Catholic News 2

Charlotte, N.C., Jul 22, 2016 / 02:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The National Basketball Association’s decision to pull its all-star game from Charlotte, North Carolina over the state’s bathroom bill has drawn criticism from those who say the decision is hypocritical.

“The NBA has abandoned common sense and put politics ahead of principle,” said Kellie Fiedorek, Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel. “The North Carolina privacy law, which protects girls and women from being forced to share locker rooms and showers with men, is completely reasonable. Pulling the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte is unreasonable and hypocritical.”

“If the NBA actually believed that there is no difference between men and women, it would merge its two leagues,” she said, referring to the professional basketball league’s counterpart, the Women’s National Basketball Association.

The NBA’s creation of the WNBA recognizes “the innate and obvious differences between men and women,” Fiedorek said.

On Thursday, the basketball league announced that it would move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte because of its objections to a state law that requires individuals to use public locker rooms and restrooms that correspond to their biological sex on their birth certificate. The law also barred localities from having a stricter anti-discrimination law than the state’s, and barred cities or counties from setting their own minimum wage standard for private employers.

The law was created to overturn a Charlotte ordinance that would have allowed individuals to use bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities that corresponded with their self-perceived “gender identity,” even if this differs from their biological sex.

The sports league characterized the controversy as an issue of “legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte.” It said it hopes to hold the 2019 game in Charlotte “provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter,” CNN reports.

Backers of the North Carolina law, House Bill 2, said it was necessary to overturn local ordinances that would have allowed any man in any women’s bathroom, locker room or shower room based on their self-declared “gender identity.” The ordinances would have allowed legal complaints against business owners whose views are considered discriminatory under local law.

The bill passed the state senate unanimously with 32 votes. It passed the State House by a vote of 83-25 and was signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory. According to a poll by Survey USA, sponsored by the Civitas Institute, 69 percent of North Carolinans backed the state bill.

Many large corporations have allied with LGBT activist groups and the ACLU in opposing the state law.

Fiedorek said the state law “simply protected the dignity interests and privacy rights of North Carolinians.”

She added that New Orleans, an often-mentioned alternative host for the All-Star Game, also allows for separate bathroom, restroom, shower or similar facilities for men and women in its own local ordinance.

Gov. McCrory strongly criticized the NBA’s decision.

“The sports and entertainment elite, (North Carolina) Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers without the opposite sex present.”

College sports have also started to side with LGBT advocates.

On July 22 the NCAA sent a questionnaire to local event organizing groups that asks whether their localities and states have passed “anti-discrimination laws that are applicable to all persons” and whether there is legal regulation of “choice of bathrooms or locker rooms” that may affect student athletes, coaches, administrators, game officials or fans, USA Today reports.

In April the NCAA Board of Governors approved a new rule that sites hosting or bidding on NCAA championships, meetings and conferences must show “how they will provide an environment that is safe, healthy, and free of discrimination.”

 

 

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Harare, Zimbabwe, Jul 22, 2016 / 04:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In Zimbabwe, there are protests against the government and officials’ harsh treatment of a Christian pastor whose video about his frustration went viral on the internet. Now, Christian leaders in the country have called for an end to harassment of clergy and for a just response to other grievances.

“We call upon our government to listen to the cries of citizens whose cries and sufferings are loud and clear. There is need to act justly and mercifully on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged in our nation,” a group of Christian leaders said in a July 14 statement.

The Zimbabwe Catholic bishops’ conference joined the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, and other groups in making the statement.

The leaders voiced concern about apparent disregard for the constitution by the government and police, failure to deal with corruption, and the exclusion of citizens from determining their destiny. Intra-party conflicts are distracting the government from dealing with real economic and social issues.

They voiced concern about the harassment and arrests of religious leaders, including Pastor Mawarire, and the intimidation of other pastors “speaking on behalf of powerless people.”

“These grievances must be viewed as the early warning signs which indicate underlying and simmering tensions that will soon explode into civil unrest if not addressed,” they said.

In May, the Baptist pastor Evan Mawarire launched the “#ThisFlag” social media movement to voice frustration about the state of Zimbabwe. His campaign spread through Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

The pastor’s videos have stressed non-violence, though some younger activists in a movement called Tajamuka are less moderate, BBC News reports.

The pastor was arrested and charged with inciting public violence and subversion, but was released after a court threw out charges.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has verbally attacked Mawarire, claiming he is a false minister backed by foreign countries that want to destabilize Zimbabwe.

The protests center on several demands. They advocate that civil servants be paid on time; fewer roadblocks and police shakedowns; the legal prosecution of corrupt officials; and the end of a ban on many imported goods. They also object to plans to introduce bond notes to ease a cash shortage.

In June Zimbabwe ran out of money. All civil servants, including soldiers, police, teachers, and nurses, were paid late. Many people cannot afford food and the country is suffering the worst drought in decades. The unemployment rate is at 90 percent.

In early July, a one-day national strike in protest of the situation in Zimbabwe completely shut down schools, businesses, and shops around the country. Mawarire was among the strike's backers.

The Christian leaders’ message condemned law enforcement brutality and urged the government to protect citizens’ rights to demonstrate and protest.

“In exercising this right, we implore citizens to always remain peaceful in their demonstrations,” they said.

They also had a special message for Christian believers:

“We call upon the Church, which is the salt and light of this nation, to continue to pray and also to speak out prophetically against any unjust system, until we have a peaceful and prosperous Zimbabwe in which every citizen’s God given and constitutional rights are respected.”

The religious leaders said they wanted a nation that respects all citizens and that fears God in its love for justice, peace and love of one’s neighbor.

“May God grant us Zimbabweans the courage, faith and hope to face our challenges,” they prayed.

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