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Philadelphia Archbishop Statement On Anti-Gay Attack Offers No Support For Victims

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A statement from the Archbishop of Philadelphia in response to the gay bashing of a young same-sex couple in Center City by a dozen Catholic high school graduates offers not an ounce of apology or even sympathy.

A horrific anti-gay attack in downtown Philadelphia last week, on September 11 no less, has left the LGBT community reeling. The crime would be a hate crime but for Pennsylvania’s antediluvian laws that don’t include sexual orientation in its hate crime statutes. It is believed to have been perpetuated by a gang of twenty-something year olds, about a dozen of them, who are being described in the media and by police as “clean-cut” and “preppy.”

The victims, a gay couple, also twenty-something year olds, had be be treated in the hospital. One will get to eat through a straw for the next two month, his jaw being wired shut thanks to his homophobic attacker.

LOOK: Digital Sleuths Use Twitter, Facebook To Help Solve Violent Assault On Gay Philly Couple

One of the assailants was a basketball coach at a local Philadelphia Catholic high school. He was fired — technically given the opportunity to resign in lieu of being fired — for his role in the attack.

The Archbishop of Philadelphia, in a carefully and craftily-worded statement, addressed the issue by absolving the Catholic Church of any blame. He also chose to wallpaper over the fact that this was an anti-gay (hate) crime. 

But perhaps worse, the Archbishop just couldn’t bring himself to even offer a single word of support, as a human being, for the victims.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput’s statement, published as a press release yesterday, just 133 words, in full:

“A key part of a Catholic education is forming students to respect the dignity of every human person whether we agree with them or not. What students do with that formation when they enter the adult world determines their own maturity and dignity, or their lack of it. Violence against anyone, simply because of who they are, is inexcusable and alien to what it means to be a Christian. A recent beating incident in Center City allegedly involved, in some way, a part-time coach at Archbishop Wood High School. After inquiries by school leadership, the coach was contacted regarding the matter and he resigned. Archbishop Wood’s handling of the matter was appropriate, and I support their efforts to ensure that Catholic convictions guide the behavior of their whole school community, including their staff.”

Note the lack of the word “gay,” note the fact he did not acknowledge the victims’ relationship, note that he did not even have the decency to offer a hope for their healthy recovery.

In a statement the previous day, the Archbishop denounced the attack and added it was “not an accurate reflection of our Catholic values.”

 

Image via Flickr

 

Related at The New Civil Rights Movement:

Philly Anti-Gay Hate Attack: Federal Officials At Dept. Of Justice Watching

Philly Hate Attack Mob Claiming Self Defense After Brutal Beating Sends Gay Men To Hospital

 

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News

Trump Says Judge’s Daughter He Attacked Is Not Protected by Gag Order – DA Disagrees

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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is asking New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to clarify if the gag order he placed on Donald Trump protects the judge’s own daughter, who Trump has repeatedly attacked this week. District Attorney Alvin Bragg says the  gag order does cover the judge’s daughter, while Trump’s attorneys say not only does it not, but it should not.

“Following a request for clarification about the scope of Trump’s gag order from the Manhattan DA’s office, Trump’s lawyers now argue that not only is Judge Merchan’s daughter not covered by the gag order, but also that she should not be covered,” reports MSNBC executive producer Kyle Griffin.

Courthouse News’ Erik Uebelacker reports that District Attorney Alvin Bragg “believes Trump’s tirade against Judge Merchan’s daughter violates his gag order.”

He cites this line from Manhattan District Attorney’s Alvin Bragg’s pre-motion letter (below): “The People believe that the March 26 Order is properly read to protect family members of the court.”

READ MORE: Trump Brags NYPD Showed Him ‘Love’ at Slain Officer’s Wake

Uebelacker notes, “Trump’s lawyers say the order does ‘not apply in the manner claimed by the People.'”

He also points to the language in the gag order that bars Trump from: “Making or directing others to make public statements about (1) counsel in the case other than the District Attorney, (2) members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or (3) the family members of any counsel or staff member…”

Katie Phang, MSNBC host and legal contributor, posted the pre-motion letter:

MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin on-air reported Trump’s attorneys “say in the event that Judge Merchan is considering making his daughter subjected to this gag order a full briefing is necessary because the implications are over President Trump’s First Amendment rights, and then they take a swipe at Judge Merchan’s daughter.”

READ MORE: Comer Refuses to Investigate Trump Family Member Over ‘Influence Peddling’ Allegation

Rubin continued, adding that Trump’s attorneys also “say because she [Merchan’s daughter] is engaged and providing support to the enemies of former President Trump it’s totally appropriate for him to talk about her.”

Earlier Friday, Rubin noted, “Trump’s attack on Judge Merchan’s daughter last night represents the fourth time in three days that he has singled her out—and exposed her to potential harm. And she’s sadly not alone.”

“Last year, during the New York Attorney General’s civil fraud trial, Trump similarly went after the wife of Judge Arthur Engoron, who publicly said her purported social media account was not, in fact, her own,” Rubin noted.

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OPINION

Biden Should Have Attended Slain NYPD Officer’s Wake ‘For Optics’ Says Tomi Lahren

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Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren blasted President Joe Biden for not attending the wake of a slain NYPD officer on Thursday, saying because Donald Trump did, the President should have changed his plans even if it was just “for optics.”

“The fact that Joe Biden didn’t change his plans to make an appearance, knowing that Donald Trump was going to be there, to me, that’s pretty brazen. You have the opportunity to show up, even if you are just doing it for optics, and he chose not to,” Lahren said on Fox News Friday afternoon (video below).

Trump was invited to the wake by Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, while one of the NYPD unions warned NYC Democratic leaders to not show up. Over the past decade about 100 police officers are killed in the line of duty annually, including 118 in 2022, according to data from USAFacts.

After attacking the Biden campaign for doing “a horrible job, optically,” Lahren, who purchased a 2000 square foot house in Nashville after she “fled” Los Angeles, explained to Fox News viewers how Trump “cares about the forgotten Americans.”

READ MORE: USA Bible Founder Says Trump Endorsement Means He Believes ‘Same Thing’ As Every American

“I come from South Dakota, I come from Middle America,” Lahren said. “He doesn’t have to pretend to understand the plight of the smaller folks out there, but he can still resonate with them, because he cares about them.”

“The thing that people in middle America love about Donald Trump and always have, is that he comes as he is. He doesn’t try to wear blue jeans and cowboy boots and try to ‘be’ one of us,” she said, “but he still is one of us in that he cares about us. He cares about the forgotten Americans.”

Speaking to reporters at the wake on Thursday, Trump, who is facing 88 criminal felony charges, said, “we have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently because this is not working. This is happening too often.”

Watch below or at this link.

RELATED: Trump Brags NYPD Showed Him ‘Love’ at Slain Officer’s Wake

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OPINION

USA Bible Founder Says Trump Endorsement Means He Believes ‘Same Thing’ As Every American

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Amid the controversy of Donald Trump endorsing, promoting, and reportedly earning royalties from the “God Bless the USA Bible,” Lee Greenwood, the creator of the book, is speaking out to defend the ex-president.

He says there’s no difference between when Trump took the presidential oath of office by placing his hand on a bible, and now endorsing Greenwood’s version of the book, which sells for $59.99.

“You have to remember that when President Trump took his oath of office, he put his hand on a Bible to swear that he would defend the country and the Constitution,” says Greenwood, a singer-songwriter whose “God Bless the U.S.A.” has been used by many Republicans over the past few decades, with Trump playing it at his rallies.

Greenwood, speaking on the far-right media outlet Real America’s Voice, also says that Trump’s endorsement merely telegraphs that he believes the “same thing” that every other American believes.

READ MORE: Trump Brags NYPD Showed Him ‘Love’ at Slain Officer’s Wake

“This is just more of the same except for now, he’s actually telling the world and telling our country and all of its citizens, I will protect you and I will make sure that you know that I believe in the same thing you believe in, that this country was founded on faith.”

Not all Americans are Christian. A survey last month found seven out of 10 Americans oppose or are skeptical of Christian nationalism. And experts – not to mention founding father John Adams – have said America was not founded as a Christian nation.

In 2022 religious liberty expert Amanda Tyler, the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), told the Center for American Progress, “I believe that the single biggest threat to religious freedom in the United States today is Christian nationalism.”

Nor do all Christians support Trump’s endorsement of the “God Bless the USA Bible.”

READ MORE: ‘Hunger Games at NBC News’: New McDaniel Revelations Have ‘Enraged’ Staffers, Report Says

“Catholics on social media criticized Trump for using the Bible to make a buck, with some saying that if the real estate mogul thought it was so important for every American to have a Bible, then he should give it away for free — instead of selling it for $59.99,” The National Catholic Register reports. “For others, the most egregious offense was that the God Bless The USA Bible packaged the divinely inspired Word of God together with political documents, mixing the sacred and the profane.”

Watch Greenwood’s remarks below or at this link.

 

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