Priest Walks Out Of Woman’s Funeral Because Of Her Gay Daughter
The battle in this country between the right and the left is raging. Since the right has no answers to the economic questions we face, they’ve decided to concentrate on dividing the country on so-called “moral” issues, one of those being the demonizing of gay and lesbian people.
Little by little, they are losing the battle, as we see states individually legalizing gay marriage and recognizing that our forefathers intended that ALL are created equal and marriage is an equal right. But that doesn’t stop the right from carrying on their battle.
Something terrible happened this past weekend in Maryland and the fact that it was Maryland, a state that has just proclaimed that all are equal and has enshrined that concept into state law, goes to highlight the lengths to which the right will go. In this instance, the right was personified by Father Marcel Guarnizo, who officiated at the funeral of a former family member of mine.
She was no longer a family member because I divorced the man who was her blood relative. But with social media these days, a person can remain in touch with those who, although there is no longer a family connection, are still people who are valued.
My friend Barbara, the daughter of the deceased woman, was denied communion at her mother’s funeral. She was the first in line and Fr. Guarnizo covered the bowl containing the host and said to her, “I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman and that is a sin according to the church.”
To add insult to injury, Fr. Guarnizo left the altar when she delivered her eulogy to her mother. When the funeral was finished he informed the funeral director that he could not go to the gravesite to deliver the final blessing because he was sick.
EDIT: A letter of apology was sent from the Archdiocese of Washington. This story has gained a lot of traffic over the past few days. I join the call for Father Marcel Guarnizo to be removed from the parish and taken out of pastoral ministry, what he did was unconscionable. And he should loose his position as a parish priest. Put him somewhere where he can no further harm parishoners like this ever again.
Here is that apology:
World AIDS Day 2011 …
It has been 17 years and 5 months since my diagnosis of AIDS on July 8th, 1994 and what can we say about AIDS in 2011???
I think we can talk about “The Ministry of Pleasure” He says it all …
We are fast approaching December 1, 2011 when we commemorate yet another year of World AIDS Day. It’s now 30 years, June 5, 1981, since the first AIDS case was published by the Centre for Disease Control. It became known as Gay-related immune deficiency (GRID). Today, this disease knows no boundaries and can affect and/or infect anyone. At the end of 2010, it’s estimated that 34 million people globally living with HIV, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections, and 1.8 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.
UN AIDS report that “the overall growth of the global aids epidemic appears to have stabilized. The annual number of new HIV infections has been steadily declining since the late 1990s and there are fewer aids-related deaths due to the significant scale up of antiretroviral therapy over the past few years. Although the number of new infections has been falling, levels of new infections overall are still high, and with significant reductions in mortality the number of people living with HIV worldwide has increased.
December starts with a day to remember all those who have gone before us. All those courageous and loving people that I have known in my lifetime. So much has happened in the care of people with AIDS. In Canada we have comprehensive medical care and the best drugs on the market come through our clinic. And when they do we test them for the rest of the world to make sure they work correctly.
I have come so far in my life, I have achieved many things in this life that, if you had told me that I would be where I am today, with the life I have today, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are and I am still alive.
Thanks to my doctors and the men and women who work at the Montreal General Hospital for their love and care. It goes without saying that we always have front line access to our doctors at any time of the day or night if need be. Which is more than I can say for what life was like in the United States.
But all to say that I am grateful for all of you who come to read. Take a moment to tell those people in your life that you love them and appreciate them as well. A little love goes a long way …
So share the love.
R.I.P Farmville …
Courtesy: Flickr EvanMischelle
A few weeks ago I had to write a reflection on my gaming life. That life consisted of Farmville on Facebook. I don’t own any video game consoles. Haven’t been near one since I was a kid. So anyways, I wrote it.
Over the last 3 years, I have played this little Zynga game and had fun for a while playing. I quickly moved from level to level. It was a great fun for a while. Then to sweeten the pot they added the English Country Side, which we all with bated breaths waited for with great excitement to get our invitations.
I consolidated my home farm, where I had amassed millions of coin and over the years paid out handsomely for Farm Cash every so often. There are times when you have to buy in to move forwards in the game. During this time I began a foray into CityVille. An energy based game of the same sort but more on city building and maintaining a farm onsite as well. I overgrew my city, I could not provide for my city very well, and my citizens were not very happy with me. So I ended my relationship with City Ville.
All the while I was farming madly in the English Countryside. I played the game all the way to the end of the series of quests and achieved my Castle at the end of the game. You could play both farms at the same time. Many of the quests were set so that you would utilize both farms to complete missions across the platform.
Then in August, the English Countryside was retired. And they decided to change our settings where our farms were to these plain Jane backgrounds, and the little English Countryside farm was gone. I was not pleased with this change. So I stopped farming all together only harvesting my animals, trees and my livestock pens.
Once again, I figured they wanted to sweeten the pot again and opened Lighthouse Cove. That would be three farms now we would be farming, playing and questing. I had timed my farms all to harvest at the same time every night. Because I wasn’t farming, just harvesting, the 24 hour cycle was the same for all three farms.
When playing a game becomes a chore, you know you’ve come to the end of your playing days. So with a full heart tonight, I logged into Facebook and calmly deleted all traces of any links to my farms, Farmville or Zynga. After years of faithful play, I was finished.
I put an RIP message into my status and was done with it.
I think I am gravitating away from Facebook. It has become a depository of posters, rude signs and all this political shit that doesn’t concern me since I live in Canada. I mean we watch U.S. television here and we know what’s going on, I just find all this stuff pointless and not worth my while. Now I don’t have a reason to even log into Facebook any longer. I mean I will – but the why has changed.
We are all changing as we grow up. All of our lives are changing and priorities are changing as well. I still do my fair share of internet reading, Tumbling, You Tube and Ebay. But I’ve noticed that today I am not spending as much time online as I used to. I can run my reads and tumble and watch videos in smaller intervals during my day.
I check my mail in the mornings. I go about my day, school, shopping, meetings, and so forth. In the evenings I run my reads because by nightfall everyone has posted on their respective blogs, most do, but a good number don’t post every day and I don’t even post every day. I Tumble for a good hour and keep up on the rotation over night until I go to bed.
But I am not attached to the computer with the chain like I used to be. I still love my blog and all my reads. It keeps me in touch with the wider world out there. And I write for my friends who read whenever I post.
So a change has happened. I bid it goodbye. It was fun for a while.
Tomorrow is Friday. I have to get my hair cut, Finally, I have to go buy a textbook and then put tickets on my Opus card and my meeting Friday night. Which means a 6:45 departure from home for set up and a business meeting at 8 before the main meeting.
Hubby informed me tonight that I owed him $500.00 to pay bills and take care of sundry needs of the house. And here I had already budgeted out all the money to pay bills and take care of some of my own needs this time around, but that isn’t going to happen, Again!!! Fuck My Life !!!
I have an Ebay bill to pay, a book to buy and haircut on the list … Everything else will have to wait until he gets paid again next week.
God Grant me Serenity …
More to come tomorrow, definitely. See you then…
For Matthew …
Biography data: Via Wikipedia
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998. He was attacked on the night of October 6–7, and died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 12 from severe head injuries.
During the trial, witnesses stated that Shepard was targeted because of his sexual orientation. Shepard’s murder brought national and international attention to the contention of hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.
In 2009, his mother Judy Shepard authored a book The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed. On October 22, 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Matthew Shepard Act for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the legislation into law.
Shortly after midnight on October 6, 1998, Shepard met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson for the first time at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyoming. It was decided that McKinney and Henderson would give Shepard a ride home.McKinney and Henderson subsequently drove the car to a remote, rural area and proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, and torture Shepard, tying him to a fence and leaving him to die. According to their court testimony, McKinney and Henderson also discovered his address and intended to steal from his home. Still tied to the fence, Shepard, who was still alive but in a coma, was discovered 18 hours later by Aaron Kreifels, a cyclist who initially mistook Shepard for a scarecrow.
Shepard had suffered fractures to the back of his head and in front of his right ear. He experienced severe brain-stem damage, which affected his body’s ability to regulate heart rate, body temperature, and other vital functions. There also were about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face, and neck. His injuries were deemed too severe for doctors to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained on full life support. While he lay in intensive care, candlelight vigils were held by the people of Laramie.
Shepard was pronounced dead at 12:53 a.m. on October 12, 1998, at Poudre Valley Hospital, in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I Eat Apples …
Courtesy: Whendidyouknow
The closest this house comes to an apple product are the apples we buy in the produce section of the grocery store, or the baked apple goods in pastries.
We are avowed PC users. We believe in Android.
Since hubby did a stint in computer programming when we first met, we have been and continue to be staunchly “Anti-Apple.” Imagine all the money we saved over the years having not to buy phone after phone, Ipad after Ipad and Mac after Mac, Ipod after Ipod.
Our little desktop computer has served its purpose well. The most money we have spent in upgrades came after a system crash some time ago, and a new fan system and memory upgrade. Hubby did his homework before deciding on Android for our cell phone accounts and to date we are very pleased with them.
Therefore, the death of Steve Jobs really had no effect on our household. It is sad that such a brilliant man went to his grave at so young an age. But you know, if cancer takes one organ, and you replace it, the odds are high that it will attack another. Cancer is pernicious. Once the clock starts ticking, time is all you have so you better make the most of it. And I think that Steve did that with all that he had in him. And for that he should be commended.
They say that there will never be another man like him in our age. And that qualification is set aside for certain brilliant and important persons. Steve Jobs changed the way the world works in ways that will be written in the history books forever. Centuries from now, the name Steve Jobs will be synonymous with intelligent computing.
Since I do not know of MAC or Apple, that’s about all I can say. The world mourns his loss and we pray for his family and friends. Eternal Rest Grant him and may perpetual light shine upon him.
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The holiday weekend is upon us. Last night Montreal dropped to a brisk 4c. And there was a frost warning up for the city and surrounding areas. 8 has been the magic number on the thermometer as of late.Skies are clear and they tell us that it will be a sunny warm holiday weekend.
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Today is my Friday. I had class tonight and we have a three day weekend coming. The excitement of the holiday is alive and well at our local stores. We have been shopping for a few days on a feast to beat all feasts. Like I have said before, when it comes to holidays, you go BIG or you go HOME !!!
Tonight’s class we discussed the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of Jesus and early Christianity. A topic right up my alley. We had a lively discussion in class, moving through history from early Christianity into the discussion of the rise and flourishing of Islam across the European continent through the Middle East, into Egypt, Syria, Northern Africa and on into Spain and France.
The world might be at odds with Islam. But one must look with respect on the achievements that were made as Islam moved across the world, the goods it brought forth, the knowledge and creation that took place, education, writing, paper, architecture and religious teaching.
I’ve always admired the religion of Islam. It is the most “well lived” religious tradition. Following the 5 pillars of Islam is a lifetime of work, faith and practice. For the Muslim it is an everyday religion. It is a full time practice.
The Qur’an presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are (1) the shahada(creed), (2) daily prayers (salat), (3) fasting during Ramadan(sawm), (4) almsgiving (zakat), and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.
Unlike Christianity, yes, we have belief and practice, but Christianity does not even compare to the depth of practice that Islam requires. Christians profess faith, we may go to church, and try to do good in our communities and maybe we visit a holy site sometime in our lives. But Christians get away with much more than our Muslim brothers and sisters.
That’s why I love my copies of Holy texts and of course certain books that everyone has read like the Alchemist. If you’ve never read it, you should.
I’ve studied all the major religions around the world. Eastern and Western, old and new. I was talking to my prof during the break tonight, she was asking how much education I had, because at one point tonight I corrected her during her lecture. I love being able to do that …My top three disciples: Peter, James and John. Paul came after Jesus, never having met him unless you count his radical conversion vision with Jesus. People seem to get these truths wrong…
I have en extensive library here at home. On top of all my academic reading I have done for the degrees I have attained, I have read a huge amount of side literature dealing with many of the worlds religions. I have found that reading side literature enlightens many things that academia tends to ignore because some fiction is just that, fiction.
I love reading anyways. There are a multitude of books that speak about religion and tradition. I have yet to even make a dent in the reading list that is out there to be read.
I am rambling now, which means I need to stop writing. Lest, I get on my pontifical pedestal.
Tomorrow is Friday and a meeting.
More to come, stay tuned …
Jack Layton to have state funeral
Courtesy: CBC.ca
NDP Leader Jack Layton will be honoured with a state funeral Saturday in Toronto, senior NDP officials have told CBC News.
The government protocol office is working with the NDP and family of the NDP leader on exactly what the funeral will be.
Condolence books will be set up in Ottawa on Parliament Hill and in Toronto at city hall. Others will be located in NDP constituency offices across the country.
Friends and political foes alike praised Jack Layton on Monday for his warmth, optimism and respect for opponents.
People who squared off across the House of Commons from Layton, including former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, as well as Prime Minister Stephen Harper and interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae, all spoke warmly about Layton’s commitment to Canadians.
Layton, who led Canada’s Official Opposition, died early Monday morning at his Toronto home after a battle with cancer. He was 61.
Layton’s wife, Olivia Chow, and his children, Sarah and Michael Layton, issued a statement announcing his death.
“We deeply regret to inform you that the Honourable Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, passed away at 4:45 am today, Monday August 22. He passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family and loved ones,” the statement read.
Details about funeral arrangements will be forthcoming, it said. The family released a letter from Layton to Canadians just after noon.
Layton’s death comes less than a month after he announced to the country that he was fighting a new form of cancer and was taking time off for treatment. Layton had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2009 and underwent treatment for it. He continued working throughout that time and also battled a broken hip earlier this year. Layton used a cane for much of his time on the campaign trail this spring as he led the NDP to a historic victory on May 2.
His party claimed 103 seats, and was propelled to official Opposition status. Layton and Chow, a fellow NDP MP from Toronto, moved into Stornoway, the residence of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
Layton and his party were getting used to their new roles in Parliament but he did not appear to be in good health near the end of June. He said he felt pain and stiffness, he underwent tests and they confirmed he had a new form of cancer. He did not disclose what kind of cancer.
Layton’s chief of staff, Anne McGrath, said Monday that Layton’s condition took a quick turn for the worse Sunday night.
She spent a few hours with him Saturday and had a sense that he was losing a battle, but says his campaign slogan – don’t let them tell you it can’t be done – was also a personal slogan.
“It is a huge loss. It is a huge loss for me personally, but it’s a huge loss also for our party and our country,” she said.
McGrath worked with Layton for nearly a decade.
“There’s no question that my heart is broken,” she said.
McGrath said Layton was thinking about what it would mean for the party if he died. When they spoke on Saturday, they talked about upcoming events like the party’s annual caucus retreat in September and what Parliament would be like if he weren’t there.
Layton always liked to be presented with options, McGrath told Evan Solomon on CBC’s Power & Politics, including a plan for what would happen if he died.
“He was very, very practical and he was very much wanting to know that we were going to be able to continue and we were going to be strong,” she said.
After the news of Layton’s death emerged shortly after 8 a.m. ET, friends, colleagues and Canadians reacted quickly and with shock, sadness and tears. The flag on the Peace Tower was lowered to half-mast.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Layton will be remembered for the force of his personality and his dedication to public life.
Speaking from the foyer of the House of Commons, Harper said the two leaders had always talked about getting together to jam.
“I will always regret the jam session that never was. That is a reminder, I think, that we must always make time for friends, family and loved ones, while we still can,” he said.
In a statement earlier Monday, Harper saluted Layton’s contribution to public life and said it would be sorely missed.
“I know one thing: Jack gave his fight against cancer everything he had. Indeed, Jack never backed down from any fight,” he said.
Tributes to Layton poured in from across party lines. Rae said the news took his breath away and that Layton’s death is not just a loss for the NDP, but for all Canadians.
“It’s a loss for the country because he was a political guy who believed strongly in politics and who had a lot of resilience and a lot of guts,” Rae told CBC News.
Longtime NDP leader and MP Ed Broadbent told CBC News he sensed the end was coming, but was still shocked when he got the call Monday morning.
“In each and every election, he moved us forward … he wanted a reason in politics,” Broadbent said.
“Canada has lost a great politician. A man who believed in working for the public good. And I’ve lost a personal friend.”
Interim NDP Leader Nycole Turmel spoke of one of Layton’s favourite quotes from Tommy Douglas, the founder of the CCF, the NDP’s forerunner. Layton included the quote in every email he sent: “Courage my friends, ‘tis never too late to build a better world.”
“Jack was a courageous man. It was his leadership that inspired me, and so many others, to run for office,” Turmel said in her statement.
“We – members of Parliament, New Democrats and Canadians – need to pull together now and carry on his fight to make this country a better place.”
NDP deputy leader Libby Davies, fighting back tears, said Layton’s death is “an incredible loss.”
“Jack was not only a great leader of the NDP, he’s someone that Canadians across the country came to love. We feel a tremendous sense of loss and grief,” she said.
Davies said Layton brought a sense of humanity to Canadian politics and in his career and his life, especially his battle with cancer, “he gave it his all.”
“We have only love and respect for everything that he did and he leaves some really important legacies in Canadian politics,” she said.
Douglas’ daughter, Shirley, says Layton was the same whether he was in a crowded room or meeting people one-on-one.
“Everywhere I’ve gone, people said ‘You know, we’ve got a leader who cared’,” she told CBC News.
Douglas says she’s worried about Chow.
“That’s the one person I keep thinking about all morning,” she said. “They were so close and when a marriage that is as close as that one … it’s a terrible thing to see that marriage broken apart by this. I just couldn’t say enough to her. She’s a tremendous woman on her own.”
The leader of the Official Opposition announced on July 25 he was stepping away from the job to concentrate on his cancer treatment. He told Canadians he had recently been diagnosed with a new form of cancer, in addition to the prostate cancer he had earlier battled.
Fade to Black …
Such a gifted entertainer. But in the end it was the drink/drugs that killed her.
Eternal rest grant her and may perpetual light shine upon her.
*** *** *** ***
LONDON (Reuters) – Amy Winehouse, one of the most talented singers of her generation whose hit song “Rehab” summed up her struggles with addiction, died in London on Saturday at the age of 27.
The Grammy winner, famed for her black beehive hair, soulful voice and erratic behaviour on and off stage, was found dead at her new home in Camden a month after a shambolic performance in Serbia forced her to cancel her entire European tour.
Police were called to the address at around 1500 GMT and nearly five hours later the body was removed for a post mortem after it appeared she had lost her battle with drink and drugs.
“Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death,” said police superintendent Raj Kohli. “At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident.”
He said reports that Winehouse had died of a suspected drugs overdose were speculation at this stage.
Family members had long warned that Winehouse’s lifestyle, which saw her in and out of rehab and blighted her career as a live and recording artist, could be her downfall.
At least 91 dead in Norway shooting, bomb attack
My thoughts and prayers go out to Norway and their people. A very sad day today. The killing of innocents and children in any case is reprehensible.
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OSLO (Reuters) – A gunman dressed in police uniform shot dead at least 84 people at a youth summer camp of Norway’s ruling political party, hours after a bomb killed seven in the government district in the capital Oslo.
Witnesses said the gunman, identified by police as a 32-year-old Norwegian who they believed was also linked to the bombing, moved across the small, wooded Utoeya holiday island on Friday firing at random as young people scattered in fear.
Norwegian television TV2 said the gunman detained by police was tall and blond and had links to right-wing extremism. Police said on Saturday the man had been charged for the bomb blast and the shooting.
“A paradise island has been transformed into a hell,” Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference on Saturday.
It was a "Phil" sort of day…
Sunday has come and gone. The day was beautiful, the sky was blue, very little cloud, a nice breeze… And I stayed in all day. Looking at the tv today brought a “Deadliest Catch” Marathon and everybody who knows me knows that on Tuesday Night’s, The Deadliest Catch is always on here.
I’ve been watching the “After the Catch” shows that have been airing here all month long. It was nice that they spread After the Catch over several episodes and did right by each boat, captain and crew.
Hubby had things to do today, and he went out with friends for the evening, which left me home alone with my remote control. I got to see the entire season in one shot. This season was truly emotional with the death of Phil Harris, but seeing the season in one shot in one night was cathartic. Watching week to week broke up the drama and the story into manageable portions.
Tonight’s marathon gave it to you up front. It still made me cry just like the first time the episode aired. At the end of the marathon, they showed a behind the scenes look at the cinematography and we got to see the filming teams and what they went through to get the stories on film. It is truly a remarkable feat of cinematography with all the technology employed to tell stories. And matching up the right producer/camera operator to each boat and team.
All of the teams are important. But I have my favorite boat, that’s for sure. But this season everybody was a favorite I think.
So hubby went out and I had house chores to do like vacuuming and scrubbing the bathroom, and cooking some dinner for myself. Staying in the day today was easy. I enjoyed the day and the night.
It was a good day.
In Memory Of …
It has been a good day so far. This morning saw me walking to NDG to meet Rick early on so that we could attend the funeral for Mick up in Cartierville. We got there with plenty of time prior to the service to hob nob with the who’s who of Montreal sobriety.
There were a pair of pipers playing music outside the church, which was a very nice touch to the morning. There were more than 100 members there for the Christian rite of burial. I would say there were at least 200 people in the church. It was a beautiful service and mass. I haven’t been to mass in a long time, and I was amazed that along with the priest I can still recite the order of the mass rote by memory.
During the homily, the priest was walking around the church asking people to say things about Mick. At first nobody wanted to say anything for fear of upsetting the fine balance of mourning. But after a few minutes the priest says to the crowd … “If you had all walked into a BAR, I am sure you would have something to say about him!”
Needless to say that the room erupted in a roar of laughter. The priest realized that everybody in the church was SOBER, and many haven’t walked in a bar in years or decades. “Woops, the priest says outloud, “I seem to have stuck my foot in my mouth!” It was funny. Nothing like a little levity in a sad situation.
After the service there was a beautiful reception with food, drink and coffee. The reception hall was packed with mourners. We had a bite to eat and we spoke to a few people around the room, but then Rick needed to get back home to go back to work, and I came home on the metro.
Hubby applied for a special HBC card to do some shopping and it came in the mail today. Woo Hoo … $1000.00 worth of shopping goodness. Things are happening as they will – all in good time.
I need to eat and get going for the next portion of the evening. More to come later tonight …
I had a bite to eat, made some phone calls and set off for the meeting. Junior was waiting for me when I got there. It is always nice to have a second person to help set up and to chat with. The quiet is always nice, but it is a lonely job doing it alone.
Junior gave us our topic for the night… “Am I really an alcoholic?” There are numerous excuses I can use to have a drink, with the beginning of school, peer pressure to drink and use has begun for him and that little vicious voice says … aww, just one, you know you wanna… Everybody else is doing it … why not …
I can’t – it is just not what I want to do. Junior is coming up on his 90 day mark in the next week. I will be getting his chip from intergroup on Thursday afternoon.
The group rose to the call of helping him put voice to that little voice inside that tells us that we are not really alcoholics. Like the big book says …. Alcoholism is a disease that tells us that we don’t suffer from the disease of alcoholism. But we do. And the only way around it is a program of recovery. And daily maintenance is based upon our spiritual condition…
We talked about listening to people. Getting to know them. Coming to the same meeting week in and week out, over time, affords one the ability to read the neon sign above their heads as they come down that stairs. Come long enough to witness the miracle.
There was a lot of heartfelt sharing tonight. It was a great meeting. I love my people. And we do our best to take care of each and every one of them on a weekly basis. The flurry of meeting lists and getting phone numbers was crazy tonight. We have stepped up our A game.
So we’ll see where that takes us over the next weeks time.
Our speaker for the late meeting, came to us via Friday Finchley. I have been graced to hear her message before at Finchley and at Belmore. Tonight she was amazing. The message was great. You never know what is going to come up in your life on any given day in sobriety, and it is the task of a sober person to know how to handle those baffling situations when they pop up. That is the gift of sobriety. Over time, with time, when issues come up we can answer them with right action if we are diligent and sober.
Things in Montreal have been changing by the day. God is moving through the community it seems. People are facing adversity, people are dying right from under us, and it boggles the mind. It boggles my mind. When a sober person dies, the entire community mourns.
That is a gift of sobriety. My only wish is that when I die, that that many people come to see me off. I would hope that one day people would say that I made a difference in their lives. That is all we want out of life, to be able to help someone in sobriety. You can’t keep it unless you give it away.
Today we gave it away in a big way …
The muffin man has left the building, the angels weep and so do we, but there is a God and there is a heaven, and there is one big Irish man looking down from heaven tonight, telling us to carry the message forwards…
Obituary
| Michael John Gilliece | ||
| GILLIECE, Michael John At the Royal Victoria Hospital on Saturday, August 21, 2010. Dear son of Noreen Whelan and the late John Gilliece, brother of Daniel (Gordon Barrie) and Patrick (Tina Tsovras) and loving companion of Robyn Diner. A Memorial Service and celebration of Mick’s life will be held on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 12 noon at the Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, 11775 Filion (corner Dudemaine). Visitation to precede the service at 11:30 a.m. The family would like to extend their special thanks to the Royal Victoria ICU and transplant staff at the Ross. If so desired, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to Armstrong Funeral Home, 514-331-1104. | ||
Elton John's letter to Ryan White, 20 years after his death from AIDS
Found: On The Ten and the Washington Post.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Twenty years ago this month, you died of AIDS. I would gladly give my fame and fortune if only I could have one more conversation with you, the friend who changed my life as well as the lives of millions living with HIV. Instead, I have written you this letter.
I remember so well when we first met. A young boy with a terrible disease, you were the epitome of grace. You never blamed anyone for the illness that ravaged your body or the torment and stigma you endured.
When students, parents and teachers in your community shunned you, threatened you and expelled you from school, you responded not with words of hate but with understanding beyond your years. You said they were simply afraid of what they did not know.
When the media heralded you as an “innocent victim” because you had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, you rejected that label and stood in solidarity with thousands of HIV-positive women and men. You reminded America that all victims of AIDS are innocent.
When you became a celebrity, you embraced the opportunity to educate the nation about the AIDS epidemic, even though your only wish was to live an ordinary life.
Ryan, I wish you could know how much the world has changed since 1990, and how much you changed it.
Young boys and girls with HIV attend school and take medicine that allows them to lead normal lives. Children in America are seldom born with the virus, and they no longer contract it through transfusions. The insults and injustices you suffered are not tolerated by society.
Most important, Ryan, you inspired awareness, which helped lead to lifesaving treatments. In 1990, four months after you died, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, which now provides more than $2 billion each year for AIDS medicine and treatment for half a million Americans. Today, countless people with HIV live long, productive lives.
It breaks my heart that you are not one of them. You were 18 when you died, and you would be 38 this year, if only the current treatments existed when you were sick. I think about this every day, because America needs your message of compassion as never before.
Ryan, when you were alive, your story sparked a national conversation about AIDS. But despite all the progress in the past 20 years, the dialogue has waned. I know you would be trying to revive it if you were here today, when the epidemic continues to strike nearly every demographic group, with more than 50,000 new infections in the United States each year. I know you would be loudly calling for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy that was promised by President Obama but has not yet been delivered. I know you would reach out to young people. I know you would work tirelessly to help everyone suffering from HIV, including those who live on the margins of society.
It would sadden you that today, in certain parts of the United States, some poor people with AIDS are still placed on waiting lists to receive treatment. It would anger you that your government is still not doing enough to help vulnerable people with HIV and populations that are at high risk of contracting the virus, including sexually active teenagers. It would upset you that AIDS is a leading cause of death among African Americans.
It would frustrate you that even though hundreds of thousands of HIV-positive Americans are receiving treatment in your name, more than 200,000 don’t know their HIV-positive status, largely because of a lingering stigma surrounding the disease that prevents them from being tested. It would disappoint you that many teenagers do not have access to science-based HIV-prevention programs in school, at a time when half of new infections are believed to be among people under 25.
I miss you so very much, Ryan. I was by your side when you died at Riley Hospital. You’ve been with me every day since. You inspired me to change my life and carry on your work. Because of you, I’m still in the struggle against AIDS, 20 years later. I pledge to not rest until we achieve the compassion for which you so bravely and beautifully fought.
Your friend,
Elton
Sir Elton John, a Grammy- and Academy Award-winning artist, is the founder and chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Prime Minister Harper and three party leaders to fly to Polish funeral
By The Canadian Press – Report Here
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the other three federal party leaders will fly together to Poland for the state funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife.
Harper invited Liberal Michael Ignatieff, New Democrat Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe to accompany him to the Sunday funeral, and all accepted, said a release from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Kaczynski and a cross-section of Poland’s senior political and military figures were killed last Saturday in a plane crash.
The president was flying to services marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre.
The tragedy was deepened because he had invited so many senior figures to accompany him, including the president of the national bank, the deputy foreign affairs minister, a senior military officer, a deputy parliamentary speaker and several lawmakers.
U.S. President Barack Obama and dozens of other world leaders are to attend the Kaczynski funeral.
Ceremonies * Memorials
From: CTV Olympics.ca Article here
Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was saluted with a minute of silence on Friday night near the end of the Opening Ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games.
Kumaritashvili, who died Friday morning after a horrific crash during his pre-Olympic training run at the Whistler Sliding Centre, received several tributes during the star-studded gala at BC place.
Georgia’s Olympic team, wearing black armbands, hats and scarves and with a black mark on their flag to symbolize their mourning, received a standing ovation from the 60,000 fans at BC Place as they marched hours after one of the most tragic moments in the country’s sporting history.
The seven-person team did one lap before exiting BC Place, where flags were at half mast for the duration of the ceremony to honour the 21-year-old athlete.
Wearing dark suits and black ties, IOC President Jaques Rogge and VANOC CEO John Furlong delivered a solemn message before extending their official welcome to the 2010 Games.
“John furlong and I have a very solemn duty to perform. It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the loss of Nodar Kumaritashvili, who passed away this morning in a training accident on the luge track,” said Rogge.
“May you carry his Olympic dream on your shoulders, and compete with his spirit in your heart,” said Furlong.
*************************
The day began with a pang of sorrow, with the death of a Georgian Athlete who was killed on a training run on the Luge track at Whistler. It was announced that the rest of the team would participate in the games and also that they would march in the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Games.
The show began with history, mystery and tradition, with the welcoming of the games by the 4 indigenous tribes of the area. The show was incredible. I think that Canada did a very good job with the presentation. No, it wasn’t Beijing, but it was a comparable telecast in any case. Some sat that this might be the best Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies. It was the first indoor celebration (at B.C. Place) out of all the things to go wrong at the celebration was the closing act – the raising of the cauldron in the stadium. Not all the hydraulics were working properly so the entire sculpture did not make it out of the floor of the stadium. The last 5 torch bearers ran around the stadium including Wayne Gretzsky. When the interior torch was lit, Gretzsky was transported to the waterfront in Vancouver to light the exterior cauldron with hundreds upon hundreds of fans lining the streets as the motorcade passed by.
The celebration was touching as the teams one by one walked out on the the stage, lead by Greece, and finishing off with the U.S. and Canada. The most important moment was at the point where the Georgian team walked out and 65,000 participants in the stadium stood and applauded them as they walked out with their black armbands in honor of their fallen athlete.
The ceremony went on with several mentions of him and also a moment of silence was observed in the stadium during the ceremony. It was a beautiful memorial and I think that Olympic Officials hit the correct note in the way they handled the entire day.
A good time was had by all. Governor General Jean opened the games in fine form. So tomorrow let the competition begin…
Stay tuned for more coverage…
Deadliest Catch' captain Phil Harris dies after recent stroke
Found on: The L.A. Times Online Here.
February 9, 2010 | 9:14 pm
Phil Harris, captain of the Cornelia Marie on the Discovery Channel show “Deadliest Catch,” has died.
On the show’s Web page, where updates on Harris’ condition had been posted since his Jan. 30 stroke, sons Jake and Josh Harris gave notice of their father’s passing:
“It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad — Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down. We will remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. — Jake and Josh Harris”
Harris, who was based out of Seattle, suffered the stroke during an offload of crab. He was found unconscious in a stateroom, was airlifted to Anchorage for 12 hours of surgery, then placed in a medically induced coma. He’d shown signs of improvement last week, squeezing hands and even telling his doctors and nurses, in his signature gruff style, to not screw things up.
“Deadliest Catch” follows several crews working the Bering Sea during the area’s crab fishing seasons. Harris, a 32-year crab fisherman, was a co-owner of the Cornelia Marie, which he’d captained for 18 years; Jake and Josh work on the ship as deck hands, and Josh had remained on the ship immediately after his dad’s stroke, awaiting the arrival of relief captain to continue the work.
Fans reached out Tuesday night on the show’s message boards — where comments have been posted since Phil Harris fell ill — offering condolences to the family.
Discovery Channel in its statement referred to Harris as “more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him. We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart.”
– Christie D’Zurilla
Photo: Capt. Phil Harris with sons Josh, left, and Jake, right. Credit: Discovery Channel.
Year End Review 2009
It’s almost over, and I think it is important to look back over the last year and see what happened over the last 12 months.
In January I began another set of classes to finish my Pastoral Ministry Certificate. It was a tough semester with Applied Human Sciences and the New Testament and my Pastoral Ministry Practicum, which I excelled at. January was a big month. It was all about Barack Obama, and the Audacity of hope that was coming to America.
My friend Sam was very pregnant with James. And his birth would come on inauguration day, January 20th. He has grown into quite a good looking boy almost a year after his birth.
Bishop Gene Robinson caused a fruckus because he was to give the invocation at the Grand Inaugural Concert – which was not shown on the HBO telecast, which caused a great deal of consternation to the LGBTQ community. Where +Bishop Gene goes, controversy follows.
On January 31st we buried a long time member of AA in Montreal, Sylvia was a fixture in Montreal sober circles and it was a grand day at St. Monica’s she was remembered well.
In February I learned that family members were on Facebook, and after several failed attempts at communication – that door remains closed. It was quite a drama for me in sobriety. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
March was up in the air… I want to share some writings from Adam during the month of March. This comes on March 29th 2009 …
Goodday Everyone,
My chemo had no effect on anything and although it died in one tumor, it spread to two new spots on my liver. My HCG is as high as it was during my initial diagnosis and the new chemo regiment is a pill that is more about quality of life than actually beating my cancer. I was given a timetable on my life and it was not fifty years, in fact it was not even five…two seems likely, months if it is left untreated.
I find out Monday if it would be safe to laser out the lesions (the liver is one organ they can literally burn cancer out of), then I go back on a drug I had a year ago and with good effect. My cancer does not respond to platinum drugs, meaning all the main drugs they use to treat TC were voided. This means I went through high dose for basically nothing and could have just had the other two with the same effects.
I am almost happy that I do not have to go through that chemo regimen anymore. It hurt, it was miserable, and it beat me up.
I am not quitting, or accepting this, and overseas I have learned of some therapies that involve stem cells and other therapies that cure cancer. I am looking into it because conventional medicide is just not doing the trick. It is too strong for chemo.
This is starting to annoy me more and more, the consistant failures. It is frustrating living like this, fighting hard and doing things right just for it to do nothing. Well, I guess I have to take things into my own hands and research the unconventional methods. They apparently work very well, and that is the next step.
Well, I was always unconventional…
God Bless,
Adam Frey
On April 25th 2009 we lost Bea Arthur – at age 86.
The month of May was a tough month for me, as things in my medical circle began to change and I was diagnosed with Type two Diabetes. It was quite a shock, I got real sick and began to loose my vision. After some serious doping by my doctor they got my numbers under control. My diabetes is quite in check today.
Here is a letter from Adam – from May the 17th 2009 …
Jeremy,
You know, I think things get darkest before they dawn. I just wish I knew how dark things would be. Until a few days ago, I was pretty bitter. Bitter, angry, frustrated, just pissed off at the situation. I am sure you can understand.
Then it hit me. Who am I to hold grudges. If God can forgive and let things go, why have I been holding grudges, some for years, some with poeple that do care about me. Some over things that are sort of outlandish. I had a moment in prayer and I vowed to let it go. I got the notion that God came in right there and a calm fell.
I told him I was sorry for my stubborness and rage and that I in fact wanted to be a miracle…for surely I cannot spread hope and love in a box. By days end I started feeling better. I started having night sweats…which is the number one symptom of a REGRESSING cancer. Maybe I needed to change my
goals and path to what he wants it to be.From the little I know about you, you have been declared terminal and changed your path and seem to be doing ok. I think I needed to change mine, and maybe I just needed to be pushed to the breaking point and past it to realize that.
Its optimism
-Adam
The month of June brought a spate of deaths …
On June 25th we lost two powerhouse people, Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett. We watched a lot of tv that day, it was all about Michael. That same day was the last time we had a torrential rain/hail storm in the city.
I also applied to the Department of Theology to pursue my Masters in Theology, and was subsequently accepted into the MA Program.
In July the world lost an Icon of Television broadcasting. Walter Cronkite died at the wise age of 92.
I turned the ripe old age of 42, without pomp and circumstance on July the 31st. It was a very sedate affair. My fourties has been all about hindsight.
August 24th was the 3rd anniversary of the death of my great aunt Sister Georgette. On August the 26th we lost the a lion of the senate U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy died after battling brain cancer.
I finished my studies over the Summer of 2009 – ending my pursuit of my Certificate in Pastoral Ministry with my massive missive of working in Task Groups for professor Bright.
With the start of the Fall Semester I became a Graduate Student in the Department of Theology. Do I regret that today? NO, but I am unsure of the future.
I started going to the gym at the new EV building something I enjoy doing and something that I haven’t done in a while because of school.
The month of September brought illness to my hubby who ended up in the Montreal General with intestinal issues. And after 48 hours spent in the ER and massive doses of morphine and being poked and prodded by this one and that one we brought him home with medication which seemed to be the ticket to good health. He hasn’t had another problem since then.
My friend Carmi lost him father on September the 22nd. The funeral was here in Montreal at Paperman and Sons. I went to pray with Carmi’s family and about 200 friends and family. The chapel was packed. His dad was well loved.
October brought another death to the world, that of Stephen Gately of the boy band BOYZONE. He was only 33 years old. So young and gone from the world.
In November the fear of Swine Flu invaded the airwaves worldwide and clinics were opened to inoculate as many people with the swine flu vaccine as possible to circumvent a world wide pandemic. I got my shot on November the 9th.
On November the 19th the world was shocked to find out that Oprah Winfrey told us that she would end her long running television show in September of 2011. The world took a collective gasp and television stations began to ponder how they would fill the void after her television departure.
December was a very rough month. I finished my first semester as a graduate student and I did not do as well as I had expected. In fact nothing I wrote was acceptable to either of my professors and now I have to rewrite all of my papers that are due in the coming months.
Christmas came and went – it was a quiet holiday here at home. Everybody got what they wanted for Christmas and fun was had by all.
Adam went into the hospital with breathing problems and ended up on a ventilator, he died on Boxing Day at 2:21 in the afternoon. Such a bright light gone so young.
**************************
Much happened in the year 2009. I learned a lot about myself over the course of three semesters in two disciplines. Pastoral Ministry and Theology. I learned a hard lesson from my Applied Human Sciences professor. I hated that class. I worked all summer in finishing my Ministry Certificate.
I hit a lot of meetings and worked my program. I celebrated 8 years of sobriety on December the 9th. I took my cake and it was all well and good. My academic career needs to be stepped up for the next semester so that I don’t make another failed attempt at a graduate degree. I can’t afford another fail report because I will be dismissed from the program if I don’t do better this term, not to mention rewriting all that work from the fall semester.
It was a year of highs and lows. We lost some good people from show business and we lost family and friends this year. So that is a brief overview of what happened this year…
Let us close with Adam … and pray for his soul…
True to his word, Adam went down swinging. 21 months after his car crash in March of ‘08, Adam passed at 2:21PM December 26, 2009.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
-Phillippians 4:13***********************
After I posted this to the blog over on Adam’s site and here, I have been informed that Adam has passed. We pray God’s blessing upon him.
Adam, has taken a turn for the worse, phone calls have been made, today we pray for Adam as the journey looks to be coming to an end.
For Adam …
Now is the time to say all those things that need to be said. Now is the time to let God be God. Now is the time that we pray for mercy. Now is the time we give permission to Adam to do what he needs to do with the understanding that he is not alone, and that all of us are here with him and with you. We all live on borrowed time. And if this is Adam’s time, then Let go and Let God. He has been a champion and a fighter for so long. Now may be the time we tell him that it is ok to let go now. If we give him that permission he may hear us and the end won’t be so far away.
We pray God that Adam’s life not be forgotten and that we all may take away some lesson for ourselves. We pray that the angels will protect him and carry him to the altar of God in heaven where there is no more sickness and no more pain. We know that God is merciful and that God hears the cry of the poor, blessed be the Lord. We pray that Adam is where he needs to be and will be going to where he needs to go. The fight has been long and arduous and those of us who have walked with him over the years, like I have myself, can say that he fought the good fight. But sometimes you can’t fight disease, no matter how hard we pray. Sometimes when we pray God says – no, I have other plans, but this is a time of learning and of faith. Now is the time to commend Adam to God and to allow God’s will be done. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want …
We pray God’s blessing upon Adam and upon his family. We pray that God will bless him and make him whole once again in heaven. And we pray for strength to allow God what he needs to do to take Adam home. This is what, ultimately, faith asks of us, to know when it is time to die and to go to that death with the ultimate knowledge that God hears us and is with us even in the darkest of times.
We love you Adam, and we have been blessed to walk this journey with you. God’s peace to you on your journey. We will not forget you and neither will God.
Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty.
Jeremy
Here is to 2010 may it be new, bright and exciting…
Made a Decision …
It is bitterly cold outside. (-17c/-26 w/c). It is Tuesday and it is the day before the next dump comes. I have to pay my tuition bill tomorrow and I am not liking that one bit, but it has to be done. I have one more item to buy on my Christmas list and that will be excellent.
I’ve been ruminating over Adam for the last few days. I went back through my email files looking for the letters we wrote to each other during his chemo treatments. I really hope that there is life after death, because he deserves to be there after all that he went through these past two years. I believe that there is something more out there, and where ever he is must be beautiful.
It was a quiet day today. With no plans on the table I get to sleep as long as I want and read whatever book strikes my fancy. I need to get back to work on the papers that must be rewritten for my classes, since I did not “make the grade” last term. And I am a bit self conscious about the next round of classes that start next week.
I had to go do set up for the meeting tonight. Our little pigeon that was doing set up took the night off – and he missed the meeting, oh well, he is off to the prairies next week for school, so I will be taking over set up and getting back to my old routine.
I stayed for the second meeting tonight and the guy who shared was like 4 years sober and he went on and on for almost an hour – and the chair asked me to thank the speaker – which means I had to pay attention to everything he said, which was a lot of shit, fuck and off the cuff story telling – and in the end it was lacking for me. There was something missing from his share… Like a little reverence and respect. I was waiting to hear about his spiritual journey and it was missing. So I had to get up there and say nice things about what he said, that was difficult. You don’t want to get up and critique someones personal journey, but that is what I felt like doing. I was in red pen zone.
Oh well, what was I like at 4 years of sobriety? Was I that scattered?
So that was the night. And that was my day.
I miss the thought of Adam still breathing and fighting another day. I stop by his blog every day looking for something that won’t be there any more. Two days of viewing will happen Thursday and Friday and his funeral will be on Saturday. I will be there in spirit, if I had that kind of disposable money and an up to date passport I might have gone down to pay my respects. Alas, that ain’t gonna happen. So I say my prayers for him from here and hope he hears them.
More to come, stay tuned…
Sad Days…
Sad news came this evening. One of my colleagues in the Department of Theology and a good friend for many years, lost his husband to cancer. Here is the obit:
VAUGHN THOMASSIN
THOMASSIN, Vaughn 1965-2009 Surrounded by his loving family, passed away November 2, 2009 at the age of forty-four. He leaves to mourn his spouse Johnny, his parents Hugh and Linda, his sister Heidi (Mark and family) and many other family and friends. Visitation on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 1255 Beaumont Ave., Town of Mount Royal (between l’Acadie and Rockland), The funeral service will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12 p.m. at St. James United Church, 463 Ste-Catherine Street West, Montreal followed by interment at Les Jardins Urgel Bourgie, St-Laurent. The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to Segal Cancer Centre (Jewish General Hospital) and Cite de la Sante Hospital for their kind and devoted care.
Donations may be made to Segal Cancer Centre (Jewish General Hospital, Pav E, 3755 Cote-Ste-Catherine Road, Montreal, H3T 1E2) in the memory of Vaughn.
I had heard whispers that he was ill over the last few months, but this came as a shock. It will be a busy Thursday for me with a funeral in the afternoon and a lecture to attend that very same evening.
I took today off because I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I have been spending hours every day reading and every night I read up to 30 pages of material before bed, and I am just mentally FRIED !!! I took a nap this afternoon and when I got up to get ready for class, I just couldn’t do it so I went back to bed and slept until after 8 this evening.
We are awaiting the news on Maine’s No on 1 campaign.
That’s all for now. More to come, stay tuned…
Thanksgiving Sunday …
The day began with the news of the passing of Stephen Gately, the young singer from the boy band BoyZone. I was a fan. I have a number of their cd’s and Stephen’s solo cut. What a loss, a young man lost in his prime. sadness…
I got up this morning and I set up my kitchen to cook a massive meal. And if you’ve ever seen my kitchen, it is small. Very small. I got the bird trussed up and seasoned and wrapped my potatoes and got them all in the oven around noon. I plugged in my auto-thermometer and started the oven. A few hours later we had a perfectly baked turkey with sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravey, crescent rolls, black olives and cranberry sauce.
I have a well perfected system of cooking a holiday meal and it never fails me, thanks to creative cooks at the food network. I have my recipes at a touch of the button. We ate around 5 and wasn’t it delicious.
The good thing about cooking a huge bird is, LEFTOVERS !!!
I took a mid-evening siesta and got up around 9:30 and we both had hot turkey sandwiches. A good day was had by all. We will have turkey for the next few days, which is tasty and good.
That was the day …
More to come, stay tuned…
Boyzone singer Gately dies in Spain at 33
MADRID (AFP) – Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, 33, died on Saturday while on holiday in Majorca off the coast of Spain, the Irish band with a string of hits in the 1990s said on its website.
“Stephen tragically died yesterday whilst on holiday with his partner Andrew in Majorca,” the site said on Sunday.
The Boyzone members, including lead singer Ronan Keating, were heading to Majorca following news of the death.
The circumstances surrounding Gately’s death remained unclear but (Britain’s) News of the World newspaper reported he died after a night out.
Boyzone manager Louis Walsh told the newspaper: “We’re all absolutely devastated.”
He said: “I’m in complete shock. I was only with him on Monday at an awards ceremony. We don’t know much about what’s happened yet… He was a great man.”
Speaking to the newspaper late Saturday, band member Shane Lynch said: “Me and the boys are flying out in the morning.
“We just need to get over to where he’s passed and work out what we need to do.”
Gately, who married his partner Andrew Cowles in a civil union in 2006, sent ripples through the pop music world 10 years ago when he announced that he was gay.
He joined Boyzone in 1993 after answering an advert in Dublin to audition for Ireland’s first boyband.
The band went on to enjoy huge success with six number one singles in Britain, but split up in 2000.
They reunited seven years later, but their recent 19-date Better tour failed to fill stadiums, despite offers of free tickets.
Gately also starred in West End musicals in London, including “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.
Boyzone lead singer Keating was “completely distraught”, the News of the World said, and former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern paid tribute to Gately, whom he knew, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
He said: “The Gatelys are in my own constituency. I know the family, I know Stephen.
“He (Gately) was with us the other night with his boyfriend Andy, he came to my book launch.”
Ahern, whose daughter Georgina is married to Nicky Byrne of boyband Westlife, continued: “It’s just such a tragedy.
“Boyzone and Stephen, they’ve all been part of Irish life and far wider than that, the last 15 years, and so successful, so it’s a huge, huge tragedy. It’s so sad.”
Gately last posted a message on his Twitter page on October 6, writing: “Still busy, lots going on. Focusing on finishing my book next so may be quiet here.”
British actor and comedian Stephen Fry said on Twitter that he was shocked at the news.
“Just heard the very sad news about dear Stephen Gately. What a dreadful shock. He was loveable and sweet natured and will be hugely missed.”
Stephen Gately has died.
The 33-year-old Boyzone singer passed away in his sleep yesterday (10.10.09) while holidaying on the Spanish island of Majorca with his partner Andrew Cowles – who he wed in a civil ceremony in March 2006 – and friends.
His manager Louis Walsh said: “We’re all absolutely devastated. I’m in complete shock. I only saw him on Monday at an awards ceremony. We don’t know much about what happened yet.
“He was a great man.”
The ‘Love Me For A Reason’ singer’s friends are mystified by his death, which happened after a night out.
One pal said: “It looks like he went for a few drinks, then got back, fell asleep and never woke up.”
Fellow Boyzone star Ronan Keating – who is currently in Chicago – is said to be “devastated” by the news.
A source said: “Ronan is completely distraught. No-one saw this coming. He loved Stephen like a brother, they were close. It’s absolutely floored him.
“It’s a massive shock to everyone and no one can take it in yet. He was a man in the prime of his life, and this is a huge tragedy.”
Stephen’s bandmates – Ronan, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham – are planning to fly to Majorca tomorrow (12.10.09) .
Shane told Britain’s News of the World newspaper: “Me and the boys are flying out. We just need to get over to where he’s passed and work out what we need to do.”
Boyzone formed in 1993 and achieved six UK number one singles.
They disbanded in 2000 – with Stephen the first member to launch a solo career – and reformed in 2007.
Prayers …
Not a lot going on here. Lots of studying, and tomorrow I am attending a funeral for my friend Carmi, his dad died last night. We offer our prayers and condolences.
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy dies
HYANNIS PORT, Massachusetts – Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, has died after battling a brain tumor. He was 77.
Kennedy’s family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.
For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more. To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving brother of a storied political family.
Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962, when his brother John was president, and served longer than all but two senators in history.
Over the decades, Kennedy put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.
‘Center of our family’ lost
His family’s statement said:
“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port.
We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.
We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all.
He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”
Nancy Reagan ‘terribly saddened’
Former President Ronald Reagan’s wife Nancy reacted to the news of Kennedy’s death, saying:
“I was terribly saddened to hear of the death of Ted Kennedy tonight.
Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised by how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. But Ronnie and Ted could always find common ground, and they had great respect for one another.
In recent years, Ted and I found our common ground in stem cell research, and I considered him an ally and a dear friend. I will miss him.
My heart goes out to Vicki and the entire Kennedy family.”
Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
3 Years … Sister Georgette Cote
Today is the third anniversary of the death of Sister Georgette Cote. I got a call from the Mother House this evening. I think about her every day.
