Media Watch

Bill Would Make Foster Parents Accept Homosexuality

WORLDNETDAILY.COM, Aug. 29 — WorldNetDaily.com columnist Art Moore reported on a controversial legal measure that has reached the desk of embattled California Gov. Gray Davis — and which he has promised to sign.

The bill, AB 458, informs foster parents that they have a “legal responsibility” to support whatever “gender identity” — including trans-sexual, homosexual or transvestite behavior — preferred by foster children in their own homes.

Opponents of the bill, including major pro-family activists in that state, warned it would force the state to discriminate against “foster parents who, on moral grounds, cannot support any kind of sexual behavior by children in their homes,” Moore wrote.

There is already a severe shortage of available foster parents in California, the bill's opponents point out. This would only shrink the pool — by excluding serious Christians from eligibility.

Pastor Raises Parish from the Dead

THE NEW YORK POST, Aug. 28 — It's nice to see a priest get recognized for doing something right. Capuchin Father Francis Gasparik of New York City was nominated for the New York Post's Liberty Community Medal for his work in revitalizing a once-moribund parish, the Post reported.

When he took over St. John the Baptist parish near Manhattan's Madison Square Garden 12 years ago, it was on the brink of being closed. It was in a state of disrepair and had few parishioners.

“The ceiling was collapsing and it wasn't in a residential neighborhood, so there were no members, really,” Father Gasparik told the Post, explaining that he made it his personal mission to rescue the parish. He began to schedule programs, self-help groups and ministries — such as a food pantry, which now feeds more than 900 families. He opened a thrift store to fund building repairs and approached foundations for donations. In time, Manhattanites began to notice the place — and to come by for Mass during the week and on Sundays.

Carol Siracusano, one of the pantry volunteers, nominated Gasparik for The Post's award.

Catholics Demand Bar Drop ‘Hail Mary’ Moniker

QUAD CITIES ONLINE, Aug. 26 — More than 2,600 residents of Rock Island, Ill., have joined the bishop of Peoria in his demand that a local bar change its name, which they consider sacrilegious.

“Hail Mary's Last Chance Sports & Spirits” is a new bar that plans to open next spring in a building that was once a synagogue, and local Catholics aren't happy.

According to Quad Cities Online, they delivered to their city council a 14-inch stack of letters objecting to the name. The bar owner responded that his establishment was not named after the Catholic prayer but the popular last-resort football throw called the “Hail Mary” by announcers.

Bishop Daniel Jenky wasn't buying it. He warned “there are eternal consequences for the sins of blasphemy and sacrilege … the Mother of my Savior is not a mascot; her name is holy and does not belong on a bar.”