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Presentations
at the 1998 NACDLGM Conference
National
Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay
Ministries
When asked by The Catholic Telegraph why the archdiocese decided
against the idea of a local Courage chapter, Archbishop
Pilarczyk explained that Fathers Leshney and Kellerman
attended a convention for people in charge of diocesan
ministries to gays and lesbians. "These are separate
from Courage," the archbishop explained. "On
that basis, from what they heard and saw, we decided that
we would not go the route of Courage but would start our
own on the model of what other dioceses do." The
following is a summary of what Church leaders from across
the country heard at the 1998 conference of the National
Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian & Gay
Ministries, held in Rochester, New York from Sept. 17-19:
Deacon Jim Campbell
from the Diocese of Oakland, where he works with the
diocese’s Task Force for Outreach to Gay and Lesbian
Communities and their Families, spoke about the beauty,
honesty, and superiority of same-sex relationships, how
much he has learned from gays in unions, and why it is
important for the Church to bless these unions. He
explained that neither Scripture nor Tradition is
"definitive" when trying to understand same-sex
relationships; the deacon assured his audience that the
Church will inevitably find a way to bless such unions.
"It is clear the Church cannot say ‘yes’
to what Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 refers to as sexual
immorality," he asserted. "The Church can only
say ‘yes’ to that which builds up the Church
and its members. The question then is: Is it possible for
a covenental gay friendship to demonstrate
sanctification? I claim that it is." The bulk of his
address was a description of the same-sex blessing ritual
he performs as a deacon in Oakland. When asked if a
celibate couple ever asked to be blessed, Deacon Jim
replied: "No."
Bill Kummer, general
coordinator of Family and Friends of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgendered Persons in Catholic Education,
disclosed his step-by-step plan to transform nine of the
eleven Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St.
Paul-Minneapolis into "gay-friendly" schools.
He proudly boasted that some of the schools have gay
student clubs, survey students on their
"homophobia," publish gay newspapers, have
queer literature in their libraries, and permit same-sex
couples to dance at their high school proms. He claimed
that, under his direction, the schools have adjusted
their curricula to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered ideology in most classes –even Math:
An example he cited: If a certain city has such-and-such
a population, and x percent is gay and x percent is
lesbian and x percent is bisexual and x percent is
transgendered, what is the total percentage of people who
are GLBT?
Ex-priest Marvin Mich,
professor of moral theology at Rochester’s St.
Bernard’s Institute and a nationally known pioneer
working in Catholic circles to facilitate the adoption of
children by homosexual couples, spoke of the work he has
done for Catholic Charities (CC). Mich claims to have
persuaded CC staffers to understand the importance of
following state nondiscrimination laws, rather than
Church teaching, in the placement of adoptees in the home
of same-sex couples. After summarily dismissing Catholic
moral teaching , Mich explained that he prefers the
statement from the Episcopal Church which declared:
"To the degree that the study of Christian ethics is
uninformed by the best knowledge our culture affords us,
from the sciences and the humanities, our theology then
is a disastrously flawed ethical system, even a useless,
pretentious, or blasphemous one."
Judge Anthony Sciolino,
recently ordained a deacon by Bishop Clark, is the first
family court judge in New York state to grant adoption
rights to an artificially inseminated lesbian and her
partner. He explained to his listeners the legal status
of homosexuals’ adoption rights in New York, and why
homosexual couples are often preferable to heterosexual
couples—they are more loving, caring, stable, etc.
"Same-sex adoption is now routine in New York,"
he said, and complained that the Church is not
counter-cultural enough to accept same-sex adoptions.
Karen Rinefierd,
coordinator for Rochester’s Young Adult, Adult and
Family Faith Formation, gave a detailed description of
the process through which homosexual issues can be
introduced into religious education programs. Explaining
how best to discuss the topic of homosexual sex she said,
"my experience is that in any gathered group or
parish setting, more people will be open and willing to
learn—you will often find waves of hysteria you will
have to go through—even after you’re
finished…’I can’t deal with the idea of
two men kissing’… ‘My children, I
can’t think of them doing that.’ Your job,
which is very difficult, is to be a model. Use words
comfortably. Highlight the good. Talk about great,
wonderful, healthy experiences."
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop
Gabino Zavala, NACDLGM’s episcopal moderator and
liason to the NCCB, emphasized one of the main points of
the group’s agenda: to work on the conversion of
those Catholics who still object to homosexuality. The
L.A. bishop also extolled the idea of
"inclusion," promoting the idea that gays and
lesbians have special gifts that heterosexuals do not
have, and the Church must be changed by these so-called
gifts: "The skill, talent, giftedness, insight, and
grace of homosexual and lesbian members of the faith
community is to be called forth, welcomed, and allowed
expression. And this receptivity promotes the full
development of the human person, enhances the life of the
community, and serves to reveal the true face of
God." He also exhorted gay rights activists to take
the lead in special rights legislation for homosexuals.
Sr. Kay Ryan,
family life director for the Diocese of Albany, and
president of the National Association of Catholic Family
Life Ministers, admitted at the conference that she told
her bishop, Howard J. Hubbard, that she doesn’t
accept Church teaching. She spoke about her efforts to
encourage pastors and parish leaders to introduce
homosexuality into Albany’s parishes. She also
deplored the alleged "ambiguity" in Church
teaching on homosexuality, and explained how much she
learned from Fr. Gerald Coleman, rector of the
Archdiocese of San Francisco’s St. Patrick Seminary,
about how important it is to invite gays and lesbians to
be eucharistic ministers, catechists, and so on. Sr. Kay
spoke also of how proud she was of Always Our Children.
It "gives us power we didn’t have before,"
she said.
Deacon Steve Graff,
a member of a team writing guidelines on the diaconate
for the NCCB, led a workshop on ways to introduce gay
themes into Sunday homilies. Participants in the workshop
discussed ways preachers can manipulate a congregation.
Deacon Graff reminded his audience that when introducing
gay and lesbian themes in a sermon, preachers do not
always imply that lesbians and gays are victims, but
rather are "resurrection people."
Sr. Kay Heverin, S.S.J.
led a Sunday morning prayer service. After reading the
Gospel and preaching the sermon, she mentioned that she
has been preaching homilies in Rochester parishes for
more than 20 years. Her advice to conference
participants: "Use the words ‘gay’ and
‘lesbian’ in your homilies… Every chance
where it is appropriate I do use the words and I know it
makes a difference" and "it is our birthright
that demands that we call our Church to recognize and
celebrate the gifts brought by those who, created in
God’s image, are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and
transgendered.
Lay Catholic Libby Ford—a
partnered lesbian and artificially inseminated
mother—exhorted her peers with children in Catholic
schools or religion programs to insist that children
receive "no negative messages" about
homosexuality.
RELATED ARTICLE: Cincinnati's
Ministry to Gays and Lesbians
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