(RNS1-JULY2) Harry Knox is a member of a White House faith-advisory panel and director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group. For use with RNS-KNOX-PROFILE, transferred July 2, 2009. Religion News Service photo by David Jolkovski | Download/Purchase this photo
White House role puts gay activist in the spotlight
By Lindsay Perna
WASHINGTON—With his open-collar plaid shirt and slow Southern drawl, Harry Knox manages to make a spacious, glass conference room as cozy as the front porch of his Georgia home.
It’s a far cry from the portrait of a militant, anti-Catholic gay activist that some conservative Catholics painted of Knox after he was tapped to serve on an advisory panel for the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Knox, 48, was appointed to the 25-member advisory panel following his four years of work as a liaison to religious groups for the Human Rights Campaign, one …
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Required reading
Newsweek's got a list up of "50 Books of Our Times." You won't find many of the usual suspects ("The Great Gatsby," et alia) but you will find nine books with significant religious content, by my count.
First, Newsweek's explanation for why they drew up yet another list: "what we ... need in a world with precious little time to read (and think), is to know which books-new or old, fiction or nonfiction-open a window on the times we live in, whether they deal directly with the issues of …
RNS HEALTH CARE b (RNS2-JUL02) Lynn Schurman of Cold Spring, Minn., prays for health care reform during a rally in Washington, D.C. For use with RNS-HEALTH-CARE, transmitted July 1, 2009. Religion News Service photo by David Jolkovski.
(RNS3-JUL02) Vincent "Big Mama" Capretta is a priest in the Old Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio, and a drag queen dance singer known as "Big Mama." For use with RNS-10-MINUTES, transmitted July 2, 2009. Religion News Service photo courtesy Vincent Capretta. | Download/Purchase this photo
10 minutes with … Vincent “Big Mama” Capretta
By Nicole Neroulias
(UNDATED) By day, Vincent Capretta ministers to parishioners as Father Anthony, rector of the Community of Charity Church, an Independent Old Catholic community in Columbus, Ohio.
By night, he’s “Big Mama,” an out and proud drag queen whose latest dance club singles include “Big Mama’s House” and a remix of “The Lord’s Prayer.”
While he sees no conflict in his career choices, the Ohio native’s growing fame has prompted backlash from Roman Catholics and members of other breakaway Catholic movements, clamoring to clarify that the 47-year-old priest is not affiliated with their churches.
Capretta …