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 22-Year U.S. Roman Catholic Ministry to Gays Ended Priest and Nun Barred Forever from Ministering to Gays |
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Compiled By GayToday
Pope John Paul II endorsed this biased stand prior to its being made public. While gay and lesbian Catholics continue to hope to be integrated into the mainstream of their Church, the Vatican's most recent move seems to offer little more than death to such hopes. Only last month, Robert Miailovich, President of Dignity/USA wrote of Jack Nichols, GayToday's Senior Editor, that he was guilty of "anti-Catholicism" demonstrated, he said, in Nichols' feature article about an Australian archbishop's anti-gay campaigning. The Dignity/USA President, calling himself: "a gay Catholic who believes that his spirituality and his sexuality can be and are reconciled" said "I take exception to the anti-Catholicism that seems to underpin the article."
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has accused the Maryland-based priest and nun of causing—with "erroneous" and "dangerous" teachings "confusion among the Catholic people" and charges that they have "harmed the community of the Church.'' The Congregation also claims that U.S. bishops have long been complaining about New Ways Ministry. Washington Archbishop Cardinal James A. Hickey, released a statement explaining that the Vatican's decision to call same-sex love "intrinsically evil" had not been made without careful consideration. ``The Holy See was very careful and very patient in undertaking such a serious action,'' Hickey announced. ``Both (the priest and the nun) were given numerous opportunities over the past 20 years to clarify their beliefs and to assent to the Church's full teaching on homosexuality.'' Nugent and Gramick, who'd ignored Church warnings to end their ministry, published two books instead: `Building Bridges: Gay and Lesbian Reality and the Catholic Church and Voices of Hope: A Collection of Positive Catholic Writings on Gay and Lesbian Issues.
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