Citing complaints, church cancels peace luncheon

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--peaceluncheon1107nov07,0,2310090.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

NEWARK, N.J. -- A New Jersey church canceled an anti-war group's annual luncheon at its church school, after word of its main speaker prompted protests from parishioners and veterans, church officials said.

St. Catherine of Siena Church in Cedar Grove, N.J., had agreed to rent space to New Jersey Peace Action, which opposes the war in Iraq, for its 46th annual luncheon on Nov. 15. The luncheon event was titled, "The War at Home: Civil Rights Under Attack."

The main speaker was Ron Kubi, a civil rights lawyer and liberal sparring partner of conservative commentator Curtis Sliwa on WABC Radio.

The pastor at St. Catherine's, Msgr. Charles W. Gusmer, said he was sympathetic to Peace Action's concerns about the civil rights impact of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, a domestic anti-terrorism law passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. He noted that the church hosted last year's luncheon.

But after a local weekly newspaper published a notice of next week's event, Gusmer said he received about 30 complaints by telephone and e-mail.
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Is it just me or does it seem like there's a shitload of this sort of stuff going on.

*sigh*

Sounds like typical hypocritical religion
Love thy neighbor................Invade Iraq

AND PREPARING THE CROSSES TO BURN

Maybe the church is afraid (been threatened?) of losing their tax-free status.

.

is beyond me, what a wimpy wuss! My own pastor wouldn't have hesitated one second to tell each and every one of those complaining fascists where to go, how to go there, and what to do once they got there! What a fucking wimp. If it had been the other way around and liberals were complaining about having someone subhuman like 'ol Annie Coulter, would he have caved just the same way? CBS should send him a job application.

So there is not much room for many more. Gotta worry about the corporate bottom line doncha know!
I quite agree with you his actions will not earn him a chapter in Profiles in Courage. What was it Burke said: "For evil to triumph requires good men to do nothing"

Pity the pastor caved to the know-nothings. Guess "blessed are the peacemakers" is no longer in vogue. Good that Jesus does not return to some of these latter day "Christian" places of worship. I don't think he would be welcome at many of them. Too much of a "bleeding heart liberal" for their tastes, what with feeding the poor and healing the sick. They would accuse him of being a leftist, or commie sympathizer.

I can see the right wing Rove machine now: "DId you know this Jesus fellow wants to feed and clothe and heal all these people who have nothing better to do than listen to him talk all day" or "Jesus is a communist he said that its easier for a camel to go throught the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven...he would repeal YOUR tax cuts"

On Edit, a most excellent site:

http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/

Why rumor has it that instead of letting a town stone a woman caught in adultery he let her off without so much as a slap on wrist.

And don't forget that whole pardoning of the thief thing who was hanging on the cross next to him. He'll probably even refuse to administer the death penalty and come up with some crazy argument that innocent people wrongly get put to death. Imagine the nerve of the fellow! He just doesn't share our values.

.

double plus ungood

The more overhead churches decide they need (expensive buildings, staff, programs) the more they have to depend (and PLEASE) their supporters. If that's a few rich people, rather than a large number of supporters of modest means, then they will either have to sink with Jesus or swim with Mamon. See http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/GODvsGreed .

There are some things that He cannot even fix.

(and on that note: Priest: "Sir, you speak blasphemy!" mysterious gentleman: "Fluently." Tuck Everlasting).

The brownshirt tactics that were used to frighten CBS from broadcasting a dramatization that portrayed Reagan in a less than saintly light, and kept Ron Kubick and a peace gathering from taking place, are not isolated incidents as the following Salon article shows:

Osama University?
Neoconservative critics have long charged Middle Eastern studies departments with anti-American bias. Now they've enlisted Congress in their crusade.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Michelle Goldberg

Nov. 6, 2003 | On Oct. 21, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that could require university international studies departments to show more support for American foreign policy or risk their federal funding. Its approval followed hearings this summer in which members of Congress listened to testimony about the pernicious influence of the late Edward Said in Middle Eastern studies departments, described as enclaves of debased anti-Americanism. Stanley Kurtz, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, a right-wing think tank, testified, "Title VI-funded programs in Middle Eastern Studies (and other area studies) tend to purvey extreme and one-sided criticisms of American foreign policy." Evidently, the House agreed and decided to intervene.

Emboldened by its dominance of Washington, the right is trying to enlist government on its side in the campus culture wars. "Since they are the mainstream in Washington think tanks and the right-wing corridors of Congress, they figure, 'Let's translate that political capital to education,'" says Rashid Khalidi, who was recently appointed to the Edward Said Chair of Arab studies at Columbia University.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/11/06/middle_east/index_np.html

Pagan recruitment centers report 36% increase in enlistments.

:evilgrin:
dbt

Apparently, yes, he is. When he was on MSNBC I wrote to them about his obnoxious and awful show. Shortly thereafter, it was cancelled. I don't think I had anything to do with it. But, at least, I complained. I guess a lot of other folks did the same. :-)

I'm sorry that this church 'peace luncheon' was cancelled. (God forbid, we should all live in peace!)

So, all of us must continue to stand up against fascism!

O8)

belongs to the R/W. If I belonged to that church I would be looking for another one real quickly! This nonsense has to stop. Liberals are too nice and let these bullies get away with all this. We should withhold our money and that is the only thing that will stop this outlandish behavior in our country!

I couldn't agree more!

:dem:

but this may be as outrageous and depressing as any -- because it shows that the "stuff going on" in our country has reached the community level. The elements in our society that want to restrict freedom and dissent, and put us all into lockstep, are operating at every level now, from the White House and Congress, to state legislatures, to libraries, to churches. Are homes next? It's truly frightening.

If we're going to derail the Bushies we're all going to have to grow stiffer backbones. Giving in only makes the Bushies bolder.

Next thing ya know they'll be taking over our religion.

Sad to see that someone who has attained the rank of Monsignor would cave in like that. The church hosted the luncheon last year, but because of the "controversy" will not do it this year.

I also note that the church was "renting" its space to Peace Action. Our church can't "rent" its space; it's tax exempt as a house of worship. If we turned it into a commercial property by renting it to users, we'd be liable for property taxes.

Makes me wonder what the real story is. And shame on Mr. Gusmer.

this is an outrage....to hell with the thirty complaints...I feel like calling them...

in the rethuglican strategy that we need to exploit. The right wingers get very vervous when other church groups come out against the war and other conservative policies. If more true Christians would stand up and challange the the right wing nuts their base would start to splinter and crumble.

What a stupid thing to try and hold at a church.