Catholic Ministry To Homosexuals
Suppressed

San Francisco Bay Catholic Special Report:

A Benedictine Monk Reflects on the CDF Suppression

When the CDF and Cardinal Ratzinger produced a document, several years ago, which endorsed  job discrimination in some instances, ( e.g., football coaches!!!) against gay and lesbian people, I was angered that the document  made no distinction at all between celibate and non-celibate gays, hardly in line with official Church teachings. The pastor of the parish I worked in asked me what I thought of the new document and I told him, facetiously of  course, that I thought that it was a magnificent idea. We should, however, acknowledge that all Church ministries, ordained or otherwise, are of infinitely greater worth than coaching football, so we ought to employ the concept  ourselves, right across the board, from the episcopacy (and cardinalate!) right down. Then let's see what we could keep open...

I know of no other category of people to whom the Church offers so shoddy and second-class a citizenship. Even if gay or lesbian people completely buy the Church's teachings and are celibate, they are tacitly expected to never speak of their selfhood again. Completely needless secrecy, shame and circumlocution obtain. Back into the closet, do the best you can while being presumed to be straight or asexual, become a eunuch-without-portfolio. These attitudes speak volumes to aware, self-adjusted persons as to just how delighted the Church is to have them in its midst. That many gay people who have bought their self-esteem at a tremendously high price give us a wide berth is not surprising.

Had these people renounced some abortion-related issue, as opposed to their gayness, their dance cards would be full and we would never want them to shut up: speak at conferences everywhere! The irony of all this is that the gay or lesbian person who buys the Church's teaching hook, line and sinker has paid an  infinitely higher price for their Catholicism than any straight person. They are still expected to be happy with the seats in the back of the bus....

It's tantamount to saying: "You can come to Church, but for heaven's sake, don't tell anyone you're Mexican!"  However, CDF has also unpalatably said that homophobia is not to be equated with racial discrimination. For reasons that I am sure would displease Cardial Ratzinger, I quite agree. Racial discrimination usually only denies people housing, jobs, civil rights, and the like. These are tragic denials, but far less ultimate than denying access to the ordinary means of salvation. Hence, I would say that homophobia  is often worse than racism, definitely not the conclusion the Cardinal had in mind. But then, the Spirit blows where it will.... in spite of the CDF.

Submitted by Brother J.L., OSB

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