Proactive Love, Not Reactive Discipline, Will End Toxic Masculinity

It’s imperative that boys are shown affection and empathy from the men in their lives.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/2/13/proactive-love-not-reactive-discipline-will-end-toxic-masculinity

80 Percent of Vatican Priests are Gay, Claims Explosive New Book

In the Closet of the Vatican, a new book being published next week to coincide with the opening day of a conference at the Vatican on sexual abuse, claims that 4 out of 5 Vatican priests are gay.

The book, by French journalist and author Frédéric Martel, is 570 pages.

The Guardian reports: ‘Martel, a former adviser to the French government, conducted 1,500 interviews while researching the book, including with 41 cardinals, 52 bishops and monsignors, 45 papal ambassadors or diplomatic officials, 11 Swiss guards and more than 200 priests and seminarians, according to a report on the Catholic website the Tablet. Many spoke of an unspoken code of the “closet”, with one rule of thumb being that the more homophobic a cleric was, the more likely he was to be gay.”

Writes the publisher, Bloomsbury: “In the Closet of the Vatican exposes the rot at the heart of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church today. This brilliant piece of investigative writing is based on four years’ authoritative research, including extensive interviews with those in power. The celibacy of priests, the condemnation of the use of contraceptives, countless cases of sexual abuse, the resignation of Benedict XVI, misogyny among the clergy, the dramatic fall in Europe of the number of vocations to the priesthood, the plotting against Pope Francis – all these issues are clouded in mystery and secrecy.”

RELATED: Polish Bishop Defrocks Gay Priest Fired by the Vatican After Coming Out: VIDEO

Bloomsbury adds: “In the Closet of the Vatican is a book that reveals these secrets and penetrates this enigma. It derives from a system founded on a clerical culture of secrecy which starts in junior seminaries and continues right up to the Vatican itself. It is based on the double lives of priests and on extreme homophobia. The resulting schizophrenia in the Church is hard to fathom. But the more a prelate is homophobic, the more likely it is that he is himself gay.”

“Martel alleges that one Colombian cardinal, the late Alfonso López Trujillo, who held a senior Vatican position, was an arch-defender of church teaching on homosexuality and contraception while using male prostitutes,” according to The Guardian. “The author found that some gay priests accepted their sexuality and a few maintained discreet relationships, but others sought high-risk casual encounters. Some were in denial about their sexuality.”

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80 Percent of Vatican Priests are Gay, Claims Explosive New Book

South Korea To Shut Down All Dog ‘Slaughterhouses’

Seoul “will shut down all dog slaughterhouses” vowed the city’s mayor as South Korea’s dog meat trade faces increasing calls to terminate them immediately from many quarters according to The Daily Mail.

“Seoul mayor, Park Won-soon, vowed to close all dog butcheries in the city and made the announcement to an audience at the weekend after a screening of an animated film called Underdog.”

The movie is about abandoned dogs that find themselves in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). 

8,500 dogs are estimated to be abandoned in Seoul and “a quarter of them are euthanized because they are not adopted,” he told the crowd.

Olympian skier Gus Kenworthy was famously upset at the situation that many potential canine companions have to endure in South Korea while he was there for the Olympics last year.

Elite Daily said last year: [Kenworthy] leaves PyeongChang, this amazing human will be adding another four-legged little pooch — rescued from a dog meat farm — to the mix. Gus Kenworthy’s post about dogs in South Korea is so sad, but at least there’s a happy twist. Not only did he save one sweet pup by adopting her, he is now giving a voice to the voiceless with a raw and emotional post about the experience on Instagram.

Kenworthy and his boyfriend ended up adopting a pup before the returned stateside saying in a post on Instagram: “This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea. Across the country there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don’t personally agree with it, I do agree that it’s not my place to impose western ideals on the people here. The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty. I was told that the dogs on this particular farm were kept in “good conditions” by comparison to other farms. The dogs here are malnourished and physically abused, crammed into tiny wire-floored pens, and exposed to the freezing winter elements and scorching summer conditions. When it comes time to put one down it is done so in front of the other dogs by means of electrocution sometimes taking up to 20 agonizing minutes. Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home. Some of them were even pets at one time and were stolen or found and sold into the dog meat trade. Luckily, this particular farm (thanks to the hard work of the Humane Society International and the cooperation of a farmer who’s seen the error of his ways) is being permanently shut down and all 90 of the dogs here will be brought to the US and Canada where they’ll find their fur-ever homes. I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she’ll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she’s through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks. I cannot wait to give her the best life possible! There are still millions of dogs here in need of help though (like the Great Pyrenees in the 2nd pic who was truly the sweetest dog ever). I’m hoping to use this visit as an opportunity to raise awareness to the inhumanity of the dog meat trade and the plight of dogs everywhere, including back home in the US where millions of dogs are in need of loving homes!”

View this post on Instagram

This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea. Across the country there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don’t personally agree with it, I do agree that it’s not my place to impose western ideals on the people here. The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty. I was told that the dogs on this particular farm were kept in “good conditions” by comparison to other farms. The dogs here are malnourished and physically abused, crammed into tiny wire-floored pens, and exposed to the freezing winter elements and scorching summer conditions. When it comes time to put one down it is done so in front of the other dogs by means of electrocution sometimes taking up to 20 agonizing minutes. Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home. Some of them were even pets at one time and were stolen or found and sold into the dog meat trade. Luckily, this particular farm (thanks to the hard work of the Humane Society International and the cooperation of a farmer who’s seen the error of his ways) is being permanently shut down and all 90 of the dogs here will be brought to the US and Canada where they’ll find their fur-ever homes. I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she’ll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she’s through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks. I cannot wait to give her the best life possible! There are still millions of dogs here in need of help though (like the Great Pyrenees in the 2nd pic who was truly the sweetest dog ever). I’m hoping to use this visit as an opportunity to raise awareness to the inhumanity of the dog meat trade and the plight of dogs everywhere, including back home in the US where millions of dogs are in need of loving homes! Go to @hsiglobal’s page to see how you can help. #dogsarefriendsnotfood #adoptdontshop

A post shared by gus kenworthy (@guskenworthy) on Feb 23, 2018 at 8:10am PST

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Seoul’s Mayor Vows To Shut Down All Dog ‘Slaughterhouses’