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From the Texas Monthly: Ken Paxton Mistakes Catholic Teachings for “Bohemian Commandments” In a filing seeking to shut down an El Paso migrant shelter, the attorney general displays his ignorance of the religious beliefs held by a quarter of Texans. By Sandi Villarreal May 9, 2024 Paxton Watch: Ken vs. Annunciation House It’s Ken Paxton versus Catholics, round two. Back in February, the Texas attorney general targeted the migrant shelter Annunciation House, in El Paso, on his stated suspicions of “alien harboring” and “operating a stash house.” He cited no evidence for the latter claim, but demanded that Annunciation House turn over a host of records, including its clients’ names and medical records. Annunciation House, which receives migrants from the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other government agencies and feeds and houses them, refused to turn over all the documents. It argued that Paxton was violating several constitutional protections, including the Catholic organization’s right to free exercise of religion. Instead of waiting for a final ruling on the document request, the attorney general filed for an injunction Wednesday, asking that Annunciation House be forced to cease operations. In the filing, Paxton disputes the organization’s religious-freedom claim because, among other reasons, the organization hasn’t offered mass as frequently as he believes it should (Annunciation House offers mass only when a priest is available) and because staff members and volunteers make no efforts to “evangelize or convert its guests to Catholicism.” Paxton’s filing is the latest in a series of actions pitting the State of Texas against the federal government over the latter’s handling of border crossings, seen as a winning election-year strategy for those who might wish to earn appointment to high office if Donald Trump were to return to the White House. Previous state actions have included direct confrontation between the U.S. Border Patrol and the Texas Army National Guard over access to the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass. But this time, in El Paso, a religious nonprofit is caught in the middle. Paxton’s injunction filing is riddled with misinterpretations—oblivious or intentional, who’s to say?—of the stated religious beliefs and practices of a quarter of Texans, including the governor. Take, for example, the attorney general’s further attempt to debunk Annunciation House’s free exercise claim: “Annunciation House’s members appear to subscribe to a more Bohemian set of ‘seven commandments,’ including commandments to ‘visit’ people when ‘incarcerated’ and ‘care [for them] when they’re sick.’ ” The quote is referencing testimony by Mary Bull, a longtime staff member at Annunciation House, describing the religious basis of the organization’s mission. She uses the term “commandments” to describe not the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament but rather Jesus’s exhortation in the Gospel of Matthew to feed the hungry and care for the sick. She admits in her testimony that she’s new to Catholicism. Anyone with exposure to the faith can also see in her testimony a reference to the seven principles of Catholic social teaching, taught via the Catechism of the Catholic Church and preached about in homilies around the world. These include elevating the life and dignity of the human person, putting the needs of the poor and most vulnerable first, and building solidarity with a global human family. Each of these principles is based on multiple Christian Scripture passages and is expounded upon extensively in papal documents, such as Pope Francis’s 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship. Catholic bishops, particularly those who serve at the border, have long cited the social teachings as the basis for their efforts to offer hospitality to migrants who arrive in need. Paxton’s injunction, then, takes issue with the commands of Jesus and Pope Francis, notorious hippies. Chapter 25 of Matthew offers Jesus’s answer to how believers will be judged at the second coming—a passage with which the Southern Baptist attorney general may be familiar. It reads that the inheritors of the kingdom will be those who exhibited these behaviors: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Notably, Jesus does not ask how long it’s been since followers have participated in mass or converted a houseguest to a particular faith. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | ||
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What a piece of work. Baptists have long hated Catholics. It's abhorrent when government is taken over by religious nuts. | |||
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Catholics used to burn anyone at the stake, who disagreed with them. When the horse has been eliminated, human life may be extended an average of five or more years. James R. Doolitle I think they've been misunderstood. Timothy Tredwell | |||
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Ain’t religion great? You can justify hating anybody, killing anybody, making war on any nation you want, all you have to do is invoke God! | |||
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Four hundred years ago, but I agree that was abhorrent. It makes my point: another case where religious nuts take over government. Religion is like a virus--but has even worse consequences. | |||
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As a lifelong Protestant (First Christian/Campbellite), I have made it a point never to ignore the abuses of the "Mother church," and take great joy reading from my William Tyndale New Testament, he having been hunted down and burned at the stake for the egregious sin of publishing a Bible any literate Englishman could read. But I have come a great distance closer to my Catholic friends in recent years, knowing we both worship the same Immanuel -- God with us. Plus their priests' plain-spoken homilies are eight to 10 minutes long vs. 45 minutes to an hour of harangues in my native church. My daughter is Catholic and so is my best friend. The idea of some corrupt and adulterous scum like Paxton counting Masses and analyzing efforts to proselytize in order to attack a charity that helps only the most downtrodden is beneath contempt. Ken, why don't you focus instead on making wretched the lives of 12-year-old girls raped by their daddies and traveling to another state to get an abortion? There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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This is why state actors cannot pick which religion to force folks to practice. Prayer is practice. It requires the state to tell you what to say, how to speak to gif, and by extension what god. | |||
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Administrator |
How times have changed. Read history. What did Spain do in South America? | |||
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What did Muslims do in Spain in 711?? Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… To quote a former AND CURRENT Trumpiteer - DUMP TRUMP | |||
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I consider the Muslims in 21st century Afghanistan to be the most enlightened. | |||
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Administrator |
All religions are committing crimes against humanity! Look what NitanHitler is doing in Occupied Palestine! And his America stooges are supporting him! | |||
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I would bet ALL of our MAGA nuts have voted for Paxton in the past and will vote for him again in the future. Corruption knows no bounds in the Texas Republican Party. | |||
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Pretty sick of this so called charity (NGO) enabling illegal immigration. So what if Paxton is investigating what they are doing and we know they are doing using our tax dollars to do it. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12...nonprofit/index.html The attorney general’s office alleges Annunciation House “appears to be openly and flagrantly violating many provisions of law in a systemic fashion,” the filing said. “Annunciation House has publicly claimed that it ‘hous(es) close to 300 migrants’ at a given time, ‘many of whom are stuck in limbo because they’ avoided law enforcement,” the court filing says, attributing some of its information to an article by El Paso Matters. In the article, titled “Annunciation House helps undocumented immigrants apply for asylum,” the nonprofit’s director says some migrants want to seek asylum – but they fear that turning themselves in to authorities will lead to deportation. | |||
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Upholding the law is not corruption. | |||
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You mean when his behavior caused the state to payout 3 million, and the deal he reached concerning his indictment. Enforcing what law? | |||
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So before October 7 2023 was Israel bombing Palestinians? American stooges? Why can't the UAE accept Palestinian refugees? Wouldn't it be nice if Palestinian children were allowed more than one book to study and were not taught to hate Americans and Jews starting around the average age for kindergarten? | |||
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Human smuggling, aiding and abetting illegal immigration to name a couple. Educate yourself and read the links. | |||
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One of Us |
Cost the state 3 mill for retaliating illegally against whistleblowers. Violation of the Supreme Court. Oh, and cut a plea deal to a Fed indictment. Has to go through ethics retraining. In a decent state he would be disbarred, and forced to resign. Law and Order. Set up the hypocrisy and political impossibility of a state endorsing religion better than I can articulate with tge subject matter of this post. | |||
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Exactly!!! Texas monthly is a left wing publication and is doing nothing but the typical left wing spin.....its our attorney general doing what our federal government won't do and enforce our laws. | |||
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One of Us |
Amen! | |||
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