Pope in America

We are all looking for a sense of community and somewhere to belong, but I won’t belong to a church that believes that I have no rights.

With a very limited and negative view of sexuality, the Catholic Church's attention always seems inordinately focused on what it views as "unnatural sex acts" -- and it doesn't bother distinguishing between consensual acts and abuse.

In 1968, Catholic Church doctrine forbade the use of contraception. Forty years later, the Church's teachings are irrelevant at best to American Catholics, but outright dangerous for those living in the developing world.

At the funeral mass for the Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo this Wednesday, Pope Benedict will likely commemorate the Cardinal's work to prevent women from accessing abortion and laud his efforts to eliminate contraceptives.

Faith leaders working on the ground have accepted that contraception saves lives. Isn't it time for a brave American politician to ask the Pope why he won't do the same?

I went looking for protests as the Pope dropped by my neighborhood. As the Mass begins I can hear the cheering crowds from my apartment, but no chants from protesters. I'll have to go to a women's clinic to find protesters.