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Majority Of Catholics Support Same-Sex Marriage, Same-Sex Sex Not A Sin

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A new poll released today finds a large majority of American Catholics — 71% — support civil marriage equality for same-sex couples. The report also finds that almost half of Catholics, 43%, support allowing gay couples to marry regardless of type of ceremony (civil or religious,) and 31% of American Catholics support allowing same-sex couples to have civil unions, and 74% believe that same-sex relationships should be accepted by society. Additionally, the report finds that a majority of American Catholics (56%) believe same-gender sexual relations is not a sin, as opposed to the teachings of their church.

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), which conducted this survey and calls it “the most comprehensive portrait of Catholic attitudes on gay and lesbian issues assembled to date,” last year found that sixty-five percent of Americans — a vast majority — blame churches for “higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth,” after anti-gay bullying teen suicides became national news for weeks.

The PRRI poll also states that “Catholics are more supportive of legal recognitions of same-sex relationships than members of any other Christian tradition and Americans overall,” and “Catholic support for rights for gays and lesbian people is strong and slightly higher than the general public.” It stresses that when “marriage for gay couples is defined as a civil marriage ‘like you get at city hall,’ Catholic support for allowing gay couples to marry increases.”

Read: “Majority Of U.S. – Including Catholics – Now Support Same-Sex Marriage“

Evidently, it is not Americas Catholics who are concerned about the Obama administration’s decision to no longer defend DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, in court.

In a strong break with the radical extremists claiming to speak for them, the report finds that “nearly three-quarters (73%) of Catholics favor laws that would protect gay and lesbian people against discrimination in the workplace,” and therefore, would most-likely support some form of the current Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that is expected to be re-introduced into Congress shortly.

Additionally, the report finds “63% of Catholics favor allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military,” again in opposition to the radical religious extremists claiming to speak for American Catholics, and “6-in-10 (60%) Catholics favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt children,” an issue anathema to the anti-gay movement, and “traditional marriage” supporters like the National Organization for Marriage and hate groups like the American Family Association.

Read: “NOM’s Numbers Problem With Marriage Equality Polls“

Last week Alfonso Aguilar, head of the ultra-conservative Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, wrote in an op-ed on Fox News Latino, that Latinos “firmly believe that the dignity of the family should be defended at all cost, including, of course, the sanctity of marriage,” and claimed “President Obama’s reversal on marriage, therefore, is very upsetting to Latinos. It’s yet another disappointment from someone whom they thought they could trust.”

But the PRRI poll states that “Even among Latino Catholics, long supposed to be a group supportive of traditional social values, the numbers point to growing support for same-sex marriage.”

The report finds that the more America’s Catholics attend church, the less they favor same-sex marriage rights.

Overall, “The strong evidence of Catholic support for gay marriage highlights the growing acceptance in American culture of the normalcy of same-sex relationships,”according to Dr. Michelle Dillon of the University of New Hampshire, who adds, the PRRI report “further showcases ordinary Catholics’ dissent from official church teaching on sexual morality.”

(image: St. Patrick’s Cathedral)

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News

Mystery Grand Jury Witness in Trump Hush Money Probe Is Former ‘Enquirer’ Publisher and Trump Ally

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March 27, 2023

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Avid followers of the Manhattan District Attorney’s moves noted the grand jury had been called into service for Monday, and soon news leaked that yet another witness would be testifying in the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Monday afternoon, NBC News’ Garrett Haake reported live on MSNBC that the mystery witness was David Pecker, the former tabloid publisher of the “National Enquirer,” who reportedly had been looking for stories in 2016 to protect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Haake notes Monday was Pecker’s second appearance before the grand jury in the hush money case.

The New York Times also reported David Pecker as the grand jury witness, calling Pecker “a key player in the hush-money matter. He and the tabloid’s top editor helped broker the deal between the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time.”

READ MORE: ‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

“While the focus of Mr. Pecker’s testimony is unclear, he could provide valuable information for prosecutors. A longtime ally of Mr. Trump, he agreed to keep an eye out for potentially damaging stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign,” The Times reports. “For a brief time in October 2016, Ms. Daniels appeared to have just that kind of story. Her agent and lawyer discussed the possibility of selling exclusive rights to her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump to The National Enquirer, which would then promise to never publish it, a practice known as ‘catch and kill.'”

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman weighed in, noting, “nothing about that decision [to have Pecker testify] suggests any change of heart on Bragg’s part to indict Trump.”

Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, an NYU professor of law, notes that Pecker’s “testimony can show the [hush money] scheme was designed to affect outcome of election.”

“He reportedly communicated directly with Trump on payment,” Goodman adds.

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News

‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

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2 hours ago

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March 27, 2023

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First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, speaking Monday afternoon at a National League of Cities conference, told attendees, “Our children deserve better,” as she broke the news of the Nashville school mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School where three children and three adults were shot dead.

“You know,” Dr. Biden, herself an educator and clearly pained by the news, began her remarks by saying, “I hate to say what I’m gonna say next because you know you’re so enthusiastic and with so much energy and hope and I feel it.”

“But while you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee, a school shooting and I am truly without words and our children deserve better, and we stand – all of us – we stand with Nashville in prayer.”

READ MORE: New WSJ Poll Is Devastating for DeSantis and His ‘Anti-Woke’ Policies

The First Lady, a former public high school English teacher and currently a professor of English at a community college, was speaking at the organization’s Congressional City Conference.

Watch Dr. Biden below or at this link.

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BREAKING NEWS

Death Toll Rises to Six as Three Children and Three Adults Declared Dead In Covenant School Mass Shooting (Streaming Video)

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March 27, 2023

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Six people have now died after a shooter shot and killed three young children and three adults at The Covenant Presbyterian School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter was a 28-year old woman who had two assault rifles and a handgun.

WSMV announced the rise in deaths on-air, noting that the shooter is also dead. A police spokesperson later increased the announced death toll from five to six. Including the shooter the death toll is seven.

Live streaming video via CBS News below.

This article has been updated with additional video.

1:56 PM ET: Updated to change age of shooter based on new reporting from WSMV.

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