Saturday, May 27, 2006

Letters to the Editor - Make no mistake: Cardinal George is homophobic

Letters to the Editor - Make no mistake: Cardinal George is homophobic
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press


I am responding to the recent letter in the Chicago Free Press concerning Cardinal Francis George. I don’t know if Dennis Swenson has ever had an opportunity to meet with Cardinal George, but I have. I can assure him the Cardinal is quite homophobic. The Rainbow Sash Movement and other Catholic organizations across the country have called for cardinal George’s resignation not because he is pro-gay or anti-gay. We called for his resignation because he enabled sexual abuse of innocent children.

It is interesting to me that Dennis seems to be of the opinion that the Gay and Lesbian Outreach Ministry is a blessing to the GLBT community. We have different opinions on that matter. Any organization that supports Cardinal George’s effort to deny GLBT people their civil rights is in my opinion out of touch with the very community it is supposed to be serving.

Pitting the sacred liturgy above the welfare of the GLBT community is a sacrilege to that liturgy. If justice does not flow from the liturgy that is held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church I question the validity of that liturgy. I think it is also curious that Dennis does not mention the many welcoming parishes in Chicago that do as much if not more than AGLO does for the spiritual welfare of the Catholic GLBT Community. That will continue regardless who is the cardinal/archbishop of Chicago.

Just to set the record straight, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin set up the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach. I personally knew Cardinal Bernardin and had a great deal of respect for him; I cannot say the same of Cardinal George. Both men supported the church’s teaching on the homosexual person—one was very pastoral and the other is not.

It is not my intent to attack the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Ministry or Dennis; however, we must exercise some integrity when using the word “ministry,” and understand what that word means. It does not mean experiencing our sacred liturgy in isolation from our community; it does mean experiencing our sacred liturgy as vehicle for social justice within the GLBT community and the broader community.


Joe Murray
Rainbow Sash Movement

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home