UK’s Theresa May Visits Homophobic Church Amid Election Campaign

From: Towleroad

British Prime Minister Theresa May drew criticism from LGBTQ activists for staging a high-profile electoral visit last Sunday to a north London church notorious for its homophobic views.

The Brent Cross-based Jesus House has often waded into the debate against marriage equality and LGBTQ equality, and is led by Pastor Agu Irawku, who once complained in a letter to The Telegraph that “The [Sexual Orientation] Regulations force Christians in churches, businesses, charities and informal associations to accept and even promote the idea that homosexuality is equal to heterosexuality.”

An op-ed published in The Independent Tuesday states:

Jesus House is, at its core, a fundamentalist institution, and promotes what many would consider to be extreme views on subjects such as sexuality and abortion.

. . . Troublingly, the website for Jesus House on at least one occasion draws an equivalence between homosexuality and beastiality (sic). Anyone filling out the “Men’s Ministry Survey” is asked the following question: “Have you ever experimented with homosexuality or any other alternative sexuality (bisexual, transgender, beastiality [sic])?”

It has in the past been alleged that the church has been involved also with the exorcisms of gay people, although this claim was hotly refuted at the time by the Evangelical Alliance. In the context of the various other pieces of evidence, though, it doesn’t seem a particularly radical notion.

What is so deeply wrong, in this case, is the fact that Theresa May and by association the Conservative Party, are deliberately aligning themselves with and thus actively promoting an organization that promotes hatred, homophobia and misogyny born of religious fundamentalism and masquerading as religious freedom. We should not underestimate the insidious nature of fundamentalist religion, and when our politicians fail to challenge it, we in turn must challenge our politicians.

May has herself been no friend to the LGBTQ community, as The Canary points out:

The Conservative leader has a poor history when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. She has voted against equality legislation and adoption by same-sex couples. Her approach to LGBTQ+ equality in the UK has softened since 2010. But the treatment of LGBTQ+ immigrants and asylum seekers grew notably worse on her watch.

May could have visited any number of religious houses in the UK to extend her hand to faith communities. But her visit to this particular church suggests she is sending signals to hardline evangelicals in the UK, at the cost of the LGBTQ+ community. And the Conservative manifesto doesn’t mention the LGBTQ+ community once.

The United Kingdom will hold a general election on June 8.

Notre Dame students plan walkout during Mike Pence speech

From: CNN

When Vice President Mike Pence delivers the commencement speech at Notre Dame today, he'll likely speak to fewer people than he expected.

Some students at the Catholic university plan to walk out of the speech as part of a protest against Pence and his policies, which they say target marginalized people on the basis of their religion, skin color or sexual orientation, according to the student activist group We Stand For.

Luis Miranda, a co-organizer of the walkout, said Pence, as Indiana governor and as vice president, targeted vulnerable people with his policies. Catholic values promote standing up for the poor and marginalized, so he plans to stand up on Sunday, literally.

Miranda said some of his family members are undocumented immigrants and have felt under siege by the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration.

"They are going to be in the audience in one of the most important moments of my life with someone targeting them for who they are," he said.

The plan, according to a Facebook event, is to stand up when Pence begins speaking, walk toward the exit quietly, and, of course, live tweet the protest under the #WalkoutND hashtag.

As of Thursday afternoon, about 75 people had signed up to participate in the walkout.

"This is not just about the numbers, but about standing up for truth," Miranda said. "We feel that there is power in truth and hopefully there will be power in numbers that come stand up with us."

We invite all Notre Dame students to help take back our commencement this coming Sunday! #WalkoutND pic.twitter.com/ifOt5RB4hO

— We StaND For (@WeStandForND) May 15, 2017

The university is not particularly worried about the protest.

Paul Browne, a spokesperson for Notre Dame, said walkout organizers reached out to police and administrators ahead of time to plan the quiet proceedings.

"We're not concerned," Browne said. "We think they will be respectful in the way they express their differences with the administration."

Browne said officials were more concerned with the potential for thunderstorms on Sunday, which could force them to move the commencement from the spacious outdoor football stadium to a smaller arena.

A number of prominent Republicans have faced student opposition at commencement speeches this graduation season. Last week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos faced raucous booing at a speech at historically black Bethune-Cookman University.

Pence will become the first vice president to deliver a commencement speech at Notre Dame when he receives an honorary degree today, according to the university.

Six presidents from both sides of the aisle have given commencement speeches at Notre Dame, including Barack Obama in 2009 and George W. Bush in 2001.

"It is fitting that in the 175th year of our founding on Indiana soil that Notre Dame recognize a native son who served our state and now the nation with quiet earnestness, moral conviction and a dedication to the common good characteristic of true statesmen," Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a statement.

Pence received his bachelor's degree from Indiana's Hanover College and attended Indiana University School of Law.

UDATE

Dozens of Notre Dame Students Walk Out of VP Mike Pence Commencement Speech
From: NBC News

Dozens of students at the University of Notre Dame walked out of their commencement ceremony today when Vice President Mike Pence took the stage — in protest of the administration and policies he represents.

Some members of the larger crowd cheered the walk-outs on, while others booed the students who marched out of gates 27 and 28 of Notre Dame Stadium during the school's 172nd commencement. The walk-out came before the students received their degrees, and they were not allowed back in, officials said.

The move was not totally unexpected, since the student organization WeStaNDFor had shared their plans ahead of time. They believe that the politics Pence, the former Indiana governor who was raised Catholic, represented contradicted the Catholic social virtues Notre Dame extols.

"He has supported policies that have targeted the weakest and most vulnerable among us," said graduate student Luis Miranda, a member of the group, told NBC affiliate WNDU before the protest. "These are my classmates; these are my friends; these are our family members as well. We're standing up for them. We're standing up for their dignity."

South Bend Equality, a group participating in the event, expanded further on the specific issues that they were protesting.

Notre Dame students walk out of the commencement ceremony
as Vice President Mike Pence is introduced at Notre Dame Stadium o
n May 21, 2017, in South Bend, Indiana.
Santiago Flores / South Bend Tribune via AP

"Our members lived in South Bend when Mike Pence was governor," the group said in a statement. "We know all too well how his policies endangered or caused direct harm to public education, health care, women's rights, the environment, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants and refugees, reproductive rights, local infrastructure, the economy of our state, and more."

Instructions were quite simple: "Sit with a friend in your college," read an invitation titled "Taking Back Our Commencement."

"Stand up and walk out once Mike Pence starts to speak," it directed. "Respectfully and quietly exit the stadium."

Only 50 were expected to take part in the silent gesture, but reports estimated that more than 100 students headed for the exit when Pence, who earned an honorary degree from Notre Dame, walked toward the podium.

There were also demonstrators unaffiliated with the graduation ceremony who gathered near the Notre Dame campus to protest the vice president's presence.

Participants deemed it a successful demonstration.

With 100+ participants #WalkoutND was a wonderful success. Thank you all for the support!

— We StaND For (@WeStandForND) May 21, 2017

Pence's remarks began as students walked out, but he did not address the elephant leaving the room — instead addressing religious liberty, President Donald Trump's Sunday morning speech in Saudi Arabia and encouraging leadership in broad strokes terms.

"University of Notre Dame Class of 2017, this is your day," Pence said in closing. "So go, Irish — the future is yours."

24 Obscure Kinks and Fetishes of Gay Men

From: The Advocate

 5

Fetish For Religious Iconography

Thanks to our old companion shame, religious iconography is fulled with sexual tension. Religion is intimately intertwined with our sex lives. Most of us are taught from a young age what we can and cannot do with out bodies by parents who cite this or that religious practice as the foundation for these "rules."

When we discover and accept our sexual selves and break free from these messages - when we learn to shift between the good lessons (don't rape) and bad ones (don't masturbate) - religious imagery and overtones can take on an erotic feel and often do. This is more common then you might think.

Go to any fetish convention and you will see people in nun habits, priests with no pants on and people cuffed and whipped on a St. Andrew's Cross - a staple piece of bondage furniture for any BDSM connoisseur.

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Set as NBC’s Next Live Musical

From: Variety

NBC has selected “Jesus Christ Superstar” as the next live musical to head to the network, Variety has learned.

The show follows in the footsteps of NBC’s successful run of live musical events, including “Sound of Music Live,” “Peter Pan Live,” “The Wiz Live,” and most recently, “Hairspray Live.”

All of NBC’s former live musicals have aired during December as a holiday special. In contract, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” will air on Easter Sunday next year, April 1, 2018.

Based on the 1971 Broadway rock opera, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” will be executive produced by original creators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who will also provide music and lyrics for NBC’s show. In addition to the duo, musical vets Marc Platt of “La La Land,” plus Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have both worked with the network on past musicals, are also on board as executive producers.

No stars have been announced, but casting is underway and NBC is looking to cast authentic recording artists.

“As we continue to expand the profile of our live musicals, we are thrilled to be partnering with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to bring a new live staging of the iconic ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ to NBC,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment. “Casting has just begun, but we want to fill out this classic show with as many recording artists as possible to give proper voice to what is the original rock opera score.”

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is based on the final week of Jesus’ life, and features other historical figures including Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas, Peter, Simon Zealotes, and King Herod.

The musical first opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway in 1971 and starred Jeff Fenholt as Jesus and Ben Vereen as Judas, and was nominated for five Tony Awards that year. Prior to making its way to the stage, the musical was originally conceived as a concept album that hit no. 1 on the Billboard charts. Since then, the show has been performed in nearly 20 countries and translated into 18 different languages. In the 46 years since its debut, “Jesus Christ Superstar” has been revived many times, including Tony-nominated runs in 2000 and 2012.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” is not the first religious-themed musical to head to the broadcast networks on Easter weekend. Last year, Tyler Perry brought “The Passion” to Fox, which was a partially live modern spin on the story of Jesus Christ’s last hours, though the one-night event garnered mixed reviews and did not bring in a large audience.

For NBC, the network now has a few live shows in deck in addition to “Jesus Christ Superstar” — a live adaptation of Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” is expected to debut later this year, along with a live musical version of “Bye Bye Birdie,” starring Jennifer Lopez.

“Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” hails from Universal Television, the Really Useful Group, Marc Platt Productions, and Storyline Entertainment.

24 Obscure Kinks and Fetishes of Gay Men

From: The Advocate

 Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

He tells me to unbuckle my belt and slide my pants down. "Bend over, son." I obey.

"Christ received 39 lashes. We'll start you at 13. Count them out, one by one. If you miss one, we start over." He starts to spank me with his hand - hard. I count them. "One." Spank. "Two." Spank. "Three." I feel my ass heating up, the sting of each blow. I picture my skin reddening beneath his hand in the dim light of the church.

This may strike an uneasy chord with some folks - the intersection of desire and faith usually does - but it's a common role-play scenario fore folks with fetishes for religious imagery and ritual. This and other less-know fetishes don't get talked about enough. Shame keeps them behind closed doors.

Opinions among sociologists differ over at which point on our evolutionary timeline we learned to wield shame as such a powerful tool. No one denies the potency of shame in politics, religion, economics and every social institution you can think of. We feel shame the strongest in our sex lives. Most of grow up believing that desire operates according to certain triggers and rules - that arousal is formulaic and simple - and those those whose interests fall outside these boundaries are "abnormal" and "wrong."

Kiss the Gods, 2013 Venfield 8

“Death to gays” pastor gets life in prison for child molestation

From: Queerty

In news no one will find particularly shocking, yet another virulently anti gay religious figure has come tumbling out of the proverbial closet.

Earlier this month, a jury took just one hour to find Georgia Pastor Kenneth Adkins guilty on eight charges of child molestation of a young boy and girl who belonged to his church.

Savannah Now reports he was convicted of grooming the two youths, under the guise of mentorship, “to have sexual intercourse first in front of him so he could judge if they were doing it properly to eventually joining in on the acts himself.”

Jacksonville reports:

Peering out into a crowded courtroom, Adkins got what is likely one last look at his detractors and law enforcement officers after being sentenced to life behind bars on child molestation charges. However, the judge ruled that after the first 35 years, Adkins can serve the balance of his sentence on probation.

The outspoken antigay pastor regularly referred to homosexuals as the “devil,” as you can see in the below tweets:

Some of Adkins' recent tweets. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/y2WjzKRTa8

— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 26, 2016

The jury was shown nude photos of Adkins that he’d sent to the male accuser, as well as a series of messages sent between the female and Adkins.

Of the eight charges, five pertained to the female who has denied any of the crimes took place. SN notes that she lived with Adkins and his wife as recently as a month after he was arrested.

Related: Men” Director Bryan Singer Accused Of Drug-Fueled Sexual Abuse Of Teenage Boy

“She’s in his clutches,” said Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper. “What he has done to that girl is not only criminal, it is deplorable.”

According to SN:

The male told the jury last week that Adkins watched them have sex so many times that he lost track. He said the sex — in the presence of Adkins occurred in the church office, at the beach and in Adkins’ car. The male, according to testimony presented during the trial, initially told an Army investigator that his girlfriend was 16 and he was 15 when the activity first began. On the witness stand, the young man said his then-girlfriend was 15. Sixteen is the age of consent in Georgia.

Adkins made headlines following the Orlando massacre last June, when he took to Twitter to blame the victims for their fates:

Dear Gays: go sit down somewhere. I know y’all want some special attention; y’all are Sinners who need Jesus. This was an attack on America.

[I’ve] been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!

Adkins is 57, so it’s entirely likely he’ll be living out the rest of his days behind bars.

Italian Town In Uproar Over Gay “Last Supper” Poster

"You will have to apologize for the rest of your life for the lack of respect towards those who believe in Jesus."

From: NewNowNext

An Italian bar is facing backlash this week for a poster promoting a gay night that featured a very “alternative” version of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”

Promoters for the event, which is held every Thursday at Caffe Verdi in the city of Salerno, reimagined the famous painting with a tattooed Jesus surrounded by a group of shirtless, hunky apostles kissing each other. The poster also features two men removing their togas, with a different man appearing to perform oral sex on a guy behind the table. Sounds like quite a party!

Local political groups instantly called for the event to be cancelled out of respect for the Christian community, calling the poster “misplaced and disrespectful” and accusing it of “slaughtering respect and good taste,” according to The Local.

The cafe’s Facebook page was inundated with negative reviews, with one commenter writing, “You will have to apologize for the rest of your life for the lack of respect towards those who believe in Jesus. Shame!”

Not all comments were negative, however, with some users praising the cafe, including commenter Francesco Napoli, who wrote, “Five stars for courage, independence and equality.”

Caffe Verdi confirmed in a statement that the event would continue as planned, saying it would not “remain silent in the face of multiple attacks on our business from the media.”

The venue also expressed “unconditional support” for DiverCity, the group which has organized the event at the cafe for the past two years.

“We reiterate with strength and conviction our freedom to live and enjoy ourselves as we see fit,” wrote DiverCity event planner Emanuele Avagliano, urging the LGBT community to attend the night “with even more force and conviction, to lay claim to a space of freedom which is indispensable for the gay and transgender men and women in our city”.

Christian Zealot Claims “Jesus Died on the Cross” To Turn Gay People Straight

“Anguish over your child’s choice of a homosexual or transgendered life”

From: Gay Pop Buzz

 Just ahead of Easter, a right-wing columnist penned a piece in World Net Daily that “Jesus rose to save homosexual sinners.”

Linda Harvey, founder of anti-LGBT group Mission: America, also has ties to Texas Senator, Ted Cruz.

An advocate for ‘curing’ LGBTQ from same sex attractions, Harvey claimed: “Those who have homosexual attractions and gender confusion are reassured by the culture’s voices of influence (…) but the sinfulness doesn’t disappear with power and popularity.”

Additional comments include:

“The reality of separation from God does not change, and no Supreme Court can stand in that gap.

The good news is that Jesus can. He bled on the cross on Good Friday and rose on the third day to save those who repent and seek Him, the most serious sexual sinners as well as people conflicted over gender.”

Apparently, she thinks she’s got “the fix”:

“All it takes is a heart of repentance after a full recognition of God’s authority and truth.” Apparently, Harvey must have missed it when Jesus showed up at Chicago’s Gay Pride Parade and was a smash hit with parade goers.  GPB took a photograph, which you can see below.

gaypopbuzzGod 

#loves all his people

#lovewins #lgbt #gay #lovewon#pride2015 

#jesus #homos#marriageequality #prideparade

In any event, she then adds: “In America, we Christians often don’t expect this faith to cost much.”

Going from bad to worse, she then brings in the parents of children of LGBTQ person’s.

“But anguish over your child’s choice of a homosexual or transgendered life, or whether to attend your sister’s ceremony attempting to unite her with another woman – these may throw you into inner turmoil and family conflict.

We Christians must not affirm these grave sins. Here’s a sober truth gleaned from my wise pro-family colleagues as well as the mature believing ex-homosexuals I know: This rebellion is far more than sexual.

To weave the spell of deception that takes a person into desiring someone of the same sex reaches beyond romantic and sexual fantasy.

It’s a repudiation of God as Creator, of the heritage of parents, grandparents and all who came before.”

In the past, Harvey previously urged Mr. Trump’s new Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, to nix America’s HIV prevention programs.

Here’s what she wrote:

 “Will CDC continue to treat homosexual behavior as a respectable identity instead of what it actually is – high-risk, unnecessary deviance that no one needs to engage in?

The deeply insidious lies… begin with the destructive notion that there are separately constructed humans like L, G, B or T. Or that children should adopt such identities and the bizarre, self-destructive sexual activities that accompany them.

Such child-endangerment must be rooted out of the HHS, the sooner the better.”

Here Comes Peter Cottontail.....

Christian College’s Entire Faculty Senate Resigns After Professor Denied Promotion For Supporting LGBT Rights

The Gordon College professors made the announcement last Wednesday
From: NewNowNext

 All seven members of the faculty Senate at Gordon College resigned last week in a show of solidarity with a professor who claims she was denied a promotion because she’d spoken out against the Christian school’s anti-LGBT views.

The demonstration is just the latest moment of tension between faculty and administration at the school in Wenham, Massachusetts, which forbids students, professors and staff from engaging in “homosexual practice” on or off campus.

 In a complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, assistant professor of sociology Margaret DeWeese-Boyd asserts that the college president refused to give her a promotion to full professor because she’s openly criticized the school’s ban on “homosexual practice” since 2013.

The educator writes that she has spoken against the stance at a faculty meeting, signed a petition opposing it, organized training related to LGBT rights and directly addressed college president D. Michael Lindsay about it.

According to the complaint, DeWeese-Boyd was denied her promotion in February, against the unanimous recommendation of the faculty Senate.

In response, the members of the Senate announced Wednesday that they would be resigning from their positions.

Without directly mentioning DeWeese-Boyd, the faculty members said they were walking out because of the president’s refusal to follow their recommendations for promotions.

“For the Senate to take such strong action to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the way the president and provost are acting is very unusual,” DeWeese-Boyd’s lawyer Hillary Schwab told the Boston Globe. “It’s my understanding the faculty responded to the resignations with sustained applause.”

Rick Sweeney, a college spokesperson, said that Gordon’s provost, Janel Curry, addressed the resignations at the meeting.

“While this was a surprise, Dr. Curry offered a brief response at the meeting thanking them for their service [their work had concluded for the semester] and confirming that both she and the college leadership have a very different interpretation of the situation and that they should allow time to explore how to bridge the gap in perspectives,” Sweeney said in a statement.

Sweeney went on to say that the college has “strong and pointed disagreement” with the allegations made in the assistant professor’s complaint, but will not comment further because the school doesn’t discuss “personnel issues.”

Gordon College president D. Michael Lindsay

Gordon College stepped into the national spotlight in 2014 when its leaders asked President Obama for an exemption from a planned executive order banning discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation.

At the time, the administration argued the ban would “come at an unreasonable cost to the common good, national unity, and religious freedom.”

Many faculty, students and alumni denounced the request, circulating an online petition that garnered thousands of signatures.

Last year, the Christian college retaliated against Lauren Barthold, a philosophy professor, after she wrote a letter to the Salem News and was quoted in the Globe criticizing Lindsay’s request to Obama.

Barthold alleged that, after threatening to fire her, the college denied her right to apply for a promotion and removed her as the director of the gender studies program.

She later agreed to resign from her position.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail.....

Elder Kensington: His Evaluation

From: Straights Go Gay

During Elder Kensington’s evaluation, Mormon Boyz Bishop Angus grew concerned about the amount of hair covering the young Elder’s balls, wondering if it might have the same effect on the lad’s testicles that a pouch on a pair of briefs would! With this, the Bishop felt that it was in the lad’s best interest … as well as in the best interest of the priesthood body as a whole … to shave the missionary’s ball sack and shaft. But there wasn’t any concern with the hair on the lad’s asshole, and Bishop Angus wasted no time in lapping his tongue all over and inside Elder Kensington’s hairy hole!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail.....

Now This Is My Kind Of Church

From: Brent's Auto Wall

Oregon Man Barges Into Church Ranting Against Homosexuality

"That's why I can't find a wife in this homosexual city!"

From: NewNowNext

 A church service at the Parkrose Community United Church of Christ in Portland, OR had an unexpected visitor this past weekend.

In a video of the church service shows a man wearing a “Fear God” sweatshirt walking up onstage and shouting about the sinful nature of to the congregation and the openly gay Pastor Don Frueh.

 “Listen up,” the unnamed man shouts. “I’m here to tell you that homosexuality is wrong, and what you’re doing is wrong. And that’s wrong. And that’s a lie.”

The congregation sits in stunned silence for a few minutes before some members head to the stage to escort the man out of the building. A member of the choir that was already onstage confronts him asking him to leave.

“We’re welcoming you. But if you don’t like what we’re saying, then you’re welcome to leave,” the singer tells the man. “But you will not disrespect my church. You can keep your opinion to yourself. But you have to sit down or leave.”

“That’s why I can’t find a wife in this homosexual city,” yells the protester as he’s removed from the church.

After he leaves Pastor Frueh continues the service and asks God to heal the protestor.

“Gracious and loving god we ask you to be with our friend who came here today who is hurting obviously,” says Frueh. “Find a way for his hurt to be healed. And if there’s any way we can be part of that healing, please let us be that healing.”

Watch the confrontation go down in the video below.

Muhammad Ali Jr. Detained at Airport, Asked About Being Muslim

From: NBC News

The son of global boxing legend Muhammad Ali was detained for about two hours on arrival at a Florida airport and questioned about his religion, his lawyer said.

Muhammad Ali Jr. was returning from Montego Bay, Jamaica, with his mother — Ali's first wife, Khalilah — on Feb. 7 when immigration officers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport held him, said Chris Mancini, a former federal prosecutor and a friend of the family.

Like his father, Ali Jr. is Muslim.

Khalilah showed officers a picture of herself with her ex-husband, who died June 3, and she was not detained, Mancini said. But Ali Jr. had no such photo.

"It is a very interesting twist in history," Mancini told NBC News. "His father fought for his religious rights, and now that [Donald] Trump is president, he has to fight."

The lawyer said that both Ali Jr. and his mother were asked whether they were Muslims.

"This whole thing was triggered by his beliefs, the CBP is profiling," Mancini said, referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "He was only released about two hours later. This is a U.S. citizen, born in Philadelphia. They have no right to inquire into his religion. This is outrageous; what's going on in this country?"

He continued: "I don't know what is going on with Mr. Trump's claim that his ban is not religion-based. We do not discriminate in this country based on religion."

A CBP spokesman declined comment on the case.

"Due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cannot discuss individual travelers," the spokesman said. "However, all international travelers arriving in the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection."

Ali Jr., who is 44, has no criminal record and carries a U.S. passport, Mancini said. He recently moved to Deerfield Beach, Florida, to live with his mother. Last year, Ali Jr. received a large share of his father's multimillion-dollar fortune.

Khalilah Ali married the boxer, then named Cassius Clay, in 1967 at the age of 17. They divorced 10 years later. She had traveled to Jamaica to give a speech about black history.

Mancini claimed the detention showed that the travel ban initially instituted by the Trump administration affecting people from seven Muslim-majority nations and halted by the courts is nevertheless being enforced.

Mancini, the former prosecutor, said immigration officers asked Ali Jr. for his full name, date of birth and religion. They held him for 30 minutes, then separated him from his mother and took him to a small room. An officer returned a half-hour later and again asked him his religion, Mancini said. He was held for about one more hour before being released.

"This is an instance where the ban has been enforced even though it has been thrown out," Mancini said. "The government is still trying to find grounds to keep Muslims out."

By happenstance, the late Muhammad Ali came up during Trump's weekly address released Saturday to the American people. The president spoke about his visit this week to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

"There's a great quote by Muhammed Ali in the museum," Trump said. "'I shook up the world,' [Ali] said, and that is what he did."

Trump then named a number of civil rights leaders who, like Ali, also "shook up the world" and "inspired our nation to march towards justice and freedom for all." 

Cops bust Long Island Episcopal priest after finding child porn, drugs in his home

From: NY Daily News

Father Christopher King, 51,
 has been arrested for possession of child pornography
and methamphetamine, authorities said.
 (POLICE PHOTO)

 Thou shall not do anything like reviled Rev. Christopher King.

The Episcopal priest’s Long Island home was exposed as a den of perversion in a police raid that found graphic kiddie porn on his computer and crystal meth in his church office, authorities said on Saturday.

King, 51, was led away in handcuffs and jailed after cops discovered the cyber-stash of repugnant videos made with sex abuse victims as young as 2 years old, according to a criminal complaint.

The five clips pulled from the twisted priest’s computer showed an assortment of underage boys — including the 2-year-old toddler — engaged in sex acts with adult males or one another, a criminal complaint charged.

Another disturbing clip showed a pair of preteen boys videotaped during a sexual encounter, the complaint said.

A tip led Nassau County police to the sordid Long Beach lair of the vile vicar, who was arrested inside his parish residence Friday night.

The veteran cleric was immediately removed from any religious role in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island once the allegations were made public on Saturday.

“The diocese and the entire Episcopal Church have a zero tolerance policy with respect to criminal conduct of any kind,” read a statement from Bishop Lawrence Provenzano.

“As a result of these allegations, I have today terminated Father King’s license to function as an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Long Island.”

Stunned parishioners at St. James of Jerusalem Episcopal Church awoke Saturday to learn their spiritual leader was accused of moral bankruptcy.

“He was a very sweet man,” said one woman attending a morning yoga class at the shore front church. “That’s all I can tell you.”

A former church official who knew King was boggled to learn of the arrest.

“I never heard anything like this, no,” the ex-parishioner said. “I’m kind of shocked.”

King was a priest at the St. James Episcopal Church of Long Beach, NY.
 (GOOGLE MAPS)

The suspected sicko served as youth director for the Episcopal Diocese of New York between 1999 and 2004. A photo on the St. James website showed King surrounded by kids at a 2009 Christmas service.

“Everybody trusted him,” another parishioner said at the church on Saturday.

The cops arrived with a search warrant around 6 p.m. Friday and scoured the bald, bearded priest’s home, quickly turning up the stomach-turning images along with the drugs, according to cops.

Prosecutors charged King with possession of 12 grams of crystal methamphetamine found in his church office and bedroom. Another 38 non prescribed Xanax pills were left on top of a dresser in King’s bedroom.

Cops also recovered drug-related paraphernalia from the vicar’s residence at the church where he arrived in January 2008.

The videos were found during an on-site examination of the computer.

The suspect was ordered held on $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty at his Saturday morning arraignment in Hempstead.

King was due for his next court appearance on Tuesday in Nassau County Court. Authorities provided no details on the origin of the tip that led to the arrest of the priest.

The vicar faces five counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and two counts of drug possession.

He was accused of possession of the videos containing “any performance which included sexual conduct by a child less than 16 years old,” according to state criminal statutes.

Provenzano assured parishioners at the church that the diocese would “provide pastoral care and consult with the congregation and any others impacted by these charges.”

Church Of England Refuses To Budge On Same-Sex Marriage Ban

But church leaders insist they want "maximum freedom" for LGBT clergy
From: NewNowNext

 The Church of England, which was literally founded so Henry VIII could redefine marriage, has reaffirmed its opposition to marriage equality in a document released Friday.

A report from the House of Bishops said the Church should adopt a “fresh tone and culture of welcome and support” toward LGBT people, and offer gay clergy “maximum freedom,” but maintains the doctrine of marriage as between one man and one woman.

 Bishop Graham Jones said the document, which will be considered by the general Synod in February, was needed to help the Church with “adopting to fashions.”

Under the new plan, clergy members would have more leniency in celebrating same-sex unions. Asked whether priests would be reprimanded for blessing a same-sex marriage, Bishop Pete Broadbent said “individual cases will be treated individually.”

Currently, gay and lesbian clergy are asked to remain celibate when they change jobs or request promotion to Bishop. Should the motion be ratified, though, priests would no longer face probing questions about their personal lives.

 Critics say this does little to change the current state of affairs, and simply creates a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in the Church of England.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who is in a civil partnership, told the Sunday Times the new proposal “is based essentially on dishonesty and encouraging clergy to lie.”

And out Christian broadcaster Vicky Beeching said it “requires serious mental and emotional gymnastics to hold together.”

“For LGBT Christians this isn’t a piece of paper, it’s our lives,” said Beeching, who came out in 2014. “I can personally say that for me, documents like this affect my physical and mental well being on a deep level. It’s very painful to love Jesus, love the church, and yet feel rejected and like a second-class citizen because I’m gay.”

The Anglican Communion has long struggled with the issue of homosexuality: In 1998, Anglican bishops passed a resolution stating that homosexual acts were “incompatible with Scripture.” Just four years later the Anglican Church of Canada began permitted the blessing of same-sex unions—and voted last year to approve marriage equality.

In 2003, Gene Robinson was elected the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Church. His ordination led to an ongoing schism, fueled by more conservative diocese in Africa and elsewhere.

Quebec City Mosque Gunman Was Right-Wing Troll, Trump Fan

From: kenneth in the (212)

What a shocker. The Globe and Mail reports that the suspect in the attack on a Quebec City mosque that left six dead was known in the city's activist circles as a right-wing troll who frequently took anti-foreigner and anti-feminist positions and stood up for U.S. President Donald Trump. Alexandre Bissonnette appeared to have become radicalized in March 2016, following a visit to Quebec City by French nationalist Marine Le Pen, who was France's Donald Trump before he was even ours. Bissonnette's Facebook profile was removed from public view Monday morning along with the comments he left behind. Before Le Pen's visit, Bissonnette's friends say he showed little interest in politics, despite studying the subject at Laval University. Oh, joy.

UPDATE

How did the "president" react to the news? Following a call by Trump to offer condolences and police assistance to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his spokesman took to the podium to twist the tragedy into a defense of Trump's ban on Muslims. "It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant. And why the president is taking steps to be proactive, not reactive,'' Spicer said Monday, without acknowledging the shooter's love for his boss.