When I first read the headlines on social media claiming the Episcopal Church had announced it was against the doctrine of their faith to help white refugees, I will admit I thought the headlines were clickbait and over blown. However, then I went to read the actual announcement and press release from the Church…. It’s true.
The Episcopal Church has announced, publicly, they were contacted by the federal government as part of an ongoing contract for refugee resettlement, to assist in the transition of white Afrikaner farmers who are fleeing racial violence and given refugee status by the Trump administration.
Specifically, because of the color of their skin, the Episcopal Church is now saying, “in light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice … we are not able to take this step.”
The Church notes their business model using refugee settlement payments from the United States Government has been disrupted by the Trump administration’s pause on funding, and as a result of their no longer getting paid – in combination with the racial profile of the refugees they are now being asked to assist, they will shut down all refugee settlement efforts. It is a stunning statement:
The Episcopal Church – […] “Since January, the previously bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in which we participate has essentially shut down. Virtually no new refugees have arrived, hundreds of staff in resettlement agencies around the country have been laid off, and funding for resettling refugees who have already arrived has been uncertain. Then, just over two weeks ago, the federal government informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees.
In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step. Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government.” ~ Rev. Sean W. Rowe, Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church
Obviously, if we drop all pretending, the decision of the Church is based on their superseding doctrine of money, which, in this clear example, outweighs their doctrine of faith.
The Trump administration is suspending all U.S. Interior Department grants to Maine, due to discriminatory sex-based quotas from the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“The MDIFW’s policy discriminates in the composition of hiring panels by requiring a quota based on sex,” a letter from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Paul Souza to MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso said, as first reported by The Maine Wire.
The letter, dated Thursday, told Camuso that all federal grant funding to MDIFW will stop by May 15.
In revelation caught on hidden camera by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG), American businessman and long-time royal insider John Bryan has come forward with damning claims about Prince Andrew’s personal relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bryan, a trusted advisor to the Duke of York, also alleged that Prince Andrew lied to him about his involvement in sexual misconduct with minors.
“I knew he [Prince Andrew] saw him [Jeffrey Epstein],” said Bryan, “But he lied to me that he was such a close friend,” revealed Bryan, referring to Prince Andrew’s personal relationship with Epstein.
I am not anti-trans except when it is taught to children or children are encouraged to ‘become’ trans. I am not convinced trans is a mental illness, especially when it is held lightly, but I am convinced it is a mental illness and a legal travesty to require others to accept it. If a man wants to dress and act like a woman, he will be accepted as a woman if he is a good actor, or he will be accepted among others who know his preferences and are fine with indulging him. Same for women who want to dress and act like men. I am completely fine with that.
From a Buddhist POV, no one should take their identity so seriously they actually believe it is a basis of reality. Buddhism is more or less against all strenuous identity beliefs, and definitely against them when they are clung to. For example, Buddhism does not generally use the word soul, but if someone wants to use the word and believe they have a soul, Buddhism is fine with that philosophically as long this soul is an entity subject to change.
The cultural talk on sexual orientation over the past few decades has done some good and some bad. Buddhism is the Middle Way; so when adults are using drugs or surgeries on children because ‘they are in the wrong body’, they have strayed very far from the Middle Way and have fallen into a deep and destructive delusion which brings great harm to themselves and even worse harm to the children.
When anyone learns anything valuable about themselves from conversations on sexual orientation, that’s good. For Buddhists, it’s still best to keep in mind that information like that is good when it’s good and harmful when it is not good. Like all things in life, most of us most of the time know when a desire or belief is excessive. Excess is a good way to measure your distance from the Middle Way. ABN
UPDATED: All American laws are ultimately pragmatic. This includes SCOTUS rulings on the Constitution as well as district prosecutors deciding how to work a case. Legal pragmatics include ethics and precedents, while also recognizing the urgency of, say, removing millions of illegal immigrants in USA. The legal remedy in this case properly must fit the crime, which was treasonous importation of millions of illegals. Sending a plane-load of violent illegals to El Salvador was a pragmatic decision as it removed some of the worst and also sends a strong message to others of their ilk to get out of the country. It’s a pragmatic application of the law. ‘Legal’ objections to it are absurd in the face of the massive offense (treason) and massive harm (tens of millions of illegals ushered in to USA under Biden). Below is an illustration of the problem. ABN
I get this sense from what he has done and said as well. He’s smart and will be a great ally if that is what he wants to be. In politics you want smart people who pursue good policies, nothing more or less. ABN
American Buddhist Net 