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 Dishonors Vow-Faithful Gay Priests Public Relations Strategy Angers America's Gay Communities St. Patrick's Cathedral: Historic Protest on Sunday - 9:30 A.M. |
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By Jack Nichols
Key cardinals and bishops are hoping to deflect criticism for their failures to protect minors. They will not be allowed to succeed with this strategy, however, as the protesters at St. Patrick's Cathedral will demonstrate. Pope John Paul II's spokesperson, Joaquin Navarro-Valls first floated a shameless homophobic strategy at the Vatican in early March. Bishop Wilton Gregory, head of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Edward Cardinal Egan (New York) his stand-in, Msgr. Eugene Clark (New York) and two American Cardinals, Adam Cardinal Maida (Detroit) and Francis Cardinal George (Chicago) have since made ignorant and inflammatory public attacks on same sex love, pontificating on the need to expel gay priests. Head Bishop Wilton Gregory, after seeming to concede that the Roman Catholic clergy is dominated by homosexuals, complained, nevertheless, about how his Church faces recruitment problems "when there does exist within any given seminary a homosexual dynamic that makes heterosexual young men think twice before entering for fear they may be identified with that orientation or that they would be harassed." Michigan: Cardinal Maida Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of Michigan's most effective glbt civil rights, advocacy, and anti-violence organization condemned the anti-gay message of the Detroit-area's Adam Cardinal Maida, noting: "In what many are viewing as a desperate attempt to deflect attention away from the corruption in Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, Adam Cardinal Maida has scapegoated the gay community in remarks during the special session of Cardinals called by Pope John Paul II in Rome." Montgomery continued:: "Maida blamed the recently revealed abuse scandal on the existence of homosexuality in the priesthood, saying that 'I think what the behavioral scientists are telling us, the sociologists, it's not truly a pedophilia-type problem but a homosexual-type problem.' "The Cardinal's comment is reckless on its face. His wholesale and ignorant attack on gays is morally bankrupt, puts people at risk, and does not remedy the problem of the Church. "It would be interesting to find out what 'behavioral scientists' and 'sociologists' Maida has been talking to, because according to all legitimate, respected psychological and medical professional associations, there is absolutely no link between an adult sexual orientation and pedophilia. "Does Maida share the view of his colleague Francis Cardinal George that there is a hierarchy of morality, that somehow it is less morally reprehensible to exploit the pastoral relationship and abuse a female than it is to abuse a male? Blaming gay priests is not only preposterous scapegoating, it totally sweeps under the rug the very real concerns of the sexual exploitation of women and girls by priests. Why isn't Maida saying that the problem lies with heterosexuality, too? "And let us not forget that Adam Cardinal Maida has a proven anti-gay agenda, having lobbied against LGBT inclusion in state hate crimes legislation." Reactions of Gay Catholics: Dignity/U.S.A. Chicago's Francis Cardinal George believes gay males should be kept out of the priesthood and attempted to justify his hypocrisy through odd theological double-talk: "The important thing in seminary formation is to ask whether or not the candidate is capable of marriage and family," he said "because an ordained priest is a married man, he's a committed man to the Bride of Christ, which is the church." Marianne Duddy, executive director of Dignity/USA, the organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics, noted: "The Church hierarchy is refusing to acknowledge their own failings in moving abusive priests from parish to parish, and protecting criminals instead of children. And now the American Church has joined the Vatican in cynically shifting the blame to gay priests," said Ms. Duddy. A Florida Viewpoint:
Today, Kunst says: "When we pleaded for a Separation of Church and State, it was to shelter ourselves from these demagogues and hypocrites." Addressing how to reply to today's priest-predators and to the cardinals and bishops who've protected them, Kunst told GayToday: "They violate the law? Then pay the penalty, like anybody else. A clerical collar should never, ever intimidate our police, or any higher branch of our American law enforcement system." Washington, D.C. : Human Rights Campaign Communications Director David M. Smith: Mr. David M. Smith of the Human Rights Campaign said: "Reckless and hurtful statements by some leaders in the Catholic hierarchy unnecessarily harm gay and lesbian Catholics and dishonor the thousands of gay priests who have served the Church with honor and distinction. These reckless remarks do nothing but create misunderstanding, and distract the Church from addressing the real issues at hand, which led to these unconscionable acts of child abuse and the Church's cover-up of these crimes. "What Church leaders desperately need is reflection, not deflection of these difficult issues that confront them," continued Smith. "Solutions will only come through an honest, thoughtful and deliberative attempt to address the situation. The immediate answer is to root out abusers, plain and simple, no matter what their sexual orientation. We call on the Church to punish wrongdoers, without sweeping the problem under the carpet by blaming and persecuting innocent people because of who they are." More on St. Patrick's Cathedral Protest Sunday 9:30 A.M New York's Andy Humm further explained what he hoped would be the outcome of the Sunday morning protest (April 28, 9:30 a.m.): "We are angry at the gay bashing, but want this action (at St. Patrick's Cathedral) to be a powerful moral counterpoint to the immorality of the Catholic hierarchy," he said. "We do not want this to be a Catholic-bashing demonstration nor do we intend to enter the cathedral. (Some will be wearing pink triangles in silent protest.) "We are trying to secure the participation of as many non-gay allies as possible. We want political leaders, civic leaders, religious leaders, feminist leaders, artist/activists, and more to participate. "We want survivors of abuse at the hands of priests to come forward. We also want to caution against a witch hunt against gay priests and encourage gay clergy to come forward." |
