Allentown Priest Worries About Gay Menace

Run! The queers are coming! 

Even its most strident cheerleaders will agree there are many problems in Allentown. Violent crime. High unemployment. Terrible schools. Extreme poverty. Hunger. Homelessness. It's a place where a church, any church, can do so much good. So what does one Allentown priest do?

Attack the gays.

In a snippy letter to the editor, a Catholic Allentown pastor has taken aim, not at any of Allentown's real problems, but those damn queers. Andrew Baker, a Bishop wannabe housed in comfort at Allentown's Cathedral, calls same sex benefits a "potential harm to the common good" and likens them to extending maternity benefits to men.

Gays, incidentally, are manufactured in Greece by Satan and then shipped all over the world.

Baker has condemned the gay menace before. In 2002, while doing a stint at the Vatican with all the other Bishop wannabes, the obscene wealth did not trouble him a bit. But he sure was bothered by gay priests. In an essay, Baker called homosexuality a "disorder" and worried that gay priests could ruin the good gig priests have at places like St. Catharine of Siena, where rich people can pretend they're just like Jesus Christ. Except cleaner.

I'd be a little more worried about pedophiles.

If you google Baker, you'll learn that he's very concerned about gays and "religious freedom." But not much about poverty, illness, homelessness, violence.

Make that man a Cardinal!

Baker does not speak for the Church. Nor does Vic Mazziotti, a Lehigh County Commissioner who hid behind Baker's robes to justify a vote denying same sex benefits in that County.

Pope Francis, who does speak for the Church, has just released his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. He thinks the Church should focus on the poor, not the gay menace. In fact, he condemns the "wafer wars" threatened by misguided clergymen against those who refuse to follow a message of intolerance. "The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak." The Pope wants the Church to be more inclusive, not less.

Allentown's poverty problem should bother the Pope a lot more than queers. I'd love to see Baker and all the other Monsignors and auxiliary Bishops come out of their cathedral and actually help people, instead of advising some rich guy after Mass that he's right to hate gay people. .

The Pope's message does not specifically address the gay question. That itself is a signal. The Church needs to be more focused on helping people than deciding who is worthy of Holy Communion.

Charles Dertinger's Homophobic Slam

I recorded the Jerry Springer show that erupted during last week's Northampton County Council meeting, and presented it to you earlier this week. The Morning Call's Bill White loves it when government officials start mud wrestling, and actually wrote a column about this great debate, which he aptly calls "Your Mother Wears Army Boots."

Believe it or not, Northampton County Council member Charles Dertinger, who actually ran for Congress against Charlie Dent just two years ago, managed to sink even lower last Thursday. Most of us, who were still recovering from the childish antics that had gone on earlier, completely missed it. The tape recorder, however, caught it all.

Passenger rail activist Paul Marin had just finished his presentation, describing the rail study as a "low hanging fruit" that we should grab now. Because Angle had expressed reservations, Dertinger decided this was a great idea.

Dertinger: "Are you saying Charlie [Dent] couldn't . . . couldn't pull it off?"

Angle: "If only we had you there, Charlie, you could do it. You and Sam. You and Sam [Bennett]."

Dertinger: "Mr. Angle, please, I have the floor. Um, speaking of low hanging fruit."

In the middle of a public hearing, attended by numerous passenger rail proponents, Council member Charles Dertinger casually tossed a homophobic slur at Angle. In an attempt to disparage Angle, Dertinger actually diminishes himself and simultaneously sends a message of intolerance to the gay community.

If you'd like to hear this brief audio yourself, click here. Look for the 64Kbps M3U (Lo-Fi) at the left sidebar and you can stream the audio.