{"id":500,"date":"2019-04-29T02:01:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T02:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breaking-the-silence.online\/index.php\/2019\/04\/29\/the-churchs-concern-with-these-issues-is-not-new\/"},"modified":"2024-09-14T06:25:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T06:25:03","slug":"the-churchs-concern-with-these-issues-is-not-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/2019\/04\/29\/the-churchs-concern-with-these-issues-is-not-new\/","title":{"rendered":"The church\u2019s concern with these issues is not new."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-text\">\n<p>While the <strong>church<\/strong> became a welcome space for her to express her heritage, the <strong>community<\/strong> didn\u2019t necessarily prove a comfortable area to talk about <strong>sex<\/strong>, let alone assault.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dropcap square\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; border-color: #ffffff;\">It\u00a0<\/span>stood in stark contrast to the film industry, where sexual assault was rampant and <strong>sex<\/strong> wasn\u2019t a <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> topic, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abIt&#8217;s a big jump to talk about sexual assault and being forced, sexual interaction being forced upon you. There&#8217;s levels of <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong>, if you&#8217;re not even talking about <strong>sex<\/strong> between married <strong>people<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abThese churches, Asian immigrant spaces, can function like a double-edged sword and they can be used to empower their <strong>community<\/strong>, and they can also be used to disempower their <strong>community<\/strong>,\u00bb Kim told <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NBC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBC<\/a> News.<\/p>\n<p>Oftentimes, Asian Christian churches in the West serve not only as places of worship, but also crucial social networks for immigrants who feel racially marginalized or may have difficulty finding a welcoming <strong>community<\/strong> in \u00aba white-dominant country,\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n<p>For <strong>women<\/strong>, the churches can serve as more intimate settings to go to for advice or share stories among other <strong>women<\/strong> with a similar cultural background.<\/p>\n<p>As important as they are for many immigrant <strong>women<\/strong>, and immigrants more generally, many of these Asian churches are led by predominantly male clergy.<\/p>\n<p>Kim, who underscored that there are churches that are exceptions to this, adds that much of the preaching assumes that sexual encounters will be positive, avoiding the \u00abunderside of the male-female dynamic\u00bb like domestic violence, marital rape, and sexual violence more generally.<\/p>\n<p>When <strong>women<\/strong> do attempt to seek <strong>help<\/strong>, they may try to look to clergy first but because many of these churches\u2019 clergy <strong>members<\/strong> are male, they often feel barriers to reporting incidents.<\/p>\n<p>Many immigrant churches also preach the idea of gender complementarianism, the idea that God sees men and <strong>women<\/strong> as equals; however the two genders occupy different roles, in turn reinforcing the concept of \u00aba submissive love and not just love,\u00bb Kim said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-167 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/church-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In addition, because of the ethnic immigrant makeup of these churches, many of <strong>members<\/strong> might struggle with \u00abairing their dirty laundry\u00bb while they\u2019re already marginalized in white communities.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, as Chiu says, \u00abclimbing through those layers of <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> as a young person seems insurmountable\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>If immigrant churches and second-generation churches could teach gender equality in sexual relationships and sexual encounters, \u00abour <strong>world<\/strong> would be a different place,\u00bb Kim believes.<\/p>\n<p>But then, in a country like the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dominican_Republic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dominican Republic<\/a>, you also had the <strong>church<\/strong>&#8216;s influence dictating how <strong>people<\/strong> \u2014 particularly <strong>women<\/strong> \u2014 should live their lives.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong> and the <strong>state<\/strong> are pretty much one entity \u2014 there&#8217;s no real separation.<\/p>\n<p>They vilify <strong>sex<\/strong>, making it seem like the ultimate sin when done outside of the \u00absacred bond of marriage.\u00bb They limit access to information to vulnerable <strong>people<\/strong>, the ones who only have access to a <strong>church<\/strong> in their <strong>community<\/strong>, and as a result, we have a teenage pregnancy crisis.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Francis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope Francis<\/a> and the Catholic Church have doubled down on their opposition to <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church uses its three I\u2019s on <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong> <strong>issues<\/strong> as part of its \u00abResurrection Politics,\u00bb an effort to revive <strong>issues<\/strong> once considered moribund, and restore them to the international agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong> is working to change <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> <strong>policy<\/strong> and the normative framework by which <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> are judged, to strengthen the nuclear <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> at a time when it is undermined.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Francis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope Francis<\/a> called for placing the <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s opposition to <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> into the catechism, a <strong>teaching<\/strong> document of the <strong>church<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abThe <strong>use<\/strong> of <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> is immoral, which is why it must be added to the catechism of the Catholic Church. Not only their <strong>use<\/strong>, but also possessing them: because an accident or the madness of some government <strong>leader<\/strong>, one person\u2019s madness can destroy humanity.\u00bb4<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hiroshima\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hiroshima<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nagasaki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nagasaki<\/a>, the pope reaffirmed the <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s long-standing position calling for deeper disarmament, nonproliferation, and a ban against <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s concern with these <strong>issues<\/strong> is not new.<\/p>\n<p>The current <strong>church<\/strong> position is a return to the traditional Catholic position since the advent of the atomic age, favoring <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Deeper disarmament requires building deeper relationships and dialogue, and the <strong>church<\/strong> understands this will take time.<\/p>\n<p>The Church as Bridge Builder<\/p>\n<p>In addition to this vast array of civil society institutions, the Catholic Church has a <strong>state<\/strong>-based institutional lane, the <strong>world<\/strong>\u2019s oldest diplomatic corps , and diplomatic relations with 183 states, as well as a diplomatic presence at intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-left\"><p>Yet, religious demographics mean that the Catholic Church is the only religious actor to have some presence in all nine nuclear-armed states, as well as the non-nuclear-weapon states, and it has extensive civil society and governmental-level networks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Catholic Church has the population size of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/China\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">China<\/a> but dispersed, with communities in every part of the <strong>world<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>At a time of increasing political polarization, domestically and internationally, the Catholic Church has much-needed institutional capacities that can be used to build bridges among nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states, civil society and governments, science and religion, conservatives and progressives, and older and younger generations.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Rose Gottemoeller, former deputy secretary general of NATO, and others praised the Catholic Church\u2019s advocacy, particularly in reaching critical Republican swing senators, to ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in December 2010.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong> has the capacity to facilitate dialogue between U.S.<\/p>\n<p>For example, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_John_XXIII\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope John XXIII<\/a>\u2019s prepared the encyclical \u00abPeace on Earth,\u00bb which guided the modern Catholic Church\u2019s <strong>work<\/strong> on peace and justice, and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Francis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope Francis<\/a> circulated the encyclical \u00abLaudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home ,\u00bb stressing a positive peace among peoples, God, and the planet and future generations, integral human development.<\/p>\n<p>Catholic theology and practice on a just peace has been expanding in recent decades, drawing from peacebuilding <strong>work<\/strong> of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> and building on the lessons the <strong>church<\/strong> has learned in peacebuilding around the <strong>world<\/strong>, from Northern <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ireland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ireland<\/a> to the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philippines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philippines<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s <strong>work<\/strong> on <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong> is animated by this vocation to build a more just and sustainable peace.<\/p>\n<p>As the nuclear <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> erodes, this breadth is important, reaching into the military.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Francis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope Francis<\/a>\u2019 urgent statements about the immorality of <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>, as well as the influence of the Catholic Church in supporting the TPNW, will likely <strong>help<\/strong> the TPNW reach the 50 states-parties needed for its entry into force.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-168 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/church-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s <strong>work<\/strong> on the TPNW is the latest example of resurrection politics, taking <strong>issues<\/strong> thought previously \u00abdead on arrival\u00bb and restoring them to the international agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition includes doctors, scientists, scholars, health care providers, the Catholic Church and other religious actors, nongovernmental organizations concerned with victims, and often retired military and government officials.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church and religious actors practice solidarity with the poor and vulnerable, raising the moral questions and our obligations to protect life and <strong>help<\/strong> the vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>Although many in the arms control <strong>community<\/strong> take issue with the TPNW and voice concerns that it may undermine existing arms control and nonproliferation treaties, the Catholic Church does not see these as choices but as complementary and mutually reinforcing.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>church<\/strong> works to build a pincer movement, of external and internal pressures to advance <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong> and reduce the dangers of <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>policy<\/strong> <strong>call<\/strong> to action by the Catholic Church for <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong> and arms control are in many ways the same song, but heard in a different key of greater urgency to the <strong>issues<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The deterioration of the nuclear <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> and the international arms control framework, the rise of new and less stable threats, and the return of the nuclear arms race gives greater urgency.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church has long called for integral disarmament, seeing deep connections with development and environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church advocates for extending New START, strengthening the NPT, bringing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty into force, deep <strong>nuclear disarmament<\/strong>, banning <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>, safeguarding nuclear materials, the humanitarian arms control agenda, reducing the reliance and expenditures on <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong>, action on climate change and environmental protection, and strengthening international law and institutions in order to advance structures of cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>The Catholic Church has also warned against policies that \u00abnormalize\u00bb <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> or <strong>use<\/strong>, such as nuclear brinkmanship, policies that envision nuclear <strong>use<\/strong> or seek to make <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> more usable, <strong>nuclear weapons<\/strong> modernization programs, and policies that protect weapons but not <strong>people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Nina Tanenwald likewise argues we are witnessing an undermining of the nuclear <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>See Nina Tanenwald, \u00abThe Legacy of the Nuclear Taboo in the Twenty-First Century,\u00bb in The Age of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hiroshima\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hiroshima<\/a>, ed.<\/p>\n<p>Religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, are not immune from sexual abuse <strong>cases<\/strong> involving leaders or those at the top of the hierarchy.<\/p>\n<p>Last week The Jakarta Post published a series of articles addressing the issue of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, which many may perceive as a \u00ab<strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong>\u00bb as it could undermine the Church\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n<p>Our recent tandem effort followed a report published by a West Jakarta parish magazine last December about 56 <strong>cases<\/strong> of alleged sexual abuse within the Church <strong>community<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Vatican under <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pope_Francis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pope Francis<\/a>, for example, has repeatedly asserted zero tolerance of the crime and ordered in May 2019 all <strong>church<\/strong> officials to establish protocols to protect minors and vulnerable adults.<\/p>\n<p>One and perhaps the biggest barrier is the apparent denial of the <strong>cases<\/strong>, which will only generate suspicion about cover-up attempts by the Church.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-right\"><p>Actually, there is no doubt about the Church\u2019s commitment to transparency as evident when Indonesian Bishops Conference seminary commission secretary Father Joseph Kristanto spoke in a public forum about 56 alleged sexual abuse <strong>cases<\/strong> within the Indonesian Catholic Church.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But the fact that he was found guilty of a \u00abcode of ethics violation\u00bb and has apologized for the disclosure, as stated by KWI chairman Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo, reveals that the Church is not ready yet to break the long-held <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Read also: Catholic Church excludes adult <strong>women<\/strong> in <strong>talks<\/strong> about protecting sexual abuse victims<\/p>\n<p>The Church now has to find a mechanism for victims to report without any fear.<\/p>\n<p>The ongoing police investigation into sexual abuse <strong>cases<\/strong> in the Church in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Depok\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Depok<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/West_Java\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">West Java<\/a>, although not involving a clergyman, should set the precedent for a fair and just settlement of a decades-old scandal that continues to plague the Church. \u2018We Must Play Our Own Role, One Of Which Is Use Of Face Mask And Adhering To Other Measures Against COVID-19\u2019<\/p>\n<p>So, the questions are: What is wrong in wearing face mask to <strong>church<\/strong>? Does face mask disturb genuine worship in any way? What is the stand of Islam on wearing of face shields? CHRIS IREKAMBA reports.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We Should Wear Face Mask To Church To Fulfil All Righteousness\u2019<\/p>\n<p>TO address this question of wearing face mask to the Church for worship, I will respond to it by asking this question: What would <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> have done, if He was asked the same question or if He were to be a Church <strong>leader<\/strong> in our day? There are two scriptural references that would <strong>help<\/strong> in this regard.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, the Bible says, \u00abThen cometh <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> from Galilee to <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jordan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan<\/a> unto John, to be baptised of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptised of thee, and cometh thou to me? And <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all Righteousness. So, my view is that the Church should comply to fulfil all righteousness. <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> got baptised, not because it was needful of Him to do it. He did it to fulfil all righteousness. We do not need to wear any face mask to Church, but we should do it to fulfil all righteousness.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Wearing Of Mask To Church Has Nothing To Do With The Veil\u2019<\/p>\n<p>And, therefore, to transpose that to <strong>people<\/strong> wearing mask to <strong>church<\/strong> to mean that it is reintroduction of the veil, I cannot understand that really.<\/p>\n<p>I would, rather, advise such a person to either tell their <strong>members<\/strong> not to come to <strong>church<\/strong> at all, or else they allow them to wear the mask to avoid being infected by those who have it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s either they tell their <strong>members<\/strong> not to come at all or they allow the <strong>people<\/strong> to protect themselves and protect others, because the veil that was torn in the temple has absolutely nothing to do with <strong>people<\/strong> wearing mask to <strong>church<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Del Vecchio, who has four children, has always believed in the Catholic Church\u2019s indisputable teachings on birth control: Sex should only be between a man and a woman, and only under conditions that leave the woman \u00abopen to the possibility of conception.\u00bb That means elective hysterectomies on the basis of pain alone, not life-or-death situations, were a sin.<\/p>\n<p>She searched in vain for a physician in a Catholic hospital in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Florence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Florence<\/a> who would perform what was a voluntary procedure that defied <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>teaching<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, the Vatican&#8217;s doctrine chief, confirmed in a letter that after studying several medical <strong>cases<\/strong> presented by Catholic doctors, it was no longer against <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>teaching<\/strong> to have a hysterectomy in most <strong>cases<\/strong> and that the procedure could be done in \u00abextreme <strong>cases<\/strong>\u00bb that do not just hinge on life and death.<\/p>\n<p>In his statement, Ladaria referred to a case the <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s doctrine arm studied: \u00abThe uterus is found to be irreversibly in such a <strong>state<\/strong> that it is no longer suitable for procreation and medical experts have reached the certainty that an eventual pregnancy will bring about a spontaneous abortion before the fetus is able to arrive at a viable <strong>state<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, according to the <strong>church<\/strong>, a hysterectomy is still considered \u00abillicit\u00bb because even though the woman many not be able to safely carry a pregnancy to term, removal of the uterus is seen as direct sterilization; God could intervene to save the pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abThese fall into the moral category of direct sterilization which in the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith&#8217;s document Quaecumque Sterilizatio is defined as an action \u2018whose sole, immediate effect is to render the generative faculty incapable of procreation\u2019,\u00bb the <strong>church<\/strong> letter goes on.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abIt is absolutely forbidden&#8230; according to the <strong>teaching<\/strong> of the Church, even when it is motivated by a subjectively right intention of curing or preventing a physical or psychological ill-effect which is foreseen or feared as a result of pregnancy,\u00bb the letter states.<\/p>\n<p>Around 70,000 are performed every year, most in Catholic hospitals, and a recent study commissioned by <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Italy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Italy<\/a>&#8216;s health ministry showed that less than 18 percent are due to cancer, which would garner the <strong>church<\/strong>\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n<p>The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said it took on the matter to clarify <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>teaching<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-169 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/church-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The fact that she actually had a potential life-threatening condition meant that <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>teaching<\/strong> did not, in fact, prohibit the procedure.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abDefying the <strong>church<\/strong> sort of saved my life.\u00bbChristians arent immune to depression and suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, mental illness is not something the <strong>church<\/strong> usually <strong>talks<\/strong> about.<\/p>\n<p>However, many times <strong>people<\/strong> in the <strong>church<\/strong> dont reach out because they are afraid that they will not be seen as true believers and will be stigmatised by other <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>members<\/strong> or <strong>church<\/strong> leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Wellman, who has 15 years experience in the field, said the subject is <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong> in every <strong>church<\/strong> denomination.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote align-center\"><p>She was pleasantly surprised when invited to talk about mental health at two Seventh-day Adventist churches last year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I wanted <strong>people<\/strong> to understand that, even in the <strong>church<\/strong>, it is important to ask that uncomfortable question on whether someone is thinking about suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Oftentimes we forget that the <strong>church<\/strong> is for the sick and suffering, and not for those that have been healed and whom are perfect.<\/p>\n<p>I believe that God has placed <strong>members<\/strong> in our churches\/faith <strong>community<\/strong> with gifts and talents to assist those in our <strong>community<\/strong> with the face-to-face approach, so it is important to have a greater understanding of a biopsychosocial approach to life in our faith <strong>community<\/strong>, she said.<\/p>\n<p>The better equipped our <strong>church<\/strong> leaders and <strong>members<\/strong> are in recognising their feelings, being able to reach out for <strong>help<\/strong>, and offering support and guidance, the more our <strong>church<\/strong> <strong>members<\/strong> will feel comfortable in understanding that going through these battles are part of a journey and not the end of our Christian walk.<\/p>\n<p>She would like to see churches talk more openly about mental health.<\/p>\n<p>It can be a <strong>church<\/strong> member, a family member, or a friend.<\/p>\n<p>Reynolds is a member of the Church of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesus<\/a> Christ of Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n<p>Well enough, in fact, to take a needed stand against the Church\u2019s stifling conformities on its LGBTQ <strong>members<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The connection between this statistic and the LDS Church is not readily apparent to the outside eye \u2014 something that Reynolds is working to change.<\/p>\n<p>The Church is clear in the matter: they do not condone same-<strong>sex<\/strong> marriage, but do \u00abdistinguish between same-<strong>sex<\/strong> attraction and homosexual behavior.\u00bb In short, if you are a member of the Church, you can be gay, but you cannot act on it.<\/p>\n<p>Programs of the Church encourage those who are gay to hide their identity and to conform to a second life theory in which they marry and start a family in the way that they feel God deems it, but they are allowed to be gay on the inside.<\/p>\n<p>He is still a member of the Church himself because he knows how compassionate its <strong>members<\/strong> are.<\/p>\n<p>He wants to bring awareness to the way that the Church brushes gay <strong>people<\/strong> under the rug.<\/p>\n<p>He does not consider <strong>members<\/strong> of the Church to be bigots, but the lack of education on LGBTQ <strong>issues<\/strong> in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Utah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Utah<\/a> is contributing to statistics which Utahns should be concerned about.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2015, the Church announced that children of same-<strong>sex<\/strong> couples cannot be baptized into the Church until and unless they denounce same-<strong>sex<\/strong> marriage at 18 years old.<\/p>\n<p>This was a watershed moment for LGBTQ <strong>members<\/strong>, a final definite line drawn by the Church.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after, Neon Trees singer Tyler Glenn was so devastated he decided to leave the Church.<\/p>\n<p>The festival in 2017 raised over $1 million in proceeds, and in 2017, the Church issued a statement supporting Reynolds\u2019 efforts: \u00abWe applaud the LoveLoud Festival for LGBT youth\u2019s aim to bring <strong>people<\/strong> together to address teen safety and to express respect and love for all of God\u2019s children.\u00bb Last year, the 2018 LoveLoud fest was held at the University of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Utah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Utah<\/a>\u2019s Rice Eccles Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The LDS Church has yet to make a definitive proclamation about accepting LGBTQ <strong>people<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>@palak_jayswalPope Francis gathers bishops from around the <strong>world<\/strong> at the Vatican this week for a hotly-awaited summit on tackling the wave of child <strong>sex<\/strong> abuse scandals assailing the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n<p>The conference aims to be an opportunity to improve awareness of the global phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors within the Church, despite many in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Africa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Africa<\/a>, Asia and the Middle East being in denial of what they <strong>call<\/strong> \u00aba Western problem\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>In many parts of the <strong>world<\/strong>, discussing violence towards children and even <strong>sex<\/strong> is <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">taboo<\/span><\/strong>, leading the Vatican to organize this week&#8217;s \u00abeducational\u00bb gathering.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abThe Catholic Church has been faced with this problem for the last 35 years,\u00bb he said, hailing rigorous preventative measures taken in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Australia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australia<\/a>, Britain, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Canada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Canada<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ireland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ireland<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abThe credibility of the Church is at stake,\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abWe want this meeting to result in concrete measures,\u00bb he said, echoing victims&#8217; hopes for the conference, being held in the wake of paedophile scandals that have shaken the Church particularly in Chile and in the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That reflects the Church&#8217;s centuries-old instinct to protect its image, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00abBy resolving the problem within the Church, through becoming aware, we will contribute to resolving it within society, within families, where the shame means everything is hidden,\u00bb Francis said.<\/p>\n<p>While the Catholic Church says it is trying to address the problem, other churches are also affected.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"highlight\" style=\"background-color: #666666; color: #ffffff;\">The text of this article was generated by the <a href=\"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/about\/\">Breaking The Silence<\/a> system that collected <strong>9<\/strong> news articles posted on the web from January 2019 to September 2020 and clustered for the taboo subjects related to churches<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the church became a welcome space for her to express her heritage, the community didn\u2019t necessarily prove a comfortable area to talk about sex, let alone assault. It\u00a0stood in stark contrast to the film industry, where sexual assault was rampant and sex wasn\u2019t a taboo topic, she said. \u00abIt&#8217;s a big jump to talk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[44,46,149,580,386],"tags":[1043,794,162,65,377,75,194,585,589,432,433,1042,435,1041,180,102,1033,431,66,681,56,1040,434,171,92,84,598],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1368,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/1368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amaliafoka.com\/breaking-the-silence\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}