In light of the fact that the American medical psychological community has come to regard disorders like homosexuality and pedophilia as equivalents to ethnicity and race, I tend to find it unlikely that any diocese will be held civily liable to any sex abuse victim.

Speaking of Governor "Gray-out", looks as though he's gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar...again.

As reported by Fox News: "California lawmakers want to know why the state agreed to pay $95 million for Oracle software in a deal that according to a state audit could cost taxpayers more than $40 million in unnecessary charges."

I just realized something. The upcoming election for governor in California will again involve two opposing candidates who are Catholic, Bill Simon and Gray Davis (I personally think Davis should be excommunicated for his strident support for abortion). Prior to Bill Simon, former California State Attorney General Dan Lundgren was the Republican Party nominee for governor in 1998.

Mother's Day tip: It pays to buy gift certificates in California. Why? Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1749.5, any gift certificate bought on or after January 1, 1997 may not legally contain an expiration date.

I'm getting a little sick of hearing from unthinking Catholics that priests can't be taken seriously on matters of marriage and sex, because they simply don't have the requisite "life experiences". Oh okay, so I guess we should start requiring psychiatrists to have been certifiably insane before allowing them to counsel crazy people, or criminal defense attorneys to have been convicted of a crime before giving legal advice to a defendant. If I remember correctly, Jesus was celibate and never married. I'm assuming none of these unthinking Catholics would reject His advice and exhortations.

Somebody help me. If a vast majority of child sex abuse cases is committed in families by married men, how is allowing priests to get married going to eradicate this problem within the Church?

Saw on another blog some time ago -- Relapsed Catholic I think it was -- where the commentator was somewhat incredulous that the Pope believed a sex abuser could be forgiven, but apparently not her remarried divorced mother. My take on this is that if the sex abuser is remorseful for what he has done, and is no longer committing sexual abuse, of course he can be forgiven. The remarried divorced mother, on the other hand, cannot be forgiven because the Church does not recognize divorce, and her second "marriage" amounts to a continuing act of adultery -- a mortal sin. Although there may be legitimate reasons for the wife to be separated from her first husband (e.g., domestic violence) such does not justify a dissolution of an otherwise valid sacramental (i.e., an oath to God) marriage and entrance into another "marriage".

Ever notice that Tim LaHaye (author of those terribly anti-Catholic Left Behind books) resmbles the late Liberace?

Wrote an opinion letter on behalf of some parents to a school district and I suggested that the district could be found to be in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a special hearings officer judgment. Got a terse written response from the attorney for the school district today that basically told me to mind my own business and pound sand. Your tax dollars at work!

Something new I learned today: Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 425.14, no plaintiff may claim punitive damages in a complaint against a religious corporation or corporation sole (which the Catholic Church, under each individual biship, is classified as) unless the court enters an order allowing an amended pleading where such a claim can be made. My guess is that Cardinal Roger "Let's-suggest-priests-be-allowed-to-get-married-so-we-don't-have-anymore-sex-abuse-incidents" Mahoney is well aware of this rule.

In case anybody is wondering, yes I do support the Church's teaching on divorce, and I will never personally handle such a matter. As both the Church and Bible teach, an otherwise sacramental marriage can only be nullified if there was a barrier to the marriage's initial valid enactment. There are some instances, of course, where physical separation of the spouses can be tolerated. But to say that divorce is allowable in the Church is akin to saying that God's sacraments (which are forms of salvific grace) are unimportant.

Woo Hoo! The Ecclesia Dei Community in Sacramento (which is staffed by members of the very orthodox and loyal Society of St. Peter) will be celebrating Mass at its new church, St. Stephen's, starting this Sunday! Gloria in excelsis Deo!

I'll probably be attending the early bird Mass so as to avoid all the screaming kiddies.

Mi jefe, Brad Dacus, will be appearing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Friday May 10. Don't miss it (despite the fact that Brad isn't Catholic)!

Someone e-mailed our organization today asking what can be done to keep the government out of our houses and dictating how our children should be raised. After seeing stuff like this, I wonder why people like to chide lawyers for having a God complex.

Here's what I hate about attorneys: they never return you phone call when you want them to. Here's what I love about being an attorney: when I don't return a phone call when someone wants me to, I know I'm not the only one who does this.

Ha! Did you know in California, pursuant to Penal Code Section 261.5, it is illegal for minors (individuals under 18) to have sexual intercourse with each other? Look it up!

The often asserted link between homosexuality and pedophilia seems logical. Both, after all, are intrinsic disorders. To this extent, why isn't the media expressing any concern over the proliferation of the homosexual agenda in California's public schools? This, of course, is a rhetorical question.

I'm sort of curious as to how many gay priests there are in San Francisco. More important, how many gay priests in San Francisco are celibate and support the practice?

The Bay (Gay) Area continues to uphold its worldwide reputation as the homosexual capitol of the world. We at PJI already have a pending lawsuit against the Novato Unified School District in Marin County for disregarding parental requests to excuse their elementary school aged children from an objectionable play that promotes homosexuality ("Cootie Shots"). This same district is now on the verge of endorsing a proposed presentation of a Gay-Straight Alliance program at two high schools during classroom instructional hours. Across the bay, the Hayward Unified School District has adopted a policy whereby teachers, without prior notification to parents, can openly reveal their homosexuality to their students during class! I smell lawsuit.

In the event anyone reads this, here's a little background info about myself. I'm a brand new attorney working for a nonprofit civil rights organization called the Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, CA. Most of my time is spent on religious rights cases in the areas of education, employment and land use. I do, however, occasionally have to field long-winded calls from loonie tunes who think the government is "out to get them". The pay is meager (I could probably make more as a waiter at Denny's) but the work I do is important insofar as I am helping a lot of people preserve their inalienable right to pursue religious truth (even though, most of the time, it isn't Catholic). Besides, I'm single, so I really don't have to worry a lot about finances.