| NOTE: Some postings may have been deleted at the discretion of Ben Boxer. Erotic pictures posted on the regular version of the list are automatically deleted
from the digest and are archived separately. Viewing them requires a password
available only to members. Profiles posted to the list are also moved into a separate viewing area, but do not require a password. Please click here to browse through them.
silverfoxesclub-digest In this issue:
-Ex-monk turned hairdresser accuses Cypriot Orthodox bishop
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Ex-monk turned hairdresser accuses the bishop
Headline:
(The Advocate, 11/15/00)
Text:
The session, known as the Major
Holy Synod, is only the second to
have taken place in the 2,000-year
history of the Church of Cyprus,
which traces its lineage back to
founder Barnabas, one of Christ's
first companions.
More than 18 bishops and two
patriarchs from the Church of
Greece and the Orthodox apostolic
seats of Alexandria, Jerusalem and
Antioch in Damascus are attending
the meeting, held behind closed doors
at the palatial archbishopric in the
Cypriot capital of Nicosia.
The church is so intent on keeping
control of the scandal and its
implications, it has studiously avoided
specifying the charges against
Athanassios and refers to the gay
accusations only as "the known
issue."
Athanassios, a relatively young
bishop who has a large and
enthusiastic following particularly
among young Cypriots, denies the
charges leveled against him, and
claims they originate from powerful
monied forces in the church
threatened by his popularity.
Observers say the trial is the result
of deep divisions in the church
between the purist form of
Orthodoxy Athanassios is said to
represent, and the wealthy bishops of
Cyprus who profit hansomely from
substantial business holdings on the
island.
"The current establishment is seen
as materialistic...so to see someone
who puts spirituality first and who
rejects power and prominence is like
water in the desert,"among young
people, Sociologist Nicos Peristianis
told Reuters.
The soft-spoken former monk is
widely seen as a favourite to become
the next Archbishop when the
incumbent dies. A former
monk-turned-hairdresser launched
the scandal when he made public
claims that he was seduced by the
Bishop when they were both at
Mount Athos, an all-male commune
in Greece.
Subject: A thought for today
We haven't been talking about the
election aftermath for the past few
days because it created too much
partisan bad feeling and also became
too heavy for some of our non-American
subscribers. You may recall that
I cut off that thread.
I am presently watching C-Span's
Washington Journal on TV while I work
at the computer, as I often do, It
comes on at 4:00 A.M. here in
California, a time when I am
often either on my way to bed or
just starting my day.
At the moment, an African-American
lady, a Florida elector, is the guest, and
she has just said something I would like to
share with all of you.
She is an older person and recalls
the presidential election of 1964. She
has expressed the opinion that many
African-Americans have been
disenfranchised in the current
election as they were in 1964, but that
she has been deeply impressed by an
essential difference this time around.
She has spoken of the bloodshed that took
place in 1964, during the African-American
struggle for civil rights, and how happy
she is that the present disagreement over
balloting has not led to that again.
She then made a point which strikes me
as worth noting for its relevance to our
current civil and human rights struggle
as gay and bisexual people.
With reference to African-Americans, she
said: "This time, the courts support us.
They did not in 1964."
Precisely the same can be said for us
today. At no time in our history, either in
the United States, Europe and certain
other nations, have the courts ever been
as supportive of our rights to equality
under the law as they are now.
In one decision after another, we see
our rights advanced or upheld. Only a few
retrograde steps blight the scene,
chiefly in the military, but the civil court
judges are for the most part proving
to be our friends.
I cannot help but be grateful for the
tremendous advances made in Europe
which are reflected here in the States.
None of us lives in a vacuum. None of
us really stands alone. Our lives are
being shaped by wider influences than
most of us realize, and it is showing in
courts of law.
The European Parliament has always
backed equal treatment for all EU citizens
irrespective of sexual orientation and has
adopted numerous resolutions calling for
an end to discrimination against and unequal treatment of homosexuals.
This constitutes a light flooding our society
with true enlightenment which cannot help
but result in improvements in our status,
supported by the rule of law and the judges
who implement it.
Ben Boxer
------------------------------
|