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New York Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Reverend boyfriend of ex-Houston mayoral appointee who went on Camp Mystic tirade condemns her comments
The reverend boyfriend of the former Houston mayoral appointee who went on a tirade against Camp Mystic — where 27 campers and counselors were killed in the Texas flooding — has criticized his partner's controversial comments. Colin Bossen, a senior minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, apologized to his congregation for his girlfriend Sade Perkins' remarks while acknowledging that he never endorsed them in the first place, in a statement obtained by the Daily Mail. 'My partner Sadé Perkins has made comments on social media regarding the horrific flooding that devastated Camp Mystic,' he wrote, according to the report. 'I want to be clear that I disavow her comments.' Advertisement 4 Sade Perkins (C) pictured with her partner Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen (R). Freedmens Town Farmers Market He made it abundantly clear that he was deeply regretful about the pain Perkins' rant have caused. 'I apologize to my congregation,' he wrote. 'I will continue to work to repair the harm this incident has caused.' Advertisement 'Her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety,' he wrote, according to the Daily Mail. 'Her comments were not in the spirit of the Unitarian Universalist values centered around love that my congregation and I share.' Perkins' went off about the all-girls Christian camp just hours after Friday's catastrophic flooding. 'I know I'm going to get cancelled for this, but Camp Mystic is a white-only girls' Christian camp. They don't even have a token Asian. They don't have a token Black person. It's an all-white, white-only conservative Christian camp,' Perkins said in a widely condemned video on her private TikTok account. 'If you ain't white you ain't right, you ain't gettin' in, you ain't goin'. Period,' Perkins said. Advertisement She insisted no one would care if the victims were minorities. 4 A Camp Mystic sign is seen near the entrance to the establishment along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area in Hunt, Texas, Saturday, July 5, 2025. AP 'If this were a group of Hispanic girls out there, this would not be getting this type of coverage that they're getting, no one would give a f–k, and all these white people, the parents of these little girls would be saying things like 'they need to be deported, they shouldn't have been here in the first place' and yada yada yada,' Perkins said. The post, which went viral, drew massive criticism. Advertisement Perkins, invigorated by the hate she was receiving, responded with another equally unhinged video. 'I get that white people are not used to people telling them and calling them out on their racism and telling them about their double standards and how you wouldn't give a damn about other children and how there's children in ICE detention right now who y'all don't give two f–ks about,' she ranted. 4 Items lie scattered inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, on July 5, 2025. REUTERS 'There's no prayers going up for them, but we're supposed to stop the world and stop everything we're doing to go and hunt for these little missing white girls.' The board president of First Unitarian Universalist Church, Joan Waddill, also issued a statement trying to distance her church from Perkins' controversial remarks. 'Like everybody in Texas, indeed any person who has heard of the terrible loss of life along the Guadalupe River, we are shocked and saddened by the enormity of our loss,' she said. 4 Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen. First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston Waddill said she and her congregation are in 'mourning.' Advertisement 'Our core values include a belief in the interconnected web of life and the value of every individual,' she wrote, according to the Daily Mail. Waddill said Perkins is connected to the church but is not a staff member. ''She was not speaking for the church, but only for herself,' Waddil wrote, according to the Daily Mail. 'Indeed, her comments contradict the core values of our church. We are horrified to be associated with these comments.'
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Reverend boyfriend of Houston mayoral appointee breaks silence to disavow 'inappropriate' Camp Mystic flood comments
A Texas reverend has issued a damning statement disavowing his girlfriend after she criticized a camp where 27 little girls and their counselors perished in floodwaters. Reverend Colin Bossen, a senior minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, issued a statement to congregants on Monday slamming cruel comments made by his partner Sade Perkins about the Fourth of July weekend tragedy. Perkins condemned the 'whites only conservative Christian camp' and said MAGA loyalists 'would be saying they deserve it and that it's God's will' if the children who died were Latino or LGBTQI. When she was publicly denounced for her comments, she doubled down in a series of increasingly unhinged videos, first blaming Trump for the once-in-a-generation floods and then addressed 'racism and white supremacy.' In a statement obtained by reverend Bossen slammed his partner's remarks and reassured congregants he disagreed with her. 'My partner Sadé Perkins has made comments on social media regarding the horrific flooding that devastated Camp Mystic,' he wrote. 'I want to be clear that I disavow her comments.' Reverend Bossen accepted that even though 'she was not speaking on my behalf or on behalf of my congregation... her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety. 'I believe strongly that all people have inherent worthiness and dignity. 'Her comments were not in the spirit of the Unitarian Universalist values centered around love that my congregation and I share.' He said he was 'deeply sorry for the harm' Perkins has 'caused to the Camp Mystic families and the members of the community of Central Texas and along the Guadalupe River who are grieving or anxiously awaiting word about their loved ones. 'I apologize to my congregation who has experienced harm because of her comments. I will continue to work to repair the harm this incident has caused.' The board president of the church, Joan Waddill, also issued a statement trying to distance her church from Perkins' controversial remarks. 'Like everybody in Texas, indeed any person who has heard of the terrible loss of life along the Guadalupe River, we are shocked and saddened by the enormity of our loss,' she said. 'Our core values include a belief in the interconnected web of life and the value of every individual. Thus, we find ourselves in mourning.' Waddill said Perkins 'is affiliated with our church, but not a member or on our staff' when referring to the 'offensive remarks on social media about these deaths' she made. 'She was not speaking for the church, but only for herself. Indeed, her comments contradict the core values of our church. 'We are horrified to be associated with these comments. 'We extend a hand to this person to try to help her recognize the insensitivity of her behavior while we extend our other hand and what help we might provide to the families who have been devastated by these deaths.' Perkins issued her first critique of the camp just hours after the heavy deluge ripped through in the early hours of the Fourth of July, sweeping away cabins which housed primarily eight and nine year old campgoers and their counselors. 'I know I'm going to get cancelled for this, but Camp Mystic is a white-only girls' Christian camp,' she raged on TikTok as girls were still missing. 'They don't even have a token Asian. They don't have a token black person. It's an all-white, white-only conservative Christian camp.' Perkins was admonished by Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who said he would take steps to remove her from the City's Food Insecurity Board. 'The comments shared on social media are deeply inappropriate and have no place in decent society, especially as families grieve the confirmed deaths and the ongoing search for the missing,' Whitmire said. Reverend Bossen accepted that even though 'she was not speaking on my behalf or on behalf of my congregation... her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety' Whitmire said steps were being taken immediately 'to remove her permanently from the board' and vowed he 'has no plans to reappoint her.' But Perkins had no regrets after being publicly scolded by the mayor, instead doubling down on her extraordinary attack on the camp. 'You people are f**king crazy, you people are insane,' she said of her critics. 'And the video is still up and I still stand behind - 10 toes down on the motherf***ing ground. 'That s**t is racism and white supremacy, period. 'If it was Hispanic kids, if it was LGBTQ kids that got swept away y'all wouldnt give a f**k and them same MAGA people would be saying they deserve it and that it's God's will, so f**k all y'all.' Addressing Mayor Whitmire's comments head-on, Perkins said: 'Mayor Whitmire is a piece of s**t.' She blamed Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for the tragedy, describing it as 'totally preventable.' She complained she had become 'the scapegoat to cover up for the f***up of a flood', instead arguing the 'reason' for the natural disaster was 'of course your friendly MAGA Trump up there in the White House.' Sade Perkins vented her frustrations against the 'whites only Christian camp' hours after a heavy deluge ripped through Camp Mystic in Hunt on the Fourth of July 'I did not cause the flood, nor did I cause the failure from the National Weather Service and FEMA. Those were done by design, by the Lieutenant, and by the Governor, and your f***ing President,' she said. In all, at least 104 people perished in the flash flooding, including 27 campers and their counselors. Another 10 campers and one counselor, 19-year-old Katherine Ferruzzo, remain missing. A tragic photo of 13 campers and their two counselors has emerged from Camp Mystic, showing a group of girls who were inside one of the cabins which was swept away in the unprecedented floods. Renee Smajstrla, eight, Janie Hunt, nine, and Alabama native Sarah Marsh, 8, all perished when the camp was washed away by the flood waters. Best friends Lila Bonner, 9, and Eloise Peck, 8, were also killed in the devastating flooding. The bodies of Anna Margaret Bellows, 8, Lainey Landry, 9, and camp counselor Chloe Childress were recovered on Sunday evening. Camp Mystic director Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, was also among the casualties. He died while trying to rescue campers from the biblical rushing waters as they struck his grounds. The camp director's wife, Tweety, was found safe at their home. The Eastlands have owned and operated Camp Mystic since 1974, and many viewed him as a father figure at the camp. 'It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save the lives of campers,' The Kerrville Daily Times guest columnist Paige Sumner said in a tribute to Eastland. Governor Abbott said the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the floodwaters hit, had been 'horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster.' 'The height the rushing water reached to the top of the cabins was shocking,' he said on X after visiting the camp on Saturday. Photos show the summer camp was destroyed after the deadly floodwaters wrecked the grounds. Windows in the cabins were shattered and the interiors were completely covered in mud, with campers belongings in disarray. Camp Mystic was due to celebrate its hundredth year, and has a long and illustrious history as the camp of choice for well-off families in Texas. The daughter of multiple governors and former First Lady Laura Bush are just some of the alumni. Nine-year-old Janie Hunt, who perished in the floods, was the great-granddaughter of late billionaire William Herbert Hunt, whose brother was the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Los Angeles Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Faith leaders bear witness as migrants make their case in immigration court
Rev. Jason Cook, a minister at Tapestry, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, wore his traditional white collar and a colorful stole resembling stained glass when he arrived at immigration court in Santa Ana last Friday. For several weeks, Cook and clergy members from a cross section of religions have been showing up at courtrooms in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to stand with immigrants during their deportation hearings. The practice was launched after faith leaders learned that many immigrants seeking asylum were being whisked away by federal agents after what had been billed as routine court appearances, and locked up in remote detention facilities without a chance to prepare or say goodbye to family. They have sought to use their presence to comfort migrants and lend a sense of moral authority to the proceedings. They have also taken to the courtroom benches to bear witness with silent prayer. On Friday, clergy members roamed the courthouse halls in search of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. If plainclothes agents sat outside a courtroom, it was a good indication that the migrants inside had been targeted for expedited removal once their cases were heard. Cook knows the presence of clergy won't necessarily change the outcome of the legal proceedings — though in at least one instance last month, ICE agents scattered when clergy showed up at a courthouse in San Diego. If nothing else, they hope to offer spiritual comfort, so the immigrants know they're not forgotten. 'There's a big piece of [our faith] that's about welcoming the stranger, about treating immigrants with compassion and care,' Cook said. 'We're there trying to appeal to a higher authority than ICE.' Many of the immigrants being detained at immigration court are asylum seekers who came into the country using the CBP One mobile app that the Biden administration had employed since early 2023 to create a more orderly process of applying for asylum. Migrants could use the app once they reached Mexican soil to schedule appointments with U.S. authorities at legal ports of entry to present their bids for asylum and provide biographical information for screening. President Trump shut down the CBP One app hours after taking office in January. His administration has given ICE officials the power to quickly deport tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted legal entry to the U.S. for up to two years through the CBP One program, and is waging legal battles to roll back protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who were granted temporary parole while seeking asylum. Faith leaders say the work is an extension of their services for immigrants, who often attend their churches in sizable numbers. In the past, some places of worship have opened up their doors to shelter undocumented immigrants at risk of being deported. In L.A., faith leaders have organized food drives for immigrants afraid to leave their homes, as well as vigils and peaceful marches at the downtown Los Angeles federal building. In the Inland Empire, clergy members have gone into grape fields to hand out 'Know Your Rights' cards. 'Throughout history, across the world, clergy and faith leaders and spiritual leaders have played a really catalytic role in bending the arc toward moral justice,' said Joseph Tomás Mckellar, executive director of PICO California, the largest faith-based community organizing network in the state. 'When they do it right, they leave space for others to walk the walk, as well.' On June 11, the Catholic Diocese of San Diego reached out to area clergy to ask for help in expanding efforts to accompany migrants to their hearings. Father Scott Santarosa, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, said the letter garnered so much interest, they had to limit the number of clergy who could attend. That Friday, which also coincided with World Refugee Day, they held a Mass before arriving at immigration court. 'We weren't planning to block or get in the way or do anything to disrupt. We just planned to be present and observe and say with our presence to migrants and refugees, 'Hey, you're not alone,'' he said. One Venezuelan asylum seeker, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution if she is deported back to her home country, had a hearing scheduled in L.A. County in early June with her children. She arrived in the U.S. in December after entering through the CBP One app. The June hearing would be her first. She knew she was at risk of deportation and wondered whether to attend her hearing. She shared her fears with an area pastor, who offered to go with her. On the morning of her hearing, she arrived at court accompanied by three pastors and a translator. She felt protected, she said, when the judge granted a future court hearing and she was allowed to leave. 'Everything went well,' she said. 'I feel as if it was because of the Christian support that I had at that moment.' Cook, the Unitarian Universalist minister in Orange County, said he attends court at least twice a week. Initially, ICE agents seemed averse to confronting religious leaders, and in some cases, left the courthouse when clergy members arrived. But over time, Cook said, the agents have gotten more confrontational, telling clergy they must stay 10 feet away from agents. He said he watched one ICE agent push a clergy member against the wall after she tried to escort an immigrant out of court. They have carried on, he said, because the work feels important and aligned with their mission of faith. 'What we are is conscience on display for these folks, and if that triggers shame or reflection, that's a good thing,' Cook said outside a courtroom, not far from ICE agents. Dave Gibbons, founder of the Newsong Church in Santa Ana, said he took a break from court visits after a Central American couple he was escorting got pulled away and detained in front of their child. He broke down in tears recounting the episode for his congregation. But he was determined to return. 'We believe it's at the heart of the gospel,' Gibbons said. 'There's nothing more sacred than standing alongside those being marginalized.' Rev. Terry LePage, a community minister in Orange County, has attended immigration hearings nearly daily. She spent Friday morning handing out fliers that notified migrants headed to hearings of their rights and warning that ICE agents were present. That morning, clergy members encountered a Haitian man who had been granted temporary protected status during the Biden administration. He arrived for his asylum hearing without an attorney. He wore a crisp white shirt and carried his documents in a black case. Clergy leaders urged him to contact his family and let them know that he might be detained. But the man, who spoke Spanish, was sure he would be allowed to return home. Inside the courtroom, a Department of Homeland Security attorney argued that the man's case should be dismissed, a request the judge granted despite the migrant's pleas. Seated in the audience, Thomas Crisp, an Orange County chaplain, watched in dismay and offered a few last words of comfort: 'May God bless you.' The Haitian man made it two steps out of the courtroom before he was swarmed by federal agents and ushered down an emergency exit stairwell. This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide.
Boston Globe
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Debating the pope's denunciation of war
In Catholic tradition, Jacoby omits any mention of the pope's reference to the people of Gaza, where Israel's campaign fails two key Catholic standards for a just war: the Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Finally, war must be Advertisement C. J. Doyle Executive director Catholic Action League of Massachusetts Boston Lest it be misunderstood: Jesus condemned violence 'All who take the sword will perish by the sword' (Matthew 26:52). I appreciate Jeff Jacoby as a thoughtful, conservative writer, and I judge that he had a reasonable argument going when he declared Pope Leo XIV as 'deeply misguided' when the pope said that 'war does not solve problems.' However, Jacoby made a big mistake when he tried to clinch his own view that some wars do solve problems when he used a quote from Jesus. Advertisement One can use pretty much any individual biblical citation to bolster one's argument, as I have above in rebuttal, in referring to the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away after cutting off the ear of a soldier during Jesus' arrest. This is called Furthermore — and the bigger point — almost all biblical scholars would agree that Jesus condemned violence throughout his life and certainly wouldn't agree with Jacoby's assertion that 'sometimes only through deadly force' can evil 'be overcome.' As for the pope, my guess is that when he says that war only 'amplifies' problems, he is not only alluding to the enormous suffering brought about by war, which Jacoby acknowledges, but also the problematic aftermath of most wars. For example, Jacoby cites how Operation Desert Storm liberated Kuwait. What he failed to acknowledge is that following that event, Advertisement Art McDonald Salem The writer is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister. 'Then justice will dwell in the wilderness' I prefer Isaiah's hope/prophecy regarding peace and justice: 'Then justice will dwell in the wilderness ... The effect of righteousness will be peace ... My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places' ( May it be so. Jean Condon Lechtenberg East Falmouth
NBC News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Louisiana's Ten Commandments law in public schools blocked by federal appeals court
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled, in a unanimous decision, in favor of a coalition of Louisiana parents who sued to block a state law that requires public schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The appellate court's decision upholds a lower court's ruling in November declaring Louisiana's law as "facially unconstitutional." 'Parents and students challenge a statute requiring public schools to permanently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom in Louisiana. The district court found the statute facially unconstitutional and preliminarily enjoined its enforcement. We affirm,' the court said in its ruling. Now, the case moves closer to potentially going before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. 'We are grateful for this decision, which honors the religious diversity and religious-freedom rights of public school families across Louisiana,' said the Rev. Darcy Roake, who is a plaintiff in the case. Louisiana's law went into effect this year at public K-12 schools and state-funded universities. State officials issued guidance on how posters of the Ten Commandments could be designed and hung up in classrooms for educational purposes. While the law applies to the majority of school districts throughout the state, the five school districts that have parents who are plaintiffs in the original lawsuit are exempt while the litigation plays out. It's unclear how many, if any, school districts have begun to comply, and questions remain about what might happen to educators who ultimately don't cooperate. During the federal appeals court hearing in January, Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga argued that the plaintiffs' lawsuit was filed too early — before any posters have been displayed. "The plaintiffs seek to challenge hypothetical displays that do not exist and that they have never seen," Aguiñaga said. "The plaintiffs jumped the gun here and filed an unripe case," he said. But Jonathan Youngwood, a lawyer for the coalition of parents representing Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and nonreligious backgrounds said the purpose of the law is tied to religion and violates a separation of church and state. "What makes this so significant is the requirement that it be in every single (classroom) throughout your 13 years in public school, 177 days a year," Youngwood said. "It can't be avoided. It can't be averted." The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are supporting the plaintiffs. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has said no public funds would be required to be spent on printing the posters and they can be supplied through private donations. The law dictates the posters must be at least 11 by 14 inches and include a "context statement" that provides historical context for the commandments, which the state believes makes its law constitutional. In a Facebook post in January, Murrill said the state contends that federal courts "have no jurisdiction to decide this case." "The Constitution does not bar our Legislature's attempt to teach our students what the Supreme Court has repeatedly said: The Ten Commandments have historical significance as a foundation of our legal system," Murrill said. But U.S. District Judge John deGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana disagreed with the state in his ruling in November, in which he wrote that there is no "constitutional way to display the Ten Commandments in accordance with the minimum requirements of the Act." The Supreme Court has also taken up the issue previously, when the justices ruled 5-4 in 1980 that Kentucky's posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools was unconstitutional. Still, President Donald Trump endorsed Louisiana's law during his campaign. Louisiana and other Republican-led states have pushed for new bills and policies that are testing the bounds of religion in public schools. That has included Oklahoma ordering public schools grades five through 12 to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans and Texas allowing public school districts to opt in to a new elementary school curriculum featuring Bible-based lessons. In April, the Supreme Court heard a bid by Oklahoma officials to approve the nation's first publicly funded religious charter school. Meanwhile, Republican leaders in other states, such as Alabama and Texas, are supporting legislation similar to Louisiana's that would allow for the Ten Commandments in public schools. In April, Arkansas legislation requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in all public schools' classrooms and libraries became law just days after the GOP-controlled Legislature passed it.
