Courtesy Fr. Gary Meier

Father Gary M. Meier at a wedding he officiated in 2012.

In 2011, a slender book came out called Hidden Voices: Reflections of a Gay, Catholic Priest. The author was "Anonymous."

"This book is for all of those who are being or have been driven away," reads the introduction. "And that's not just the gay population; it's all of those who have accepted a member of their family, all of those who have allied as friends. They too have been silenced and shamed, ostracized by a Church teaching and hierarchal positioning that will not allow us to support, love, nurture and foster positive gay relationships in our Church."

Earlier this week, Father Gary Meier, most recently of Saints Teresa & Bridget Parish in north St. Louis, revealed that he is the author. Although he says he was never truly "in the closet," the announcement is a form of coming out.

"I know in my heart and my gut I need to stand in solidarity with those who're being fired from their jobs, denied sacrament, excommunicated," he tells Daily RFT.

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Hope on pope.

Yesterday afternoon, the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Rome billowed white smoke, and the new pope emerged on the balcony in white robes: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. His papal name will be Francis I.

David Clohessy, the executive director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, is currently in Rome observing the conclave. In the weeks leading up to yesterday's decision, the group has been very vocal about who they did not want to see become the new pontiff, their so-called "Dirty Dozen." The list included St. Louis native Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Daily RFT reached Clohessy by e-mail to ask: What is SNAP's position on Pope Francis?

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via Wikipedia

Image from a Wicca page the Salem Public Library initially blocked.

Public library officials in Salem are pleased with a court order against them this week that says they cannot block Wiccan and Native American websites -- after the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri accused them of refusing to allow a patron to conduct online research on certain religions.

"We are pleased this matter is behind us and that the public library and its employees can again focus its resources and revenues solely to the purpose of serving its patrons," Glenda Wofford, director of the library, says in a statement sent to Daily RFT.

After the ACLU promoted the court decision this week, the library responded with a fairly lengthy statement -- that does little to address the fight over free speech and censorship.

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Slackers!

The University of Missouri's respect for a diverse range of religious holidays -- not just the main ones, like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Hanukah -- goes "beyond political correctness." It's "almost like an excuse to do nothing."

So says radio host Tammy Bruce, in an eye-opening Fox News story that goes after Mizzou for maintaining a policy that "lists eight Wiccan and Pagan holidays and events right alongside more mainstream occasions."

Which is, of course, a total outrage that deserves some good old-fashioned journalistic scrutiny.

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See ya later, Benedict.

Yes, it may be a bit self-centered of us to think, as soon as we heard the news yesterday of Pope Benedict XVI's impending resignation, which St. Louisan should replace him? But really, isn't it high time there was a Pope from the Western Hemisphere? And why not from St. Louis, the most Catholic of cities, named for a great French king/saint/Crusader, where its citizens are defined for life by which Catholic high school they attended, where fish fries are a reliable source of late-winter entertainment?

Here, then, are a few humble suggestions for St. Louisans to serve as the next Pope and speculation as to how they would reign.

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At Market in the Loop, a menorah is ready to get all lit up on Saturday night.

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah (or Chanukah, if you can manage that guttural "ch") starts Saturday night at sundown. A few weeks ago, Jimmy Kimmel ran a segment on his show called "Hipster or Hasidic" in which the audience had to determine whether a series of beards belonged to Brooklynites of the hipster or Hasidic persuasion.

You may think these two facts are unrelated, but they are not. Saturday night, St. Louisans will have their own chance to be hipster or Hasidic at two separate community Hanukkah parties. Take this brief quiz to see if you can determine which party is which.

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Nice catch by the KSDK Channel 5 photographer who spied this yesterday in Maryland Heights: 

Image via

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Battle of the billboards in Smithville!

Oh, it's so ON!

Matt Gaines of Smithville (between Kansas City and St. Joseph) did not take kindly to the billboard recently erected by 1090 AM, a Catholic radio station in his hometown.





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Photos by Hunter Woodall

Columbia's oppressed women. Well, one of 'em, anyway.

With fewer than 24 hours until its shirtless rally in Columbia yesterday, GoTopless.org put out something of a distress call on Facebook. The organization, fronted by a religious group that believes in UFOs and stresses sexual freedoms, was still in need of someone to read a prepared speech at its Missouri protest -- one of a handful of similar demonstrations occurring nationwide Sunday. By early yesterday afternoon, GoTopless.org found that person. Though it wasn't who you might think.

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Courtesy of GoTopless.org

**View slideshow of Go Topless events in other cities.

Earlier this month Daily RFT reported about a rally sponsored by the Raelian Movement (a religion that believes in UFOs) to encourage the women of Columbia to shed their tops.

"We want it written into the Constitution that women should be allowed to go shirt-free in public,"  Donna Newman, a Raelian priest and spokeswoman for GoTopless.org, told Daily RFT. "We were human beings before we're gendered."

So what can participants (and onlookers) expect this Sunday at Columbia's Peace Park?

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