Showing posts with label Bishop Mariann Budde. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bishop Mariann Budde. Show all posts

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Fifteen minutes of fame: The leftist media goes gaga over Bishop Marriann Budde

 In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.

 

Andy Warhol

Donald Trump had hardly been sworn into office as the nation's 47th President when Bishop Mariann Budde, dressed in clerical splendor, scolded him. She entreated him to be merciful to the LGBT community, many of whom, Budde attested, feared for their lives.

It was a golden opportunity for Budde, a princess of a dying Protestant denomination. Trump showed up with his wife for the traditional post-inauguration prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, and thus, the Trumps were a captive audience for Budde's self-righteous sermon.

Instantly, Budde snatched herself from obscurity for her 15 minutes of world fame. She became the darling of the left-wing media and was interviewed by The New Yorker, MSNBC, NPR, and The View.

These are my thoughts. 

First, as I said in an earlier post, it is not accurate, as Budde insinuated,  that LGBT folks are in fear for their lives at the prospect of a Trump presidency. Why would they be? All that Trump has done on the sexual identity issue is to affirm that there are only two sexes and stop the bizarre trend of allowing men dressed as women to compete in women's sports.

Second, I acknowledge that Bishop Budde might have acted courageously when she "spoke truth to power" at the National Cathedral. Nevertheless, it was highly inappropriate for her to embarrass the President in the manner that she did.

Budde's denomination is on its last legs. Hundreds of thousands of lay Episcopalians have left the Episcopal Church because of the clergy's sexual politics, with many choosing to become Roman Catholics. Budde's self-indulgent prank will likely cause thousands more to leave. 

The Episcopal Church has controlled the National Cathedral for over one hundred years. It is time for this national institution to sever its ties with the Episcopalians. Let's give other denominations a chance to run the place for a few years on a rotating basis.

I nominate the Jehovah's Witnesses to serve the next term, followed by the Pentecostals. Both groups are theologically far apart from the Episcopalians, but I'll bet church leaders in those groups know how to deliver a sermon without gratuitously embarrassing our President.

Lousy sermon, cool socks
Photo credit: The New Yorker




Wednesday, January 22, 2025

What's the Difference Between a Liberal Democrat and an Episcopal Bishop? Bishop Budde Lectures Our President

 A riddle:

Question: How can you tell the difference between a liberal Democrat and an Episcopal bishop?

Answer: An Episcopal bishop wears a funny hat.

On my tortuous road to the Catholic Church, I abided for a time with the Episcopalians. While studying at Harvard, I went through confirmation classes at Boston's Trinity Church. I was attracted by the pageantry of Trinity's religious services and by the Episcopal liturgy. 

In time, however, I became disenchanted. I realized that being an Episcopalian was very little different from being a progressive Democrat. Thus, I left the Episcopalian and became Catholic.

Other Episcopalians have become disaffected with their denomination. One article reported that the venerable denomination fell from a peak membership of 3.4 million in 1959 to 1.58 million in 2020. Indeed, the Episcopal Church is losing members so fast that one commentator predicted its demise by 2040

However, the Episcopal hierarchy is unbowed, and the elaborately robed bishops continue to lead their flocks toward oblivion. In this spirit of self-destruction, Bishop Mariann Budde delivered a disrespectful lecture (disguised as a sermon) to President Trump at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. President Trump demanded an apology, which he is unlikely to get.

Bishop Budde made two main political points. First, she expressed fear for gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans, saying: 

I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now . . . There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.

Second, the Bishop challenged President Trump's immigration policy. "The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals," the Bishop exhorted and begged the President to show mercy "on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here."

I want to briefly challenge Bishop Budde's political themes. First, I don't believe that American gays, lesbians, and transgender people fear for their lives. Nor do I think President Trump has ever said or done anything that should frighten our nation's LGBTQ communities.

Second, Budde's insinuation that Trump would harass or deport immigrants who entered this country to escape persecution is not entirely accurate. The President is merely requiring immigrants to follow established legal processes and trying to stop the entry of criminals and drug traffickers from entering the United States.

Deportation processes may indeed disrupt some immigrant families, but I believe our government can remove illegal immigrants humanely. We will soon see.

Speaking as a Catholic and ex-Episcopalian, I suggest Bishop Budde pursue her political agenda as a layperson. Perhaps she should become an employee of the Democratic Party. I'm sure the Democrats would be happy to hire her and allow her to continue wearing her funny hat.