Truly, you just can't make this stuff up.
First it is the Bishop of Metuchen, Paul Bootkoski kicking a Catholic teacher under the bus. Now it is The Most Reverend Peter F. Christensen, Master of Divinity, Master of Applied Spirituality and Doctor of Divinity kicking a Catholic State Senator under the bus along with Patricia Jannuzzi.
Bishop Peter seems to have forgotten the 20th chapter of the Book of Exodus:
[1] And the Lord spoke all these words: [2] I am theoh, Lord
thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. [3] Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. [4] Thou shalt not
make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters
under the earth. [5] Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord
thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:
Just like Bishop Bootkoski, Bishop Christensen blames Pope Francis.
I'm so glad that I have no letters after my name.
Fox, pour me another glass of Goats Do Roam ...
The Dasavatara |
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/idaho-catholic-leadership-repudiates-senator-s-anti-hindu-views-115032100072_1.html
The Catholic Church's leadership in Idaho state
has declared that a state senator's denunciation of Hinduism runs counter to
the teachings of the church and Pope Francis's support for inter-religious
dialogue.
When Universal Society of Hinduism President Rajan
Zed said the opening prayers for the state senate's March 3 session in Boise,
Senator Sheryl Nuxoll boycotted the invocation because she said she believed
the United States is a Christian nation and "Hindu is a false faith with
false gods".
Her opinions "do not represent the
opinions or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, (Boise) Bishop Peter
Christensen or even our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who has been an outspoken
supporter of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue," said a statement
from the Boise Diocese provided on Friday by communications director Michael
Brown. "Sen. Nuxoll's comments reflect her own personal opinions."
Nuxoll, who is a Catholic, was one of three
Republican senators to boycott Zed's prayer, although the Republican Senate President
Pro-Tem, Brent Hill, had invited Zed to be the guest chaplain. Zed's prayer was
non-denominational and Hill said, "It refers to 'deity supreme.'"
After the senate prayer, Zed met the Boisie
Catholic Diocese's Vicar General for Clergy, Monsignor Joseph A. da Silva, and
Chancellor Marcella Wilske. Zed said they they had "a dialogue on various
interfaith issues."
Jewish and other religious leaders have
demanded an apology from Nuxoll. "Being a public official who is expected
to represent all citizens, it is highly inappropriate and insensitive for Ms.
Nuxoll to unnecessarily label a major religion as 'false,' as there are about 3
million Hindus in USA, including some in Idaho," said a letter signed by
28 clergy members and others last week.
According to The Jewish Daily Forward, Rabbi
Daniel Fink of Boise's Jewish Congregation Ahavatah Beth Israel organised the
letter campaign through the Idaho Interfaith Equality Coalition.
Even before the letter was sent, Nuxoll had
ruled out any apology and invoked Mother Teresa. "I said it was a religion
with false gods. I'm not going to give an apology," the Spokesman-Review
newspaper quoted her as saying earlier this month.
"I felt I had to abstain, because I'm not
going to be praying to false gods. I'm a believer like Mother Teresa that
everybody should be the best they can," she added, according to the
newspaper.
She also reiterated her belief that the US
Constitution is "based on Judeo-Christian principles".
"I'm in a floor session bound to follow
the Constitution," the Spokesman-Review quoted her as saying. "It is
a Christian nation based on Christian principles."
The US constitution is secular and prohibits
the establishment of official religion.
According to the newspaper, Nuxoll said she
received many emails "running me down", but also some supporting her.
She singled out one email backing her "from a lady who said she had lived
with the Hindus". Nuxoll said that the woman wrote "there was a great
amount of infanticide and abortion."
Ganesha (centre) with Shiva (top left), Devi (top right), Vishnu (bottom left) and Surya (bottom right); each of them has a sect which considers them as the Supreme Being. |