda and the Brazilian Vinicius de Moraes : I dream of an Amazon region that fights for the rights of the poor , the original peoples and the least of our brothers and sisters , where their voices can be heard and their dignity advanced .
I dream of an Amazon region that can preserve its distinctive cultural riches , where the beauty of our humanity shines forth in so many varied ways .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jealously preserve its overwhelming natural beauty and the superabundant life teeming in its rivers and forests .
I dream of Christian communities capable of generous commitment , incarnate in the Amazon region , and giving the Church new faces with Amazonian features .
As with the pope ’ s encyclical on the environment , Laudato Si , these somewhat Romantic notions rightly remind the developed world that other kinds of lives have value .
And that we need to recover a sense of the world as Creation , not merely matter and energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , irrespective of God ’ s order .
The “ transgender ” movement is the final station stop for that train , wherein people may claim to be something , at mere will , that their bodies down to the molecular level deny .
We can all learn from each other , to be sure , but the primitivist model of community , harmony with nature , and buen vivir ( “ good living ” ) that Rome has latched on to has a long literary history , but only very general lessons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It would have been better to acknowledge that somewhere .
And it would be better if Rome made clear that the Amazon ’ s priest shortage also has limited lessons for a global Church .
The processes now in motion need to be guided by something steady and different from we ’ ve seen so far .
With the new Exhortation , we still can ’ t say whether that ’ s emerged or not .
But doubtless we ’ ll soon see .
Published with permission from The Catholic Thing .

The one large caveat in all this, which is presented in a way clearly intended to avoid adding fuel to already raging fires, is the ambiguity.
February 13, 2020 (The Catholic Thing) — Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (released yesterday), is, at a first reading, a mostly pleasant surprise. It shows little of the freewheeling radicalism that bulked large — in the synod hall and Vatican gardens, and even on the streets, during the Synod last October. He quotes copiously from his own texts, to be sure, but also from St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. So much so that Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, a powerful voice in current Church debates, has called the Exhortation an effort at reconciliation.
That may — or may not — be so.
There’s no mention of married viri probati as a remedy for the Amazonian priest shortage — but nothing about priestly celibacy either. Instead, for now, the pope wants bishops in the region to emphasize priestly vocations and the responsibility of priests from the region to stay there instead of heading to North America and Europe. And he invites priests inclined to missionary work to go to Amazonia.
The question of deaconesses is actually turned in the opposite direction to where it seemed headed, again for now. Francis says that innovations along that line would be a “clericalization” — a strongly negative term for him — of the true contributions women have made and continue to make in accord with their true nature, which is noteworthy for “tender strength.”
There are hints here and there of liturgical adaptations, but not the full-blown “Amazonian Rite” much debated during the synod (a seeming impossibility given the hundreds of different tribes and language groups in Amazonia that would have to be accommodated).
And there’s a bit of what might be called temporary syncretism — a patient toleration of the blending of native and Catholic practices preliminary to a purification of indigenous ways, the kind of thing missionaries sometimes allow and not necessarily a problem, if you’re confident about the ultimate goal. And why it’s being done. And by whom.
The one large caveat in all this, which is presented in a way clearly intended to avoid adding fuel to already raging fires, is the ambiguity — a Bergoglian trademark — in how this relates to the Final Report of the Amazonia Synod, which was far more radical and controversial on these very points. The pope says at the outset that he won’t quote from the Report because he wants us to read the whole thing. And beyond reading: “May the pastors, consecrated men and women and lay faithful of the Amazon region strive to apply it, and may it inspire in some way every person of good will.”
So there’s an olive branch being offered, at least on the surface. Or maybe there’s been fear in Rome that pressing further at this moment might take the Church to the breaking point. One of the pope’s guiding principles is: “It is more important to start processes than to dominate spaces,” as he put it in Amoris Laetitia (§261). What is really happening here will only become clearer as the process of striving “to apply” the Report — not the Exhortation — takes shape. The bulk of this conceptual iceberg may lie below the waterline.
The Report spoke almost compulsively of the need to “listen” to indigenous peoples, so much so that you wondered why they needed missionaries or other outsiders at all. The Exhortation wants “listening” as well, but adds:
If we devote our lives to their service, to working for the justice and dignity that they deserve, we cannot conceal the fact that we do so because we see Christ in them and because we acknowledge the immense dignity that they have received from God, the Father who loves them with boundless love. They have a right to hear the Gospel. … Without that impassioned proclamation, every ecclesial structure would become just another NGO and we would not follow the command given us by Christ: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.”
The bulk of the Exhortation, however, is devoted to various social justice themes. Of its four chapters, only the last touches directly on central Church matters. Each chapter is animated by a “dream,” sometimes illustrated with passages from major Latin American poets like the Chilean Pablo Neruda and the Brazilian Vinicius de Moraes:
I dream of an Amazon region that fights for the rights of the poor, the original peoples and the least of our brothers and sisters, where their voices can be heard and their dignity advanced.
I dream of an Amazon region that can preserve its distinctive cultural riches, where the beauty of our humanity shines forth in so many varied ways.
I dream of an Amazon region that can jealously preserve its overwhelming natural beauty and the superabundant life teeming in its rivers and forests.
I dream of Christian communities capable of generous commitment, incarnate in the Amazon region, and giving the Church new faces with Amazonian features.
As with the pope’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si, these somewhat Romantic notions rightly remind the developed world that other kinds of lives have value. And that we need to recover a sense of the world as Creation, not merely matter and energy, to be manipulated for any end, irrespective of God’s order. The “transgender” movement is the final station stop for that train, wherein people may claim to be something, at mere will, that their bodies down to the molecular level deny.
We can all learn from each other, to be sure, but the primitivist model of community, harmony with nature, and buen vivir (“good living”) that Rome has latched on to has a long literary history, but only very general lessons for a world of 7 billion people. It would have been better to acknowledge that somewhere.
And it would be better if Rome made clear that the Amazon’s priest shortage also has limited lessons for a global Church. The processes now in motion need to be guided by something steady and different from we’ve seen so far. With the new Exhortation, we still can’t say whether that’s emerged or not. But doubtless we’ll soon see.
Published with permission from The Catholic Thing.
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--‘Communist virus’ has infected Catholic Church, says respected Catholic historian

February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Catholic historian Professor Roberto de Mattei called for “ a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials ” at a national conservatism conference held in Rome last week .
He noted that the “ communist virus ” is not conquered , but has infected much of the West as well as the Catholic Church .
Professor de Mattei explained ( read full text below ) that the idea of launching an appeal for the trial of communism came last October from the now deceased Vladimir Bukovsky and Professor Renato Cristin .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that in the 20th century , “ there was no crime comparable to that of communism , in terms of the length of time that it lasted , the geographical territory it embraced , and also the amount of hatred that it knew how to generate.
” He said that “ for this reason , communism should be brought to trial.
” Professor de Mattei argued at the Feb. 4 “ God , Honor , Country ” National Conservatism Conference that the reason why President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ both believed that communism was a moral evil , not simply bad economics.
” On the other hand , de Mattei noted that communism continues to be promoted by powerful forces in our world today .
He highlighted the celebration in the mainstream media of Karl Marx , the continued flourishing of communism in China and Latin America , and its influence on European politics .
“ Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall , in the circles of those who control the ‘ media ’ of images and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen as an ‘ evil , ’ not even after its political collapse , ” de Mattei said .
“ On May 5 , 2018 , the then-president of the European Commission , Jean-Claude Juncker , participated in the solemn celebrations in Trier , Germany for the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx , defending his heritage .
That same year , the New York Times celebrated the bicentennial with an editorial in which it treated Marx like a prophet .
And today communism is flourishing not only in China and Latin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the communist parties have disappeared but the ideology survives.
” Professor de Mattei noted the ongoing popularity of communist thinker Antonio Gramsci and said that ideas “ intrinsic to communist doctrine ” such as “ evolutionism and hedonism ” continue to “ pervade the West.
” “ The new Europe , which has expelled the name of Christ and every reference to Christianity from its founding Treaty , is fully realizing the Gramscian plan of the secularization of society , ” de Mattei said .
“ It was not by chance that Vladimir @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ European Union of Soviet Republics.
’ ” Professor de Mattei said the “ communist virus ” has infected not only Western culture , media , and politics , but also the Church .
“ We all remember the homage given to Fidel Castro by the Vatican authorities in November 2016 and the accord signed by the Holy See with China ’ s communist government , ” he said .
“ Cardinal Joseph Zen , the highest prelate in China and the leading voice for persecuted Catholics , recently sent a letter to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denounce this agreement , ” he continued .
“ It is for this reason that we say that communism is not dead , and we will continue to call for a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials.
” “ God , Honor , Country : President Ronald Reagan , Pope John Paul II , and the Freedom of Nations — A National Conservatism Conference ” Full text of the intervention of prof. Roberto de Mattei It seems like a paradox , but it ’ s not .
The Berlin wall was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders were at the head of the free world : a political leader , American President John F. Kennedy , and a religious leader , Pope John XXIII .
The same Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989 thanks to the contributions of two conservative leaders : a political leader , President Ronald Reagan , and a religious leader , Pope John Paul II .
What I would like to emphasize today is that the strategy of Reagan and John Paul II had greater political success than the détente of Nixon and Kissinger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cardinal Casaroli .
What were the common elements of the strategy shared by two people as different as the American president and the Polish pope ?
It seems to me that the reason for their success was the axiological vision of politics that they both held , which was opposed to both the Realpolitik of Kissinger as well as the Wilsonian tradition of universalist , globalist democracy .
What does an axiological vision mean ?
It means a vision in which politics is not divorced from moral values but respects them .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Paul II made a moral judgement about the political movements of their day .
As George Weigel has noted , both believed that communism was a moral evil , not simply bad economics .
The `` Evil Empire '' speech delivered by Reagan in 1983 is famous .
In that speech , Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an `` evil empire '' and as `` the focus of evil in the modern world '' .
Likewise , Pope John Paul II , in his last book entitled Memory and Identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evil are profoundly rooted in the history of European thought , ” especially the French Enlightenment , the radically atheist Marxist Revolution , National Socialist ideology , abortion , and gay rights conferred by the European parliament .
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall , in the circles of those who control the “ media ” of images and the printed word , communism has never been seen as an “ evil , ” not even after its political collapse .
On May 5 , 2018 , the then-president of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , participated in the solemn celebrations in Trier , Germany for the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx , defending his heritage .
That same year , the New York Times celebrated the bicentennial with an editorial in which it treated Marx like a prophet .
And today communism is flourishing not only in China and Latin America but also in Europe , where the communist parties have disappeared but the ideology survives .
Today evolutionism and hedonism , which are intrinsic to communist doctrine , pervade the West , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been replaced with the “ dictatorship of relativism ” that comes from the same poisoned well of dialectical materialism .
Antonio Gramsci , the theorician par excellence of dialectical materialism , is today one of the five most-studied and most-translated Italians after the 16th century , and among the top 250 world authors of all time who are the most read , translated , and cited .
The new Europe , which has expelled the name of Christ and every reference to Christianity from its founding Treaty , is fully realizing the Gramscian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was not by chance that Vladimir Bukovsky defined the European Union as the “ European Union of Soviet Republics.
” He said : “ I think we have a gulag in the European Union also , an intellectual gulag known as political correctness .
When anyone tries to speak their mind on race or gender , or if their views differ from those approved , they will be ostracized.
” ( Britain on the Brink ) I would like to recall and honor Vladimir Bukovsky .
He died last fall , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9 .
His final book Judgment in Moscow , Soviet Crimes and Western Complicity was an international bestseller published in nine languages , but has only now been published in English for the first time .
This book reminds us that no crime , no matter how slight it may be , can escape from an investigation , from a trial , from a sentence .
But this has not happened for communism .
Not only has there not been a trial , there has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The prohibition against anti-communism has placed a ban on all study , research , and documentation relevant to communism ’ s past .
The past must be neither discussed , nor condemned , nor “ expiated.
” Only ex-communists and post-communists , those who participated in some way in the “ great illusion ” are allowed to criticize communism in the post-communist era .
Last October , through the initiative of the late Vladimir Bukovsky and professor Renato Cristin , a group of intellectuals from various nations of the world launched an appeal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I have joined this appeal because I am convinced that in the 20th century there was no crime comparable to that of communism , in terms of the length of time that it lasted , the geographical territory it embraced , and also the amount of hatred that it knew how to generate .
For this reason communism should be brought to trial .
The request for a trial of communism analogous to that of Nuremberg may appear anachronistic today .
Thirty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crimes of communism are either dead or have apparently converted to democracy .
But the trial of communism that Bukovsky wanted and that we are demanding , before being understood as a legal process ought to be seen as a cultural and moral process that denounces the responsibility of the architects of communism and their accomplices before history and before public opinion , just as happened for National Socialism .
Anti-communism has ceased , it has dissolved .
For its part , communism has sunk , like a subterranean river that suddenly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with greater vigor .
We must not be afraid to say that communism is still alive , because although the Soviet Union fell apart , the communist utopia continues to infect , like a virus , a communist virus , Western culture , media , politics , and also the Church .
We all remember the homage given to Fidel Castro by the Vatican authorities in November 2016 , and the accord signed by the Holy See with China ’ s communist government .
Cardinal Joseph Zen , the highest prelate in China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , recently sent a letter to the College of Cardinals imploring them to denounce this agreement .
It is for this reason that we say that communism is not dead , and we will continue to call for a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials .

February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Catholic historian Professor Roberto de Mattei called for “a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials” at a national conservatism conference held in Rome last week. He noted that the “communist virus” is not conquered, but has infected much of the West as well as the Catholic Church.
Professor de Mattei explained (read full text below) that the idea of launching an appeal for the trial of communism came last October from the now deceased Vladimir Bukovsky and Professor Renato Cristin. Professor de Mattei said he was convinced that in the 20th century, “there was no crime comparable to that of communism, in terms of the length of time that it lasted, the geographical territory it embraced, and also the amount of hatred that it knew how to generate.” He said that “for this reason, communism should be brought to trial.”
Professor de Mattei argued at the Feb. 4 “God, Honor, Country” National Conservatism Conference that the reason why President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were effective opponents of communism is because they “both believed that communism was a moral evil, not simply bad economics.”
On the other hand, de Mattei noted that communism continues to be promoted by powerful forces in our world today. He highlighted the celebration in the mainstream media of Karl Marx, the continued flourishing of communism in China and Latin America, and its influence on European politics.
“Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the circles of those who control the ‘media’ of images and the printed word, communism has never been seen as an ‘evil,’ not even after its political collapse,” de Mattei said. “On May 5, 2018, the then-president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, participated in the solemn celebrations in Trier, Germany for the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx, defending his heritage. That same year, the New York Times celebrated the bicentennial with an editorial in which it treated Marx like a prophet. And today communism is flourishing not only in China and Latin America but also in Europe, where the communist parties have disappeared but the ideology survives.”
Professor de Mattei noted the ongoing popularity of communist thinker Antonio Gramsci and said that ideas “intrinsic to communist doctrine” such as “evolutionism and hedonism” continue to “pervade the West.”
“The new Europe, which has expelled the name of Christ and every reference to Christianity from its founding Treaty, is fully realizing the Gramscian plan of the secularization of society,” de Mattei said. “It was not by chance that Vladimir Bukovsky defined the European Union as the ‘European Union of Soviet Republics.’”
Professor de Mattei said the “communist virus” has infected not only Western culture, media, and politics, but also the Church. “We all remember the homage given to Fidel Castro by the Vatican authorities in November 2016 and the accord signed by the Holy See with China’s communist government,” he said.
“Cardinal Joseph Zen, the highest prelate in China and the leading voice for persecuted Catholics, recently sent a letter to the College of Cardinals imploring them to denounce this agreement,” he continued.
“It is for this reason that we say that communism is not dead, and we will continue to call for a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials.”
* * *
“God, Honor, Country: President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and the Freedom of Nations — A National Conservatism Conference”
Hotel Plaza, February 4, 2020
Full text of the intervention of prof. Roberto de Mattei
It seems like a paradox, but it’s not. The Berlin wall was built in 1961, when two progressive leaders were at the head of the free world: a political leader, American President John F. Kennedy, and a religious leader, Pope John XXIII.
The same Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989 thanks to the contributions of two conservative leaders: a political leader, President Ronald Reagan, and a religious leader, Pope John Paul II. What I would like to emphasize today is that the strategy of Reagan and John Paul II had greater political success than the détente of Nixon and Kissinger and the Ostpolitik of Paul VI and Cardinal Casaroli.
What were the common elements of the strategy shared by two people as different as the American president and the Polish pope?
It seems to me that the reason for their success was the axiological vision of politics that they both held, which was opposed to both the Realpolitik of Kissinger as well as the Wilsonian tradition of universalist, globalist democracy.
What does an axiological vision mean? It means a vision in which politics is not divorced from moral values but respects them. It was no accident that both Reagan and John Paul II made a moral judgement about the political movements of their day. As George Weigel has noted, both believed that communism was a moral evil, not simply bad economics. The “Evil Empire” speech delivered by Reagan in 1983 is famous. In that speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and as “the focus of evil in the modern world“.
Likewise, Pope John Paul II, in his last book entitled Memory and Identity, asserted that “the ideologies of evil are profoundly rooted in the history of European thought,” especially the French Enlightenment, the radically atheist Marxist Revolution, National Socialist ideology, abortion, and gay rights conferred by the European parliament.
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the circles of those who control the “media” of images and the printed word, communism has never been seen as an “evil,” not even after its political collapse. On May 5, 2018, the then-president of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, participated in the solemn celebrations in Trier, Germany for the bicentennial of the birth of Karl Marx, defending his heritage. That same year, the New York Times celebrated the bicentennial with an editorial in which it treated Marx like a prophet. And today communism is flourishing not only in China and Latin America but also in Europe, where the communist parties have disappeared but the ideology survives.
Today evolutionism and hedonism, which are intrinsic to communist doctrine, pervade the West, and the “dictatorship of the proletariat” has been replaced with the “dictatorship of relativism” that comes from the same poisoned well of dialectical materialism. Antonio Gramsci, the theorician par excellence of dialectical materialism, is today one of the five most-studied and most-translated Italians after the 16th century, and among the top 250 world authors of all time who are the most read, translated, and cited.
The new Europe, which has expelled the name of Christ and every reference to Christianity from its founding Treaty, is fully realizing the Gramscian plan of the secularization of society. It was not by chance that Vladimir Bukovsky defined the European Union as the “European Union of Soviet Republics.” He said:“I think we have a gulag in the European Union also, an intellectual gulag known as political correctness. When anyone tries to speak their mind on race or gender, or if their views differ from those approved, they will be ostracized.” (Britain on the Brink)
I would like to recall and honor Vladimir Bukovsky. He died last fall, just ten days before the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9. His final book Judgment in Moscow, Soviet Crimes and Western Complicity was an international bestseller published in nine languages, but has only now been published in English for the first time. This book reminds us that no crime, no matter how slight it may be, can escape from an investigation, from a trial, from a sentence. But this has not happened for communism. Not only has there not been a trial, there has not even been a cultural debate. The prohibition against anti-communism has placed a ban on all study, research, and documentation relevant to communism’s past. The past must be neither discussed, nor condemned, nor “expiated.” Only ex-communists and post-communists, those who participated in some way in the “great illusion” are allowed to criticize communism in the post-communist era.
Last October, through the initiative of the late Vladimir Bukovsky and professor Renato Cristin, a group of intellectuals from various nations of the world launched an appeal for a new Nuremberg Trial on communism.
I have joined this appeal because I am convinced that in the 20th century there was no crime comparable to that of communism, in terms of the length of time that it lasted, the geographical territory it embraced, and also the amount of hatred that it knew how to generate. For this reason communism should be brought to trial.
The request for a trial of communism analogous to that of Nuremberg may appear anachronistic today. Thirty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the majority of those responsible for the crimes of communism are either dead or have apparently converted to democracy. But the trial of communism that Bukovsky wanted and that we are demanding, before being understood as a legal process ought to be seen as a cultural and moral process that denounces the responsibility of the architects of communism and their accomplices before history and before public opinion, just as happened for National Socialism.
I remember that prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira launched a similar manifest in February 1990.
Anti-communism has ceased, it has dissolved. For its part, communism has sunk, like a subterranean river that suddenly disappears, only to reemerge later on with greater vigor.
We must not be afraid to say that communism is still alive, because although the Soviet Union fell apart, the communist utopia continues to infect, like a virus, a communist virus, Western culture, media, politics, and also the Church. We all remember the homage given to Fidel Castro by the Vatican authorities in November 2016, and the accord signed by the Holy See with China’s communist government. Cardinal Joseph Zen, the highest prelate in China and the leading voice for persecuted Catholics, recently sent a letter to the College of Cardinals imploring them to denounce this agreement.
It is for this reason that we say that communism is not dead, and we will continue to call for a trial of communism analogous to the Nuremberg trials.
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--Russian author imprisoned for opposing communism warned about dangers of socialism

February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — If Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were alive today , he might be tempted to look at the increasingly secular , morally bankrupt West and say , “ I told you so !
” Joseph Pearce is an English-born author who runs the Center for Faith & Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville , Tennessee .
He told Canadian pro-life activist Jonathon Van Maren that he believes that Solzhenitsyn ( 1918–2008 ) not only accurately predicted what would happen to the West , but is someone we should look to for inspiration in dealing with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to socialism .
“ All of us are living , you know , let ’ s face it , in a world that ’ s in crisis in so many ways , ” Pearce observed .
“ Solzhenitsyn ’ s example , real-life example , is incredibly encouraging [ . ]
... [ H ] e decided that he would single handedly take on the monster [ of communism ] .
” Solzhenitsyn ’ s life , Pearce continued , is an example of one man “ with courage and using his God-given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dragon .
And that ’ s the encouraging lesson I think we get from ... his way of life.
” Solzhenitsyn is perhaps best known for writing The Gulag Archipelago , a nonfiction book he compiled during the 1950s and 1960s .
It focuses on the time he and others spent in the Soviet prison system .
Historians believe that his writings played an influential role in bringing down communism in the 20th century .
Pearce is one of the few Western journalists to have ever interviewed Solzhenitsyn .
He says he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admirer of G.K. Chesterton and that when he met him at his home , he was struck by his humor .
Pearce ’ s book , Solzhenitsyn : A Soul in Exile , based on the time he spent with him , was published in 1999 .
Pearce shared with Van Maren an anecdote about a time when Solzhenitsyn was visiting Italy after being exiled from the Soviet Union .
After seeing pro-communist graffiti , Solzhenitsyn thought , “ A dose of the real thing would do them good ... these people do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing with !
” Pearce said that those who want socialism today are “ ignorant of the past ” and “ know nothing about history.
” There have been “ tens of millions of people killed by ” Marxism .
Pearce said opponents of socialism and Marxism need to stand up and , like Solzhenitsyn , defend truth .
“ We have to embrace martyrdom if that is what ’ s necessary .
Solzhenitsyn was willing to die in order to fight !
” The Van Maren Show is hosted on numerous platforms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , iTunes , and Google Play .
For a full listing of episodes , and to subscribe to various channels , visit our Pippa webpage here .
To receive weekly emails when a new episode is uploaded , click here .

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was thrown in the gulags for speaking against communism. His words are more important today than ever.
February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — If Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were alive today, he might be tempted to look at the increasingly secular, morally bankrupt West and say, “I told you so!”
Joseph Pearce is an English-born author who runs the Center for Faith & Culture at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee. He told Canadian pro-life activist Jonathon Van Maren that he believes that Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) not only accurately predicted what would happen to the West, but is someone we should look to for inspiration in dealing with those who want to drag us back to socialism.
“All of us are living, you know, let’s face it, in a world that’s in crisis in so many ways,” Pearce observed. “Solzhenitsyn’s example, real-life example, is incredibly encouraging[.] … [H]e decided that he would single handedly take on the monster [of communism].”
Solzhenitsyn’s life, Pearce continued, is an example of one man “with courage and using his God-given gift” to “actually overthrow the dragon. And that’s the encouraging lesson I think we get from … his way of life.”
Solzhenitsyn is perhaps best known for writing The Gulag Archipelago, a nonfiction book he compiled during the 1950s and 1960s. It focuses on the time he and others spent in the Soviet prison system. Historians believe that his writings played an influential role in bringing down communism in the 20th century.
Pearce is one of the few Western journalists to have ever interviewed Solzhenitsyn. He says he was surprised to learn that Solzhenitsyn was an admirer of G.K. Chesterton and that when he met him at his home, he was struck by his humor. Pearce’s book, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile, based on the time he spent with him, was published in 1999.
Pearce shared with Van Maren an anecdote about a time when Solzhenitsyn was visiting Italy after being exiled from the Soviet Union. After seeing pro-communist graffiti, Solzhenitsyn thought, “A dose of the real thing would do them good … these people do not understand the fire that they're playing with!”
Pearce said that those who want socialism today are “ignorant of the past” and “know nothing about history.” There have been “tens of millions of people killed by” Marxism.
Pearce said opponents of socialism and Marxism need to stand up and, like Solzhenitsyn, defend truth.
“We have to embrace martyrdom if that is what’s necessary. Solzhenitsyn was willing to die in order to fight!”
The Van Maren Show is hosted on numerous platforms, including Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, iTunes, and Google Play.
For a full listing of episodes, and to subscribe to various channels, visit our Pippa webpage here.
To receive weekly emails when a new episode is uploaded, click here.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-02-14--Canadian conservative politician Garnett Genuis defends ‘preserving’ gay ‘marriage’

OTTAWA , February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis is promoting a pro-homosexual strategy for the Conservative Party that critics says is fundamentally harmful to families and the pro-family movement .
Genuis , who has a strong pro-life voting record and is well regarded by many social conservatives , is advising the party to ignore the irreducible distinction between homosexual and heterosexual couples and be “ pro-family ” without bothering to define what a family is .
Genuis also asserts the Tory caucus is largely in favour of homosexual “ marriage , ” although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from LifeSiteNews to confirm his own position .
“ In general , our Conservative MPs would support preserving the civil institution of marriage of all couples , heterosexual and homosexual couples , ” Genuis told CTV ’ s Evan Solomon .
“ People might have within their own faith traditions , they might say my religious definition of marriage in this context is something different , but certainly in the context of state recognition I don ’ t think you would find disagreement on that , ” added the Catholic father of four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party in a pluralistic society , ” Genuis wrote recently in the National Post .
“ Our national conversations should focus more on strengthening marriage and family than on debating definitions .
Our pluralistic society obviously contains within it different concepts of what marriage and family are , ” he noted .
“ And we can , in a pluralistic society , still contend that family is the cornerstone of a strong society , without prescribing a single template .
We can be a pro-family party in a pluralistic society.
” It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the context of the early days of a Conservative Party leadership race in which the highly charged issue of same-sex “ marriage ” is front and center .
Leadership hopeful Richard Décarie touched off a media firestorm when he said being “ gay ” is a choice , prompting some prominent Tories to call for his disqualification on the grounds of alleged bigotry .
Décarie proposes that the party return to its pre-2016 internal policy position of supporting the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman .
Since delegates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; the party has been officially neutral on the issue .
Aspiring leadership contender Ontario MP Derek Sloan also faced media censure when he told CTV ’ s Solomon that the cause of same-sex inclinations is “ scientifically unclear.
” Sloan says he doesn ’ t plan to restore traditional marriage but that , as leader , he would allow MPs to debate and bring forward bills on the matter .
This is all the more significant because the media is stoking the debate within the Conservative Party over its position on social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s personal opposition to same-sex “ marriage ” was in part to blame for its loss in the fall federal election .
Media reports speculate that John Baird ’ s confidential internal review of the party ’ s performance confirms this was indeed the case .
But Jack Fonseca , director of political operations at Campaign Life Coalition , Canada ’ s national pro-life , pro-family political lobbying group , dismissed this as typical liberal media smoke and mirrors .
He blasted Genuis ’ apparent attempt to convince social conservatives in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as just another family type as morally off-base , illogical , ultimately anti-family — and politically wrongheaded .
The 2005 law passed by Prime Minister Paul Martin declaring same-sex unions as “ marriage ” cost the Liberals the next election , and the Conservatives subsequently stayed in power three consecutive terms with “ the official policy position being support for traditional marriage , ” Fonseca told LifeSiteNews .
Moreover , Stephen Harper ultimately won his “ one majority because he had established the party as a pro-family force by campaigning on having a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and restoring traditional marriage , ” he said .
More recently , Progressive Consrvative Doug Ford won in liberal Ontario by a landslide on a largely social conservative platform , which included a promise to repeal a sex-ed curriculum that teaches gender ideology as fact — further evidence that supporting traditional families is a winning ballot-box strategy .
But more fundamentally , “ abolishing the true definition of marriage ” gave LGBTQ activists leverage to implement their agenda in a “ spectacular fashion , ” which has “ directly caused marriage and family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fonseca .
One example is that “ childless , infertile Christian couples , desperate to form a family of their own , are being told by state-run adoption agencies across Canada that they are unfit to be parents because they oppose homosexuality , ” Fonseca said .
Another “ direct result of the legalization of homosexual marriage is the current transgender revolution , which is tearing apart families in Canada ” — with the British Columbia father now fighting to stop his troubled 15-year-old daughter receiving cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers a tragic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ How can you say you ’ re being pro-family if you ’ re supporting an ideology that is discriminating against Christian couples and barring them from being able to form a family ?
” questioned Fonseca .
Fonseca contends that Genuis used the “ wrong adjective ” when opining that Conservatives can be “ a pro-family party in a pluralistic society.
” Canadian society “ is not a ‘ pluralistic ’ society , but rather a ‘ hedonistic ’ society , that ’ s heading towards collapse , precisely because it has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God , ” he told LifeSiteNews .
“ To prop up hedonism under the mask of pluralism , as Garnett is doing , is not a conservative approach , nor is it being pro-family , ” added Fonseca .
“ The job of a true conservative should be to save society from hedonism by doing the long , hard work of explaining why conservative principles , which include faith in God and the natural family , are vital and necessary to the common good and to a stable and prosperous society.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society , same-sex ‘ married ’ couples who , presumably , adopt , or have children via IVF , which results in the destruction of embryonic human life , are part and parcel of a good and healthy society , ” he told LifeSiteNews .
“ If we come to accept that premise , we are ripping out the foundations of a once stable , sustainable , and sacred institution that is the true cornerstone of a well-ordered society , ” added Gunnarson .
“ It ’ s a shame that Garnett ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considering his excellent voting record , are not aligned with true and traditional conservative values nor orthodox Christian teaching.
” Fonseca also rebuked Genuis for dismissing the leadership bid of former Harper deputy chief of staff Décarie , whose campaign chair is former MP Brad Trost .
Genuis tweeted Décarie ’ s comments were “ dumb , ” and told CTV ’ s Solomon his views would not find much support in the party .
“ Instead of criticizing him , you should be applauding him for taking a stand for family values @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And you should thank him for doing what you don ’ t have the courage to do yourself.
” Moreover , neither Genuis nor leadership contender Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu corrected Solomon when he said erroneously support for same-sex “ marriage ” is a “ Conservative principal , ” when the party is neutral on the issue , pointed out Fonseca .

The Catholic father of four believes most of his party's MPs are OK with gay 'marriage' and non-traditional families.
OTTAWA, February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis is promoting a pro-homosexual strategy for the Conservative Party that critics says is fundamentally harmful to families and the pro-family movement.
Genuis, who has a strong pro-life voting record and is well regarded by many social conservatives, is advising the party to ignore the distinction between homosexual and heterosexual couples and be “pro-family” without defining the nature of the family.
Genuis also asserts the Tory caucus is largely in favour of homosexual “marriage,” although he did not respond to a request from LifeSiteNews to confirm his own position.
“In general, our Conservative MPs would support preserving the civil institution of marriage of all couples, heterosexual and homosexual couples,” Genuis told CTV’s Evan Solomon.
“People might have within their own faith traditions, they might say my religious definition of marriage in this context is something different, but certainly in the context of state recognition I don’t think you would find disagreement on that,” added the Catholic father of four.
Conservatives can be a “pro-family party in a pluralistic society,” Genuis wrote recently in the National Post.
“Our national conversations should focus more on strengthening marriage and family than on debating definitions. Our pluralistic society obviously contains within it different concepts of what marriage and family are,” he noted.
“And we can, in a pluralistic society, still contend that family is the cornerstone of a strong society, without prescribing a single template. We can be a pro-family party in a pluralistic society.”
Same-sex ‘marriage’ a hot topic in leadership race
It’s notable Genuis is pushing this idea in the context of the early days of a Conservative Party leadership race in which the highly charged issue of same-sex “marriage” is front and center.
Leadership hopeful Richard Décarie touched off a media firestorm when he said being “gay” is a choice, prompting some prominent Tories to call for his disqualification on the grounds of alleged bigotry. Décarie proposes that the party return to its pre-2016 internal policy position of supporting the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
After delegates voted in Vancouver in 2016 to remove the Conservative Party's internal policy position that it supports the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, the party has been officially neutral on the issue of same-sex “marriage.”
Aspiring leadership contender Ontario MP Derek Sloan also faced media censure when he told CTV’s Solomon that the cause of same-sex inclinations is “scientifically unclear.” Sloan says he doesn’t plan to restore traditional marriage but that, as leader, he would allow MPs to debate and bring forward bills on the matter.
This is all the more significant because the media is stoking the debate within the Conservative Party over its position on social conservative issues and particularly whether Andrew Scheer’s personal opposition to same-sex “marriage” was in part to blame for its loss in the fall federal election.
Media reports speculate that John Baird’s confidential internal review of the party’s performance confirms this was indeed the case.
Genuis’ strategy morally off-base, politically wrongheaded
But Jack Fonseca, director of political operations at Campaign Life Coalition, Canada’s national pro-life, pro-family political lobbying group, dismissed this as typical liberal media smoke and mirrors.
He blasted Genuis’ apparent attempt to convince social conservatives in the party to accept homosexual “marriage” as just another family type as morally off-base, illogical, ultimately anti-family — and politically wrongheaded.
The 2005 law passed by Prime Minister Paul Martin declaring same-sex unions as “marriage” cost the Liberals the next election, and the Conservatives subsequently stayed in power three consecutive terms with “the official policy position being support for traditional marriage,” Fonseca told LifeSiteNews.
Moreover, Stephen Harper ultimately won his “one majority because he had established the party as a pro-family force by campaigning on having a free vote on the definition of marriage and restoring traditional marriage,” he said.
More recently, Progressive Consrvative Doug Ford won in liberal Ontario by a landslide on a largely social conservative platform, which included a promise to repeal a sex-ed curriculum that teaches gender ideology as fact — further evidence that supporting traditional families is a winning ballot-box strategy.
But more fundamentally, “abolishing the true definition of marriage” gave LGBTQ activists leverage to implement their agenda in a “spectacular fashion,” which has “directly caused marriage and family to suffer in Canada,” said Fonseca.
One example is that “childless, infertile Christian couples, desperate to form a family of their own, are being told by state-run adoption agencies across Canada that they are unfit to be parents because they oppose homosexuality,” Fonseca said.
Another “direct result of the legalization of homosexual marriage is the current transgender revolution, which is tearing apart families in Canada” — with the British Columbia father now fighting to stop his troubled 15-year-old daughter receiving cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers a tragic case in point, he added.
“How can you say you’re being pro-family if you’re supporting an ideology that is discriminating against Christian couples and barring them from being able to form a family?” questioned Fonseca.
“It’s a stridently anti-family, dangerous and destructive position.”
Canada ‘hedonistic’ not ‘pluralistic’
Fonseca contends that Genuis used the “wrong adjective” when opining that Conservatives can be “a pro-family party in a pluralistic society.”
Canadian society “is not a ‘pluralistic’ society, but rather a ‘hedonistic’ society, that’s heading towards collapse, precisely because it has turned its back on the laws of God,” he told LifeSiteNews.
“To prop up hedonism under the mask of pluralism, as Garnett is doing, is not a conservative approach, nor is it being pro-family,” added Fonseca.
“The job of a true conservative should be to save society from hedonism by doing the long, hard work of explaining why conservative principles, which include faith in God and the natural family, are vital and necessary to the common good and to a stable and prosperous society.”
Campaign Life president Jeff Gunnarson agreed.
“Garnett is accepting that in a pluralistic society, same-sex ‘married’ couples who, presumably, adopt, or have children via IVF, which results in the destruction of embryonic human life, are part and parcel of a good and healthy society,” he told LifeSiteNews.
“If we come to accept that premise, we are ripping out the foundations of a once stable, sustainable, and sacred institution that is the true cornerstone of a well-ordered society,” added Gunnarson.
“It’s a shame that Garnett’s views on traditional true marriage, considering his excellent voting record, are not aligned with true and traditional conservative values nor orthodox Christian teaching.”
Fonseca also rebuked Genuis for dismissing the leadership bid of former Harper deputy chief of staff Décarie, whose campaign chair is former MP Brad Trost.
Genuis tweeted Décarie’s comments were “dumb,” and told CTV’s Solomon his views would not find much support in the party.
Re Decarie’s dumb comments, most people active in the conservative movement have never met or heard of him. He is not the chosen representative of any internal faction. He is simply a person who told the media he’s running – an easy path to notoriety these days. #cdnpoli #cpcldr — Garnett Genuis (@GarnettGenuis) January 23, 2020
“Stop attacking a social conservative like Richard Décarie,” countered Fonseca.
“Instead of criticizing him, you should be applauding him for taking a stand for family values and for the traditional definition of marriage. And you should thank him for doing what you don’t have the courage to do yourself.”
Moreover, neither Genuis nor leadership contender Ontario MP Marilyn Gladu corrected Solomon when he said erroneously support for same-sex “marriage” is a “Conservative principal,” when the party is neutral on the issue, pointed out Fonseca.
To respectfully express your views, contact:
Garnett Genuis, MP
Sherwood Park/Fort Saskatchewan, AB
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 995-3611
Email: [email protected]
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--Three girls sue state to stop boys who say they’re ‘girls’ from competing in their sport

February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) — Three Connecticut girls are suing their state ’ s high school sports authority — the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference ( CIAC ) — to stop boys who claim to be girls from competing in their sport .
Selina Soule , Alanna Smith , and Chelsea Mitchell , all Connecticut high school track athletes , have been denied opportunities to win races , as well to fairly compete for college scholarships and other advancements , because of the state ’ s policy .
Soule is the same high school girl who , last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Department of Education ’ s Office for Civil Rights ( OCR ) .
That complaint is still ongoing , as the OCR has not yet handed down its guidance ruling .
Starting in 2017 , two gender-confused boys were permitted to run in girls ’ track in Connecticut .
The results have been predictable : in the last three years alone , the two boys have won 15 state championships between them and have deprived girls of 85 opportunities for high-level competition , according to the nonprofit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three girls and their mothers filed their federal lawsuit on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut .
The complaint alleges that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference ’ s policy discriminates against girls and violates their Title IX rights .
Title IX was implemented in 1972 to help ensure that girls would have the same opportunities in sports as boys , and most observers agree that it has been successful in this particular regard .
But Title IX never anticipated that boys would seek to compete as girls and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Speaking about the lawsuit , ADF senior vice president of the U.S. Legal Division Kristen Waggoner said : “ Girls deserve the same opportunity as boys to excel and chase their dreams .
Allowing boys to compete in girls ’ sports shatters those dreams and steals opportunities.
” In Connecticut and 19 other states , girls are now forced to compete against boys claiming to be girls , and these policies unfairly deprive girls of the right to a level playing field in competitions they can never win despite their best efforts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an end , ADF attorneys have asked the Court for an injunction that would stop the CIAC from implementing its current policy while the lawsuit proceeds .
Soule , Smith , and Mitchell will soon run in regional and state meets , competing for state championships .
This year , they would like to have the opportunity to win , fair and square .
Read more about LifeSiteNews ’ s petition supporting Selina ’ s complaint with the OCR by CLICKING HERE .

The three have been denied opportunities to win races because boys are winning the girls' track championships now.
PETITION: Biological males don't belong in girls' sports – #IStandWithSelina Sign the petition here.
February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Three Connecticut girls are suing their state’s high school sports authority — the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) — to stop boys who claim to be girls from competing in their sport.
Selina Soule, Alanna Smith, and Chelsea Mitchell, all Connecticut high school track athletes, have been denied opportunities to win races, as well to fairly compete for college scholarships and other advancements, because of the state’s policy.
Soule is the same high school girl who, last year, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). That complaint is still ongoing, as the OCR has not yet handed down its guidance ruling.
Starting in 2017, two gender-confused boys were permitted to run in girls’ track in Connecticut. The results have been predictable: in the last three years alone, the two boys have won 15 state championships between them and have deprived girls of 85 opportunities for high-level competition, according to the nonprofit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom.
Represented by the ADF, the three girls and their mothers filed their federal lawsuit on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
The complaint alleges that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy discriminates against girls and violates their Title IX rights.
Title IX was implemented in 1972 to help ensure that girls would have the same opportunities in sports as boys, and most observers agree that it has been successful in this particular regard.
But Title IX never anticipated that boys would seek to compete as girls and does not mention “gender identity.”
Speaking about the lawsuit, ADF senior vice president of the U.S. Legal Division Kristen Waggoner said: “Girls deserve the same opportunity as boys to excel and chase their dreams. Allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports shatters those dreams and steals opportunities.”
In Connecticut and 19 other states, girls are now forced to compete against boys claiming to be girls, and these policies unfairly deprive girls of the right to a level playing field in competitions they can never win despite their best efforts.
With another track season soon coming to an end, ADF attorneys have asked the Court for an injunction that would stop the CIAC from implementing its current policy while the lawsuit proceeds.
Soule, Smith, and Mitchell will soon run in regional and state meets, competing for state championships. This year, they would like to have the opportunity to win, fair and square.
Read more about LifeSiteNews’s petition supporting Selina’s complaint with the OCR by CLICKING HERE.
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--State-sponsored funeral given to 2,411 babies found dead on abortionist’s property

SOUTH BEND , Indiana , February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) ― Twenty-four hundred eleven aborted babies , victims of abortionist Ulrich Kloper who were found on his property , were finally laid to rest yesterday in a state-sponsored funeral service .
Indiana attorney general Curtis Hill spoke at a funeral service at South Bend ’ s Southlawn Cemetery and Palmer Funeral Home for the 2,411 children whose bodies or body parts were preserved and stored by Kloper in his garage and the trunk of a car .
The service began at 1:00 P.M. Klopfer himself died on September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 79 .
His relatives discovered the majority of the human remains in 79 boxes while they were sorting through Klopfer ’ s belongings at his Crete , Illinois home .
Later , more bodies were discovered in a car kept in Chicago .
According to the Daily Caller , Attorney General Hill said the infants could not be buried in the home states of their mothers because of their disintegrating condition .
He also said that by giving them a burial , “ we fulfill our obligation as a state pursuant to law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives were terminated in clinics in Fort Wayne , Gary , and South Bend.
” Hill called the discovery of the fetal remains “ horrifying to anyone with normal sensibilities.
” He also suggested that there is evidence that some of the unborn children were killed when they were in their third trimester .
Citizens for a Pro-Life Society ( CPLS ) wrote on its website that the victims could not be identified .
“ Klopfer ’ s victims could not be identified due to the fact that sadly their bodies had decomposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago , and the medical records that were also discovered were so poorly kept , ” the organization wrote .
“ But that won ’ t stop us from standing up to recognize these children as our brothers and sisters .
By burying them on Wednesday , the last work of mercy , [ this ] will be the first work of mercy these children will ever know.
” It is not known why the abortionist kept the bodies of his victims .
According to the Daily Caller , Klopfer ran three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30,000 abortions since he began his career in 1974 .
His medical license was suspended in 2016 .
As pro-life group Operation Rescue has extensively documented , Klopfer had a history of abuses , including failing to report the statutory rapes of two girls .
He sent an eleven-year-old victim home with her parents , who knew their daughter had been raped by her uncle but didn ’ t want him prosecuted , without reporting the crime to police .
After the bodies were found , the president and CEO of Indiana Right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was “ horrified.
” “ We are horrified by the reports of over 2,000 fetal remains being found on the property of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer , a man who operated abortion facilities in Gary , South Bend , and Fort Wayne , ” said Mike Fichter .
“ These sickening reports underscore why the abortion industry must be held to the highest scrutiny .
We are calling on Indiana authorities to join in the investigation to determine if these fetal remains have any connection to abortion operations , or personnel , in Indiana.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of CPLS , told LifeSiteNews last year that she wasn ’ t surprised by the grisly discovery .
“ Indeed , 31 years ago Citizens for a Pro-Life Society , with the Pro-Life Action League , found hundreds of aborted babies killed by Klopfer left out for garbage pick-up on the loading dock of the Vital Med laboratory in Northbrook [ , Illinois ] , ” Miller said .
“ These were babies he killed at the Indiana abortion center where he worked at that time — [ the ] Fort Wayne Women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Susan Hill , who decades ago ran a string of abortion clinics .
Many of the bags containing the babies even had his name scribbled on them.
” “ Citizens for a Pro-Life Society buried some of the Klopfer babies in Tallahassee [ , Florida ] , but many of them were buried in Fort Wayne — as we delivered them to the pro-lifers there for the purposes of their interment.
” Miller wrote in her memoir Abandoned : The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars about finding , rescuing , photographing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ babies she and other activists found left out with the trash during the early days of legal abortion .

Indiana's attorney general spoke at the service, declaring that 'we fulfill our obligation as a state pursuant to law and conscience to the unborn babies whose lives were terminated' in the state.
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― Twenty-four hundred eleven aborted babies, victims of abortionist Ulrich Kloper who were found on his property, were finally laid to rest yesterday in a state-sponsored funeral service.
Indiana attorney general Curtis Hill spoke at a funeral service at South Bend’s Southlawn Cemetery and Palmer Funeral Home for the 2,411 children whose bodies or body parts were preserved and stored by Kloper in his garage and the trunk of a car. The service began at 1:00 P.M.
Klopfer himself died on September 6, 2019 at the age of 79. His relatives discovered the majority of the human remains in 79 boxes while they were sorting through Klopfer’s belongings at his Crete, Illinois home. Later, more bodies were discovered in a car kept in Chicago.
According to the Daily Caller, Attorney General Hill said the infants could not be buried in the home states of their mothers because of their disintegrating condition.
He also said that by giving them a burial, “we fulfill our obligation as a state pursuant to law and conscience to the unborn babies whose lives were terminated in clinics in Fort Wayne, Gary, and South Bend.”
Hill called the discovery of the fetal remains “horrifying to anyone with normal sensibilities.” He also suggested that there is evidence that some of the unborn children were killed when they were in their third trimester.
Citizens for a Pro-Life Society (CPLS) wrote on its website that the victims could not be identified.
“Klopfer’s victims could not be identified due to the fact that sadly their bodies had decomposed so badly as they were aborted 18 years ago, and the medical records that were also discovered were so poorly kept,” the organization wrote.
“But that won’t stop us from standing up to recognize these children as our brothers and sisters. By burying them on Wednesday, the last work of mercy, [this] will be the first work of mercy these children will ever know.”
It is not known why the abortionist kept the bodies of his victims. According to the Daily Caller, Klopfer ran three different abortuaries in Indiana and performed over 30,000 abortions since he began his career in 1974. His medical license was suspended in 2016.
As pro-life group Operation Rescue has extensively documented, Klopfer had a history of abuses, including failing to report the statutory rapes of two girls. He sent an eleven-year-old victim home with her parents, who knew their daughter had been raped by her uncle but didn’t want him prosecuted, without reporting the crime to police.
After the bodies were found, the president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life stated that his own organization was “horrified.”
“We are horrified by the reports of over 2,000 fetal remains being found on the property of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, a man who operated abortion facilities in Gary, South Bend, and Fort Wayne,” said Mike Fichter.
“These sickening reports underscore why the abortion industry must be held to the highest scrutiny. We are calling on Indiana authorities to join in the investigation to determine if these fetal remains have any connection to abortion operations, or personnel, in Indiana.”
Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, director of CPLS, told LifeSiteNews last year that she wasn’t surprised by the grisly discovery.
“Indeed, 31 years ago Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, with the Pro-Life Action League, found hundreds of aborted babies killed by Klopfer left out for garbage pick-up on the loading dock of the Vital Med laboratory in Northbrook[, Illinois],” Miller said.
“These were babies he killed at the Indiana abortion center where he worked at that time — [the] Fort Wayne Women’s Health Organization, owned then by Susan Hill, who decades ago ran a string of abortion clinics. Many of the bags containing the babies even had his name scribbled on them.”
“Citizens for a Pro-Life Society buried some of the Klopfer babies in Tallahassee[, Florida], but many of them were buried in Fort Wayne — as we delivered them to the pro-lifers there for the purposes of their interment.”
Miller wrote in her memoir Abandoned: The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars about finding, rescuing, photographing, and burying the bodies of aborted babies she and other activists found left out with the trash during the early days of legal abortion.
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lifesitenews--2020-02-14--Is Sony creating a bisexual Spider-Man who has a boyfriend?

February 13 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Cinemas could soon be showing a bisexual Spider-Man with a boyfriend , according to a report in the Hollywood-focused media outlet We Got This Covered .
The report indicated that the film company , Sony , is developing a live-action “ Spider-Verse ” movie that would star a trio of Spidermen , featuring actors Tom Holland , Tobey Maguire , and Andrew Garfield , all of whom have played the role before .
We Got This Covered claims to have heard that Sony is particularly keen on starring Garfield in the movie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the hero as bisexual and give him a boyfriend in the film .
Two of three actors have previously called for an LGBTQ portrayal of the popular superhero .
Last year , Holland told the Sunday Times Culture Magazine that he hopes there will be a gay Spider-Man “ one day ” .
And in 2015 , Garfield said that he wanted to see a pansexual Spider-Man .
Garfield told Mic that he was “ excited to get to the point where we don ’ t have to have this conversation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ The richness of the world we ’ re in , the diversity of the world we ’ re in , you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected , ” he continued .
“ What are we so scared of ?
Why are we so , ‘ No , it has to be this way , a man and a woman.
’ Why is that even a conversation ?
” Last year ’ s “ Spider-Man : Far From Home ” included the first openly transgender actor to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The film rights for the Spider-Man movies are shared between Disney , Marvel Studios , and Sony .
Marvel Studios signaled last year that it will produce more films with an LGBTQ agenda .
Producer Victoria Alonso and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have said they plan to have more homosexual characters in future Marvel productions .

A new movie starring an LGBTQ version of the superhero reportedly is in the works.
February 13, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Cinemas could soon be showing a bisexual Spider-Man with a boyfriend, according to a report in the Hollywood-focused media outlet We Got This Covered.
The report indicated that the film company, Sony, is developing a live-action “Spider-Verse” movie that would star a trio of Spidermen, featuring actors Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield, all of whom have played the role before.
We Got This Covered claims to have heard that Sony is particularly keen on starring Garfield in the movie because they want to portray his version of the hero as bisexual and give him a boyfriend in the film.
Two of three actors have previously called for an LGBTQ portrayal of the popular superhero.
Last year, Holland told the Sunday Times Culture Magazine that he hopes there will be a gay Spider-Man “one day”.
And in 2015, Garfield said that he wanted to see a pansexual Spider-Man.
Garfield told Mic that he was “excited to get to the point where we don’t have to have this conversation, where we can have a pansexual Spider-Man.”
“The richness of the world we’re in, the diversity of the world we’re in, you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected,” he continued. “What are we so scared of? Why are we so, ‘No, it has to be this way, a man and a woman.’ Why is that even a conversation?”
Last year’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” included the first openly transgender actor to be featured by the movie franchise.
The film rights for the Spider-Man movies are shared between Disney, Marvel Studios, and Sony.
Marvel Studios signaled last year that it will produce more films with an LGBTQ agenda. Producer Victoria Alonso and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have said they plan to have more homosexual characters in future Marvel productions.
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