Karen England, Capitol Resource Institute
January 28, 2025
At the National Prayer Service the day after Donald Trump’s 2nd inauguration, Episcopal Bishop Marian Budde turned herself into a household name.
News outlets accused her of “politicizing” the religious services by putting President Trump on the spot with talk of transgenderism and illegal immigration.
But that’s not what was most striking about Budde’s comments.
“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
– Bishop Budde
When did it become passable for clergy to talk about children’s sexuality?
The fact that Budde would sexualize children in any setting is appalling. But to speak from the pulpit about who a child is sexually attracted to? Outrageous.
The most famous example of sexualizing children comes from the Catholic Church. The organization has never fully recovered its reputation after the massive scandal in which they covered up for priests who sexually abused children. That’s because of the obvious – sexualizing children in any way is an abomination.
The movie Spotlight, which told the story of the Boston Globe’s work on the church coverup, included this monologue which perfectly describes what it was like for a child who was groomed and abused.
“When you’re a poor kid from a poor family, religion counts for a lot. And when a priest pays attention to you, it’s a big deal. He asks you to collect the hymnals or take out the trash, you feel special. It’s like God asking for help. So maybe it’s a little weird when he tells you a dirty joke. But now you got a secret together, so you go along. Then he shows you a porno mag. And you go along. And you go along, and you go along, until one day he asks you to jerk him off or give him a blow job and so you go along with that too because you feel trapped because he has groomed you.”
If it’s wrong for the Catholic Church to sexualize children, it’s wrong for anyone to sexualize children, including Bishop Budde. Her actions were unacceptable in any decent society, and it’s shocking that the entire nation hasn’t called her out on it.
LFC Editorial Comments by Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
We live in an ungodly, uneducated, immoral society and many churches have abdicated their role to preach the revealed word of God.
My Catholic church told me that I was not a good Christian because I believed in national sovereignty by closing our borders. This is the same church that told me that the message of Sodom and Gomorrah was that the people displayed a “lack of hospitality”.
Note to the church: God is watching and will not accept deceptions and betrayals of His teachings.
Categories: Community Activism, Congress, Contributors