Protesters gather at Saint Pius V church for “Culture of Kindness & Transgenderism” with speaker Dr. Michelle Cretella
By Fred Comella
“In 2007-2008 the societal tide seemed to shift with a single “hope and change” election, from one of simple acceptance and respect as a shared purpose, to one of complete ideological validation or nothing at all. Now I’ve been very vocal about the fact that I will stand in defense of any American Citizen’s Constitutional right to live as they choose. Nevertheless, I too have a Constitutional right to my beliefs. And while in the course of redress or debate we may disagree, I stand in defense of your unalienable rights. I ask only that you afford me the same courtesy. Thanks, Fred….”
As the years have passed we’ve seen a measurable rise in the use of hateful and even violent rhetoric against those of a different opinion/faith/fundamental belief system. And while we as Christians understand the Biblical implications of persecution for our beliefs, it’s still disconcerting to see God’s truth replaced with the false narrative of political correctness.
Every day, society, (and more specifically Christians), are bombarded with a growing list of offences, perceived or otherwise. Consequently, we’re expected to accommodate and “validate” the beliefs of others, regardless of, and even in spite of our own, with any and all disagreement viewed as hateful and somehow unjust, requiring immediate legislative, and even judicial recourse, layered with vitriol and hate the likes of which we haven’t seen in generations. Sound familiar? It should if you know your history.
This unbending ideological rhetoric, billed as the “collective” or “greater” good by a complicit news and entertainment media is reminiscent of Nazi Germany and Cold War Soviet Union to be sure, rolled out around the globe by small but highly vocal and intolerant groups, much like it’s being rolled out today by Globalists and the American Left. Demonize the opposition. Portray them as that which in fact you are, a hate filled anarchist, requiring, no, demanding your particular lifestyle/agenda be accepted without question.
These are the marching orders for those with a misguided and wrong-minded view of God’s world. I’m sorry my fellow Americans, but while it is just and right for one to respect the rights of others, we are not required to, and frankly I’m not able or qualified to validate you or the way you choose to live.
There is good news though, and it comes to us via the same corrupt news media which very often facilitates the evil one, usually embracing all that is anti-Christian. Americans are finally waking to the reality that many of our American politicians and press have an agenda, and it isn’t necessarily in keeping with how you see your life, or your family’s, or even what you voted for. However our true Judeo-Christian heritage is not so easily dismissed it appears, and those who literally seek our removal from the “playing field” are now having to explain “their interpretation” of our Constitutional and unique in the world, “Bill of Rights”.
I think there is no greater evidence of this growing battle for the soul of a nation and a people if you will, than that which we see in the argument over gender. Let’s face it, if (we think) we may change our very person to suit our desire, what greater power could we possess than that of the One who created us in the first place?
To be completely truthful on a personal level, I remain somewhat off balance and in awe of the argument itself. The sheer mechanics involved as well as the intention of a creator with the furtherance of His creation in mind at conception, is now part of a far reaching and vitriolic debate with the heart and Christian soul of our republic being called into politically correct question. Not only is it necessary that we defend our political beliefs as they relate to our moral convictions under the First Amendment, but now we’re confronted with an amoral army of “in your face” radicals bent on changing every fiber of this free nation, and forcing all to not only accept that which their faith does not allow, but to embrace it and validate it as the norm. Free speech is OK I guess, so long as it’s not Christian free speech. And so long as it’s in keeping with the narrative of the opposition. Otherwise it’s hate speech, and game on…
My Pastor Dave Aucoin and I talk of this struggle on a fairly regular basis, and he helps me with my initial and often heated reaction to this blatantly hypocritical and misguided interpretation of our history. He tells me of prophecy and how we the believers will be persecuted for our faith as it is written. But he’s also what I like to call a “revivalist”. You see PD as I like to call him, is a Godly optimist, and has been on the front lines of the trans-gender debate from its local beginnings. Steadfastly true to his Christian convictions, Dave was one of only four local church pastors to stand against the so-called “bathroom bill” in Massachusetts, as the Attorney General there tried to use a fancy and politically correct reading of MA law relating “public spaces” against churches. The resulting victory was significant, in that it showed the opposition that Christians would defend their rights, and did so in a very political but Christian way.
Police presence at Saint Pius church in Providence
I think what I’m getting at here, is that the battle seems to have been joined. And while God is on the throne, and His will shall be done in all matters, we needn’t sit on our hands and let His Word go undefended. It is our right, rather it is our mission to exercise our rights as free Christians and defend those things we know to be true for ourselves, our families and God’s world. We must never validate for the sake of politics, trends and/or consensus, those things we know to be in conflict with our faith.
When my editor sent me an email he’d received from “PD” regarding an upcoming event highlighting “gender transitioning” and other RI statewide transgender policies that would open up bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams to anyone who claims to be the opposite gender from their biological sex, I was interested to find out more.
Recently, St. Pius V Young Adults (SPVYA) hosted Dr. Michelle Cretella who spoke on these and other related matters at St. Pius V Catholic Church in Providence. For those unfamiliar with Dr. Cretella, she serves as the president of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) and has been savaged by the leftist lunatics for her positions on so-called “trans-gender” children.
In the real world, she’s someone intimately familiar with the pediatric and behavioral health communities and their practices, and a mother of four who served 17 years as a board certified general pediatrician with a focus in child behavioral health prior to leaving clinical practice in 2012. And if you’d like to read about how the opposition deals with a highly skilled and learned professional like Dr. Cretella, you need only google her name and read the corrosive hatred masquerading as legitimate opposition and debate. As a side note, when I spoke with PD prior to the event, he even expressed some concern for Dr. Cretella and her family, as he’s heard firsthand some of the opposition’s “thoughts” on the doctor.
Make no mistake my fellow Christians, many of these so-called “protesters” are folks who have an agenda rooted in deep hatred, dysfunction and accountability free activism. They are bent on selling that activism as something resembling legitimate and which you and I MUST accept in the context of the 1st Amendment. Thankfully there are those of us who understand that the 1st Amendment simply doesn’t say that…
The event was billed as a discussion regarding (from the press release), “The State of Rhode Island and a unanimously passed law making it illegal for a licensed medical professional to counsel a child away from the desire to change his/her gender identity (as well as homosexual desires). The bill specifically states that it is illegal for any licensed mental health professional to engage in “conversion therapy” which is defined as: “any practices or treatments that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. This means that an eight-year-old boy, who may be confused about his gender and identifies as a female, may not receive professional medical help that affirms his male identity and dissuades him from continuing down a road of “transitioning” his gender. Yet, it remains legal to inject that same child with hormone blockers and cross-sex hormones”.
The church provided refreshments for those attending and protestors also
Additionally, Rhode Island public schools are currently deciding how to implement statewide transgender policies that would open up bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams to anyone who claims to be the opposite gender from their biological sex. Dr. Cretella addressed the growing phenomenon in this week’s talk titled “Switching Sexes? She explained the scientific truth about sex and gender identity, and the beginnings of transgender belief in medicine, and shared stories of families from across the country who have been harmed by this ideology, along with authentic loving and merciful ways to protect all children”.
This past weekend, I also spoke again with PD who attended the event. As I suspected there were an abundance of protesters on hand at St Pius, and while the Providence Police were on hand to keep the peace, many of the attendees described the protesters as “intimidating”. PD also confirmed the presence of certain “clergy” within the ranks of the protest line, another disturbing observation of mine which only bolsters my view that, as PD explained, even within the ranks of the so-called believers, there are those who’ve “lost hold of their Biblical mooring”. There were a couple of removals for disruption during the event, but I suppose the presence of PPD lent itself to the overall behavior of those of “ill-intent” who may have been present.
PD continued and explained that Dr. Cretella, who while nervous because of her hometown connections to the Ocean State, did a magnificent job of making the case for common sense and medical reason, by way of facts and the reality of science, (which the left love to spout about). She even explained a reported rift between the LBGTQ community and the trans-gender groups regarding their lack of unanimity on the notion of actually “switching physical sexes”. In reading Dr. Cretella’s writings, I get the sense she’s very astute when it comes to debating the unprepared opposition, and even better at using their own words against them. As I’ve written a number of times myself, without truth, one’s argument leaves much for the opposition to exploit…
Ultimately, I get to spout a little myself as my political views co-mingle at times with a faith I know without ambiguity is the foundation for the country I love. That said, PD makes the non-negotiable case for God’s will and love as the only way forward to a righteous conclusion to the debate over “switching sexes”, or any debate for that matter from the Christian perspective. It’s good that his Pastor’s position if you will, is in line with many of the players on the court, like Mike Stenhouse of the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity who reflected on the lecture and related protests: “Civil society leaders must call for an end to these reflexive and combative over-reactions, and instead advocate for a more reflective and collaborative approach. Open and respectful debate is the cornerstone of our great American democracy.”
At the end of the day some of you may be pondering the connection of all that I’ve put forth in this read. Well, here it is without the sugar coating. Your Christian faith represents many things to many people my friends. To your like-minded relatives and fellow believers, it is the one true and unwavering bond of God’s love for all mankind that sustains you and guides you on a journey of forgiveness and mercy, all the while proclaiming the Word to all those who would hear it. To those who choose to walk outside of God’s love and grace, and who seek only an existence free of accountability and margins, you represent the rule of law, with its foundations in God’s commandments and the truth. These two opposing views have now collided in a confrontation we must not shy from.
It has been said that all that is needed for good to fall away is for good people to look away. I know it’s easy to look away and let it be, always in the hope that the evil one might be appeased. But know this, it will never be enough, whether its same sex marriage, abortion, or a host of other sin being lauded as “the new” and even “the intended” normal. Our Father in Heaven has given us the gifts of a heart and conscience, packed full of truth, reason and common sense. By way of a free will (which He also gave us), we must not ignore those gifts.
So, in the face of social depravity touted as a way of life, and often violent and hateful anarchy masquerading as equality, tolerance and “free speech”, stand strong my Christian friends. Jesus Christ has your back…
You can learn more about Dr. Cretella and her mission to set the record straight on matters of transgender and other topics at www.acpeds.org/about-us .
