Posted on 05/06/2002 7:06:08 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
PHILADELPHIA- Mary Louise Cervone has been a practicing Roman Catholic all her life and, as a lesbian, has long hoped for acceptance from the church.
But finding a welcoming place has never been easy and now with the clergy sex abuse scandals raging in dioceses across the country, Cervone and other gay Catholics feel that homosexuals are being scapegoated by church leaders.
Most of the victims of priestly abuse are adolescent boys, leading some Catholics to conclude that there is a link between homosexuality and the abuse of minors.
Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua last week called homosexuality an "aberration, a moral evil" and said the archdiocese tries to screen out gay priests, suggesting that they were more likely to commit child abuse.
And 100 gay advocates protested outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Sunday after Monsignor Eugene Clark reportedly made similar comments April 21. The New York Archdiocese has said Clark was speaking for himself and not the archdiocese.
Clinicians say no credible data exists on the number of abusive priests who are homosexual and there is no evidence that homosexuals are more likely than heterosexuals to molest children.
Cervone, the president of Dignity/USA, a national gay Catholic activist organization, thinks homosexuals are being unfairly targeted.
"It's wrong," she said. "There's no data to support it. There's not even any data collected by the Catholic church. It's the arrogance of the church leaders, this feeble attempt to blame the whole crisis of clergy on the gay community."
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based gay Catholic advocacy group, said the organization has been getting calls from concerned gay priests and parishioners.
"It's a new phase of anger toward church leaders," DeBernardo said.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the recent statements do not reflect the usual church stance, which is that homosexual or heterosexual men can be priests if they are celibate.
She added that the church does not reject gay Catholics. What it teaches is that being homosexual isn't a sin, but being a sexually active gay is.
"I think the church tries to be open to all Catholics who are accepting of the church's teachings," Walsh said. "It's a difficult point for homosexual Catholics that the church condemns homosexual activity."
Both Dignity/USA, which has been banned from meeting in Philadelphia churches, and New Ways plan to speak on behalf of gay Catholic rights at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' general meeting in Dallas beginning June 13.
Over the years, such efforts have become more common as gays have fought for greater acceptance in the church.
"As gay people become more accepted in society, more Catholics are coming out," said Donal Godfrey, an Irish Jesuit priest who is working on a doctorate at the University of San Francisco.
"If you look at the life of Jesus, he was close to people who were marginalized. If we're meant to be following him, people who are marginalized should be comfortable in our churches."
The number of gay Catholics is hard to judge, but DeBernardo said he believes it is around 10 percent, roughly similar to some estimates of the general population.
Some wonder why homosexuals would stick with the church. Gay Catholics say their faith is a piece of their identity.
"It isn't an option for me," said Tom Streeper another member of Dignity in Philadelphia. "That's the way I was raised and it's part of who I am."
Diocese too liberal, book says [Supports Paid Pro-Homosexual Psychologist]
I could be wrong here, but how can one be GAY and a Practicing Catholic?Those Catholics in Curage who have same-sex attractions but who live chastely (i.e., are practicing Catholics) do not even call themselves "gay."
Trouble is, groups like Dignity USA and CFFC don't even want us to condemn the sin.
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Dignity has, in fact, been banned by the Vatican from meeting in any Catholic Church.
Can someone reconcile these facts for me?
One of the consequences of the current scandal is that those parishes (at least in New York) which sponsor Courage meetings no longer advertise the meetings in their weekly bulletin, perhaps out of fear of mentioning the word "homosexuality" in the current atmosphere. IMO, this is yet another example of the hierarchy's protecting their reputation at the expense of those to whom they should be ministering.
If their faith was more than just a "piece" of their identity, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Titus 1:16 - "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed" (NASB)
1st John 2:4-6 - "The one who says 'I have come to know Him', and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; (5) but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: (6) the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." (NASB)
Any professing Christian, regardless of sexual orientation, who isn't sufficiently challenged by these scriptures, please speak up.
Hat-Trick
Why hope for acceptance from a heiracry that has never promoted "tolerance" or any thought against it........she's as dumb as a rock if she thinks gays will be accepted.......Hell shes dumb as a stone if she thinks those who take cash every week for "god's" good will will ever accept anything but fear and hegemony to promote thier objectives.......more power.
Believing in god and living a good life have nothing to do with supporting an corrupt church.
Moreover forget Priestly celibacy. Who wants to see a host of effeminates as role models for young boys?
I'm not sure exactly why Courage is so low-key -- I suspect It has to do with its members desiring anonymity -- but I feel very strongly that it should be a part of the public debate as the Catholic alternative.
I am really sick of these stupid comments. It is far more truthful to say that the maginalized found it easier to be closer to Jesus than those who had much invested in the religion or politics of the time. They had less BS to overcome and did not think themselves so smart as to know it all. The crazy idea that some churches preach that Jesus loved the poor more than the rich or powerful is absolute rubbish.
God Bless
Mel
Wishful thinking. It's more like 1.5 to 2%. They lie too!
You mean, as long as the sinner is loving somebody elses son.
But when your son is the victim (or the 2d or 3d or nth victim) this platitude takes on a whole new meeting. Why should the RCC love the victims any less than the sinner? Do the Bishops and Cardinals show compassion for the faithful by continually recycling these predators into unsuspecting parishes?
The problem has less to do with the sinner than with a church hierarchy that is more concerned with protecting their own while continuing to put other children in harms way.
One can love the sinner just well when he is in jail.
I'm sorry, what I really mean't to say was this:
Any professing Christian, regardless of the temptations they struggle with, who isn't sufficiently challenged by these scriptures, please speak up.
Hat-Trick
Bishops' meetings are closed to the public. I would doubt these gay groups are going to speak to the gathering, though they will certainly address the media hordes outside.
Furthermore, even the suggestion that Jesus Himself was poor and therefore related better to them (thereby applying the world's standards of success) is appalling. The King of the Universe who owns it all....poor...NOT.
gay= activist, sexually active, living in mortal sin.
Catholic Rights=see Code of Canon Law; PS: I don't know of any canon that justifies sodomy.
I wish these people would just leave the Church! They're beyond evangelization in their current state(they reject sound teaching). Excommunicate them and see if that draws them back!
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