”Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.”
Those words, taken from the Gospel according to Matthew, were reportedly Jesus’ answer to a group of Pharisees who tried to put Him in the trick bag of either blaspheming against God or talking treason against Caesar. Those words also may have contributed some of the insight our Founding Fathers displayed in drafting the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which embodies the principle of separation of church and state.
That principle is being sorely tested by the Park Ridge Ministerial Association (“PRMA”) and its followers in their efforts to “religion-ize” – and thereby exempt from, or limit, regulation by city government – a proposed homeless shelter to be run under the auspices of that secular, Palatine-based Illinois corporation known as Pads to Hope, Inc. (“PADS Inc.”).
Critics of PADS Inc. or of locating the shelter in or near a school have been denounced as “un-Christian,” while their criticisms and concerns have been branded “thinly veiled racial and economic bigotry” in a letter [pdf] to the Park Ridge City Council members by St. Paul of the Cross pastor Fr. Carl Morello, even as he and his PRMA associates wrap themselves and their pro-PADS followers in the mantle of Christian “ministry” and decry any attempts by City government to regulate their special interest.
Now we have also come into possession of a copy of an e-mail [pdf] bearing the name of Park Ridge Community Church Senior Pastor Brett McCleneghan, reportedly circulated by Park Ridge resident Laurie Pegler to over 60 other people, some of whom must have forwarded it to others who then forwarded it to us. That e-mail appears to have been sent by Rev. McCleneghan on Tuesday morning in response to the City Council’s actions at its meeting the previous night.
In the e-mail he contends that any City regulation of church “ministries” is “clearly unconstitutional”; and he encourages his “Friends” to: “Ignore the city and open the shelter.”
Those words bring to mind the bandito’s expression of disdain for the law in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” as parodied years later in the Mel Brooks movie “Blazing Saddles”: “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.” When they come from a clergyman and pillar of our community about something as divisive as the PADS shelter, however, you’ll have to excuse us for not laughing.
And while being on a “mission from God” may provide an entertaining excuse for a traffic law-annihilating car chase in “The Blues Brothers,” using God to justify disregard for the law has always been more tolerable in reel life than in real life.
So we invite Rev. McCleneghan to either disclaim this e-mail as not really his, or to clarify/explain his remarks; and we promise to post his comments in full for the enlightenment of our readers.
But until we hear or see otherwise, it sure looks like “Caesar” (i.e., Park Ridge city government) doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot to the good reverend – or to those who are demanding a PADS franchise in Park Ridge, come hell or high water.
11 comments so far
PD:
I do not know the good Pastor and am not a member of his Church, or any other for that matter, so I do no pretend to have the authority to speak for him.
Having said that, I am not exactly sure what the hell you want him to explain.
First of all, as you seem to acknowledge it may not be an authentic e-mail. I will have to rely on someone with better detective skills then me to try and confirm it.
Second of all, if it is his e-mail, it seems to me to be a fairly accurate representation of PRMA’s position. They believe it is unconstitutional for a city to “regulate, approve or liscense ministries of the Church”. Is this not one of the central points of the debate over the last several months?
What further explaination are you looking for about his remarks?
Anon @ 1:54 pm:
How about him explaining his “screw the city, just do it” attitude? As Watchdog says, that’s not what you want to hear from a civic leader.
If he really believes the regulations are unconstitutional, then let him file a lawsuit against the city. But to tell people to just go ahead and do whatever they want irrespective of what the law is, or to do it before the restrictions get the second vote so as to beat the city to the punch (so to speak), is really offensive.
Of course we/you are “offended”. We disagree (strongly) with their position. The suggestion to “go ahead and do it” is not unpressidented. All one has to do is look at the immigrant sanctuary issue.
What I was mainly pointing to in my previous post is that his post outlines the same position that PRMA has maintained and that has been debated throughout this drama – ministries versus right to regulate/liscense.
I find it quite ironic that Pastor Larson of St. Luke’s says they can’t host a homeless shelter since they don’t have sprinklers (supposedly required by the Building Code) yet in the next breath, disavow the Zoning Code as being unconstitutional.
Hypocrites.
In all my years I have never been more disappointed, or really disgusted, with organized religion. From my point of view, frankly, the PRMA’s behavior during this whole sordid episode has been nothing short of despicable. From the very beginning, when it was apparent, right or wrong, that this PADS / homeless shelter issue was dividing and would continue to divide the church communities and the larger community in general, the PRMA said they wanted to heal the rift. But instead what they did was work behind the scenes with the Mayor and others in order to engineer their outcome. And it was evident last Monday night that was the case after Frimark sprung his announcement on all of us and then Jen Conlon was able to comment on specifics of the so-called “contract” that Frimark said he’d been negotiating with the PRMA and PADS.
Here’s what I heard the other night from Frimark and the PRMA: Park Ridge community go f*ck yourselves, Park Ridge church community go f*ck yourselves, Park Ridge non-christian community go f*ck yourselves. Rev. McCleneghan’s email simply confirms that for me.
Frimark, you have made your bed and you will have a chance to lie in it all in good time.
PRMA and Pastors, certainly you have your white shirts but for many of us you have abdicated your place of esteem (whatever you may have had) with many of us. Good luck with membership, church attendance and at the collection box.
I’m a church-going Christian and try to do the right thing. And I’m happy to sit in church and listen to my minister suggest the various Christian factors that we should consider when FORMING OUR OWN JUDGMENTS about how we should live our lives.
But I resent it when my minister wants me to substitute his judgment for my own, or when I refuse to do so and he criticizes/condemns me and my judgment when it diverges from his.
As for Frimark and his “alderpuppets,” their ankle-grabbing for PADS and the PRMA on this issue is despicable. And on the “professional” side, Buzz Hill is very disappointing, but Carrie Davis is a total disaster.
The only thing that will straighten this stuff out is big-time change at City Hall, starting with the guy pretending to be our mayor. April can’t come soon enough for me.
Of course we don’t have any say about this. It’s part of PRMA’s Corruption Ministry that Morello was talking about.
Mayor Frimark is looking for a reason to build low income housing to house all the homeless people being brought in. This is not a simple issue. That is why he must be so hell bent on pushing this thru the back door. He endorsed Rosemary Mulligan HQ # 847-635-6565, If you are opposed to this issue and the alliance, go ahead and call.
anonymous on 10.24.08 5:11 pm may be right. Frimark and the PRMA needs to import homeless from other towns because we don’t have enough Park Ridge homeless to get to whatever magic number is needed to get grant money. That’s what his buddies Sue Bell and Nan Parson want, and with the more expensive condos and townhouses in the dumps it might be what Frimark’s development buddies want, too, because the grant money can go for concessions to them in building multi-family housing.
rosemary mulligan’s on the ballot, endorsed by Mayor Frimark. Her campaign headquarters say she is for Pads, and incorrectly said it would be in the public works facility permanently. She has no clue, or else her campaign workers have no clue. Mulligan Headquarters:847-635-6565
Could someone please explain precisely what kind of grant programs / low income housing programs folks are referring to? I’m having a hard time following the money here.
Please understand that I’m happy to sign on with the Lone Gunmen theories, because stranger things have obviously happened here in PR, and I readily acknowledge that many a developer counts themselves in the cadre of Friends of Frimark, but I’m finding the link between “inviting more homeless to PR” and “putting more money into the hands of Frimark and His Friends” a little tenuous.
From what (very little) I understand of Federal low-income housing programs, the compliance requirements on these kinds of programs are onerous, and most folks get involved in order to generate credits to off-set other income, as the projects themselves turn very little (if any) profits.
thanks.
Thanks!
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