Dear CMC Friends and Family,
I live in San Francisco, California and the CMC main office has always been here as well. While we have a global outreach, we have "roots" in San Francisco and a strong connection to the liberal, alternative lifestyle of San Francisco has frequently found it's way into our public messages. This past week the Roman Catholic ArchBishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, who presides over the huge, modern Saint Mary's Cathedral (right in the center of the city) got very active in calling his Catholic faithful to publicly protest the city of San Francisco and Mayor London Breed about their "discrimination" (his stressed word) of churches in general and ArchBishop Cordileone's Roman Catholic faithful in specific. Their banners read, "We Are Essential: Free the Mass" (in 3 languages).
While many businesses in San Francisco have opened with "Shelter-in-Place" guidelines, churches have been last on the list to be allowed to reopen and with stricter guidelines than other businesses have had to comply with. The issue at stake is religious freedom and 1st Amendment rights. I side with Rev. Cordileone on this, and I think A Course In Miracles supports this "defense of freedom" protest for religious assembly. "Yet the argument that underlies the defense of freedom is perfectly valid. Because it is true, it should not be fought for, but it should be sided with." (OrEd.Tx.7.11) I have never seen the San Francisco Catholic Church get political like this before. My first thought was, "Wow! This shit is getting real!!"
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #260, Sep. 22 2020)
