Equality for Gays

A recent Church Bulletin included a letter from Cardinal Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington. The letter was regarding the organization called Catholics for Equality, and the letter was in response to inquiries the Cardinal had received seeking clarification concerning this organizartion. The letter seems to be an appropriate pastoral response to these inquiries, and I really can't argue with what he had to say about the organization. I would however make three points. First, the Cardinal makes the point that the organization has no official status as being connected to the institutional Church. I'm not really familiar with the group so I can't say whether that is a status that they are seeking. I would say that it has every right to call itself Catholic since it represents Catholics with a particular point of view or mission. Just as groups arise like Democrats for Reagan or Republicans for Obama this group represents Catholics who are pushing for equality for gay and lesbian citizens. There may also likely be a group of Catholics for female priests. Catholics are in fact a wide microcosm of society and have a wide range of views, which are not contained within the dictates of institutional language. Second, the Cardinal articulates official Catholic doctrine that essentially states that it is OK to be gay. I wonder how many Catholics have really understood that point. As the Cardinal says, whatever your sexual orientation may be, you have to follow the moral law. So the Church comes up with a typically strange position that it is OK to be gay as long as you don't have sex. I guess that ties in with their whole notion of sexuality. That it is basically bad except to make babies, and it is far better to be celibate. Celibacy for priests after all, has worked out so well over the centuries. At any rate, I think it is instructive and should be more widely known that there is no condemnation of homosexuality or individual homosexuals, only homosexual acts. Maybe some evangelical groups could benefit from studying this concept. The significance of this doctrine is that there really is no place in Catholic practice for the condemnation of homosexuals or discrimination against them. In fact, in his most important point, the Cardinal proclaims the value and dignity of every human person. In this vein he is following Pope John Paul II and his frequent eloquent assertion on the worth, dignity and value of every human person. It is such a beautiful doctrine, if only we would see some sign of that in the Church's response to issues relative to Gays and Lesbians. We know the Church's clear position. Isn't it time we saw some of its compassion, understanding, and support? I'm pretty sure that is precisely what Catholics for Equality is trying to provide. For example, can we do more than have our Churches set up tables after Mass to get Catholics to sign petitions to support a referendum to overturn Maryland's Same Sex Marriage law? We know of the discrimination against homosexuals. We know of the Matthew Sheppards' of the world. Do we know of the Church speaking out against such discrimination? We know how many young people who are gay commit suicide. Yet when an organization tries to reach out to minister to such people we have clarified for us that this is not a Catholic orgaanization. We know that young gays are bullied terribly in school, but do we hear any outcry from the church concerning this issue? Gays are discriminated against in the work place, in housing, and in the military. Where is the voice of the Church speaking out against such injustices? Now that we know with great clarity what the Church's position is, can we see some of its efforts to promote fairness, justice, and acceptance of those individuals who are valued and have dignity and are gay.