Bishop Eddie Long Accuser Jamal Parrish Speaks Out And Paints Picture Of Grotesque Systematic Abuse, Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints Elder Apologizes For Pain Proposition 8 Involvement Brought, Minnesota Catholics Collect Anti-Gay Marriage DVDS Demanding Church Focus On Concrete Social Issues Like Homelessness

Fox-5 talks with Jamal Parrish, one of the four men filing suit against New Birth Missionary Baptist Bishop Eddie Long alleging sexual coercion, Parrish telling a tale of an overt abuse of authority and manipulation by Bishop Long who preyed on the young men in the most grotesque manner imaginable. “You finally have a father that you’ve always wanted for and always dreamed of,” said Parrish. “He would just walk away from you if you don’t give him what he wants. So you end up turning into something you never thought you would be, which is now a slave to a man that you love. So, while the media and the rest of the people around the city, around the country look at us like how could grown men let another man touch him, what you have to understand is this man has manipulated us since childhood. This was our father and we loved him.” Parrish also directly addressed Bishop Long, saying “Why you can sit in front of the church and tell them that you categorically deny it. You can’t say that to our face. And you know this. You are not a man, you are a monster.”

Sunday, September 19th, an estimated 90 members of Oakland, California diocese of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Elder Marlin K. Jensen, LDS historian and prominent member of the General Authorities, the church’s hierarchy, according to a report from Religion Dispatches an opportunity for Elder Jensen to hear the hurt felt by families in the area over the Mormon Church’s unprecedented involvement in promoting and passing Proposition 8. “During the one-hour meeting, thirteen gay and straight Mormons came to the microphone. Many expressed their love for the faith, as well as the profound pain caused by the LDS Church actions towards gays and lesbians. Gay Mormons recalled years of prayer and fasting, attempted heterosexual marriages promising to ‘cure’ them, and Church-prescribed aversion therapy. Gay and straight Mormons spoke of how their families and neighbours had been divided by the Yes on 8 campaign. And some expressed their anger over the Church’s leading role in a political campaign that gave California and the Mormon community a ‘license to hate’ homosexuals.” Elder Jensen the apologized, telling those in attendance “To the full extent of my capacity, I say that I am sorry ... I know that many very good people have been deeply hurt, and I know that the Lord expects better of us.” The source – Religion Dispatches – tries to frame the meeting and Jensen’s response as something bigger, writing with an obvious optimistic stance that “It was not, to be sure, an apology for Proposition 8 itself. It was not a renunciation of Mormon doctrine on homosexuality. But it was a significant acknowledgment of the experience of gay Mormons and their allies, an instance of dialogue between Church leadership and membership. It was, in short, a reason for hope.”

The Minnesota Tribune on the launch Monday on ReturnTheDVD.org, a site started by a group of Catholic Minnesotans to protest a DVD drafted and distributed by the Catholic Church throughout the state supporting a ban on gay marriages, defending traditional marriage, the Church denying accusations that the DVD is in any way a politically statement. According to Paul Lipetzky, of St. Louis Park, a life-long devout Catholic, the DVD, mailed to at least 400,000 Catholic homes beginning Wednesday is “misguided,” saying “We just disagree that this is a priority. It’s really not a matter we should be about as compassionate Christians. I think we should stress inclusiveness and the poor and people in need.” The group intends to collect the DVDs and return them to the offices Minneapolis/St. Paul Archbishop John Nienstedt (who, despite proclamations that this campaign is not political, contends that a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is needed) asking the Archbishop to focus on homelessness instead of “misguided priorities.”