Three Questions for Bishop Richard Lennon from Hopeful Cleveland Catholics

1) After years of silence and just days before his ad limina visit with Pope John Paul II, Bishop Anthony Pilla issued a statement condemning the heretical group Futurechurch and stating, in pertinent part, "it is not appropriate for the activities and meetings of 'Future Church' to be held in church related institutions and/or parish facilities." Sadly, Bishop Pilla had no intent of enforcing this statement which was never enforced and the national headquarters of Futurechurch remains on diocese of Cleveland property. Note addresses shared by Futurechurch and St. Mark Church:

FutureChurch 15800 Montrose Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44111 USA Phone: 216.228.0869 Fax: 216.228.4872 E-mail: info@futurechurch.org

St. Mark Church 15800 Montrose Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44111 E-mail: ________________________________

Bishop Lennon, will you have the courage to remove Futurechurch from diocesan property and remove from our Seminary those teachers who support Futurechurch? ---

2) Homosexual Rainbow Gay Pride Symbols continue to be displayed on the Diocese of Cleveland website.

Bishop Lennon, will you remove these Homosexual Rainbow Gay Pride Symbols from our diocesan website?

John Carroll University in its newly revised "Community Standards Manual," refers its students to a pro-abortion counseling center:

The manual recommends either the University Counseling Center or the Cleveland RapeCrisis Center to students who may have suffered a sexual offense. But last year Cardinal Newman Society disclosed the latter Center's membershipin the Freedom of Choice Cleveland Coalition, which advocates abortionrights. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was the originally designatedrecipient of funds raised from last year's performance of The VaginaMonologues, but protests convinced university officials to redirect thefunds to another charity. Apparently the Center was not worthy offunding, but it is entrusted with counseling John Carroll's students whomay be pregnant as a result of rape or incest.

On April 10, a sanctioned John Carroll University homosexual student organization presented on campus the play, "Queer Monolouges."

It is also of great concern that seminary students for the Diocese of Cleveland take classes at John Carroll University.

A couple years ago, one such seminary student penned the following cry for help:

John Paul II, in his document "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" called for the return of a Catholic identity to Catholic universities and colleges and, in the spirit of their Catholic tradition, the certification of those professors.

Bishop Lennon, John Carroll University is a hotbed of dissent and anti-Catholicism. What do you intend to do about John Carroll University and will you continue to let our seminarians take classes there?

I fully respect your motivations and values. Please do not take this as criticism, for I should do far better to praise much about what you propose. I have just learned it's bad psychology to attempt to corner someone new to his office; you make a strong impact on him, one you will not likely match in the future, but at precisely the time when he would likely feel unable to respond in the manner you would like him to, even if he were inclined to agree with you.

I would propose that it may be far more successful, rather than starting a populist campaign in an inherently anti-populist institution, that you:

*Write a single letter informing him of your perspective on the issue.
*Get the most respected authority under Bp. Lennon to be the primary signatory.
*Present it to him under the most humble and respectful conditions.
*Make no judgment whatsoever to Bp. Pilla's "failure to act," for that only informs Bp. Lennon that failing to act would be the coninuation of existing policy. Rather, put it terms of "Bishop Pilla had established this as policy, but had not had the opportunity to act on it."
*Wait until you are convinced Bp. Lennon's inaction means he intends to do nothing about it. Send another letter, bringing the matter to is attention, written in full confidence that the matter has merely escaped him.
*Only after he has given solid indications he intends to do nothing should you procede with anything that smacks of politicized organization.

From the John Carroll University website:

http://www.jcu.edu/su/commdiv/spotlight/2005/december_orgs.htm

Allies

Allies seeks to offer support for students that are interested in issues that concern gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The Communications Division interviewed Rhiannon Lathy '07, the organization's president.

What is the main mission of Allies?

The main mission of Allies is to promote awareness of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning (GLBTQ), and allied community and also to provide advocacy and support for that community.

What are your plans for the next year?

Our number one goal for the upcoming year is changing all of the non-discrimination policies on campus to include protection for all GLBTQ individuals in the JCU community. As it stands now, some faculty and staff could technically be fired because of their sexual orientation.

What are some events that your group puts on?

We send a group to the AIDS Walk fundraisers in Cleveland and Washington D.C., and we sponsor Coming Out Week, the Meet Your Allies Potluck, the National Day of Silence, and of course the Drag Shows. In the past, we have put on the Queer Monologues and hosted the award winning IDEA, the first conference for GLBTQ groups from Jesuit universities.

How can people get involved with your organization?

You can come to our weekly meetings, every Wednesday at 9 p.m. in AD 258, or contact Meg Kolupski, our secretary, at mkolupski07@jcu.edu who will put you on our mailing list to keep you updated about our events.

The Drag Show last year was a big hit. Do you plan on hosting this event again?

I definitely want Allies to host another drag show this year -- perhaps this time involving JCU student performers!

Your signs have often been seen as controversial. What would your response be to people who disagree with the message you are trying to convey?

My response would of course depend on the nature of the criticism. One popular recent criticism has been that our pictures of people kissing were too explicit. The fact is that a picture of a man and a woman kissing does not offend most people, but a picture of two men or two women kissing does offend people. The message of the poster was simply that this difference of reaction is wrong.

Has the administration been helpful in your endeavors? Do you feel that you have a lot of support and backing from the school?

Since I began the presidency, the administration has been very supportive. We recently met with Fr. Niehoff who assured us that he will be our constant ally. Sometimes we can't do all that we would like to do, though, like change the non-discrimination policies immediately, but I understand it's difficult to get support like this from a community where not all people are as dedicated to human rights as we are in Allies.

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