David Bowie's 'The Next Day' Video Savages Un-Christ-like Catholic Church

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Anne is reading …

David Bowie’s latest video ‘The Next Day’ is back up on YouTube after being taken down from the Google-owned website a few hours after being uploaded. The video in which David Bowie is dressed as Christ, accompanied by Gary Oldman as a debauched priest and Marion Cotillard as a prostitute was said to have “breached YouTube’s terms of service.”

The Independent reports that former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey called the video “juvenile”. 

He told The Telegraph: “If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery perhaps Christians should not worry too much at such an exploitation of religious imagery.”

“I doubt that Bowie would have the courage to use Islamic imagery - I very much doubt it.”

There is no doubt that the video for ‘The Next Day’ is heavily critical of the Church. Imagery includes a Cardinal dancing with a bare-breasted woman, stigmata wounds erupted in the hands of Cotillard, and a figure engaged in self-flagellation.

‘The Next Day’ video is directed by Italian photographer Floria Sigismondi, who began her career as a fashion photographer.

Religious Purity in Rome

Did Pope Clement VII Father Alessandro de Medici with a Nigerian Slave Girl? AOC Sensual Rebel

This attempt to focus didn’t last. When the goddess knocking begins, it’s futile to try to beat it back. Accepting that there is a reason why I flew off to Florence in my Italian-inspired burst of creativity last week — and it has nothing to do with my glorious, sexy existence in and out of the country for years — I began Googling. 

Ask and you will receive! Within minutes I was on PBS Frontline, reading about Alessandro de Medici, the great 16th century Italian Renaissance figure whose Medici prince remains are buried in the famous tomb of Michaelangelo.

Without even trying to mount my religious hypocrisy soapbox, enter stage right one 17-year-old Cardinal Giulio de Medici, as the father of Alessandro. The later Pope Clement VII, is believed by researchers to be the father of a bastard child conceived with a North African slave girl.

Good goddess! A Catholic pope is unintentionally besmirched by my flower pots in this accidental bout with the creative truth.

Doomed | 2Ps in a Pod

Believing in Birth Control Doesn’t Make Me Un-American AOC Sensual Rebel

I just watched a PBS segment on family planning in the Philippines. In it the Catholic bishop spoke aggressively against controlling population, saying that it was fine that women have as many children as possible. We both know the Catholic Church believes it is a woman’s duty. It’s the world’s challenge to figure out how to feed all these babies, not for women to have fewer children argues the bishop who has never had a baby in his life.

(This wandering essay was part of Anne’s short-lived 2012 blog with a Catholic brother. Brother Dennis assured her that he would stand by her, as she was called a whore and every other despicable name in the book. Instead, the brother threw her to the wolves. Based on Anne’s most recent skirmish with the Catholic Church, the new David Bowie video ‘The Next Day’ got her attention.)

Vatican Confirms That Reform of American Nuns Will Proceed Under Archbishop Gerhard Mueller

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Anne is reading …

Was I prescient today? Hardly. It’s just that Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz says that fashion designers are a little like Catholic nuns, grinding away in the trenches and not leading glamorous lives. Elbaz seems pretty off the mark, but we so love him that he’s forgiven. 

That quote led me to circle back with an exceptional interview given by Sister Simone Campbell to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour after the ordination of Pope Francis. 

Sister Simone’s interview was followed by this one on 60 Minutes with Sister Pat Farrell, previous head of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Bob Simon.

The headlines are working their way around the world with news that Pope Francis has spoken. The Inquisition of American nuns will continue. This news doesn’t come as a surprise, although it dashes the hope of American nuns like Sister Simone and Sister Pat Farrell, who will be forced now to speak aggressively against birth control, abortion and women priests in the future. 

AOC writing on crackdown of American nuns.

Vatican Crackdown Continues

Pope Francis has affirmed that the investigation of American nuns will continue, dimming the hopes of American nuns that a Jesuit pope with shared values on the poor might take a different approach than Pope Benedict. 

The Vatican imposed an overhaul of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious after deciding that the American nuns were taking positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality. The sisters were accused of embracing “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

While praising the nuns’ humanitarian work, investigators accused the of ignoring critical social issues.

Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, who is in charge of implementing the crackdown on American nuns, met today — Monday — with officials of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, informing them that the reorganization and reforms will be implemented. 

Catholic Culture reports: In his remarks at the meeting, Archbishop Müller reminded the LCWR leaders that their group exists to promote cooperation among the individual orders and with the hierarchy. “For this reason,” he said, groups like the LCWR “are constituted by and remain under the direction of the Holy See.”

All bets are off in what the sisters will do next. They have vowed not to compromise their group’s mission. Exactly what that mission is remains to be seen. 

History of Vatican Conflict

August 11, 2012

Barbara Marx Hubbard was the featured speaker at this week’s Missouri meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. The main focus of the meeting was drafting a response to the Vatican’s claims that American nuns are “radical feminists” out of step with the church’s teaching. Of course, the members of LCWR don’t see themselves in this light.

June 11, 2012

Both sides in the discord between American nuns and the Vatican described yesterday’s talks in Rome as open and cordial. But the Vatican wasted no time in reiterating that it expects the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to change its way to energetically promote church doctrine “as Faithfully taught through the ages”, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The Vatican charges that the LCWR has been “silent” on those issues that are most important to the church leadership: abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality and the ordination of women.

April 20, 2012

The sisters were reprimanded for making public policy statements that “disagree with or challenge the bishops, who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.” The disagreements have been acute over President Obama’s healthcare legislation and most recently the contraception mandate compromise.

January 23, 2012

Investigation of American Nuns

It’s noteworthy that on Jan. 4, Cardinal Franc Rode resigned as head of the Vatican’s ‘cabinet office’, the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, that deals with religious orders, including nuns worldwide. 

Writing for Huffington Post, American nun Maureen Fiedler says that Cardinal Franc Rode is an arch-conservative with an archaic view of religious life that resonates with the 18th century, rather than the 21st.

Will Hillary Clinton's Women's Agenda Survive? | Allyson Schwartz PA Governor's Race Heats Up | Caroline Kennedy to Japan

‘Tendance Brute’ starring Agnes Nabuurs by Maria Burns. Interview writes:

Tendance Brute, the new digital short by Swiss-born, New York-based filmmaker Maria Burns, begins in the dark. Hands creep into the frame and a model appears, Agnes Nabuurs. She is beautiful, certainly, but also fierce and feral looking, as if a cat had metamorphosed into human form and is exploring its newfound long limbs. As the film progresses, Nabuurs’ outfits become more developed and á la mode, but she does not lose her wildness. Instead, the extremity of her look—the horned shoulders, her spike-soled boots, artfully unkempt hair, kohl-rimmed eyes, and, later, her elaborate headpiece—make her seem even more alien. An exploration of fashion’s constant search for an abnormal beauty.  

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Anne is reading …

Writing for The Daily Beast, Kathleen Parker asks: Will Clinton’s Agenda Survive?

“Let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.”

These critical words uttered by then First Lady Hillary Clinton brought international women’s rights into the public dialogue. 

Now that Hillary Clinton has left the State Department, many worry around the world — what will the US policy be on women? 

“It’s a totally open question,” says Dee Dee Myers, former press secretary for President Bill Clinton and the author of Why Women Should Rule the World. “Under Hillary, everyone knew that the global women’s issue was a strategic priority, an organizing principle. She was completely committed. How do you re-create that?”

New Secretary of State John Kerry has no strong history on women’s issues. In fact, before Hillary, DC’s state department was rather clueless about the importance of empowering women worldwide as a primary deterrent to terrorism and global insecurities. It was former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates who backed Hillary on this issue. 

The good news is President Obama’s decision to make permanent the Office of Global Women’s Issues and the women’s-ambassador-at-large position, which Hillary created. The sad news is that Melanne Verveer, the first ambassador left her position to run the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. 

The newly appointed ambassador, Cathy Russell, is Jill Biden’s former chief of staff, “an unexpected choice to some veterans in the field.” In March 2012, Hillary issued a directive advising American embassies and posts of the “strategic imperative” of advancing women’s equality: “The department is focusing across all of our work to reduce disparities and proactively promote gender equality.”

The question is: will Kerry care? And will President Obama — or Michelle — stand tough if he doesn’t.

Allyson Schwartz for PA Gov

Anne’s friend Liz Forrest was candid in her lead-in to today’s Philadelphia Inquirer story Allyson Schwarta’s political baggage worries some Democrats. 

“People always ask, ‘Will she play outside Philadelphia? Is she too liberal?’ ” Forrest said Thursday night during the monthly dinner meeting of the Pike County Democratic Committee. “Who cares? Philadelphia and Pittsburgh produce enough votes to win it.”

Forrest cites Schwartz’s “money and political chops” to send Republican governor, close-your-eyes ultrasound Jim Corbett packing.

Her great liability? The five-term congresswoman in not only prochoice, but she founded a Philadelphia women’s health cllinc — the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center in 1975. It provided prenatal, care, a birthing center and other health services including abortion. It’s alleged in some circles that Schwartz hasn’t sufficiently promoted other women candidates in PA politics. Why support her in return, say the women?

She’s an established fiscal moderate, lessening her appeal to some progressive Democrats. Keystone Politics writes today Is Allyson Schwartz Too Conservative To Be the Nominee for Governor? 

That’s not our issue at AOC, where we are already on record committed to electing Alysson Schwartz as the first woman governor of the state. PA ranks about 46th in the country in electing women to political office. 

Most polls show Schwartz ahead of the pack in a state that went for Obama with a 16-point gender gap with women. The state was very energized in 2012, electing Kathleen Kane as the first woman attorney general. Kane wasn’t supported by the state Democratic party boys either, but the Clinton machine stepped in to help her. 

For Emily’s List, Schwartz, an established political figure with a strong record as a fund-raiser, represents a prime opportunity to pick up a governorship in big state.

MSNBC writes that former Pennsylvania Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies, who represented parts of Schwartz’s district in the 1990′s, is eager to see a woman fill one of the Pennsylvania’s top jobs. “Kathleen Kane and Catherine Baker Knoll proved that women can run just as well as men in Pennsylvania,” Margolies said.  “I want more women at the table.”

Lynn Yeakel, the founder and co-chair of Vision 2020, a national initiative for women’s social and economic equality, based at Drexel University, was the last female statewide nominee in Pennsylvania to run at the national level, and only the second woman in Pennsylvania’s history to become the nominee for the U.S. Senate.  In 1992 she came up short in her challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter. “If anyone can do this, Allyson can,” Yeakel said.  “She’s a very tough campaigner.”

Just In

1) PA Democratic Senator Bob Casey today publicly announced his support for same-sex marriage. Previously, the devout Catholic Casey — who voted against America’s women in supporting the Blunt Amendment slamming President Obama’s contraception mandate —was one of nine Democratic senators not in support of same-same marriage.

The second-term Democrat had previously backed civil unions and LGBTrights legislation, including the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He also co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but he had not voiced support for full marriage rights.

“After much deliberation and after reviewing the legal, public policy and civil rights questions presented, I support marriage equality for same-sex couples and believe that DOMA should be repealed,” Casey said in the release. “If two people of the same sex fall in love and want to marry, why would our government stand in their way?”

2) Connecticut legislators announced today a bipartisan agreement on gun control, initiatives they called “the most far-reaching gun-legislation in the country.”

Writes the New York Times: “It would require new state-issued eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun or ammunition; mandate that offenders convicted of any of more than 40 weapons offenses register with the state; require universal background checks for the sale of all firearms; and substantially expand the state’s existing ban on assault weapons.”

The legislation bans the future sale of high-capacity magazines of more than 10 bullets. All assault weapons — past and future — must be registered. 

Although negotiations became protracted in a Democratic-controlled state, it’s hoped now that the bipartisan agreement could become a model for other states. 

3) The Washington Post writes that Caroline Kennedy is set to be ambassador to Japan. Kennedy was a key early supporter of President Obama. 

4) Catholic women are hoping for stronger roles for women in the Francis papacy, writes NPR. 

A group of American women pilgrims visited the many inscriptions and images on tombstones, frescoes and mosaics showing images of early Catholic women in roles of leadership, holding roles identical to men as prophets, priests and deacons. 

“Certainly in the first two centuries, we see women — at least parts of the early communities — holding co-equal roles with men,” says Sister Chris Shenk, executive director of the Catholic group FutureChurch, which organized the pilgrimage.

Related: The Death of Jesus and the Rise of the Christian Persecution Myth The Daily Beast