German bishops declare homosexuality is 'normal' as the country's church begins controversial review of its teachings on sexual morality

In what sense is it "normal"?  In a statistical sense it is far from normal and in a theological sense it is an abomination to God.  There's no normality there that I can see

German bishops have said homosexuality is 'normal' as the country's Catholic Church begins a controversial review of its teachings on sexual morality.

They agreed being gay is a 'normal form' of human sexual identity, the chairman of the Marriage and Family Commission announced after discussions in Berlin last week.

It comes ahead of a two-year 'Synodal Process' by the Germans which will see a national reform consultation despite warnings from the Vatican.

Berlin's Archbishop Heiner Koch said in a statement seen by the Catholic News Agency: 'The sexual preference of man expresses itself in puberty and assumes a hetero or homosexual orientation.

'Both belong to the normal forms of sexual predisposition, which cannot or should be changed with the help of a specific socialization'.

He said the move had been made possible by Pope Francis's book on marriage and family called Amoris laetitia.

Bishops from four diocese met in Berlin on December 5 to formally talk about 'The Sexuality of Man – How should one discuss it scientifically-theologically and judge it ecclesiastically?'

Archbishop Koch was joined by Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück, Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt of Görlitz, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz, as well as medical experts and canon lawyers.

Koch said the 'Synodal Process' has to start from an 'unbiased' position and consider the 'latest scientific insights'.

Everyone at the meeting reportedly agreed 'human sexuality encompasses a dimension of lust, of procreation and of relationships'.

Sexual orientation was still considered unchangeable, but 'any form of discrimination of persons with a homosexual orientation' was to be rejected, as was 'explicitly stressed by Pope Francis' in Amoris laetitia.

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Swedish Church Removes LGBT Altarpiece After Fears It Is 'Anti-Trans'

Stranger than fiction: A pro-LGBT Swedish church erected an altarpiece showing two homosexual couples in the Garden of Eden. Yet less than two weeks after unveiling the altarpiece, the church removed it following fears that another figure in the artwork could be seen as "anti-trans" or "transphobic." Liberal churches should take this as a sign that no capitulation to the LGBT agenda will ever be enough.

St. Paul's Church in Malmö unveiled a painting entitled "Paradise," which shows one lesbian couple and one gay couple in the Garden of Eden. Lesbian artist Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin painted it in 2012, aiming to donate the work to the Skara Cathedral in Sweden, which was preparing to conduct its first same-sex wedding. The cathedral rejected the painting, but St. Paul's unveiled it on Sunday, December 1 — the beginning of Advent — according to Out magazine.

"It is with pride and joy that we receive Paradise in St Paul’s Church. We need images that open up for greater inclusion and identification in the church," the church said in a statement. "We are grateful to Elisabeth’s artistry, which enables us to build a credible church that shows that we all, regardless of who we love and identify as, are accommodated in Paradise."

Helena Myrstener, a pastor at the church, celebrated the altarpiece toward the end of November. "On Sunday, history is written. Sweden’s only LGBT altarpiece (Elisabeth Ohlsson Wallin) is received by St Paul’s church in Malmö… We are so happy and proud!"

Yet less than two weeks later, the church had removed the altarpiece.

Wallin did not just include two homosexual couples in her painting; she also included a male dressing up as a woman — ostensibly transgender — in the form of a snake looking down on the festivities. Out's Serena Sonoma originally reported that the transgender snake had been celebrated as part of the LGBT artwork, but apparently some transgender advocates got a different impression.

While the Church of Sweden insisted the fact that there "are two gay couples in the artwork is completely uncontroversial," it feared that the transgender imagery might be perceived as an attack on people who identify with the opposite sex.

"[T]here is a snake, which traditionally stands for evil, and that it also turns into a trans person means it could be interpreted that a trans person is evil or the devil. The Church of Sweden certainly cannot stand for that," the church said in a statement.

Indeed, the snake in the Garden of Eden tempts Adam and Eve to break God's commandment and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The snake is traditionally associated with Satan. Yet many on the left see Satan as the archetypal symbol of rebellion, someone to be celebrated and emulated, not condemned. Perhaps the artist included the imagery of a transgender serpent for this reason.

A pastor with St. Paul's noted that the altarpiece had been removed from the sanctuary because "it has too many unanswered questions."

"I would like to emphasize that this has nothing to do with where Church of Sweden stands on the [LGBT] issues, which we work tirelessly on," the church leader claimed in a statement.

While Sweden was once a great champion of Bible-based church reform, defending the Protestant Reformation in the Thirty Years War, the country and its formerly state-run church have rushed to embrace LGBT activism. While the Bible firmly condemns homosexual activity and teaches that God made humans male and female, many Christians have rushed to alter their interpretation of scripture to fit the new sexual morality.

Yet no matter how far some churches go, it seems the capitulation will never be enough.

Meanwhile, many gays and lesbians have rightly noted that transgender activism undermines homosexuality. Many transgender activists demand that lesbians be open to relationships with biological men who identify as female, for instance. Some lesbians have warned — not unreasonably — that transgender activism encourages conversion therapy for lesbians — encouraging same-sex attracted women to think of themselves as straight men — and rape culture — allowing biological men to hook up with anyone they want, even lesbian women.

It seems unlikely Wallin intended the snake to be an anti-trans symbol, but the ambiguity of the artwork seems to have won out. Ironically, an altarpiece that was seen as too transgressive in 2012 is now considered backward by the same church that rejected it in the first place. Perhaps the Church of Sweden would be well-advised to return to a solid standard that does not change — the Word of God, perhaps?

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SCOTUS supports abortion awareness
  
When Governor Matt Bevin walked out of his office for the last time last night, it was somewhat fitting that the U.S. Supreme Court picked yesterday to uphold one of the most important laws he ever signed — the Kentucky ultrasound bill. The justices, who watched the ACLU appeal all the way to their doorstep, refused to even hear the case. Instead, they deferred to the Sixth Circuit, which didn’t see the harm in showing moms a picture of their babies before they abort. If it’s just “a clump of cells,” who cares? Liberals, that’s who.

The last thing the abortion industry wants is for moms to come face-to-face with the personhood of their child. It’s why they’ve poured millions of dollars into fighting heartbeat bills, sonograms, even basic medical disclaimers. When it comes to abortion, technology is — and always has been — the single biggest enemy of the Left. Nothing comes between women and their business more than the truth about these tiny humans in the womb — humans that yawn, smile, suck their thumbs. The imaging is so advanced these days that doctors can track something as small as a baby’s hiccup. It’s a game-changer. Which is exactly why groups like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood are trying to shut down laws like Kentucky’s. It’s hard enough to get moms to destroy their babies. But it’s near impossible once they see and hear how intensely human their children are.

For young moms like Lisa, who never wanted to be pregnant in the first place, it was a revelation. “I didn’t want to go through with having the baby," she explained. "I didn’t want to face all of the challenges that a single mom would.” And besides, she said, “My life was just beginning,” and this, “makes you feel like your life is over.” She made three appointments to abort her little girl. But every time, she found a reason not to go. Something just wasn’t right. She went back to the pregnancy care center and they offered her a free sonogram. “I heard the heartbeat,” Lisa remembers, “and it made it all real. There was a real life inside of me.” It made her realize that “no matter what I was feeling or thinking at the time, I had a little one to worry about.”

As hard as it was to tell her parents, Lisa was overcome when they found her note and called her crying. “Through tears they told me they would help — no matter what.” It hasn’t always been easy, but her daughter, Selah, has been the joy of her life. A few years later, while her daughter played at the park, Lisa struck up a conversation with a woman sitting by her on the bench. Laura was her name. She said she worked at Life Network. Stunned, Lisa pointed to the blonde little girl on the swings. “The pregnancy center saved her life!” she exclaimed.

It’s a miraculous story — one the folks at Planned Parenthood don’t want to see repeated. In its challenge, the ACLU even argued that giving women these options was somehow a violation of doctors’ free speech. But the Supreme Court didn’t buy it. Just like they haven’t bought other lies about “informed consent” laws. Under Kentucky’s, all doctors are required to do is describe the ultrasound while moms listen to the heartbeat. If the women choose, they can shut their eyes and cover their ears. Even still, the ACLU calls it “unconstitutional and unethical.”

No, what’s unethical is misleading women about the personhood of their baby and the life-long consequences of aborting her. Even now, Laura says, she’s met other young moms who “couldn’t see past their circumstances — a child they’re not ready for, a relationship they’d rather escape.” But then they see their baby’s “heartbeat, fingers, and toes.” She says they see the impact of their ultrasound machine every day. Thanks to the Supreme Court, let’s hope Kentucky can say the same thing about their informed consent law.

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Blue Lives Matter — Even in Democrat Cities

The holidays are a busy time for everyone, especially police officers. This time of year often experiences an uptick in crime in large cities, and urban police departments must be prepared to handle the situation. Unfortunately, several cities are having trouble addressing the need for more officers on the street.

Seattle is one such city with a police department that is woefully understaffed. The city government maintains that there are 722 officers on patrol, but it turns out the actual number of cops on the beat is 472.

“Seven hundred would be a start, but we would need to probably be 800 or 900 for a city of this size to provide the services that are needed throughout the city,” Seattle Police Officer’s Guild president Kevin Stuckey said.

This low number of officers seriously impedes the city’s ability to respond to 911 calls and cover the neighborhoods most in need of a police presence. A recent recruitment drive to boost numbers failed miserably, producing a net gain of only 16 new officers in 2019. Since 1970, Seattle has tripled in size, but has added only 300 officers to the department.

The reason for poor recruitment and retention is referred to as the “Seattle mentality.” The police department doesn’t have the support of the city government and many in the minority community.

The council has directed the department to ignore going after certain crimes, and it has discouraged officers from enforcing the law with the homeless population. Negative comments about police from the city council have also hurt morale in the department.

Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and dozens of other Democrat-run cities across the country are experiencing rising crime rates. And all for the same reason — a systemic lack of support for law enforcement that flows directly from city hall and the media.

Democrats have declared war on the police, and we have Barack Obama to blame. Far from being the racial uniter he was marketed to be, Obama spent his eight years in office stoking the flames of racial division. He never missed an opportunity to degrade law enforcement, and the sycophantic Leftmedia ate up every word of it.

High-profile incidents like those of Eric Garner in New York, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and Michael Brown in Ferguson were all built on lies perpetuated by race hustlers like Al Sharpton and the national news media. In all three cases, the suspects were dangerous individuals committing crimes and they were resisting (or attacking) police. We were led to believe, though, that these men were arbitrarily singled out because of their race.

Brown’s death in Missouri led to two very troubling developments. The first was the establishment of Black Lives Matter, which is basically a hate group that stirs mistrust and hatred of law enforcement. Several cop killings across the country can be linked to people who have claimed to be part of this movement.

The second problem is the “Ferguson Effect,” the term given to reduced police activity in certain neighborhoods as cops aim to protect themselves from being charged as racists — or worse, being killed in the line of duty — in cities that do not support their work.

The losers in this battle are the very neighborhoods that Black Lives Matter claims don’t need cops. Black-on-black crime outnumbers white-on-black crime by many orders of magnitude. Black cops also shoot black suspects at a higher rate than white cops. Yet these facts are buried by the media because they don’t fit the narrative of a racist nation.

Unfortunately, there is no end in sight to this problem. Attorney General William Barr spoke last week about the tough work that cops perform and the respect they have earned from the public — while also warning about a distinct lack of respect in certain quarters. As night follows day, leftists immediately attacked his speech as racist.

Yet the core of Barr’s words ring true. “The American people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law-enforcement officers. … And if communities don’t give that support and respect, they may find themselves without the police protection they need.” That’s not the “threat” leftists want you to think it is; it’s the reality of lower police recruitment and morale.

If you don’t believe this to be the case, just ask Seattle.

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here. 

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