In one of my last Patheos articles, I wrote about my strong opposition of the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson.  My husband Grant has warned me not to speak out against people for my own protection, so I stick with critiquing people who are high-up in office like Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, and Mike Johnson. In my opinion, Mike Johnson has a terrifying track record of Christian Nationalism and much of what it entails. Anytime a new document... Read more

As I searched for a Christmas story, I came across an Italian priest named Father Vitaliano Della Salla.  During this Christmas season, he is defending a same-sex Nativity scene that he created in his Catholic parish in the city of Capocastello Di Mercogliano.  The video explains Father Salla’s reasonings.  He begins by defending the children of different types of families which are not the traditional nuclear family: gay couples, single people, and young mothers.  I will add that there are... Read more

There was a wide range of reactions towards the Vatican and Pope Francis’ moving to bless same-sex unions, from saying it’s not enough to threats of violence for making any positive move for LGBTQ+ people and their families.  After watching the life-threatening reaction from a loud and hostile minority over Pope Francis’s move to bless same-sex relationships, which I support as a positive step with more to be done, this is another indication that tells me just how serious the... Read more

If I weren’t Catholic, if I were not a parent of LGBTQ+ kids, if I didn’t have a way to see what is happening globally, if I didn’t live and work with many Latino, Indigenous, and Black Americans in my community of San Antonio, TX, I wouldn’t know the danger so many historically-marginalized groups are facing worldwide right now.  Many countries which currently have a traditional faction of their population are attempting to “take their country back to God” due... Read more

Starting the day Trump mocked the disabled reporter in 2016,  my eyes started opening to the dangers of Christian Nationalism, but I didn’t start calling it by-name until recently. For other Christians who had a similar awakening to mine, there may have been a different event, like the photo-op with Trump in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. The best definition of Christian Nationalism I know of is from an American non-profit group called Christians Against Christian Nationalism. “Christian Nationalism... Read more

As I have mentioned in many of my publications over the last three years, I have called out the dangerous ideology which wages war on the oppressed and the marginalized from dangerously mixing religion and politics.  Until recently, I didn’t have a name for it, nor did I connect it to Neo-Nazi ideology.  Now I am calling American Neo-Nazi fascism the standard name, Christian Nationalism or White Christian Nationalism.  This ideology is not only a growing threat in the USA,... Read more

The primary reason I became Catholic seven years ago was the Chair of Peter.  Let’s take a look as to why the Papacy to Pope Francis is so important in Scripture, in major reference sources, and his role today. St. Peter is given the keys of the kingdom by Jesus to start the Church.–Matthew 16:15-19.  St. Peter is mentioned more than all of the other Apostles put together—Mark 16:5-8, Luke 24:12-16, Acts 2:14-16, Acts 3:4-10, Acts 10:44-46, and Acts 15:5-10. ... Read more

It took seven years for me to awaken to the dangers of White Christian Nationalism  from within the Church, the politicized witness of Christianity to others, our nation, and our democracy.  I think it takes an enormous amount of “shock treatment” for a white female (Anglo) like me raised in a staunch conservative Christian Republican home to wake up to the realities we are facing now. Starting with Trump mocking the disabled reporter in 2016 and then my husband and... Read more

I should have seen it much sooner. The realities of politically-fueled racism are now glaringly-obvious in my own community, in my own Archdiocese, and in my own Cathedral right here in San Antonio, TX. My husband and I attend the historic downtown San Fernando Cathedral in our local community regularly which is mostly Latino.  Five years ago, our local clergy started speaking more against racism of migrants and immigration injustice.  Here is an article from 2019. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller accuses... Read more

Starting seven years, the day Trump mocked the disabled reporter, my eyes have continuously opened to a number of injustices. I am semi-regularly accused of watching too much liberal media, so I will focus on the first-hand lived experiences of those who have been historically oppressed to the margins. If these current-day lived experiences of those on the margins match certain news sources, there is a good chance that these events and lived collective of experiences are true.  One of... Read more