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| Bishop Sullivan deserves his name in neon for the following op ed piece. This will have to do. |
Bishop Joseph Sullivan, retired Auxilliary Bishop of Brooklyn has written a piece on GLBT inclusion I doubt we will see coming from the USCCB any time in the near future--like at the upcoming June meeting.
Catholics are reaching out to the LGBT community
By Bishop Joseph Sullivan - BuffaloNews.com - 6/2/2011
One need only flip through some of today’s cable news channels to witness how some of our society’s most sensitive public policy matters are overly simplified in black-and-white terms, in which only the most strident voices seem to get heard. Of those many hotly debated issues, the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community continue to make headlines.
What you would probably be surprised to learn is that Catholics are among those who increasingly are reaching out pastorally to the LGBT community. A recent study released by the Public Religion Research Institute found that a majority of Catholics believe that job discrimination against gay and lesbian people should be outlawed. By almost 2 to 1, Catholics believe that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children.
The views of Catholics about the LGBT community have been evolving for years. Catholic teachings compel us to work toward the elimination of unjust structures and to treat people with dignity, regardless of their state in life or their beliefs. My own understanding of this community has also evolved over the course of four decades of ministry.
Given that Catholics represent approximately one-quarter of the U. S. population, the changing attitudes of Catholics toward greater degrees of LGBT equality most likely will be a significant influence in the public square. Across the country there are increasing numbers of parishes that welcome LGBT parishioners and their families to active participation in the church. Catholic colleges and universities are in dialogue with their LGBT students, and Catholic retreat houses provide retreats specifically for LGBT Catholics.
Catholics and other religious people who support LGBT rights do so because of their experience of engagement with members of the LGBT community. They are not rebels in their churches, but people who have taken spiritual messages of inclusiveness and welcoming to heart. They are taking the church’s teaching on social justice and applying it to pastoral practice in engaging the LGBT community.
We see these teachings play out as Catholics across the country engage in prayerful and meaningful dialogues about understanding and embracing the LGBT community. This dialogue is happening amongst faithful families, in student groups on the campuses of Catholic universities, and within church congregations. This dialogue is admittedly difficult, at times, but important.
More than a decade ago, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a graceful message, “Always Our Children,” which reminded us, “For St. Paul love is the greatest of spiritual gifts. St. John considers love to be the most certain sign of God’s presence.” For most Catholics, there can be no statement that better summarizes an attitude of welcoming of our LGBT brothers and sisters than those of Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you.”
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Although I appreciate these words from Bishop Sullivan, I can't help but notice he is another retired Bishop and wonder if Catholicism has reached a point where only retired bishops are free to act Christ like as opposed to Catholic like. It seems only retired bishops are allowed to see and state truth, while active bishops are stuck with deception and fantasy. Of course retired bishops are free of the need to pander for money and I know that has a great deal to do with their equal freedom to state truth.
Bishop Sullivan is not quoting statistics about Catholics that apply to the hierarchy. The stats he quotes pertain to the laity. The hierarchy is pandering to right wing money and they are teaching exclusion, discrimination, and outright bigotry. They call this defending religious freedom. I call it masking a form of economic slavery. "Pander to Caesar for the things that are Caesar's, and take from God the things that are God's" seems to be the verse of the day when it comes to the official stance on LGBT issues. The laity is no longer buying this message and it seems neither are some of our retired bishops.
"How stupid do they think we are?" is becoming a very frequent comment on blogs from across the Catholic spectrum. Whether the issue is clerical cover ups, financial accountability, LGBT inclusion and other sex/gender issues, or even liturgical changes, laity are not taking these 'teachings' well, or silently, or in obedience. And that's true across the ideological spectrum. The issues might be different but the response is becoming the same. "How stupid do they think we are?" These are not cases of shooting the messenger. These are cases of refusing the message. If the Church really was the military style organization it pretends to be, a lot of our officers would be removed. When the troops stop obeying the officers, the officers need to go---or those officers need to man up and ask for new orders from higher up the chain.
Catholics won't see either strategy enacted. We only have a pseudo military structure. We have a hierarchical structure where the level of accountability is in an inverse ratio to level of authority. Or to put it differently, the closer one gets to "god" the fewer mistakes one is allowed to acknowledge. By the time one reaches the pinnacle, one is infallible and totally unaccountable to mere human beings. Or so we're taught and expected to believe.
I think I mentioned yesterday that I have been reading Acts. I couldn't help but notice that Peter and Paul and company are not running the early Church like some sort of military organization. They run it more like an nascent form of social democracy with a lot of help from spiritual mentors outside our reality, starting with the Holy Spirit. One would have thought if those mentors had seen any advantage in a military hierarchy they would have given a message or two along those lines. They didn't, but Constantine did. Maybe the reason they didn't is because spiritual progress is not amenable to a boot camp approach. It's a lot messier than that.
In any event Bishop Sullivan, who is no longer an active member of our chain of command, is now free to acknowledge the troops aren't stupid and are in fact ahead of the officer corps. In the meantime the active bishops continue to abuse their authority in an attempt to shore up that authority. When it comes to defending religious freedom in opposing LGBT rights, even adoptive children and those that serve them have become acceptable collateral damage. How is this part of the Gospel mandate? Which again makes me pose the question: "how stupid do they think we are?"
What you would probably be surprised to learn is that Catholics are among those who increasingly are reaching out pastorally to the LGBT community. A recent study released by the Public Religion Research Institute found that a majority of Catholics believe that job discrimination against gay and lesbian people should be outlawed. By almost 2 to 1, Catholics believe that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children.
The views of Catholics about the LGBT community have been evolving for years. Catholic teachings compel us to work toward the elimination of unjust structures and to treat people with dignity, regardless of their state in life or their beliefs. My own understanding of this community has also evolved over the course of four decades of ministry.
Given that Catholics represent approximately one-quarter of the U. S. population, the changing attitudes of Catholics toward greater degrees of LGBT equality most likely will be a significant influence in the public square. Across the country there are increasing numbers of parishes that welcome LGBT parishioners and their families to active participation in the church. Catholic colleges and universities are in dialogue with their LGBT students, and Catholic retreat houses provide retreats specifically for LGBT Catholics.
Catholics and other religious people who support LGBT rights do so because of their experience of engagement with members of the LGBT community. They are not rebels in their churches, but people who have taken spiritual messages of inclusiveness and welcoming to heart. They are taking the church’s teaching on social justice and applying it to pastoral practice in engaging the LGBT community.
We see these teachings play out as Catholics across the country engage in prayerful and meaningful dialogues about understanding and embracing the LGBT community. This dialogue is happening amongst faithful families, in student groups on the campuses of Catholic universities, and within church congregations. This dialogue is admittedly difficult, at times, but important.
More than a decade ago, the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a graceful message, “Always Our Children,” which reminded us, “For St. Paul love is the greatest of spiritual gifts. St. John considers love to be the most certain sign of God’s presence.” For most Catholics, there can be no statement that better summarizes an attitude of welcoming of our LGBT brothers and sisters than those of Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you.”
******************************************
Although I appreciate these words from Bishop Sullivan, I can't help but notice he is another retired Bishop and wonder if Catholicism has reached a point where only retired bishops are free to act Christ like as opposed to Catholic like. It seems only retired bishops are allowed to see and state truth, while active bishops are stuck with deception and fantasy. Of course retired bishops are free of the need to pander for money and I know that has a great deal to do with their equal freedom to state truth.
Bishop Sullivan is not quoting statistics about Catholics that apply to the hierarchy. The stats he quotes pertain to the laity. The hierarchy is pandering to right wing money and they are teaching exclusion, discrimination, and outright bigotry. They call this defending religious freedom. I call it masking a form of economic slavery. "Pander to Caesar for the things that are Caesar's, and take from God the things that are God's" seems to be the verse of the day when it comes to the official stance on LGBT issues. The laity is no longer buying this message and it seems neither are some of our retired bishops.
"How stupid do they think we are?" is becoming a very frequent comment on blogs from across the Catholic spectrum. Whether the issue is clerical cover ups, financial accountability, LGBT inclusion and other sex/gender issues, or even liturgical changes, laity are not taking these 'teachings' well, or silently, or in obedience. And that's true across the ideological spectrum. The issues might be different but the response is becoming the same. "How stupid do they think we are?" These are not cases of shooting the messenger. These are cases of refusing the message. If the Church really was the military style organization it pretends to be, a lot of our officers would be removed. When the troops stop obeying the officers, the officers need to go---or those officers need to man up and ask for new orders from higher up the chain.
Catholics won't see either strategy enacted. We only have a pseudo military structure. We have a hierarchical structure where the level of accountability is in an inverse ratio to level of authority. Or to put it differently, the closer one gets to "god" the fewer mistakes one is allowed to acknowledge. By the time one reaches the pinnacle, one is infallible and totally unaccountable to mere human beings. Or so we're taught and expected to believe.
I think I mentioned yesterday that I have been reading Acts. I couldn't help but notice that Peter and Paul and company are not running the early Church like some sort of military organization. They run it more like an nascent form of social democracy with a lot of help from spiritual mentors outside our reality, starting with the Holy Spirit. One would have thought if those mentors had seen any advantage in a military hierarchy they would have given a message or two along those lines. They didn't, but Constantine did. Maybe the reason they didn't is because spiritual progress is not amenable to a boot camp approach. It's a lot messier than that.
In any event Bishop Sullivan, who is no longer an active member of our chain of command, is now free to acknowledge the troops aren't stupid and are in fact ahead of the officer corps. In the meantime the active bishops continue to abuse their authority in an attempt to shore up that authority. When it comes to defending religious freedom in opposing LGBT rights, even adoptive children and those that serve them have become acceptable collateral damage. How is this part of the Gospel mandate? Which again makes me pose the question: "how stupid do they think we are?"
I agree. I think it says something when only retired bishops, leaders, can comment on the institutions they have served.
ReplyDeletePerhaps someone with more sociological insight could comment.
I think it shows the weakness of the Vatican inside system.
It is a ray of hope. Just maybe, the revolution is around the corner.
Vatican II was one of those "Holy Spirit" definitive moments in the life of the church. Folks who can't deal with that, well you are probably in heresy.
Bishop Sullivan is a shepherd among so called shepherds, roman catholic bishops..
Good point. It is sad that only clergy who are somewhat outside the hierarchy are brave enough or secure enough or whatever enough to speak out and act as Jesus would.
ReplyDeleteSo are only the most conservative Catholic men going on to become priests?
This is an example of the contradictory messages emanating from the church hierarchy. A church parish might be "inclusive" provided it does not embrace the "heresy" that non-heterosexual unions are "normal", "natural", "blessed", or anything but sinful. It comes down to "We are inclusive, but let's not talk about what you (or we) really believe, or god forbid, what you do in bed. Don't ask, don't tell.
ReplyDeleteWhen a Dignity chapter to which I belonged in the 1980's was expelled from a local "inclusive" parish, it was because Dignity took a stance on sexuality that the Bishop could not ignore. It's OK to be a "private" gay or Lesbian parishioner, but not to be a part of an affinity group that supports the notion that being actively sexual is morally OK. If you don't ask, and don't tell, we can all pretend that you LGBT parishioners are celibate. That'll work, won't it?
Although 'better late than never', it is indeed dispiriting that bishops only seem able to speak the truth after they have retired.
ReplyDeleteA case in point is the Pope's claim in his letter to the Irish Church that the growth of secularism in Ireland was the cause of the Irish clerical child abuse. As former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald (R.I.P.) pointed out in his Irish Times article not only was the Pope's analysis incorrect but it was the precise opposite of the truth. It was the growth in secularism which allowed the challenge to the Irish Church's policy of concealing clerical child abuse.
No Irish bishop even attempted to support the Pope's ridiculous analysis. They choose instead to say nothing, including the admirable Archbishop Martin of Dublin.
But the Pope had summoned the Irish bishops for three days in Rome to supposedly learn the facts about the appalling revelations of clerical child abuse in Ireland. Either the Irish bishops did not have the guts to tell him the truth about the causes, or they did tell him but were ignored in favour of the Pope's bête noire, secularisation.
The letter was a long time in coming. It presumably was drafted and redrafted and it's inconceivable the Irish bishops would not have been given a preview before publication. Yet apparently none saw fit to point out that the Pope's credibility would be badly damaged by issuing such a patently absurd analysis.
Such leaders have no credibility in preaching the Way and the Truth and the Life.
It's not just Benny's letter Hamishwho, we in the US just got treated to another dose of this 'blame on society' thesis with the John Jay Report. Here too, the report glossed over the fact it was the openess of the so called 'sexual revolution' which resulted in abused people finally feeling free enough to come forward--and not just with clerics but in society in general.
ReplyDeleteIt's all pathetic is what it is.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson from Australia is another truth-telling retired bishop. Would that we could get currently serving bishops to tell the truth, but chances are they would wind up unceremoniously booted from office like Bishop William Morris.
ReplyDeleteTom Gumbleton is another one. Maybe we should all belong to the Retired Catholic Church instead of the Roman Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteI have a dear friend, a fine musician and authority on sacred music. He was director of music at an RC parish, until some jerk, looking for brownie points, called the Archdiocese and outed him. He was immediately terminated. I was furious when this happened and still am! That's the truth about LGBT "inclusiveness". Ugly it is!
ReplyDeleteI personally am asexual, out and proud. Yes! I'm an amoeba! If I were still in the RCC, they'd probably give me a medal, not based on what I do, but on what I'm not doing. I'd refuse it. I'd tell them to clean up their act first in regard to other non-straight persons. They have a lot of cleaning up to do.
What the bishop seems to miss is that many of us are not hetero by any stretch of the imagination, but are Catholic. This may seem odd, or incredible, or impossible to make sense of, but it's a fact. And it implies nothing about how people behave.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the Pope should talk to Arcigay - they are in his back yard, they're not hetero, and a lot of them will be Catholics. He might learn something, just as they can no doubt learn from him. Both would be gainers - & he would be much better informed. I think homosexuality may be a blind-spot for the Pope - though I forget what I based that impression on. If so, that would be quite understandable; after all, if accepting one is gay can be so painful (as it often is), how can straight people be *expected* to understand what it's like ? There are many reasons why they might well have difficulty doing so.
"...a piece on GLBT inclusion I doubt we will see coming from the USCCB any time in the near future--like at the upcoming June meeting."
ReplyDeleteDidn't they write "Always Our Children" ?
"...some of our society’s most sensitive public policy matters are overly simplified in black-and-white terms, in which only the most strident voices seem to get heard."
All too true :(
"What you would probably be surprised to learn is that Catholics are among those who increasingly are reaching out pastorally to the LGBT community."
Not at all - some of us are already in "the LGBT community" LOL
"...a majority of Catholics believe that job discrimination against gay and lesbian people should be outlawed. By almost 2 to 1, Catholics believe that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to adopt children."
They both sound like very good ideas - not because of the numbers, but in themselves. IMO there is a good Biblical case for both measures, because a Christian is a Christian, whether LGBT or not.
Rat Biter these two comments of yours are wonderful. I was a baptized Catholic long before I knew anything about sex. So what are our bishops saying, we can only be full Catholics until puberty, and after that we must either choose religious celibacy or a marriage which is straight, fruitful, and in which both partners don't enjoy the sex.
ReplyDeleteI imagine God finds that attitude somewhat baffling since the point of the material universe is the ability to know God and life through touch.
@colkoch:
ReplyDeleteTY for the very kind remarks LOL
"So what are our bishops saying, we can only be full Catholics until puberty, and after that we must either choose religious celibacy or a marriage which is straight, fruitful, and in which both partners don't enjoy the sex."
I think there is a genuine and perfectly innocent inability to understand how anyone can possibly be attracted, not to the other sex, but only or mainly to one's own.
I remember, years before I was received in to the CC, taking for granted that Catholics were, well, alien. Nobody taught me that attitude - Catholics were so completely foreign to my experience that I couldn't fit them into the world as I knew it. Coming into contact with actual living specimens of this strange group changed that.
I think that, or something like it, is how straight people, with the best will in the world, often cannot help regard those of us who are homosexual or are LGBT in other ways: so they think of us as sick or disordered or something, when we are merely different in certain respects: a bit as a square is a square, not a sick circle; or as a cat is not a disordered dog.
I think it requires something very like conversion to see people who are alien in some respects as being as fully human and as genuinely loved by God as oneself. Especially as believing oneself to be loved by God can itself need great faith - so believing that about one's neighbour, may be an even greater challenge.
I was Catholic for years before I realised I was *not* "hetero" - so I have no reason to stop being Catholic.
@TRanslynx:
ReplyDelete"I have a dear friend, a fine musician and authority on sacred music. He was director of music at an RC parish, until some jerk, looking for brownie points, called the Archdiocese and outed him. He was immediately terminated."
Very sorry to hear about that :(
When I hear of things like that happening, I feel sick. It sends a dismal message.