Father James Martin SJ

When it comes to Catholic clergy, many assume an anti-LGBT bias because ‘welcoming’ statements often come with conditions. Resisting this trend, many priests continue building safe spaces in the Church for LGBT people and their loved ones. Jesuit Fr. James Martin is behind the recent “#SayingSomethingPositive” campaign on Twitter seeking to do just that.

Recent examples of the clergy leave many disheartened. Cardinal Timothy Dolan is largely silent on an anti-gay hate crime surge in New York, Fr. Derek Lappe and others have written ignorant statements about the Boy Scouts welcoming gay youth, and Bishop Thomas Paprocki told marriage equality supporters to just leave the church last Friday.

As troubling as these events are, they fail to reveal the broader picture about priests who positively minister to the LGBT and ally community within the Church. We also know of Fr. Joe Muth in Baltimore who leads a gay-friendly parish and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton who urges all Catholics to receive Communion. Michael O’Loughlin of Religion News Service reports on the latest trend, led by Fr. Martin on Twitter:

“The Jesuit Jim Martin has asked why Catholic bishops are seemingly unable to make an unqualified statement of God’s love for LGBT people. He wrote:

” ‘I would love to see a Catholic leader make an unabashedly positive statement about gays and lesbian Catholics, without including a critique.’ “

That initial tweet seeking positive statements from the Catholic hierarchy led to a powerful exchange with priest-scholar Fr. Raymond Kemp about the many LGBT Catholics serving God. Fr. Martin followed up with more positive statements about lesbian and gay people in his life and now, O’Loughlin reports, more are joining him. Bondings 2.0 has included a sampling below:

If you’re on Twitter, make your supportive voice heard with the hashtag #SayingSomethingPositive. Be sure to connect with @JamesMartinSJ, @mikeoloughlin, and @NewWaysMinistry if you do! We just got started:

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: #SayingSomethingPositive, all are welcome, Catholic, James Martin, Jesuit, LGBT, Michael O'Loughlin, Twitter

A jury has fined the Archdiocese of Cincinnati $171,000 for discriminating against a lesbian teacher who they fired from Catholic schools after she became pregnant by artificial insemination.

Christa Dias

Christa Dias was fired in 2010 from her job as a computer teacher at two Catholic elementary schools: Holy Family and St. Lawrence.

According to USA Today: 

“The archdiocese argued that her employment contract spelled out that she must live within Catholic teachings.

“She countered, though, that she wasn’t a ‘ministerial employee’ whose responsibility included teaching religion or Catholicism.

“A jury agreed with her Monday, after deliberating about eight hours over two days, and found the archdiocese liable.

“The five-woman, three-man jury also awarded her punitive damages of $100,000, and compensatory damages of $71,000. Dias’ attorneys had asked the jury to award her $637,000.

“Dias, who is not Catholic, testified she didn’t know artificial insemination violated church doctrine or the employment agreement. She said she thought the contract clause about abiding by church teachings meant she should be a Christian and follow the Bible.”

The archdiocese had another perspective on the case:

“Steven Goodin, the attorney for the archdiocese and the schools, said Dias was fired for violating her contract and that Dias, who is gay, never intended to abide by it.

“She kept her sexual orientation a secret because she knew that homosexual acts also would violate that contract, Goodin said.

“Neither Dias nor the archdiocese claim she was fired because she is gay.”

The archdiocese has not decided to appeal the case, though, some experts feel that because the case has such wide implications for religious employment practices that an appeal is very likely.  According to The Washington Post:

“Jessie Hill, a professor of civil rights and constitutional law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, believes the “ministerial exception” issue could be raised on appeal.

“The archdiocese argued before trial that Dias, who was a computer technology teacher, was a ‘ministerial employee,’ a position that has not been clearly defined by the courts.

“The Supreme Court has said religious groups can dismiss those employees without government interference. But Klingler insisted Dias had no such ministerial duties, and the Cincinnati court found she was not a ministerial employee and that the issue couldn’t be argued at trial.

“Hill said the Supreme Court has left ‘uncertainty about who is and who isn’t a ministerial employee,’ and she expects the case would be “closely watched at the appellate level.”

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Related articles:

May 28, 2013: Catholics, contracts and insemination suit continues, Cincinnati.com

May 29, 2013: Catholic school teacher fired after artificial insemination pregnancy takes stand, CBSNews.com

May 29. 2013: Archdiocese lawyers: Ex-teacher looked for ‘loopholes’, Cincinnati.com

 

Tagged: Catholic, Catholic Church, Christa Dias, Cincinnati, Jessie Hill, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Steven Goodin

Sr. Jeannine Gramick speaking with Bishop Thomas Paprocki

An event last Friday that included Sr. Jeannine Gramick, the co-founder of New Ways Ministry, highlighted just how supportive Catholics are of marriage equality as the bishops play defense to support their position.

For over two hours at an event hosted by Robert Blair Kaiser and the Jesuit Alumni of Arizona, Sr. Gramick exchanged views with Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, in front of an audience.

The National Catholic Reporter reported on the event, where Bishop Paprocki attacked  the “gay activist lobby” in his opening remarks and denigrated the attention given to the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 as evidence of media bias. He posited that if marriage equality passes, then “everything should be OK” in regard to any sexual practice or activity.

Sister Jeannine Gramick

Alternatively, Sr. Gramick spoke of the positive changes occurring around LGBT issues, including her personal conversion that has led to nearly four decades of ministry with gay and lesbian people. The article continues:

“Gramick reflected on changes in her own attitudes, attitudes of the public and attitudes of the church hierarchy. She said more and more church leaders are moving toward support of at least civil unions.

“Referring to Paprocki’s remark that morality cannot be based on polls, she said, ‘We may not legislate on the basis of polls, but they tell us what people are thinking.’

“She said polls show Catholics’ opinions have moved from opposition to same-sex marriage to approval in a short time because nearly everyone has a gay friend, family member or business associate.”

Indicative of these shifting views, the question period was solely aimed at Bishop Paprocki’s opposition to LGBT rights. During remarks by the bishop, a member of the audience, Anne Gray, even yelled out, “That’s insulting” and followed-up with a question:

Bishop Thomas Paprocki

“In response to a question from Kaiser, Paprocki said the church would love to welcome gay people but is forced into a defensive position by ‘activists pushing an agenda.’ That set off Gray, who has a gay son, again.

“‘Here I am,’ she said. ‘The big scary gay agenda…My son is a perfect human being. There is nothing intrinsically disordered about him. I know because I am his mother.’…

” ‘You need to listen to mothers,’ she said.”

Another questioner offered her personal experience of supporting lesbian family members and Paprocki made the suggestion that she leave the church to do so:

“One of the youngest people in the room said she was a devout Catholic, but when her aunt and sister told her they were gay, she was put on the spot. She asked Paprocki if she could remain a good Catholic and still support her family members in their desires to form lifelong relationships.

” ‘It is a struggle to be a good Catholic while supporting gay marriage,’ the bishop said. ‘It strains your relationship with the church.’

“He said those who oppose the church on the issue should become Protestants. ‘They do a lot of good things too,’ he said.

This is the latest instance where Catholics supportive of LGBT equality are making their voices heard to the Church’s hierarchy, including Sr. Gramick who recently confronted the famously anti-gay Cardinal Turkson of Ghana. We applaud the many people whose efforts contributed to making American Catholics the leading religious group advocating for equal marriage rights!

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: bisexual, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Catholic, Christian, Church, faith, Gay, gay marriage, Homosexuality, Jeannine Gramick, lesbian, LGBT, Marriage, marriage equality, Matthew Shepard, New Ways Ministry, religion, Robert Blair Kaiser, Same-sex marriage

Two Catholic bishops have weighed in on the Boy Scouts’ policy of including gay youth among their ranks, and these two prelates take distinctly different approaches.  While the first bishop shows himself guided by Catholic principles, the second one is guided by a complete lack of true information about lesbian and gay people.

Bishop David Choby

Bishop David Choby, of Nashville, approved of the Scouts’ decision.  In USA Today,  he stated:

“The policy in its form is not inconsistent with church teaching, which upholds the dignity of each and every human being, regardless of sexual orientation. It does not communicate in any way an approval or support for sexual activity between scouts.”

Indeed, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting took this position in its official response to the policy.

Bishop Edward Slattery, of Tulsa, expressed reservation about the new policy.  The Tulsa World noted Slattery’s opinion:

Bishop Edward Slattery

“ ‘I think the Boy Scouts do wonderful work, and should continue to do so,’ he said. But he said he was not happy about the decision to allow openly gay scouts.

“ ‘What do they mean by openly gay? I assume that means they are sexually active.’ . . . .

“ ‘This culture of ours is crazy, no rules,’ he said.”

Bishop Slattery’s comments reveal a false assumption that I think operates in the minds of many bishops who oppose homosexuality:  ”openly gay” = “sexually active.”   Does he assume that all who are “openly heterosexual” are also all sexually active?

Bishops like Slattery need to dialogue more with lesbian and gay people to understand that acknowledging a homosexual orientation does not indicate one’s participation in any sexual activity.  The need to be known honestly by one’s true identity is most often the reason that someone wants his or her orientation to be known.

Moreover, if Slattery dialogued with lesbian and gay people, he would come to know that they are quite often very ethical people who live by very high moral rules. Clearly, the ignorance of lesbian and gay reality that the bishop’s statements indicate explain why he would be opposed to the new policy.  He does a disservice to lesbian and gay Catholics, the Boy Scouts, himself, and the entire church not to educate himself better on these issues.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

Tagged: Bishop, Bishop David Choby, Bishop Edward Slattery, Boy Scout, Boy Scouts of America, Catholic, Gay, gay scouts, LGBT, Nashville, Scout

Although the National Catholic Committee on Scouting has recommended that Catholic parishes support the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) new inclusive policy of admitting gay scouts, and some bishops have even already announced support for the new measure, some parishes are taking steps to end their relationship with the scouting organization rather than include gay kids.  Last week, we reported on the first known parish to sever ties with the BSA, which was in Bremerton, Washington.  Over the weekend, a pastor in a Chicago-area parish also announced that he would be closing down the parish’s scouting programs rather than admit gay scouts.

Father Brian Grady

The Chicago Tribune reported on Fr. Brian Grady’s decision for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Crystal Lake, Illinois.  Fr. Grady’s reasoning as reported in the paper seems based on myths and stereotypes and clearly inaccurate knowledge of homosexuality and youth:

” ‘For a young boy to (have to) share a tent or be exposed to other boys who are openly homosexual is not only unjust, but immoral,’ Grady wrote. ‘As a former Boy Scout, I know how uncomfortable it would have been to have to be in close proximity with boys that would perhaps be looking at me as more than just a friend.’

“Grady said he was saddened to be ‘forced to make this decision.’ In an interview, he said: ‘We welcome those individuals … but we also recognize certain actions are not to be encouraged.’ “

His reasoning makes it sound like he is placing his own anxieties about sexuality onto both the gay and straight youth who would be involved in scouting.

Charlie Payseur

The leaders of  the scouting program are of the opposite opinion of the pastor.  According to The Tribune:

‘Troop 550 Scoutmaster Charlie Payseur said he and his assistant leaders were “livid” about the move. Grady has been very hospitable, Payseur said, but had not discussed the issue with them.

” ‘It has never been an issue, nor would I turn a Scout away,’ Payseur said. ‘I treat everyone the same. It’s bothering me that people can’t just accept people for who they are.’ “

The Crystal Lake Patch offers even stronger comments from the scoutmaster:

” ‘I am fuming,’ Charlie Payseur said. ‘We’ve been affiliated with that church for over five years, and to not even tell the people who founded the pack? It would have been common courtesy (for Grady) to tell us himself.’ “

In response to the ban on scouts by the Bremerton, Washington, pastor, Fr. Derek Lappe, on which we reported last week, Catholics United, a political organizing group, has launched a petition campaign for Seattle’s Archbishop Peter Sartain to condemn the bigoted behavior of the pastor.  The petition text reads:

Archbishop Sartain,

As Catholics and people of faith, we know that Jesus instructs us to be a loving and inclusive community. These values are shared by the Boy Scouts.

We ask that you publicly remind the priests of your diocese that Catholic social teaching prohibits discrimination against gay people.

When religious leaders like Fr. Lappe promote discrimination, it only hurts the Church.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, as to what they hope the petition will accomplish:

“The Catholic Church has long held that individuals with same-sex attractions should be respected and protected from discrimination. Catholics United calls on Fr. Lappe’s superiors to condemn this kind of bullying from a man who is supposed to be a witness of Christian love and acceptance.”

The Post-Intelligencer quotes from Fr. Lappe’s letter explaining his decision, in which he displays an amazing lack of accurate knowledge on homosexuality:

“The letter sought to refute the generally accepted genetic origin of same-sex attraction. Lappe listed other ‘groups’ including:  ’Mother was overprotective (boys).’   ‘Mother was needy and demanding (boys).’ ‘Lack of rough and tumble play (boys).’ ‘Dislike of team sports (boys).’ ‘Sexual abuse or rape.’ ‘Extreme shyness.’ ‘Parental loss through death or divorce.’

“As well, said Lappe, the parish’s programs ‘are well equipped to help cultivate authentically masculine and feminine identities.’ “

The statements by Fr. Grady and Fr. Lappe reveal they are not in possession of accurate knowledge about homosexuality.    Let’s hope that other pastors have a better understanding than these two do.  It would be a shame if Catholic parishes ended their relationships with scouting programs, particularly when the National Catholic Committee on Scouting is encouraging Catholic parishes to support the new policy.

The examples of these two parishes illustrate not only why pastors need better education about homosexuality, but also why lay people need to be involved in the decision-making processes of Catholic life.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Related article:

June 3, 2013:  Religious groups who supported gay Scout ban now are okay with changing it. Why?, The Washington Post

Tagged: Archbishop Peter Sartain, Boy Scout, Boy Scouts of America, Bremerton, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic United, Catholicism, Charlie Payseur, Crystal Lake, Father Brian Grady, Father Derek Lappe, Fr. Derek Lappe, Gay, Illinois, James Salt, LGBT, Scout, Seattle, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish, Washington State

We are very  sorry to have learned that the earlier post we sent out today in which  we asked for donations had a defective link to the donation page.

If you would like to donate online, please click here.   You will be brought to New Ways Ministry’s donation page where you can fill in the required information.  Please write “blog” in the Comments section of this donation form.

If you want to donate via check and postal mail,  please send a check payable to New Ways Ministry to:

New Ways Ministry, 4012 29th Street, Mount Rainier, MD 20712 Please write “blog” in the memo line of the check. If you want to read the original post in which we described the need for donations, please click here. Sorry for any confusion!  Thanks so much for your support! –Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry
Tagged: bisexual, blog, Bondings 2.0, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholicism, Donation, Gay, lesbian, LGBT, Transgender

We hope that you find Bondings 2.0 a useful resource for you.  Our desire is to put out quality material of news and opinion on Catholic LGBT issues to help inform readers of what is going on, good and bad and in-between, in regard to these issues.  Our hope is that this information will help readers develop intellectually and spiritually, and that this resource may support them in their ministry, their activism, and their relationships.

Twice a year, we come to our readers in a single post (this is one of them) to ask for financial support for this blog.  The last time we did so was six months ago on our one year anniversary.

We like to think of the blog in the same way that we consider public radio or public television.  The resource is free for the public to consume, but we rely on the generosity of some of our “consumers” to keep the material free and available to all.  Would you be able to be one of those generous people this time around?  You can donate by clicking the “Contribute” tab at the top of the blog page  or simply click here.  Please write “blog” in the comments section of the donation page, so we know where you want your gift applied.

If you prefer to donate by check, you can mail the gift to:

New Ways Ministry 4012 29th Street Mount Rainier, Maryland 20712 Please write the check to “New Ways Ministry” and write “blog” in the memo line.

The world of Catholic LGBT issues is moving so fast.  When we began this blog a year and a half ago, we made a commitment to try to post something once a day.    In fact recently, we often find that we have to post twice or three times a day, just to keep up with the volume of news and perspectives that we find occurring. We have been faithful to that daily commitment for over 18 months now, and we hope we can keep it going in the future.

We try to give you the gist of each story so that you don’t have to read a whole article yourself if you don’t have time, but we also provide you with the link to the complete text if you do want more information.   We also try to give you multiple sources for each topic, when available, so that you can see things from a variety of perspectives, and get the best of each news organization’s reporting.  And we also offer our perspective on new developments and opinions.

A blog is social media, however, so in addition to giving our perspective, we and our readers benefit from learning your perspective, too, when you post your responses and reactions in the “Comments” section of each post.  I’m always amazed at how much I learn from the intelligent and compassionate responses of our readers.

A donation of $50 is less than one dollar per week of news and information that you receive here.  If you donate $50, we will send you a complimentary copy of New Ways Ministry’s Homosexuality: A Positive Catholic Approach as a thank-you gift.  You can donate by clicking here or by mailing a check to the address provided above.  Please write “blog” in the comments box of the electronic donation page or in the memo line of the check.

So, please help keep Bondings 2.0 strong in the future.  A small donation on your part goes along way to helping New Ways Ministry help thousands of LGBT people, families, ministers, advocates, and scholars aware of the many new developments in the area of Catholic LGBT news.

Thanks so much for your generous support!

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: blog, Bondings 2.0, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic LGBT, Catholicism, Gay, lesbian, LGBT, New Ways Ministry

Pope Francis

A stark contrast to the actions of  members of the US hierarchy lately, Pope Francis is preaching a gospel of tolerance from the Vatican leaving many commentators and Catholics wondering what implications this will have. Whereas Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is quite literally closing the cathedral doors to LGBT Catholics and failing their pastoral needs, the pope is demanding that every church’s doors be open wide to anyone who seeks Jesus Christ.

Kevin Clarke at America calls Pope Francis a “human pastoral quote machine” when he reports on the pope’s recent morning Mass homily about welcoming all:

” ‘Today’s mildly rebuked pharisees are the self-appointed pastoral border guards who hold up a hand in consternation instead of offering one in welcome when the less-than-perfect among us seek to gate crash at the house of the lord. ‘There is always a temptation,’ Pope Francis warned, ‘to try and take possession of the Lord.’ The pope spoke of an unofficial ’8th’ sacrament created by parish gatekeepers to throw up obstacles to those they deem unworthy…

“Pope Francis said, ‘Jesus is indignant when he sees’ such efforts to block people from sacramental life because those who suffer are ‘his faithful people, the people that he loves so much.’ “

Michael Sean Winters of National Catholic Reporter analyzes this homily, and identifies two challenges that Francis lays at the feet of American bishops: what it means to be a pastor and the limits of theology. He quotes the pope as saying:

“‘Jesus is indignant when he sees these things [Catholics being excluded]‘ – said the Pope – because those who suffer are ‘his faithful people, the people that he loves so much’

“‘We think today of Jesus, who always wants us all to be closer to Him, we think of the Holy People of God, a simple people, who want to get closer to Jesus and we think of so many Christians of goodwill who are wrong and that instead of opening a door they close the door of goodwill … So we ask the Lord that all those who come to the Church find the doors open, find the doors open, open to meet this love of Jesus.’

Winters questions prelates like Archbishop Charles Chaput who exclude a child from Catholic elementary school for having lesbian mothers. He notes the false torment of Catholic parishes and dioceses around the recent Boy Scouts of America decision to allow gay youth. Ultimately, he concludes that the pope’s message should change this dynamic by making clergy more about love than rules.

The second challenge from Pope Francis is a critique of intellectualizing faith, as if theology provides every answer and all guidance. Too often the LGBT community is greeted with technical terms and strict categorizations from priests bound by out-dated theology, not pastoral love. Winters writes in summary:

“Papa Francesco is challenging all of us, across the board, to re-think our attitudes and our ideologies, our certainties and our prejudices…It seems like the Holy Father is becoming the world’s parish priest, and I hope the actual parish priests (and their bishops) will follow his example. He is welcoming. He is challenging. He is straight forward. But, most of all, he is loving.”

In loving and inviting all who seek our Catholic community, Pope Francis provides an alternative to the standard policy of exclusion found in too many parishes and dioceses. He claims Jesus is “indignant” when Catholics cannot access the sacramental life of the Church, the opposite of what Detroit Archbishop Vigneron said when he told told Catholics who support marriage equality to stay away from communion. The pope is preaching words of welcome, just as many are asking, “Can LGBT Catholics find a home in the Church?”  This question can be answered positively if bishops around the world are listening to Rome, and on this matter, we must hope they are.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: acceptance, bisexual, Bishop, Catholic, Christian, Church, faith, Gay, Gospel, homily, hope, inclusion, Jesus Christ, Kevin Clarke, lesbian, LGBT, love, Michael Sean Winters, pastoral, Pope Francis, queer, religion, trans, Transgender, Vatican, welcome

Catholics gather worldwide as the Body of Christ in Eucharistic celebrations today, the feast of Corpus Chrisi. In a brief diversion from the news, Bondings 2.0 offers this meditation for our readers on the Body of Christ and HIV/AIDS from Katie Grimes at Women in Theology.

The reflection emanates from the author’s viewing of How To Survive a Plague, a documentary about the advocacy efforts of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACTUP) and the tumultuous period of the 1980s. Initially, the post focuses on the human body in relation to this theme:

“The dead bodies of AIDS victims were treated much like the living bodies of gay people: perpetually contaminating and hideously grotesque, they should be neither seen nor touched.  If possible, they should be erased altogether…

“The documentary confesses the interruptive power of bodily presence.  All throughout the film, ‘people with AIDS [are] putting their bodies on the line’—getting arrested, staging protests, and storming buildings.”

Grimes shifts then to Christian understandings of body and the Body of Christ, in light of how the documentary impacted her.

“For Christians who belong to the body of Christ by baptism and who take Christ’s body into their own ones every time they ingest the Eucharist, How To Survive a Plague’s meditation on the power of bodily presence carries ecclesiological import.  It forces us to more fearlessly interrogate what it means to be embodied members of the body of Christ.

“As our treatment of people suffering from HIV/AIDS, especially those who are gay and/or poor, shows, we still have a hard time taking seriously the embodied character of Christ’s presence in human bodies.  Even though Jesus explicitly identifies himself with the deprived bodies of the suffering poor, we find it especially difficult to accept the reality of Christ’s presence there…

“Unsurprisingly, we remain more comfortable with Christ’s embodied presence in an inanimate host than with His presence in the living bodies of human beings.”

She quotes fourth-century Saint John Chrysostom at length in reminding Catholics of the Church’s early commitment to the poor, and the priorities inherent to that commitment. Chrysostom’s homily challenges pietistic liturgies that do not act justly in the world. Grimes then connects this early Church leader to the modern actions of ACTUP at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

“Protesting magisterial prohibitions against condoms and homosexuality, a few dozen activists entered the congregation mid-mass one Sunday morning and staged a die-in in the aisles.  Falling to the ground as though struck by death, they shouted, ‘Why are you murdering us?’  ’Prayers won’t save the 1.5 million people infected with AIDS’ others shouted.  Many were arrested, their bodies removed from the aisles on stretchers as though they were corpses.

“Like Chrysostom, these demonstrators attempted to interrupt the assembly’s liturgical complacence.  Why do you care more for the body of Christ lying on the altar when you neglect Christ’s AIDS-infected body, they asked…By dying in the cathedral’s aisles, they forced the congregation to look at, hear, and maybe even touch bodies they preferred not to know about or come into contact with.”

In a final pivot, Grimes relates this disparity between devotion to Eucharist and devotion to our fellow person to the recent controversies with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. She ends with a final question we should all hold in prayer, in light of HIV/AIDS and the continued exclusion of LGBT people from Catholic life:

“In front of this same cathedral in the year 2013, a Cardinal’s representative treats gay and lesbian Catholics with dirty hands like trespassers and orders their arrest.  Symbolizing their gayness, the Cardinal sees their dirty hands as a desacralizing stain that makes their bodies unfit to come inside of the cathedral. One cannot touch the Eucharist with dirty, that is, gay hands.  Only clean bodies, that is, straight or sexually inactive bodies, are capable of taking Christ’s body into their own bodies.

“But Jesus was not so fussy about his own body.  He let himself be touched by a bleeding woman. He cavorted with women who had sex for a living.  Jesus’ body touched the bodies of the sexually unclean and the socially unwanted.  If Jesus did not keep his body from contact with the sinful and the unclean, why should we?”

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry


For many of us June is pride month.  As Catholic parents we support our kids, but often don't get the chance to say out loud  "I am a Catholic parent who loves my lgbtq kid!!!  Nothing says it out loud like a banner in a pride parade.  I'm in Memphis, so we won't celebrate until October.  The pride committee chose a cooler month!  So I'll have "pride envy" as I see folks post photos in the coming weeks.  If you have the chance to celebrate with your kid and would like to carry a banner- reach out on this blog and I'll mail you mine! You can send it back after your parade. Why not??? 

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, a retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney, Australia, has published a new book in which he calls for the Catholic church to institute a Third Vatican Council to discuss how to prevent sexual abuse in the church, which he proposes would also include re-examining a number of other sexual and gender-oriented topics, as well.  And he is starting a global movement to get Catholics to call for such an event.

Readers of Bondings 2.0 may remember that Bishop Robinson made headlines back in March of 2012 when he spoke at New Ways Ministry’s Seventh National Symposium in Baltimore and called for a total re-thinking of Catholic sexual morality.  He had previously been prominent because of his role as the Australian bishops’ representative to handle that country’s clerical sexual abuse crisis.  That experience helped him see the church and sexuality in a different light, and he wrote a book of his new insights, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church.

Australia’s The Age newspaper reports on his new initiative to seek a Vatican III Council. which Robinson calls “a Catholic spring”:

“Retired Sydney bishop Geoffrey Robinson has launched a petition for ordinary Catholics to seek another global church council like the 1960s reforming Vatican II council. But at ”Vatican III,’ he says, there must be as many lay people as bishops to make sure the hard questions get asked.

“He believes that only a ”Catholic spring’ like the revolutions that ended the Marcos regime in the Philippines, totalitarian governments in the Arab world and communism in eastern Europe will move the Vatican to make the changes that are needed.”

Robinson lays out his call for a new council in his new book, For Christ’s Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church … for Good, which will be published in Australia on Tuesday, June 4th.  The Age describes the publication:

“The book is about the powerful cultural factors that block the church from attacking the causes of abuse, rather than merely responding afterwards. Bishop Robinson believes the church is still trying to ‘manage’ the problem rather than confront it.

” ‘Ultimately the only way to deal with abuse is prevent it. Once it’s happened, anything you do is second-rate – you can’t cure it or restore people to the way they were before,’ Bishop Robinson said.

“The biggest obstacles he identifies are papal infallibility, obligatory celibacy, the professional priestly caste, the absence of the feminine throughout the church, and an immature morality based on authority rather than people taking responsibility.”

Bishop Robinson’s efforts toward a Vatican III are supported by two other Australian prelates: Bishops Pat Power of Canberra and Bill Morris of Toowoomba. A change.org petition has already been launched in Australia for lay people to endorse the need for a Council. With no publicity it has received 10,000 signatures in about two weeks.  U.S. and European versions of the petition will be launched this summer, and Bondings 2.0 will let you know about these developments as soon as they are announced.

You can learn more about Bishop Robinson and his ministry byvisiting his website.

New Ways Ministry supports Bishop Robinson’s call for a new Council with lay participation.  The only way that our church can heal is if all the voices on the many diverse forms of sexuality are heard and considered.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Related articles:

March 28, 2012: NCR Editorial and Columnist Support Bishop Robinson’s Symposium Call to Re-think Sexuality

March 22: Symposium Provides “Shot in the Arm” for Participants

March 17, 2012: Bishop, Governor, and Theologian Highlight Symposium’s Second Day

 

 

 

Tagged: Australia, Bishop Bill Morris, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Bishop Pat Power, Bishop Robinson, Catholic, Catholic Church, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church, For Christ's Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church … for Good, Pat Power, sex, Sexual abuse, sexuality, Sydney, Vatican II, Vatican III

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) has announced that it will support the Boy Scouts of America’s new policy to allow gay youth to become scouts.

Religion News Service (RNS)  reports on a letter that NCCS Chairman Edward P. Martin sent to Catholic scout leaders in which he said that his committee found no contradiction between the Scouts’ new policy and church teaching:

“ ‘We should be encouraged that the change in BSA’s youth membership standard is not in conflict with Catholic teaching,’ Martin said, asking that ‘Catholic Scouters and chartered organization heads not rush to judgment.’ ”

RNS also described a bit of the process that NCCS went through to arrive at this conclusion:

“Martin said that in the week following the vote, he and his colleagues consulted with the BSA, with other faith-based Scouting groups and with Catholic experts, and weighed feedback on social media before declaring themselves satisfied that the new policy would not conflict with Catholic teaching.

“One of the experts Martin cited was Edward Peters, a canon lawyer popular with church conservatives who wrote that while he disliked the new policy it was not contrary to church doctrine.”

Bondings 2.0 readers may remember that Peters was involved with Detroit Archbishops Vigneron’s statement that Catholics who support marriage equality should not present themselves for communion.

The NCCS letter details their understanding of what the new policy means

 

• “A youth will not be prevented from receiving a rank award or religious emblem simply for being gay.
• “A youth will not need to hide the fact that he is gay if he doesn’t want to.
• “A youth thinking or knowing he is gay should not be afraid that he will be bullied or expelled by the Scouting community by disclosing his sexual orientation.”

There had already been some discussion about whether Catholic dioceses would support the new policy, with different statements made by different places.  One pastor in Bremerton, Washington. had already announced that it would cancel Scouting programs in the parish.

The NCCS’s support is not binding on local bishops who can decide on their own policy.  Accoring to RNS:

“Each bishop can decide whether the new membership policy is acceptable. Guglielmone has written to every U.S. bishop, and Martin said the NCCS would develop a plan to ensure ‘a consistent message is delivered to dioceses, parishes, Catholic Scouters and the media’ on the church’s views about allowing gay Scouts.”

New Ways Ministry applauds the NCCS statement of support, and particularly the fact that they were able to elicit endorsement from one of the country’s most conservative canon law scholars.  We urge all Catholic dioceses to support the Boy Scouts’ new policy, and we hope and pray that very soon the Scouting organization will also allow gay men to be scout leaders, which the new policy did not cover.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Related posts:

May 30, 2013: Anti-Gay Letter from Catholic Priest Is Inadequate Response for Boy Scouts

May 24, 2013: National Committee and Local Dioceses Begin to React Boy Scouts’ Decision

May 24, 2013: Catholic Bishops Should Go At Least As Far As Mormons Have on Gay Scouting Policy

May 23, 2013: Why the U.S. Catholic Bishops Should Support Gay Boy Scouts

May 18, 2013: Boy Scouts’ Proposed Change Finds Catholics on Both Sides of the Debate

 

Tagged: Boy Scouts of America, Catholic, Catholicism, Edward Martin, Edward Peters, Gay, gay scouts, LGBT, National Catholic Committee on Scouting, NCCS, Scout, Scout Leader

Here are some items that you may find of interest:

1) Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, of Dominica, a Carribean island nation, has called for the decriminalization of homosexuality there, and issued a call to end all forms of violence to gay and lesbian people, reports Gay Star News.  While supporting decriminalization, the bishop also stated that homosexual activity  can lead to “adultery, fornication, orgies, calumny, deep-seated hatred” saying it can lead to “spiritual death.”

2) The heavily Catholic nation of Croatia witnessed its first same-sex marriage demonstration recently, with hundreds of people marching in the capital city of Zagreb, reports France24.com. The demonstration comes a week after a Catholic Church-backed group reported they had 500,000 signatures on a petition to have a referendum designed to outlaw same-sex marriage.

3) Eve Tushet, a Catholic lesbian woman committed to following the Church’s teaching on celibacy, has written an essay in The Atlantic as to why she remains Catholic, why she supports celibacy, and the problems that she has with the way Catholic leaders deal with homosexuality.

4) Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Illinois Catholic Conference wrote a lengthy letter to the editor of The Chicago Tribune complaining that the current marriage equality bill in that state does not offer enough religious protections.

5) Amazon.com has removed the book, Priesthood in Crisis, by Fr. Matthew Despard, a Scottish priest, which makes a number of claims about how gay clergy have bullied others in the priesthood, and also about how church leaders have covered up homosexual cliques among priests.  The UK’s The Daily Record reports that Amazon. com said the book did not meet its guidelines which prohibits “ pornography, offensive material, stolen goods and items that infringe upon a person’s privacy.”

6) Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau became the first same-gender couple to marry under France’s new marriage equality law, reports BBC.co.uk.   The wedding comes after a week that saw a major protest against the new law, which was opposed by the Catholic hierarchy in this heavily Catholic nation.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: amazon.com, Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, Bruno Boileau, Catholic Church, Croatia, Dominica, Eve Tushet, Father Matthew Despard, France, Gay, gay priests, Homosexuality, Illinois Catholic Conference, lesbian, LGBT, marriage equality, Robert Gilligan, Same-sex marriage, Scotland, Vincent Autin, Zagreb

Editor’s Note:  Sister Jeannine Gramick will take part in a public conversation on marriage equality this evening, May 31, 2013, with Bishop Thomas Paprocki, in Phoenix, Arizona.   The following is her reflection on another recent conversation that she had with Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana.  For more information on tonight’s event, click here.)

Sr. Jeannine Gramick speaking with Cardinal Turkson at The Catholic University of America

BY Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL,          Co-founder, New Ways Ministry

Last month, the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, hosted a conference entitled Peacebuilding 2013: Pacem in Terris at 50,” as a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s landmark encyclical on peace.

With the hope that the ideas and spirit of “Good Pope John” and Vatican II were being rekindled in our church, I eagerly attended and was not disappointed. Attendees met leading representatives of co-sponsoring organizations, such as the peace and justice departments of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and several Catholic universities, Catholic Relief Services, Pax Christi International, Caritas Internationalis, the Sant’Egidio Community, and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

More than 200 attendees listened to presentations from such well-known Catholic leaders as Fr. Bryan Hehir, John Carr, Drew Christiansen SJ, and Scott Appleby. One speaker I was particularly interested in hearing was Cardinal Peter Turkson from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Among LGBT advocates, Cardinal Turkson is known for his anti-gay remarks. For example, in 2012 when the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on African nations to repeal laws that criminalize homosexuality, Cardinal Turkson responded, “…when you’re talking about what’s called ‘an alternative lifestyle,’ are those human rights? … there’s a subtle distinction between morality and human rights, and that’s what needs to be clarified.”

Cardinal Turkson of Ghana

Cardinal Turkson did not entertain questions after his hour long presentation, so I wended my way to the front of the auditorium and, after much picture-taking of various Catholic University officials with the Cardinal, I was poised to ask him my question privately.

“Thank you, Cardinal,” I began, “for emphasizing throughout your talk that the underlying principle of Pacem in Terris is the basic dignity of the human person.

“I was pleased that you gave a few concrete examples of how you used your influence in Ghana to resolve some disputed situations by showing the parties that the basic issue involved was the dignity of the human person. In the situation of gay and lesbian people…”

I got no further with my question. The Cardinal quickly interrupted me, maintaining that the press greatly misunderstood what he meant. He was merely saying that “this” (using the pronoun, without saying the word “homosexuality” or “gay” or “lesbian”) was not acceptable in his culture. He repeated his defense a few times before someone came to whisk him off to lunch.

After lunch, Karen, another conference attendee I met, engaged him in conversation on the same topic. Once again, Cardinal Turkson defended his remarks, asserting he was misquoted. It was clear, Karen said, that he did not wish to say more about the matter. Karen later spoke with a priest from Ghana, who had worked with the Cardinal. The priest maintained that Turkson would never endorse a bill to kill homosexuals but would acknowledge that the culture viewed homosexuality as an aberration that would not be tolerated.

Whether or not Cardinal Turkson was misquoted, the fact remains that he failed to denounce a cultural norm that violates basic human dignity. Perhaps being confronted by some Catholics at a U.S. peace conference may induce him to reexamine his views about the human rights of LGBT people and to respond more thoughtfully to the press in the future. Such face-to-face encounters, coupled with the political wind-change of recent positive remarks on gay civil unions by some Vatican officials, may spur him to understand that those human rights, as Pope John XXIII told the world 50 years ago in Pacem in Terris, are based on the dignity of the human person.

Tagged: . Institute of Peace, Bryan Hehir, Cardinal, Caritas, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic University of America, Drew Christiansen, Ghana, Jeannine Gramick, John Carr, LGBT, New Ways Ministry, Pax Christi, Peter Turkson, Pope John XXIII, Sant'Egidio Community, Scott Appleby, U.S

Fr. Derek Lappe

A Catholic pastor in Bremerton, Washington, has closed the parish’s scouting program in the wake of the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to accept gay youth.  His decision, which he announced in a searing letter to parishioners, contradicts much of the Catholic hierarchy’s response so far.

Fr. Derek Lappe released the charged letter last Sunday to explain his actions and offer a  his views on homosexuality. He accuses the Boy Scouts of conceding to political correctness, strangely refers to the organization as the “New Boy Scouts,” and lists debunked pseudo-science to explain LGBT sexuality including a “Dislike of team sports” or “Lack of hand/eye coordination.”

Relying heavily on writings of the anti-gay Catholic Medical Association, Lappe’s screed continues in an emotional and disparate manner until it ends with this:

“To me it is cruel, and abusive and absolutely contrary to the Gospel to in any way confirm a teenager in the confusion of same-sex attraction, which is what the New Boy Scout policy will do.

And so, we are going to redouble our efforts to create a community that is supportive of happy, healthy, holy marriages. In our marriage preparation we are going to try to get women to stop marrying such loser men who will never be capable of being good dads and husbands, and vice versa…

“We are going to provide youth activities for any and all youth…Our current Fraternus andFidelis programs are well equipped to help cultivate authentically masculine and feminine identities.”

Reporting on Fr. Lappe’s letter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes that this letter “is the most hard-line anti-gay statement to come from anywhere in Washington’s three Catholic diocese over the past year,” which included anti-marriage equality campaigning last year before that state’s referendum.

KING 5 reports that a local chapter of Scouts For Equality will help relocate every scout in the Our Lady Star of the Sea parish’s troop to continue with the Boy Scouts, if they choose to do so.

Positive reactions from Catholics is more common than Fr. Lappe’s homophobic one. Dioceses and parishes in Grand Forks, Madison, Rochester and elsewhere are either welcoming the continuation of Catholic scouting or delaying comment until they can consider it further. The National Catholic Committee on Scouting released a statement that it will study the Boy Scouts’ decision, and nothing from the USCCB has been released yet.

The pastor’s letter is retrograde, perpetuating myths about LGBT people and promoting intolerance among youth in those very moments in life where love and affirmation are needed most. Fr. Lappe must apologize in good faith for the harmful act he undertook writing this anti-gay letter, and work now to foster a welcoming community for all his parishioners.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: Bemerton, bisexual, Boy Scouts of America, Catholic, Christian, Church, faith, Fr. Derek Lappe, Gay, Homophobia, Homosexuality, lesbian, LGBT, Our Lady Star of the Sea, parish, pastoral ministry, queer, scouting, trans, Transgender, USCCB, Washington State

New Yorkers stand up against recent hate crimes in rallies around the city

More than two dozen anti-LGBT hate crimes have plagued New York City this spring, including the murder of a young gay man Mark Carson. As residents unite to demand safe communities, many Catholics are questioning the near silence of Cardinal Timothy Dolan on this wave of anti-gay violence after his positive comments at Easter that the Church must reach out to LGBT people.

The New Civil Rights Movement reports that Cardinal Dolan spoke for only nineteen seconds on the matter at the end of his weekly radio show. His remarks are quoted in full:

“’You look at even the violence in our own city with some homosexuals who have recently been beaten and killed…I mean that’s just awful, that flies in the face of divine justice. Every human life deserves dignity and respect, right? Anytime life is attacked we all suffer.’”

His comments came after public questions from LGBT advocates about why the cardinal remained silent on the increasing violence, and instead pushed for anti-marriage equality sermons this past Sunday. These voices included Joseph Amodeo at The Huffington Post who notes solidarity statements from Catholic parishes in the NYC area. Even the National Organization on Marriage condemned the violence. Amodeo writes:

“In the absence of a clear and unconditional condemnation of these hate crimes, Cardinal Dolan’s silence is symptomatic of the culture of silence that continues to plague the hierarchy of the Catholic Church…

“If Cardinal Dolan truly wants to express the message that “all are welcome,” then he must break this dangerous silence, condemn these acts of hate, and stand in solidarity with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the face of prejudice. Passive homophobia can no longer be accepted as the status quo in our churches, because conditional statements of welcome…provide a breeding ground for intolerance.”

As for Cardinal Dolan’s spot on the radio show, Amodeo spoke critically of the passing comment by the cardinal as an insufficient response to injustice and hopes it is only the beginning of greater solidarity from the hierarchy with the LGBT community. Recent activity on Cardinal Dolan’s Facebook reveal New Yorkers are dissatisfied with what amounts to continued silence weeks into this uptick in hate crimes. Many are questioning if the cardinal is paying attention to Pope Francis’ welcoming messaging in Rome, which will be the topic of an upcoming blog post.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: anti-violence, Archdiocese of New York, bisexual, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Catholic, Church, crimes, discrimination, Gay, hate, hate crime, huffington post, Joseph Amodeo, LGBT lesbian, mark carson, New York City, queer, The New Civil Rights Movement, trans, Transgender

Sister Jeannine Gramick

Bishop Thomas Paprocki

Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL,  co-founder of New Ways Ministry and longtime Catholic advocate for LGBT equality, will engage in a conversation about marriage equality with Bishop Thomas Paprocki, of Springfield, Illinois, on Friday, May 31, 2013, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Entitled “Two Catholic Views on Marriage,” the event is sponsored by the Jesuit Alumni of Arizona organization, and will be moderated by journalist and author Robert Blair Kaiser.  The program is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., at Shadow Rock United Church of Christ Church, 12861 North 8th Street Phoenix, Arizona 85029.

New Ways Ministry encourages all who are able to attend this event.  You can purchase tickets for the event here.   It promises to be an evening of serious education and reflection.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: Arizona, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Catholic, Catholicism, Debate, Gay, gay marriage, Jeannine Gramick, lesbian, LGBT, marriage equality, New Ways Ministry, Robert Blair Kaiser, Same-sex marriage

It seems as if the floodgates are opening for gay athletes.  We had Jason Collins’ announcement a few weeks back, and Robbie Rogers’ announcement just recently, both of which broke the ice for professional gay athletes.

Jallen Messersmith

Now, we have the announcement that the first college athlete has come out as gay, and he is a player at a Catholic college.  Jallen Messersmith is a guard on the basketball team at Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas, and he came out in an interview with Outsports.com. The 6 foot 8, 215 pound athlete, who was raised Mormon, has been accepted by both his teammates and the Catholic school’s administration:

” ‘He’s a very outgoing player and if you need an example of a hustler, it’s him,’ said Benedictine guard Brett Fisher, Messersmith’s teammate and best friend. ‘He’s doing the dirty work for the team. He’s getting the blocks on defense, he’s getting every rebound. We like him on the team.’ “

Messersmith was fourth in the nation in his division for blocked shots this past season.

According to Kansas.com, the school’s leader was also very supportive of the athlete:

School president Steve Minnis said he doesn’t expect anything to change on campus, where he says Messersmith is well-liked.

“ ‘I’ve had conversations with the coaches to make sure he was being treated with respect and sensitivity,’ Minnis said. ‘Our position always has been with Jallen is we love him as one of God’s children, and we want to make sure everything is positive for him.’

“ ‘We are a Catholic college, and we take our mission and values seriously,’ Minnis said. ‘Our duty as Catholics, straight from the church, is to treat everybody with respect and accept them for who they are.’ ”

Messersmith on the court.

Messersmith had support from his team leadership since 2012 when he told his coach that he was gay.  Outsports.com reports:

“Messersmith decided to first tell his coach, Ryan Moody, at the start of fall semester 2012. ‘It was hard,’ he recalls of the conversation with his coach. Moody, however, took it in stride and offered unconditional support. The next day, Messersmith met with Moody and his two assistants.

” ‘They were there 100% for me,’ Messersmith said. ‘They said it would not make any difference in the way the team was run. And they wanted to make sure it wouldn’t change my experience at the school. That was awesome. After that, I felt like I could do anything.’ “

Outsports.com notes that Messersmith had already decided to go public even before Jason Collins’ historic announcement:

“Messersmith contacted Outsports about telling his coming out story prior to NBA player Jason Collins declaring he is gay (‘I think that’s awesome,’ he said about Collins). He appears to be the first gay men’s college basketball player to come out while still playing; Villanova’s Will Sheridan came out after he graduated. ‘When I came out, there was nobody in my sport I could’ relate to, Messersmith said about why he agreed to share his story. ‘I always wanted to put it out there and I had a great experience with it and I wanted to show people it could be fine.’ “

Messersmith is casual about being a celebrity, and offers advice to others considering coming out:

” ‘You’ve just got to be comfortable with yourself,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t very comfortable with myself for a long time and then when I was, if you put off the confidence and you are 100% comfortable when you tell someone, they will support you. They can’t, as much as they can try, drag you down. It’s all about you. It’s what you think. If you are comfortable with yourself, you can do anything.’

” ‘I’m definitely happy and content where I am right now. It’s awesome that I have the team support I do. It’s awesome that no one has said anything [negative] and I haven’t had anything change. I just feel really comfortable and it’s really nice.’ “

New Ways Ministry congratulates Jallen Messersmith for his courage and honesty, and we congratulate Benedictine College for standing up for the best ideals of the Catholic tradition by supporting their student-athlete.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

 

 

Tagged: Atchison, Basketball, Benedictine College, Catholic, Catholic college, Catholic school, Gay, gay athlete, Jallen Messersmith, Jason Collins, Messersmith, Outsports, Robbie Rogers

Robbie Rogers

Robbie Rogers was at the apex of a professional soccer career when he came out last February as a gay man and simultaneously retired from the sport he loved. Now, this self-described devout Catholic is returning to the pitch, and may make LGBT sports history here in America.

Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy signed Rogers over the weekend, and an article in The Nation reports on the significance:

“Robbie Rogers has officially un-retired and will become the first openly gay male North American athlete to take the field in one of the ‘big five’ sports…Rogers’s return is a testament to how much has changed since NBA player Jason Collins came out last month. Rogers saw how much support Collins received and was moved from his previous pessimism that he would never be accepted…

“But just as Collins’s announcement made it easier for Robbie Rogers, this latest news will make it easier for the next person to be honest and public about who they are…It will continue to develop until, in a not-to-distant future, the issue of having a gay teammate simply won’t be an issue at all.”

As with Jason Collins, who noted the central and affirming role Christian faith played in his life, Rogers publicly speaks about his Catholic identity as affirming this decision to ‘come out:’

“Another sign of the times is that Rogers was raised in a very religious home and still considers himself a devout Catholic. As he said, ‘Being Catholic—and people may disagree—but we are called to love everyone. Be honest. Be true in your relationship with God. I’ve always lived that way.’”

The theme of honesty, especially in a religious sense with regards to God, was evident from the start of Rogers’ coming out, as he wrote in a blog post last February:

“People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently…

“Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.  My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.”

The advancements in sports for LGBT people should not be understated, but from my perspective both Robbie Rogers and Jason Collins reveal a far great development in the struggle for equality. In coming out, these athletes acknowledged the important role faith plays in their lives — and the harmony they find between faith and sexuality. Although Catholic bishops and other religious leaders often are the loudest voices against LGBT rights, Rogers’ story reveals just how deeply and broadly the pro-equality gospel message has spread.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: athlete, athletics, bisexual, Catholic, Christian, christianity, Church, coming out, faith, football, Gay, God, honesty, Jason Collins, LA Galaxy, lesbian, LGBT, Major League Soccer, MLS, NBA, religion, Robbie Rogers, soccer, sports, Sports Illustrated, trans, Transgender

Father Gary Meier

Last week, we reported on the story of Fr. Gary Meier, a St. Louis archdiocese priest who came out as gay by publishing a memoir, Hidden Voices: Reflections of a Gay, Catholic Priest. 

Since that post, Fr. Gary has published a reflection on HuffingtonPost.com, which explains his decision to come out at this time.  He has also appeared on HuffPost Live.  

In addition, Bondings 2.0 asked Fr. Gary to answer questions about his experience, and he has responded affirmatively.  The exclusive interview follows.

The Interview:  Father Gary Meier

What is different about your life now that you are known publicly as a gay priest?

Being known as a gay priest is not that much different than when I wasn’t known as such.  What’s different is the response I’m getting from all over.  My story has gone viral on the Huffington Post and the attention that story created is different for sure.  I’ve been hearing from people all over who have been suffering in silence and who feel rejected.  They feel betrayed by a church they have supported for years – a church that will not support them – it is so incredibly sad.    

How did you come to the decision about coming out? Why did you decide to do this at this particular point in your life?

The decision to come out was made through years of prayer, spiritual direction and reflection.  It was not an easy or short process.  Why now?  As I told a reporter recently, “Why not now?”  Saint Catherine of Siena once said, “Speak the truth as if you had a thousand voices.  It is silence that kills the world.”  So, why not now?  I do feel some shame and embarrassment that I didn’t speak sooner.

How have fellow priests responded to your decision? How have lay people responded?

Both lay people and priests have been incredibly supportive of my decisions and actions.  It is amazing.  In the first few days, I received more than a hundred communications – all of which were supportive with the exception of two – just two!  That’s insane!  I realize that this has only just begun, but I didn’t expect such an outpouring of support.  The emails and communications that have come to me directly have been overwhelmingly supportive. 

 What has been the biggest surprise or most unexpected thing to happen to you since making your announcement?

The fact that this story is viral on the Huffington Post has surprised me.  But to me, that simply affirms that because our church is unwilling to have a discussion about this topic, when someone starts a conversation, people want to be heard.  The other surprise has been some of the emails I’ve gotten.  The atmosphere of silence and shame that our church has created regarding homosexuality is bigger than I thought and the pain we have caused is real.

What can lay people do to help more gay priests come out of the closet?

Let them know they are loved and supported.  It has been truly a blessing to have had so many lay people I’ve ministered to in the past 15 years be so incredibly supportive.  We don’t have to make this journey alone.  There are lots of people who will support us and stand with us.

Do you expect any retribution to come from your announcement?

I keep getting the question, “what do you expect?”  And to be honest with you, I don’t have any expectations.  I know I am not willing to ‘recant’ my position or my beliefs.  I suppose we have to wait and see.

If you had the opportunity to advise the pope about gay priests, what would you tell him?

We are here!  We’ve always been here and it’s time to for a new understanding regarding homosexuality and what it means to love and to be loved.

How do you think our church would change if more gay priests came out? How do you think your personal ministry will change?

The church will dramatically change if every gay priest came out.  But I’ve also come to understand that coming out as ‘gay’ is one thing.  Coming out as gay and pro-gay is another.  While I don’t know where my personal ministry is going to take me, I do know that advocacy for the LGBT community will be part of it. 

Do you plan to be more involved with Catholic LGBT issues?

Yes

How can people get a copy of your book?

You can find the book on amazon.com and kindle.  You can also borrow the book through kindle.  Or, go to my website www.fathergary.com and click on the amazon logo. Or click the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Voices-Reflections-Catholic-Priest/dp/1484106792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369340840&sr=8-1&keywords=gary+meier .

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Tagged: Church, coming out, Father Gary Meier, Gary Meier, Gay, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gay priest, Homosexuality and Roman Catholic priests, huffington post, LGBT, St. Louis