Deep in grief, Barbara Johnson stood first in the line for Communion at her mother’s funeral Saturday morning. But the priest in front of her immediately made it clear that she would not receive the sacramental bread and wine.
Johnson, an art-studio owner from the District, had come to St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg with her lesbian partner. The Rev. Marcel Guarnizo had learned of their relationship just before the service.
“He put his hand over the body of Christ and looked at me and said, ‘I can’t give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin,’ ” she recalled Tuesday.
She reacted with stunned silence. Her anger and outrage have now led her and members of her family to demand that Guarnizo be removed from his ministry.
Family members said the priest left the altar while Johnson, 51, was delivering a eulogy and did not attend the burial or find another priest to be there.
“You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me,” she wrote in a letter to Guarnizo. “I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families.”
Late Tuesday, Johnson received aletter of apology from the Rev. Barry Knestout, one of the archdiocese’s highest-ranking administrators, who said the lack of “kindness” she and her family received “is a cause of great concern and personal regret to me.”
“I am sorry that what should have been a celebration of your mother’s life, in light of her faith in Jesus Christ, was overshadowed by a lack of pastoral sensitivity,” Knestout wrote. “I hope that healing and reconciliation with the Church might be possible for you and any others who were affected by this experience. In the meantime, I will offer Mass for the happy repose of your mother’s soul. May God bring you and your family comfort in your grief and hope in the Resurrection.”
Johnson called the letter “comforting” and said she greatly appreciates the apology. But, she added, “I will not be satisfied” until Guarnizo is removed.
The priest’s action has also triggered an uproar among gay rights activists and enlivened some religious conservatives. It came just days after the Maryland Senate approved legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the state; Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is expected to sign it this week.
“Fr. Marcel Guarnizo has been thrown under the bus for following Canon Law 915!” wrote one Catholic blogger in the archdiocese. “The issue here is not the priest but Barbara Johnson.”
Archdiocese officials at first issued a short statement saying that the priest’s actions were against “policy” and that they would look into it as a personnel issue.
“When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person,” the statement said. “Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.” source:
Plus "Best Moments Of A Druggie Who Shockingly Died Young"
Aretha
Franklin and Stevie Wonder will sing at the funeral of Whitney
Houston in Newark on Saturday.
Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, arrives at Whigham Funeral Home for a private viewing of her mother in Newark, New Jersey. Source: Getty Images
The stars are gathering and the flags across New Jersey flying at half-mast. But the fans will have no chance to grieve for the state's most famous daughter except in the privacy of their homes.
Police are blockading a six-block radius around the New Hope Baptist Church in the city of Newark as Whitney Houston's family and friends prepare for a private but celebration of her life.
News.com.au will have full coverage of Whitney Houston's funeral from 4am Sunday.
Police pleaded with people to stay away from the small New Hope church where Houston sang in the choir as a child and developed a remarkably powerful mid-range voice that, combined with her stunning beauty, brought her worldwide fame.
The New Hope service will be attended by Houston's mother, Cissy, her former husband, Bobby Brown, and their daughter, Bobbi Kristina. Houston's legendary godmother, Aretha Franklin, will sing in what the family hopes will be a "going home" celebration rather than a dismal funeral.
Kevin Costner, who co-starred with her The Bodyguard, is expected to speak at the funeral. Also in attendance will be Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce Knowles and Stevie Wonder.
Family members reportedly viewed Houston's body at the nearby Whigham Funeral Home in Newark on Friday, US time.
The family is believed to have requested a closed casket ceremony as the funeral will be streamed live on the web and rebroadcast on television channels.
Houston, 48, died from so-far unknown causes in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last Saturday. Prescription medicines were found in her room but police said there were no suspiciously large amounts of pills.
It is reported that among the drugs was Xanax, an anti-depressant that is known, among other effects, to cause drowsiness. Michael Jackson was at one point addicted to Xanax and it was among the array of drugs that killed Australian actor Heath Ledger in 2008.
Xanax is highly sought on both legal and black market for its anti-anxiety and tranquillity inducing properties.
Los Angeles investigators have begun to interview Houston's doctors. The results of her autopsy, which was conducted in the LA morgue the day after she died, are not expected for some weeks.
Houston will be buried alongside her father, who died in 2003, in the family plot at Fairview Cemetery, a few kilometres from the church.
According to some reports, Houston, who was once paid $100 million for one album, was virtually broke at the time of her death.
But Houston's estate is expected to earn huge royalties upon her death. Houston's I Will Always Love You, from The Bodyguard, this week re-entered the Top 10 of the American Billboard charts.
Fans gathered outside the funeral home and the church during the week to pay homage, some expressing disappointment that there would be no public funeral
.
One man, a truancy officer named Hussan, who once met Houston when she was just starting out, expressed disappointment after the church's Reverend Joe A. Clark appeared on the steps this week to announce the funeral would be private.
"She belongs to everybody," he said. "She's part of this whole country."
Fans talked up hopes that there would be a public celebration, such as Michael Jackson's family held, at Newark's Prudential Centre, which can hold 18,000 people.
But Houston's publicist said the singer had given much of her life to the public and now was a time for family.
Bobby Brown, with whom Houston famously became a heavy drug user, told America's ABCNews.com in an email statement that his daughter Bobbi, 18, was doing well after being admitted to hospital following a breakdown in the wake of her mother's death.
"She is dealing with the tragedy of her mother's death and would prefer to do it outside of the public eye. I ask again that our privacy be respected."
At a news briefing earlier, Newark police's commander Samuel DeMaio said the area around the church would be for invited guests only.
"I would advise the public that there really is going to be nothing to see here at the church," he said. "The best thing to do would be to stay home and watch the service on television."
Houston was raised in East Orange, close to the church. Fans said it was fitting that she had come home rather than being buried in Los Angeles or her second home in Atlanta, Georgia.
It is, for Houston, a return to her roots. The Whigham Funeral Home's gold hearse will not distract from the reality that this part of Newark, a 20-minute train ride from Manhattan, is hardly fancy.
Around the corner from the church, big housing estates are boarded up and vacant burned out warehouses sit fenced off from kids and itinerant homemakers.
They [are] at fault; they were not born that way. They were systematically
indoctrinated into believing that they are naturally incapable of
grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous
honesty.
"Whitney Houston Back in Rehab for Drug and Alcohol Abuse May 2011"
Going
into rehab in May 2011, being surrounded by the drug and alcohol
culture of America while being fed a religious 12 step program (with
relapse built in) may have helped speed her demise along but in the
end Whitney Houston is the one who made the choice.
Whitney Houston to Diane Sawyer: "The Biggest Devil is Me"
Satanor “The
Devil”
whatever you choose to call it has been getting blamed on man's bad
choices way too long. Churches that push the ancient theory of
Augustine where we are 'born into this world evil and sinful',
everything that goes bad is caused by the devil. It's like flip
Wilson's Geraldine Jones "The
Devil Made Me Buy This Dress.” This
type of thinking negates the very core of mansfree-will
and puts the blame on someone or something else. Plus it gives power
to a created being on equal with HaShem (God) We are to have no other
Gods, but HaShem. (period)
"There
is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof
against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in
everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to
investigation. "HERBERT SPENCER**
RARELY
HAVE they seen a person who has thoroughly followed their path
recover. Those who do recover are people who have recognized NA as a
dangerous religious cult and will not completely give themselves to
NA's sicko program. Their fellowship is constituted primarily of men
and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest. They
are unfortunate. Although they have been brainwashed, they should
still be held accountable for the behavior that has ruined so many
lives. They are at fault; they were not born that way. They were
systematically indoctrinated into believing that they are naturally
incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands
rigorous honesty.
Whitney Houston was screwed the second she set foot into the church basement door! Most NA members suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, the
program requires that they believe that they will never recover, many
of the people who leave NA have recovered in large part, due to their
capacity to be honest.
Our
stories disclose in a general way what We used to be like, what
happened, and what We are like now. If You have decided You want to
leave Narcotics Anonymous and are willing to go to any length to do
it--then You are ready to take certain steps.
At
some of these We delighted. We knew that We could find an easier,
more rational way. And so We did. With all the earnestness at Our
command, We encourage You to be fearless and thorough from the very
start. Some of Us have tried to hold on to Our old NA ideas and the
result was nil until We let go absolutely. Remember that We deal with
Narcotics Anonymous -cunning, baffling, deceptive! Continuing to go
to those twisted meetings was too much for Us. There is Only One
Person who has the power to overcome addiction and move on with
life--that One is You. May you find Yourself now!
Delusions
and superstition had availed Us nothing. We stood at the turning
point. We learned to protect and care for Ourselves with complete
Self Determination. Here are the steps We took, which are encouraged
as a procedure to deprogram Yourself:
1.
We admitted We were "Not Powerless" over Drugs - that Our
lives had become dominated by NA. 2.
Came to understand that We were never as morally reprehensible as
members of NA had led Us to believe. 3.
Made a decision to turn and walk away from Narcotics Anonymous
forever. 4.
Made a scorching and fearless indictment against NA as an
organization and it's individual members. 5.
Admitted to Ourselves and another Human Being that We had been conned
into joining a religious cult. 6.
Were entirely ready to deprogram Ourselves from the self defeating
rubbish We were taught at NA. 7.
Educated Ourselves about cult indoctrination tactics in order that We
may never fall into a similar trap again. 8.
Made a list of all NA cult members who had harmed Us, and became
willing to confront them all. 9.
Called such people on their bullshit wherever possible, except when
to do so would injure them or others. 10.
Continued to indict Narcotics Anonymous and when we were wronged
promptly admitted it. 11.
Sought through scientific principles, empirical evidence, and Self
Determination to improve our understanding of addiction; focusing on
a rational understanding of Ourselves as the power to carry that
out.
12.
Having been awakened from NA's trance as the result of these steps,
We tried to carry this message to the world, so that everyone might
know the truth about the Narcotics Anonymous religious cult.Source:
Whitney Houston Back in Rehab for Drug and Alcohol Abuse May 2011
If you or someone you know is in need of help because of a drug problem read the Orange Papers first before spend a dime on so called treatment center/programs: http://www.orange-papers.org/
Troubled singer Whitney Houston checked into a rehab facility 10 days ago to receive treatment for ongoing struggles with drug and alcohol abuse.
TMZ first reported news of Houston's trip to rehab, and a rep for the 47-year-old singer confirms the news in a statement to People: "Whitney Houston is currently in an outpatient rehab program for drug and alcohol treatment. Whitney voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process."source:
Why AA does not work for 97%
Author of Alcoholism: The Cause & The Cure shares startling statistics regarding AA's relapse rate, suicides and reports on how AA actually prescribes what is known to be the number one cause of relapse. For more info visit http://the101program.com
Whitney Houston: Best Moments Of A Druggie Who Shockingly Died Young Here's the description of the following site that appears in all major search engines out there: We're including
CleveredFool view.
"We enhance and optimize the procrastination desires and petty needs of lazy and bored idiots, with our shallow, judgmental, ignorant and unfunny articles."
We are a humor site. We are not meant to be taken seriously. And if you weren't able to gather that unequivocal fact from the content and tone of the post, then you gotta work some on that reading comprehension of yours.
Whitney Houston: Best Moments Of A Druggie Who Shockingly Died YoungWell, it’s pretty much of universal knowledge by now that Whitney Houston is dead…
That’s right, take a moment or two to shake off the shock and face the fact that, Whitney Houston– a renowned connoisseur of drugs and crack-addiction – has died at the young age of 48.
Nobody saw this one coming, I have to say. Who’d have even begun to ponder the thought that after decades of abusing drugs and shattering all the Guinness Book World Records of consecutive inhalations of crack-cocaine smoke, Whitney Houston would have such an unnatural and premature ending to her life… Fucked up, man!
Anyways, in all seriousness, even if she was a notorious crack-addict, and even in light of the fact that I hate humans even more today – and yes, even more than I did yesterday – for their self-serving and hypocritical “shock and awe” reaction to the death of a drug-addict, Whitney Houston was an amazing artist with an unmatched musical voice — the likes of which we will probably never see again for quite some time.
As such, we took a look back at the life and career of Whitney Houston, and here we present to you the career highlights and best moments of Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston Best Moments: Whitney Sings the National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner) at Super Bowl XXVThis is not only what may be considered the best rendition of our National Anthem at a Sports & Entertainment event, but a magical and sublimely electric moment in the history of television that will be forever ingrained in the memories of those lucky enough to have witnessed it live as it unfolded.
What made this moment so great was not only the performance itself from Whitney Houston, but the background and current events unfolding in the US and around the world leading up toWhitney’s masterful rendition — and take a look at the video and you’ll see how fucking easy she makes it all look. Just freaking amazing.
Anyways, some of you might recall, this performance occurred in the middle of the first Persian Gulf War, back in 1991. Back then we – Americans as a nation – hadn’t yet become so cynical and pretentious as we are nowadays, so this moment had a quite the special meaning and particular connotations to the nation as a whole.
With that in mind, here’s the video of that great moment, when Whitney Houston delighted millions with such savant musical performance.
Whitney Houston Best Moments: The BodyguardAnd IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-eeeeeeeeeeee-AAAAAAEEEEEIIIIIII…Whitney Houston starred and sang the timeless theme song of the movie, The Bodyguard. The now legendary song of the movie, I Will Always Love You, even propelled some pathetic and delusional humans to try and belt out Whitney’s outrageously amazing musical note where she goes as high as a fucking kite — which is what in hindsight probably made her so attractive to Bobby Brown.
Anyways, The Bodyguard was the pioneer of bad romantic-comedies with a overwhelmingly clichéd ending that you end up somewhat liking but won’t admit to anyone else… ever.
So I guess that has to count for something, right?
Whitney Houston Best Moments: “Crack is Whack” – Whitney’s 2002 Interview With Diane SawyerOh. My. God… This infamous Whitney Houston interview with Diane Sawyer shattered all of the unintentional comedy records, when it first came out.
I mean… I don’t really think I can introduce this video any better, than by just allowing WhitneyHouston herself preview some of her best gems from that interview, particularly this next majestic quote where Whitney – moments after admitting to marijuana cocaine use – draws the line and makes it unequivocally clear that crack is whack and that she would never do it:
First of all, let’s get one thing straight… Crack is cheap! I make too much money to ever smoke crack! Let’s get that straight! OK? We don’t do crack! We don’t do that! Crack is whack!
And it was right there at the end, that my head just fucking exploded to an infinite number of quartz-sized level particles…
Whitney Houston Best Moments: 1986 Grammy Awards – Whitney Singing Saving All My Love For YouThis was just an amazingly awesome performance by Whitney Houston.
It was then and there, at the 1986 Grammy Awards, that Whitney won her first Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female, for that same song that she would also sing at the show, the one renowned ballad called, Saving All My Love For You.
This performance, by the way, won Whitney Houston another award next year… An Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
She liked them crack-cocaine rocks quite a lot, Whitney did… But she was a truly gifted singer and musical performer.
Whitney Houston Best Moments: “Kiss My Ass!” – Whitney’s Marriage to Bobby BrownBooobyyyy Browwwnnn, ladies and gentleman!
I mean, um, I don’t want to be an asshole, but I just can’t stop the urge to be one, so here goes…
Every time I think about the history and infamous background of the Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston Marriage, I, first and foremost, imagine Michael Buffer in my head, as he’s introducing two fighters who are about to square off in the ring and about to utter his patented “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” line, and then I immediately picture Bobby Brown jumping like a madman in his corner while warming up and waiting impatiently for the bell to ring so he can kick the living shit out ofWhitney Houston, who, in turn, has the look of a ten-year old school-boy who knows he’s about to be molested by a catholic priest…
And then, the bell rings and I picture Bobby Brown running towards Whitney Houston as he’s about to throw an inhumane haymaker right on Whitney’s face, as the whole thing comes to an end abruptly leaving the unfolding of the events to my imagination’s imagination… I then chuckle condescendingly, nod, and then think to myself, “Man, celebrities are fucking fucked up…”So you see, those are the thoughts that run around in my head. Those are the things that keep me up at night… You would do yourself and your mental health a huge disservice if you don’t stop reading this site right now, and you never come back again – Don’t say I didn’t warn ya’!
Anyways, here is now, the moment that you’ve all been waiting for… Whitney Houston beautifully sums up her marriage to Bobby Brown, by politely asking him to kiss her ass.
Oh, yes my procrastination minions… That is, without any motherfucking doubt, American. Indeed it is — RIP Whitney. SOURCE:
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