“At this day westerns have been astonished And easterns have taken fright”
“Donald Trump’s presidency is in its final, chaotic spiral. But even with the end so near, each hour seems to carry a new threat to America’s fragile democracy.” – according to CNN
If American democracy is fragile, what about elsewhere? Some Russian opposition figures I have heard commenting on the events of recent days, and especially on December 6, are impressed by the flexibility of American democracy after all, and the authority of the American courts, even during an election process.
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Alexei Venediktov spoke with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the latter said:
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“..imagine what it would be like in Russia if the president of the country said: ‘They have stolen the election, give me your support!’ In Russia, in principle, there is no such institution as a judicial system with authority in an electoral process: the authorities themselves have liquidated a whole set of institutions that would support such a legal system in such situations. Trump is an ideological fan of Putin …. He has tried to follow the same way, no matter what he says, but the American democratic system has not allowed him to do so for four and a half years. “
Venediktov, however, finds Trump’s suspension from Twitter “embarrassing”, it’s one of the milder terms he uses.
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“Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
– 1 Corinthians 10:22
The pope has spoken out about homosexuals. He endorse a civil union. In a comparison with Swedish gay politics ( I am from Sweden), he has thus reached the year 1994, when the law on civil unions for homosexuals came into force.
In a comparison with the sources of Protestantism, perhaps Swedish Protestants (and protestants generally) can be said to have a bit left until the year 1520, when Martin Luther had the pamphlet “On the Church’s Babylonian captivity” published. He then said that the Roman Catholic Church had fallen into a Babylonian captivity, from which she must be freed. Hence the Reformation.
One of the seven sacraments is Marriage. Interestingly, Luther also dealt with that sacrament. He believed that this, together with the Church’s celibacy requirements for priests, created an impossible situation, which often developed into homosexuality among priests.
The sacramental view of marriage thus remains in the doctrines
of the Roman Catholic Church, and when the pope speaks in recognition of civil unions, some Catholics fear that he will cause change in marriage itself, depriving it of its sacramental status as a relationship exclusively between a man and a woman.
Two examples of that reactions:
An American bishop, Thomas of Rhode Island, has asked for more clarification from the pope:
“The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and civil rights recognized and protected by law. However, the legalization of their civil unions, which seek to simulate holy matrimony, is not admissible “
French Le Monde: “Though the sovereign pope tries to open up to homosexual couples by outright confirming that they are welcome in the Catholic Church, he still remains very determined against their entering a religious marriage, which necessarily only takes place between a man and a woman “.
And one example of the opposite reaction:
A pastor and professor at Fordham University who is gay himself says: “Yes. I personally – and I know many others, gay and lesbian persons and those who are allies and who love us – would want the church to be able to one day recognize the loving commitments of LGBTQ persons in the sacrament of marriage“
The discussion is on… ?
Is the “sacramentally valid”, gay wedding ring a political “ring of power” that somehow attracts the pope ?
Be watchful for the next step !
