Sensus Fidelium

Tide is Turning on Public Perception of Same–Sex Marriage

2012-03-02T16:15:00.001-08:00

By Scott Alessi

Note: This article was first published March 1, 2012, by US Catholic.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's decision to let the people decide on same-sex marriage may not work out quite the way he, or the Catholic Church, had hoped it would.

A new Quinnipiac poll released today shows that voter support for same-sex marriage in New Jersey has reached a new high, with 57 percent of those polled saying they support legal recognition of gay marriage. Among white Catholics, 52 percent say they support same-sex marriage while 43 percent are opposed.

First, a little background: New Jersey is one of several states that recognize same-sex civil union partnerships. In 2009 the legislature attempted to pass a same-sex marriage bill before Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat who supported the initiative, left office after losing to Republican Christie, a Catholic who promised to veto such a bill. The state's five dioceses and the N.J. Knights of Columbus launched a campaign against the bill, which ultimately failed to get the needed votes to make it to Corzine's desk before he left office.

But the bill came back and last month it passed the legislature. And as promised, Christie issued his veto and called for a state referendum on the issue.

Christie was no doubt counting on the fact that voters have in every case turned down proposals for legalizing same-sex marriage or approved efforts to limit the definition of marriage to being only between a man and a woman. In the states where gay marriage is recognized it has always been the legislature, not a popular vote, that has made the decision.

But the tide may be turning. Last month, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a new study showing a nationwide increase in support for same-sex marriage rights in 2011. Overall 46 percent of Americans said they support legal marriage rights for same-sex couples, up from 42 percent a year earlier. Among religious groups, Catholics are one of the largest supporters, with 52 percent saying they support same-sex marriage (up from 46 percent in 2010) and only 37 percent saying they are opposed (down from 42 percent).

That's no doubt troubling news for church leaders who have poured a great deal of time and effort into the issue. In New Jersey, the bishops have focused on trying to explain the church's teaching on marriage to convince the Catholic faithful that God's plan for marriage doesn't include same-sex partnerships. Other bishops, including Archbishop John Nienstedt in St. Paul-Minneapolis, where $650,000 was spent last year on efforts opposing same-sex marriage, have also made marriage a priority issue. And as Kristen Hannum reports in our March cover story, those efforts have not yielded the results the church was hoping for.

Catholic leaders have taken a two-pronged approach on marriage, both trying to offer a faith perspective on the issue and to mobilize members of the church to take political action. But if the poll numbers are accurate, the church's attempts aren't working and in fact more Catholics (and Americans in general) are drifting in the other direction.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Catholic who struggled to balance her public role with her private faith on the issue, is among those who came to the conclusion that what her church and the state each call "marriage" are two very different things. "I have always been uncomfortable with the position that I have taken publicly," Gregoire said in January shortly before signing a bill to legalize gay marriage in her state. "And then I came to realize the religions can decide what they want to do but it is not OK for the state to discriminate."

It seems that more and more Catholics are coming to the same conclusion that what the church teaches on marriage shouldn't influence how the state defines legal partnerships between consenting adults. If the church's leaders hope to reverse that trend, it looks like they're going to need a new strategy.

Powerful Statement for Marriage Equality from Dignity/Twin Cities

2012-02-28T07:23:00.004-08:00

Only marriage can provide families with true equality.
Love. Honor. Commitment.
These are the words that gay and lesbian couples
feel in their hearts when they make a commitment to each other.

Dignity Twin Cities Board of Director’s Statement of Position on Marriage Equality and the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Minnesota:

As Americans, we remind our fellow citizens of a foundational principle of our form of government: all are created equal. Consistent with the pursuit of liberty and justice for all, same-sex couples should have full and equal access to the rights and responsibilities bestowed by civil marriage.

As Catholics, we remind our Church of a foundational conviction of our faith: God is love and all that abide in love abide in God and God in them. The love that brings and binds two people of the same, or opposite sex, together has a divine source.

Dignity Twin Cities believes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have the right to full expression of their sexuality in ways that are consistent with Catholic/ Christian values, including the right to enter into committed relationships; and

We know that only civil marriage bestows important rights, protections and duties to the partners and their families and that public affirmation of a couple's commitment honors their covenant.

Dignity/Twin Cities believes the Bible affirms and celebrates human expressions of love and partnership, calling us to live out fully that gift of God in responsible, faithful, committed relationships that recognize and respect the image of God in all people; and

• the life and example of Jesus of Nazareth provides a model of radically inclusive love and abundant welcome for all; and

• recognition of marriage carries with it significant access to institutional support, rights and benefits; and

• children of families headed by same-gender couples should receive all legal rights and protections; and

• legislation to ban recognition of same-gender marriages further undermine the civil liberties of gay and lesbian couples and contributes to a climate of misunderstanding and polarization, increasing hostility against gays and lesbians.

THEREFORE Dignity/Twin Cities advocates for equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender and declares that the government should not interfere with couples regardless of gender who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of legally recognized marriage.

Dignity/Twin Cities is a community of Catholic Christians established in the 1980s to provide sanctuary and empowerment to LGBT Catholics and allies. It is affiliated with DignityUSA.

Quote of the Day

2012-02-27T16:16:00.002-08:00

Archbishop Vincent Nichols has once again demonstrated sanity and moderation on the place of the Catholic Church in modern society. While there are many loud, outraged voices raised in complaint in the US and in the UK over alleged assaults on religious freedom and of perceived persecution of Christians, Nichols has correctly pointed out that what is happening is not the “persecution” of Christians, but an attempt to separate the legal and cultural life of the country from its Christian roots. He is saying in other words, that what is happening is a removal from the Church of its previously privileged position. This may be deplorable, unfortunate, or welcome – but does not amount to persecution, any more than the removal of apartheid in South Africa represented the persecution of Whites.

– Terence Weldon

"Gay Marriage and the English Catholic Church: More Sanity From Vincent Nichols"

Queering the Church

February 23, 2012

At Lenten Prayer Vigil , Catholics Pray and Express Disagreement with Archbishop's Priorities

2012-02-26T16:59:00.016-08:00

Funding for efforts to support ‘marriage amendment’
should be redirected to help those in need, vigilers say

Close to 80 Catholics gathered in front of the chancery offices of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis on Sunday, February 26, for the first in a series of weekly Lenten vigils.

Vigilers want to see Archbishop Nienstedt redirect his energies and the financial resources of the Archdiocese away from the divisive ‘marriage amendment’ and toward actions that reflect Jesus' Gospel call to care for the poor and marginalized.

Last month the Minnesota Catholic Conference of Bishops announced that it had spent $750,000 in 2011 on efforts to ensure the passage of the so-called ‘marriage amendment,’ an unnecessary constitutional ban on civil marriage rights for same-sex couples in Minnesota. This figure includes $650,000 from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and $50,000 each from the dioceses of New Ulm and Duluth. The conference has contributed $350,000 to Minnesota for Marriage, an umbrella pro-amendment group. Collectively, pro-amendment groups have raised over $1.2 million dollars to persuade voters to approve the ballot measure in November. In 2010, the Minnesota Catholic Conference spent over one million dollars producing a pro-marriage amendment DVD which was mailed to over 400,000 Catholic households across the state.

Organizers of the vigil note that the Catholic tradition understands Lent as a time of repentance, a time of ‘turning around’ and away from all that holds people back from fully experiencing God’s abundant love."It’s a time of reexamining our motivations, actions and priorities in the light of Jesus’ life of compassion, justice-making and inclusiveness," said Michael Bayly, executive coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, the group sponsoring the vigil.

"It is appropriate in Lent to offer prayers when we recognize, both within ourselves and others, that we often fall short in aligning our attitudes and actions with the example of Jesus," Bayly said. "As Catholics and people of good will we'll be gathering at the chancery each Sunday during Lent to bear public witness to the fact that we do not see anything of Jesus’ life and message in Archbishop Nienstedt’s support of the ‘marriage amendment’."

Organizers were heartened by Sunday's turnout and believe the number of vigilers will only increase. The vigil is scheduled to take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each Sunday during Lent (February 26, March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25 and April 1). The chancery is located opposite the Cathedral of St. Paul at 226 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

For Catholics for Marriage Equality MN's media release about the vigil, click here.

To sign the petition related to the vigil, click here.

To read and sign the Catholic Statement of Support for Marriage Equality, click here.

Above right: One of the vigilers on Sunday was Ed Flahavan, a priest of the Archdiocese for 48 years before marrying six years ago.

Says Flahavan: "What I find particularly offensive and wrong – apart from the nonsensical purpose of the marriage amendment itself – is the fact that the Archbishop somehow last year found and spent $650,000 to embed in the State Constitution a law that would be divisive and hateful of good people, made by God just as they are, who want only to love, cherish and support each other till death. This, at a time when parishes and their schools are being merged and closed, when the gap between rich and poor is expanding and efforts at feeding, clothing and sheltering the poor by such agencies as Catholic Charities are being curtailed for shortage of money. I find it a scandal of major proportions. How much is the Archdiocese prepared to spend on this divisive issue this year?"

The vigil also provides an opportunity for Catholics to pray for Archbishop Nienstedt and the bishops of Minnesota – that they may ‘turn around’ this Lenten season and be open to the love and beauty embodied in same-sex relationships and families. Many who gathered Sunday prayed that the bishops may be open to the experiences and insights of the majority of U.S. Catholics who support civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Polls show that most of the country’s 75 million Catholics disagree with their bishops on gay rights. A Washington Post–ABC News poll last March found that 63 percent of Catholics believe same-sex marriage should be legal. When Catholics are assured that the issue is civil marriage “like you get at City Hall,” 71 percent of all Catholics support same-sex marriage, according to a national poll by the Public Religion Research Institute also conducted last March. These figures show that Catholics are more supportive than the public at large, whose support for gay marriage, poll after poll shows, hovers just above the 50 percent mark.

Above: A participant in Sunday's first weekly Lenten vigil holds an icon of Sts Sergius and Bacchus.

Above: Jim Smith, parish inreach coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, thanks those who participated in Sunday's vigil.

Above: The vigil closed with the praying of the Prayer of St. Francis.

Images: Michael Bayly.

Catholic Bishops Should Read the Writing on the Wall for Same-Sex Marriage

2012-02-26T12:00:00.001-08:00

By Maureen Fiedler

Note: This commentary was first published February 24, 2012 by the National Catholic Reporter.

Yesterday, our State Senate here in Maryland passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. This follows similar action by the House of Delegates last week, and it makes Maryland the eighth state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Our governor, Martin O'Malley – who is a Catholic – pushed for the bill and will sign the bill into law.

In this, O'Malley joins other Catholic governors who also recently approved same-sex marriage: Andrew Cuomo of New York and Christine Gregoire of Washington state.

O'Malley's signature might not be the end of the story in Maryland, however, because opponents of the measure are hoping to put the question on a ballot referendum this fall. So the ultimate decision could be made by Maryland voters. Currently, the polls show a solid majority of Marylanders favoring the measure, but who knows what a large dose of negative campaigning might do?

Part of that negative campaigning, you can be sure, will come from the Catholic bishops. Yet they might profitably do what the three Catholic governors have done: read the handwriting on the wall.

The issue of same-sex marriage is really a "settled" issue, politically speaking. It is only a matter of time before all 50 states legalize it. Why? Look at the polls. Young people strongly favor it. Indeed, most of those under 35 wonder what all the fuss is about. Most know gay or lesbian people who have long since been out of the closet and see no reason to hide their sexual orientation. For the younger generation, this is not an aberration, and knowing such folks is a part of their lived experience. So why can't they marry if they love each other? To most young people, the answer is obvious.

It's no coincidence that governors like Cuomo and O'Malley (both of whom could be thinking about a run for president in 2016) see the trends moving rapidly in direction of such equality.

The bishops might profitably re-examine old positions and – at the very least – stay out of the potential fray in Maryland in the fall. Same-sex marriage is defined these days as a civil rights issue, and there will come a time when the bishops will not want to be cited in history as against civil rights for gay and lesbian people. (The Vatican was defending slavery as late as 1866 – not something to be proud of.)

Moreover, their position further alienates young people, not something the church needs these days.

Many Catholics might say, "Hey! Church teaching is not up for grabs. It cannot change with the wind."

True, but it can change. It's well to remember that Catholic teaching has changed for good reasons over the centuries on a number of serious issues: usury, religious freedom, scriptural interpretation, even slavery. (For documentation, see my first book, Rome Has Spoken.)

Maybe it won't take centuries this time.

Pro-Marriage Equality Catholics Plan Weekly Lenten Vigil at Chancery

2012-02-20T20:05:00.001-08:00

On the Sundays of Lent, vigilers will be praying that Archbishop Nienstedt redirects his energies – and the resources of the Archdiocese – away from the divisive “marriage amendment” and toward actions that reflect Jesus’ Gospel call to care for the poor and marginalized.

MINNEAPOLIS – Local Catholics plan to hold a weekly vigil in front of the chancery offices of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis (226 Summit Ave., St. Paul), 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., every Sunday during the season of Lent (Sunday, February 26 – Sunday, April 1).

Michael Bayly, executive coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, said that many Catholics have expressed sorrow and anger at the Archbishop’s recent expenditure of time, energy and money on ensuring the passage of the so-called “marriage amendment,” an unnecessary constitutional ban on civil marriage rights for same-sex couples in Minnesota.

Those who will prayerfully gather at the chancery each Sunday of Lent hope to convey to all Minnesotans that there are many Catholics who support marriage equality and oppose the anti-gay and anti-marriage equality activism of the Minnesota Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Organizers note that in the Christian tradition Lent is understood as a time of repentance, of turning around and away from those things that hold us back from fully experiencing God’s abundant love.

“Our hope and prayer is that Archbishop Nienstedt and all the bishops of Minnesota experience a change of heart on the marriage amendment,” says Bayly. “We’d like them to ‘turn around’ and see all the love and beauty embodied in same-sex relationships and families. We also pray that the bishops may be open to the experiences and insights of the majority of U.S. Catholics who support civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.”

Polls show that most of the country’s 75 million Catholics disagree with their bishops on gay rights. A Washington Post–ABC News poll last March found that 63 percent of Catholics believe same-sex marriage should be legal. When Catholics are assured that the issue is civil marriage “like you get at City Hall,” 71 percent of all Catholics support same-sex marriage, according to a national poll by the Public Religion Research Institute also conducted last March. These figures show that Catholics are more supportive than the public at large, whose support for gay marriage, poll after poll shows, hovers just above the 50 percent mark.

Last month the Minnesota Catholic Conference of Bishops announced that it had spent $750,000 in 2011 on efforts to persuade voters to approve the ballot measure in November. This figure includes $650,000 from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and $50,000 each from the dioceses of New Ulm and Duluth. The conference has contributed $350,000 to Minnesota for Marriage, an umbrella pro-amendment group. Collectively, pro-amendment groups have raised over $1.2 million dollars to persuade voters to approve the ballot measure in November. In 2010, the Minnesota Catholic Conference spent over one million dollars producing a pro-marriage amendment DVD which was mailed to over 400,000 Catholic households across the state.

Representatives of the Archdiocese say the money spent on the bishops’ pro-amendment activism comes from investment income, not collection plates or other donations.

Yet, according to Bayly, where the money comes from is beside the point. “It’s still money that is under the control of the chancery and which should be spent on actually helping people in need,” says Bayly, adding that, if passed, the marriage amendment will “help no one and do absolutely nothing to ‘protect’ marriage.”

In January, Catholics for Marriage Equality MN launched an online petition at www.focusonsocialjustice.com. According to Bayly, the primary message of both this petition and the weekly Lenten vigil at the chancery is the same: “We urge Archbishop Nienstedt and all the bishops of Minnesota to redirect our church’s time, energy, and money towards feeding the hungry and caring for the homeless and the sick, and away from the divisive issue of the marriage amendment which is causing unnecessary pain and hostility within the local Catholic community and beyond.”

One Parish’s Response to Archbishop Nienstedt’s World Marriage Day Request

2012-02-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

.Note: The author of the following article wishes to remain anonymous so as to avoid possible negative consequences for her parish.

I had heard that in “honor” of World Marriage Day on Sunday, February 12, the chancery had asked parishes to speak out in support of the constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.

My parish is open and accepting. Many of my closest friends are parishioners, and many of them are LGBT. In fact, our community prides itself on its diversity and support of all its parishioners. I wondered how we were going to manage this “request” by the archbishop.

What I experienced greatly saddened me but also made me very proud of my parish. As the mass began, I was waiting for the archbishop's World Marriage Day “message” to be delivered. I listened intently during the readings and as the priest began his homily, I braced myself for the “message.” It never came. In fact, the homily highlighted the courage the leper demonstrated by approaching Jesus and asking for healing, in total violation of the law. The priest also pointed out that Jesus was breaking the rules of his time by interacting with an “unclean” person. Not the message I expected to hear.

As the mass came to an end and the announcements began, I again thought I would hear the “message. ” Still, nothing. As the closing hymn ended I went back to pick up the bulletin . . . and that's when I found it. There was a full page insert in the bulletin, each side announcing at the top that the message was from the archbishop. I won’t dwell here on the message. Enough to say, that his message is wrong on all counts.

What struck me was not the message (his stance is not exactly a secret) but rather how hard my parish had worked to minimize the impact and distribution of the mandated message. I later heard that ushers were instructed not to distribute the bulletin. Clearly the staff of my parish, unlike the archbishop, understood the pain this message would inflict and was trying, as best they could, to minimize its damage.

I am deeply grateful for my parish and its compassionate staff. I am also sad that this man is our archbishop. I can’t say I know the man but he seems to have a singular focus which will brook no dissent. He does not reflect the love of Christ for me. I am thankful my parish does.

Recommended Off-site Link:
Mass Uprising – Dominic Holden (TheStranger.com, February 14, 2012).

A Catholic Case for Same-Sex Marriage

2012-02-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

By Jeannine Gramick and Francis DeBernardo

Note: This commentary was first published February 14, 2012 by The Washington Post.

This month in Maryland and the state of Washington, an extraordinary dynamic is playing itself out: Two Catholic governors are prodding legislators to pass bills legalizing same-gender marriage. Like Govs. Andrew Cuomo in New York and Pat Quinn in Illinois — whose states recently legalized same-sex civil unions — Govs. Martin O’Malley and Christine Gregoire are acting against the strongly expressed opposition of their church’s bishops.

As Catholics who are involved in lesbian and gay ministry and outreach, we are aware that many people, some of them Catholics, believe that Catholics cannot faithfully disobey the public policies of the church’s hierarchy. But this is not the case.

The Catholic Church is not a democracy, but neither is it a dictatorship. Ideally, our bishops should strive to proclaim the sensus fidelium, the faith as it is understood by the whole church. At the moment, however, the bishops and the majority of the church are at odds. A survey published in September by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 52 percent of Catholics support marriage equality and 69 percent support civil unions.

Those numbers shouldn’t surprise people who are familiar with the Catholic theological tradition. For example, Catholic thinking dictates that we should use the evidence we find in the natural world to help us reach our conclusions. Many Catholics have reflected on the scientific evidence that homosexuality is a natural variant in human sexuality, and understand that lesbian and gay love is as natural as heterosexual love.

In forming our consciences, Catholics also consult scripture and our theological tradition. Here, again, there is little firm reason to oppose marriage equality. The Bible presents us with a marital landscape that includes polygamy, concubinage, temple prostitution and Levirate marriages (in which a man is bound to marry his brother’s widow.) Jesus disputed the Mosaic law on divorce, saying that what God has joined man must not separate, but this dictum was modified in the letters of St. Paul.

When we see the manifold changes that marriage has undergone throughout history, many Catholics wonder why our bishops believe that heterosexual marriage in its current 21st century state is a matter of divine revelation.

Those who delve into the theology of marriage will encounter the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, who articulated what Christians have come to call “the goods of marriage.” These are enumerated in contemporary terms as partnership, permanence, fidelity and fruitfulness. Same-sex couples demonstrate all of these attributes just as opposite-sex couples do, unless one defines “fruitfulness” narrowly as the ability to procreate. But many heterosexual couples cannot or choose not to procreate, and the church marries them anyway.

The deeper one looks into the church’s core teachings, the more one realizes that the bishops are not representing the breadth of the Catholic tradition in their campaign against marriage equality. Nowhere is that more true than in the area of Catholic social justice teaching.

Catholic social teaching requires that all people be treated with dignity, regardless of their state in life or their beliefs. It upholds the importance of access to health-care benefits, the protection of children, dignity in end of life choices, and, most importantly, the promotion of stable family units. Marriage equality legislation would be an obvious boon to same-sex couples and their children in each of these areas, yet the bishops are spending millions of dollars opposing it.

In our work within the church, we have met countless people who do not necessarily challenge the church’s teaching on the nature of sacramental marriage, but support civil marriage for same-sex couples with a clear conscience.

Some are concerned that the children of gay and lesbian couples will suffer if their parents’ relationships are not legally recognized. Others have a gay or lesbian colleague, friend or family member whom they want to protect. And still others realize that their own lives would be very different if the bishops had the power to make church law into state law — say by banning artificial contraception or making it impossible to remarry after a divorce.

The opposition to marriage equality by the church’s hierarchy is well known, but in the quiet of their own consciences, millions of Catholics are arriving at different conclusions rooted deeply in the teachings of our faith. We support marriage equality, and we won’t forget the Catholic legislators and governors who have worked on behalf of justice for lesbian and gay couples.

Sister Jeannine Gramick is co-founder of New Ways Ministry in Mount Rainier, Md. Francis DeBernardo is executive director of New Ways Ministry, which is a member of the Equally Blessed coalition.

See also the previous Sensus Fidelium posts:
Archbishop Just One of Many Catholic Voices in Gay Marriage Debate
A Catholic Statement of Support for Marriage Equality
Catholics Lead the Way! – The Latest Statistics on Religious Support for Marriage Equality

Recommended Off-site Link:
The Minneapolis (and Online) Premiere of Catholics for Marriage Equality — Michael Bayly (The Wild Reed, October 17, 2011).

The Politics of Scandal

2012-02-14T15:28:00.000-08:00

By Joe McHugh

NOTE: This commentary was first published February 9, 2012, by Lavender Magazine.

I was born Catholic and hope to die Catholic. Despite its scandals, the church still speaks words of healing, hope and freedom to me. Right now, however, I feel scandalized by how the leadership of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, particularly Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, has repeatedly chosen to treat the LGBT community in just the opposite way.

While I disagree with church teaching on this matter on psychological and theological grounds, arguing is futile. I suspect LGBT issues are this generation’s birth control. What follow is less an argument than a cry of grief for the lives and loves I see demeaned and deadened.

Church teaching and the gospel are not identical, and all historically conditioned teaching must be judged against the demands of the gospel at a particular time and place – a gospel less about judgment than about love, compassion and inclusion.

Declaring gay sexual orientation objectively disordered and then labeling sexual love and companionship to gay persons as sinful are teachings that demean the divine and human spirit. These teachings, I am afraid, have less to do with divinely decreed teaching than with social control and institutionalized fear and homophobia. These are ethical issues I would like to see the church address.

The church has a right to attempt to influence public opinion. As a result, Catholics last year received DVDs urging them to defend marriage or risk social and moral chaos. As a follow up, the Minnesota Catholic Conference is now mounting a statewide initiative to drum up support for inserting the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman into the state constitution. What I cannot support, however, is making support for the marriage amendment a litmus test for being faithfully Catholic.

On a more personal level, certain of the archbishop’s actions have been embarrassingly callous. He once refused communion to gay-identified college kids, and he is now asking Catholics to pray his recently written Marriage Prayer. His decision to include the “one man and one woman” language directly into the prayer strikes me as an exploitation of religious sentiment and practice in the service of political ideology. Mixing religion and politics is always dangerous, but disguising discrimination as virtue and prayer is particularly perilous.

At the most personal level, I serve as a spiritual director for lots of Catholics and Catholic priests. In this role I see first hand the destructiveness that can come from automatically imposing abstract principles on real lives. Church teaching appears increasingly irrelevant to younger LGBT folks, but their parents are sternly warned today about the sinful consequences of expressing any acceptance of the gay identity of their children. Many priests—especially gay priests—feel particularly compromised, and I talk with Catholic after Catholic looking for convincing reasons to stay in the church.

Invoking their promise of obedience, the archbishop has instructed deacons and priests that they are not to disagree publicly with this stand. If it becomes an issue of conscience for any of them, the archbishop has asked them to contact him directly. At least one priest has nonetheless disagreed publicly with this initiative, and his has been advised that his priestly faculties could be in jeopardy. The archbishop’s stand and instructions were strongly affirmed by the younger priests who are glad to see doctrinal and moral orthodoxy finally being addressed. In certain circles there is a movement to see the tactics of the archdiocese and the Minnesota Catholic Conference serve as a national model.

Catholic Church teaching on LGBT issues will not change anytime soon. Given this reality, Archdiocesan leadership can, however, decide to act more compassionately and less judgmentally. I would invite the archbishop just to listen to LGBT people talk about their lives, loves and faith. Just listen and at least temporarily hold the impulse to judge in check.

Joe McHugh is a spiritual director and retreat leader based in the Twin Cities. He can be reached through joemchugh-associates.com.

See also the previous Sensus Fidelium posts:
Archbishop Just One of Many Catholic Voices in Gay Marriage Debate
A Catholic Statement of Support for Marriage Equality

Related Off-site Link:
The Catholic Hierarchy Goes to War . . . Against Me, a Catholic Who Happens to Disagree With Them – Dick Bernard (The Progressive Catholic Voice, February 14, 2012).

Catholic Coalition Praises Passage of Marriage Equality in Washington

2012-02-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Equally Blessed, a coalition of Catholic groups that support equality for LGBT people in the church and wider society, released this statement on the signing of marriage equality legislation in the state of Washington:

"We are delighted that another Catholic governor has signed marriage equality legislation into law. Governor Christine Gregoire is a member of the ever-increasing Catholic majority that supports laws assuring fair and equal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families.

"Like the governor, we understand that Catholic social teaching requires that all people be treated with dignity and respect, as beloved children of God; that Catholic moral teaching dictates that in political matters we support those policies that foster the common good; and that the experience of millions of devout believers teaches us that there is grace and beauty in the loving relationships of same-sex couples.

"Congratulations to the governor, the legislature, and to all Washingtonians who worked for justice."

A Reflection on the "Misguided" Generation

2012-02-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

We're hearing opinions from Catholic hierarchs and their advocates of LGBT equality suppression that support for LGBT equality is a cultural blip that will "straighten" out in the next 30 years. They conclude that the young people of today--overwhelmingly supportive of LGBT dignity/equality--are "a misguided generation".

Where in heaven's name is the evidence for this opinion? Seems the evidence points in exactly the opposite direction.

The young are largely supportive because their LGBT peers are out of the closet earlier and quicker than previous generations. What they see in the lives of these LGBT peers are the same hopes and dreams, the same desires for connection and intimacy, the same heartaches and elations. They know these peers as equally capable of true friendship or betrayal, of deep compassion or shallow meanness. In other words, the young are not seeing themselves and their LGBT peers in an "Us and Them" world. It is more and more about simply "We". How Gospel of them.

The young are largely supportive because many of them have aunts or uncles or other family, friend or neighbor elders who are out-LGBT. The young see into the lives of these elders, and they see loving people, real people who contribute mightily to the world with the gifts and talents of their shared humanity.

As these young people grow older, they will continue to be in relationship with their LGBT family and friends and co-workers and neighbors, and they will gather in relationship with additional LGBT folk. The world they will help create (are already creating) will be/is a world of "We".

And so, quite likely in 30 years we will see a culture of much greater inclusion and equality as we see today...

...thanks to our young, "misguided" generation.

Quote of the Day

2012-02-10T07:00:00.001-08:00

The moral issue in my mind is whether there is truth between [a] couple. "Do you love one another for better or for worse?" The sanctity of marriage is based on this same truthfulness. With studies showing heterosexual extramarital affairs ranging anywhere from 15 percent to 50 percent among husbands and about the same varying range for wives, its become sadly irrelevant to talk about the sanctity of marriage in any terms other than how much couples are committed to each other. It seems to be overlooked that gay marriages take work just as heterosexual ones do. Gay marriages can end in divorce just as heterosexual ones can.

It can be a lonely world out there. If two people are fortunate enough to fall in love, then that is among the greatest blessings in life. Putting your heart on the line to become married and stay married has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It has to do with personal values, which are things each of us figures out for ourselves. Heterosexuality is not a virtue on its own – after all, plenty of heterosexuals are terrible at relationships. Being able to experience true love though, is virtuous.

– Kenneth Kales

"Gay Marriage Makes Sense"

The Huffington Post

February 7, 2012

Retiring Old Assumptions About Religious People and Same-Sex Marriage

2012-02-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

By Robert P. Jones, Ph.D.

Note: This commentary was first published February 7 at The Huffington Post.

Recently, Democratic Washington State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen offered evidence that the same-sex marriage debate has moved past the old battle lines between secular proponents and religious foes. Sen. Haugen tipped the scales for supporters of a same-sex marriage bill in the Washington legislature when she announced that she would support the measure. Her decision, she explained, was grounded in her "strong Christian beliefs" and her desire to "live by the Golden Rule." Sen. Haugen's distinctly religious logic echoed Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, who is a practicing Catholic. Gregoire strongly endorsed her state's same-sex marriage bill after opposing marriage equality for most of her time as governor.

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, a debate where there religious voices were also raised on both sides. If the issue passes in Washington State, it will join five other states and the District of Columbia as jurisdictions where gay and lesbian Americans are legally able to marry. Five other states are also debating the issue this year.

Recent analysis of 2011 polling on same-sex marriage reveals that the changing landscape challenges some common stereotypes about religion and the issue of same-sex marriage. Notably, 2011 was the first year on record where supporting same-sex marriage was not a minority position. At mid-year, several polls from different organizations (including one from Public Religion Research Institute) found slim majority support for allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. Polling later in the year continued to find plurality or even support for same-sex marriage.

More significantly, a new exploration of 2011 polling by Public Religion Research Institute offers decisive evidence that the old assumptions about battle lines between secular proponents and religious foes no longer hold. Majorities of five major religious groups and the religiously unaffiliated favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared to three major religious groups who oppose same-sex marriage. On the side supporting same-sex marriage, the religiously unaffiliated (72 percent) are joined by majorities of Jews (76 percent), Americans affiliated with a non-Judeo-Christian religion (63 percent), white Catholics (56 percent), Hispanic Catholics (53 percent) and white mainline Protestants (52 percent). Together, these religious groups make up approximately 45 percent of the general population.

On the other hand, large majorities of white evangelical Protestants (75 percent), Mormons (75 percent) and black Protestants (63 percent) continue to oppose same-sex marriage. Opposition to same-sex marriage among these groups is intense: near-majorities of Mormons (48 percent) and evangelicals (46 percent) strongly oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally. Together, these groups comprise approximately 32 percent of the general population.

Within these opposition groups, however, a generational gap signals that with the passage of time, this intense resistance may ebb. Even among white evangelical Protestants -- the group most opposed to same-sex marriage -- nearly 4-in-10 (39 percent) white evangelical Protestant Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, a rate that is more than 20 points higher than that of white evangelicals ages 30 and older (18 percent). The same is true of Catholics: 66 percent of Catholic Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, 15 points higher than Catholics ages 30 and above (51 percent).

The quirks of specific constituencies and cultures may drive individual statewide legislative and ballot initiative battles this year. But the prominent testimonies of religious elected officials, alongside the perspectives from the people in the pews, certainly demand that the media retire the archaic assumption that religious people oppose same-sex marriage.

Robert P. Jones is the CEO and Founder of the Public Religion Research Institute.

Related Off-site Link:
All Across the Land, Religious Support for Marriage Equality Continues to Grow – Francis DeBernardo (Bondings 2.0, February 9, 2012).

Catholics Lead the Way! – The Latest Statistics on Religious Support for Marriage Equality

2012-02-07T15:53:00.001-08:00

. . . A Pew Forum analysis on attitudes toward same-sex marriage by religion released Feb. 7 said Catholics supported same-sex marriage 52 percent to 37 percent, with 11 percent undecided as of an October 2011 survey. That is up from a 46 percent favorable opinion (42 percent unfavorable) in a survey conducted in August and September 2010.

Hispanic Catholics are split, 42 percent to 42 percent, on same-sex marriage, while white Catholics approve of same-sex marriage by a margin of 57 percent to 35 percent.

Overall, same-sex marriage was favored by Americans 46 percent to 44 percent in the 2011 poll; in the 2010 survey, it was opposed 48 percent to 42 percent. The only religious groups remaining opposed to same-sex marriage in the latest survey were white evangelicals, 74 percent to 19 percent, and black Protestants, 62 to 30. Protestants overall remain opposed to gay marriage, 58 to 34.

– Mark Pattison

"Federal Judicial Panel Rules California Proposition 8 Unconstitutional"

Catholic News Service

February 7, 2012

Minnesota's Rabbis Stand Up, Speak Out

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Rabbinical Association, representing the Reform and Conservative movements within Minnesota, announced their opposition to the proposed marriage amendment. The amendment, they insist,

seeks to continue the practice of leaving individual families within the LGBT community vulnerable and unprotected by the law. To honor an individual is to fight against discrimination in society for any reason, including race, religion, natural origin, gender, age or sexual orientation.

"Throughout history the Jewish community has faced discrimination, and therefore we will not stand by while others are targeted.

For the full article in the Star Tribune of the announcement, click here.

Now, the Orthodox Rabbis in Minnesota did not sign the statement. But hear what one Orthodox Rabbi from St. Louis Park had to say, and compare his respect for his congregants' conscience to the messages of Archbishop Nienstedt. Rabbi Chaim Goldberger:

Our feeling is individuals need to vote their conscience and should vote as they see fit.

If an Orthodox Rabbi offers this respect for the minds and hearts of his people, can we ask the same of our own leaders?

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN Launch Online Petition

2012-01-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Group urges Archbishop Nienstedt to focus on Catholic social justice initiatives, not divisive politics

SAINT PAUL, MN – Today, the Catholics for Marriage Equality Minnesota launched www.focusonsocialjustice.com, an online petition urging Archbishop Nienstedt and all the bishops of Minnesota to refocus their energy, time and commitment away from the divisive constitutional "marriage amendment" and back towards laudable Catholic social justice initiatives.

“Recent comments by Archbishop Nientedt have unnecessarily turned our church into a lightning rod on a controversial political issue,” said Michael Bayly, Executive Coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN. “We urge Archbishop Nienstedt and all the bishops to redirect our church's time, energy, and money towards feeding the hungry and caring for the homeless and the sick, and away from this divisive issue which is causing unnecessary pain and hostility within the local Catholic community and beyond.”

This petition and all of its signers will be delivered to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis at a later date. Catholics for Marriage Equality MN encourages and welcomes any and all to sign the petition, which can be found at www.focusonsocialjustice.com.

Nature or Nurture? (Or Is That Really the Important Question?)

2012-01-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Do we bring our sexual orientation into this world (nature) or is it something learned (nurture)? Or is it a consequence of both? Or do some of us actually choose our orientation? Most of us--gay or straight--would concede our orientation is not chosen, but something given to us in the mystery of genes or our mothers' hormones, or a combination of our natural ingredients and those of our early formation. But at the end of the day, does it matter all that much? Frank Bruni, a New York Times columnist and himself a gay man, goes to the heart of the issue in these last lines from this Sunday column:

I honestly have no idea if I was born this way. My memory doesn’t stretch to the crib.

But I know that from the moment I felt romantic stirrings, it was Timmy, not Tammy, who could have me walking on air or wallowing in torch songs and tubs of ice cream. These feelings gelled early, and my considerable fear of society’s censure was no match for them.

I know that being in a same-sex relationship feels as central and natural to me as my loyalty to my father, my pride in my siblings’ accomplishments and my protectiveness of their children – all emotions that I didn’t exit the womb with but will not soon shake.

And I know that I’m a saner, kinder person this way than trapped in a contrivance or a lie. Surely that’s not just to my advantage but to society’s, too.

Though Frank Bruni didn't choose his sexual orientation, he has chosen to live into it with apparent grace and dignity. No lies. No secrets. No apologies. A gorgeous acceptance of his orientation as perfectly natural and inherently good. And he is aware that by living into his orientation as he does, the world around him is better for it, too.

We pray that any child born into a Catholic family and who grows into an LGBT identity will be surrounded by good teachers – parents, grandparents, pastors, First Communion and Confirmation directors, coaches, grade-school and high school teachers. We pray these adults will help the child grow happily, gracefully and proudly into the person s/he was made to be.

Has Christ Left the Church?

2012-01-27T06:36:00.000-08:00

In the hierarchical zeal meant to mobilize Catholics around the proposed marriage amendment, something profoundly Christ-like is being profoundly overlooked.

Pastoral, compassionate ministry.

Plain and simple, the continual act of reaching out to those who are marginalized, whether they exist in our Sunday pews or not.

Think of our Catholic sisters and brothers who may be uncomfortable with marriage equality but equally uncomfortable with their leaders' efforts and money poured into changing a constitution that will change nothing (same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state of Minnesota). These Catholics are being told they are not faithful if they do not defend the hierarchy's agenda.

Think of the Catholic, church-going parents and grandparents of GLBT persons. They are told that if they invite their gay child and his/her partner to dinner--any night of the year, they risk their own salvation.

Think of LGBT persons who are sacrificing themselves daily as parents. They are being told in no uncertain terms that they are doing a violence to children.

Think of LGBT persons who are hanging on by their fingertips to their involvement in parish life. They are being constantly reminded of their "internal disorder" by the unprecedented efforts to deny them a place at the table.

If you are a Catholic pastor or pastoral minister, we implore that you do not forget these people who are hurting, these who deserve the compassionate care of your good servant leadership.

For a sense of how the Catholic church has suffered in the same regard in other states, go to this New Ways Ministry blog post.

The marginalization must stop.

A Marriage Moment for All Catholics!

2012-01-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

Our friends at Call To Action, a national intra-Catholic Church justice organization, are planning a Marriage Moment!

The Minnesota Marriage Amendment:
Can Faithful Catholics Vote "No"?

Join us to gain a Catholic perspective not available on Sunday mornings.

Saturday, April 21, at 9:30 am
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Snelling Ave., St. Paul

Mickey Martinez, Catholic attorney, will illustrate the shift from marriage being, essentially, a civil matter the first millennium to being vested with religious meaning in the second - His talk: "A Holy, Civil Matter"

Patricia Beattie Jung, Catholic Professor of Christian Ethics, will present "Marriage Equality and Catholicism", making a case for church endorsement of the civil recognition of same-sex unions.

Project 515 Players will dramatize experiences of GLBT people when legal protections are denied, in a skit called "It's all about Fairness". Trainers from OutFrontMN will help us shape conversations for talking to people about the importance of voting NO in November.

FFI – Art Stoeberl@yahoo.com or 651-278-6630.

Courageous Conversation

2012-01-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

As we continue to move forward in conversations with family members, neighbors, colleagues and friends about why marriage equality matters to us, we're given a beautiful example of two people not quite on the same page who come together in civil, respectful dialogue. Star Tribune columnist Gail Rosenblum testifies that it really is humanly possible to suspend judgment long enough to listen. Give this description of such a conversation a read, and may it inspire us to have some courageous conversations of our own.

Gospel Anger

2012-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

A Minneapolis priest confessed this week that in the first time since he started parish ministry over 30 years ago, people are telling him they're embarrassed to be Catholic. The Archbishop's letter to priests, leaked to the Minneapolis StarTribune last Sunday (thank you Michael and Progressive Catholic Voice!) has apparently raised great alarm among the faithful. His demand for priestly silence and his egregious distortion of intention held by those who wish to vote NO on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment have inspired humiliation among rank and file Catholics.

We say, don't be embarrassed. Be angry.

Love your church. Remember all the good that flows from so many ecclesial corners and times. Love even those within the Church who attempt to bring hierarchical authority to distorted, destructive levels.

But be angry.

Not the "I hate these clerics" kind of anger. Not the name-calling kind of anger. Not the anger that limits its expression to bitch sessions with other angry people. But an anger rooted in the call of your baptism to proclaim the good news that Jesus came to welcome the outcast, to widen the circle of God's love and justice. An anger that mobilizes you to act courageously on behalf of this Good News.

We Catholics know how to passively resist dictates that counter the informed decisions of our conscience. What we could do more of is actively resist. Stand up and offer a clear, alternative voice--in church and out of church. Engage in respectful, honest conversations with those who may not agree with you. Call a "house church" gathering of fellow parishioners or neighbors to listen to the stories of those marginalized by constant barrages of judgment. Tell family and friends that you will vote NOT to enshrine discrimination into the constitution, and tell them what brings you to this conviction.

Embarrassment causes us to cower. Anger--of the Gospel variety--has the power to inspire our action on behalf of those Jesus welcomes into God's circle.

Don't be embarrassed. Be angry. Be Gospel angry.

A Bishop Speaks from the Sacred Edge

2012-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

As Catholic grass-roots efforts heat up within parishes to defeat the marriage amendment, some things bear reminding. And who better to remind us than a Bishop! Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, long-time supporter of LGBT dignity spoke recently at a Michigan faith gathering, and empowers us with a church teaching:

“The saving factor in Catholic teaching is we have, above everything else, primacy of conscience. That means that I must understand my own heart. I make the decision, is it right for me? The church’s teaching does provide conflict, but it is solvable in this way.”

He gives us Christ, our model of steadfast compassion and justice:

” ‘Jesus paid a terrible price for standing up for what he believed in. He paid with death,’ he said. ‘But most people don’t go that far. Most people back off. They get to a certain point and they just back off. Jesus didn’t do that.’ “

Great reminders to give us strength for the journey ahead.

Shall We Talk About the Marriage Amendment?

2012-01-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

How do we talk about the marriage amendment with people who might disagree? Below are some notes taken by a colleague of ours in the inter-faith movement to defeat the amendment. Liz O. is a Quaker in Minneapolis, and shares these insightful notes from a presentation given by Mark Oster, a professer at the University of St. Thomas Law School. They are worth our study:

Stop talking to one another (the choir); go to people we disagree with and talk to them in a civil manner, in the appropriate place. HERE ARE 5 IDEAS ON HOW TO APPROACH THESE CIVIL, PERSUASIVE CONVERSATIONS:

+ Be brave enough to talk with conflicted people and with people who disagree with you. They probably are among our work colleagues, our neighbors, our fellow-worshipers. Yes, the issue of marriage/of the amendment comes up... if you raise it!

+ Don't start with anger. Anger is valuable but not when you are advocating for a point, person, position, etc. Anger doesn't change anyone's mind! Anger ≠ Advocacy. The rally-chant "Racist, Sexist, Anti-Gay/Born-Again Christians, go away!" doesn't make for social change and doesn't change anyone.

+ Start with common interest and values. Picture you and the person you are speaking with as being part of a conversation that metaphorically draws a circle around you both.
Also, visualize standing where the other person is, side by side, facing in the same direction; then begin walking together to the destination we're moving toward.

+ Affirm the positive, shared elements, then work from there. Example: "Both of us value children in stable families. Gay men and lesbians already have kids and are raising children, that's a fact. Given that, wouldn't those kids do better by having the stability that marriage brings?"
Another example, related to religious people and others who are against abortion: "Gays and lesbians adopt many kids who have special needs or who are older. So gay and lesbian couples are helping address abortion, an issue you care deeply about."
Be realistic: No one will say, "You're right, I'm a bigot."

+ Leave the interaction on a positive note; change topics if you have to! Remember: People change their minds over time. And we never know who is listening or when it is that something will click. So ask about their plans for the weekend, or their family, or a hobby you know they are engaged in.

Archbishop in Minnesota Opposes Marriage Equality, Dissent in Equal Measure

2012-01-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

NOTE: The following CommonDreams.org editorial was first published January 17, 2012, on the Common Dreams website. It provides a good summary of the current situation in Minnesota regarding the Catholic hierarchy's support of the marriage amendment.

Come November, Minnesotans will enter the voting booth and be given the opportunity to vote for or against a state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages in the state. <a href=http://www.mnunited.org/index.cfm>Minnesota United for All Families</a>, a broad coalition of organizations and community and business leaders, opposes the amendment, saying the ban "would benefit no family, create no job, defend no institution, nor welcome any person to Minnesota," but would "hurt, disadvantage, and stigmatize tens of thousands of Minnesotans and their families."

The fight leading up to the vote will be hard fought on all sides and all voters, whether they support or oppose the measure, will be asked to stand up and voice their belief on the issue. Everyone, that is, except members of the Catholic clergy.

In a letter leaked by the Progressive Catholic Voice in Minnesota on January 5th, Archbishop John Nienstedt warned priests and deacons throughout the diocese not to publicly speak against the amendment nor the church's role in pressing for it.

The American Independent subsequently reported on the leak and the Progressive Catholic Voice's response to the Archbishop:

That group’s editor, Michael Bayly, called the speech problematic.

“The Archbishop’s letter is problematic in many ways,” he said. “As a gay man, I find it particularly offensive that he can’t even bring himself to name gay and lesbian people. We’re simply a ‘minority’ seemingly out to destroy the church and civilization. Such an absurd caricature would be funny if not for the hurtful and damaging consequences to individuals, couples and families resulting from the Archbishop’s anti-marriage equality activism.”

Minnesota’s Catholic hierarchy has come under intense scrutiny over its support for the anti-gay constitutional amendment.

In the run-up to the 2010 gubernatorial election, the church sent out approximately 400,000 DVDs and mailings urging Catholics to vote for Republican Tom Emmer, the only candidate in the race who opposed marriage equality for same-sex couples and a staunch Catholic.

The campaign, paid for by an anonymous donor and produced by the Knight of Columbus, sparked protests against the church.

But, as the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Monday, the Archbishop shows no sign of backing off his stance:

Priests told not to voice dissent

Archbishop John Nienstedt is warning Catholic clergy across Minnesota that there should be no "open dissension" of the church's strong backing of a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman.

In other early signs of the fervent campaign the church intends to wage for the amendment, which will be on every ballot in the state this fall, Nienstedt is appointing priests and married couples to visit archdiocesan high schools to talk about marriage. He has directed parishes to form committees to work for passage of the amendment. He also has warned a priest that he may be stripped of his ministry if he continues to disagree "with the church's teaching on marriage."

One priest in particular has be singled out by Nienstedt, as the Star Tribune explains:

One vocal critic of Nienstedt is the Rev. Mike Tegeder, who spoke against the amendment at a priests' meeting with Nienstedt in October.

In November, Tegeder received a letter stating that if he did not end his public opposition, Nienstedt would suspend his "faculties to exercise ministry" and remove him from his "ministerial assignments."

And a report by United Press International adds:

Nienstedt told Tegeder unless he desists in opposing the amendment that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman he would strip the priest of his "faculties to exercise ministry" and remove him from his "ministerial assignments."

Tegeder said he doesn't believe the church should be actively campaigning in support of the amendment. Minnesota has about 1.1 million Catholics.

"That's not the way to support marriage," Tegeder said. "If we want to support marriage, there are wonderful things we can do as Catholic churches and ministers. We should not be focused on beating up a small number of people who have this desire to have committed relationships."

Bewildering

2012-01-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

"The endgame of those who oppose the marriage amendment that we support is not just to secure certain benefits for a particular minority, but, I believe, to eliminate the need for marriage altogether." Archbishop John Nienstedt in a letter to all priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Bewildering. The Archbishop believes that those who oppose the marriage amendment want to eliminate marriage altogether. If he took any time to truly listen to those who oppose the amendment--starting with his own Catholics-- he would come to a very different belief.

While we wait for him to listen to the good minds and hearts of the people entrusted to his care, we are already responding. If you are a Catholic who loves the church but in good conscience opposes the marriage amendment, we're offering you an opportunity to stand up. Throughout the metro, and soon throughout the state, Catholics are gathering in "house churches" to listen to the stories of gay and lesbian couples, and listen to the stories of their Catholic parents and Catholic friends. If inspired, Catholics sign a support statement in which they commit to voting NO on the proposed amendment in November. Other action steps are also offered.

Visit our website: www.c4me.org to sign the support statement online and to contact us with your desire to participate in a house church gathering in your parish.

And pray that Christ's call for compassion, justice and unity inhabit this great state in the months and years ahead.

House Church Trainings Begin!

2012-01-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

Catholics for Marriage Equality had its first training for Catholic leaders in MN on January 5th. These Catholics have come forward to invite from 10 to 40 fellow Catholics to gather for a 'house church' discussion on the proposed Marriage Amendment.

Thirty people showed up for the simple training, representing ten parishes throughout the metro area.

It was a striking moment. One after another introduced themselves at the beginning of the meeting and briefly shared why they landed here. Eloquent testimony, passionate convictions. Sadness, anger, hope, empowerment, all these describe the dispositions brought to our meeting.

These are Catholics committed in faith, alive in compassion, active in their parishes. Many of these Catholics have children or friends or co-workers who are gay or lesbian. They see the face of God in these persons and in their relationships of love and deep commitment.

Can one be a faithful Catholic while honestly grappling with a teaching or directive of the hierarchy? Actually, one's baptism demands a searing, thoughtful examination of teaching within the lived experience of God's people. If such a teaching comes up short time and again, it demands our scrutiny. These Catholics take seriously the call of their baptism to be faithful to the Gospel of Christ and faithful to the cause of bringing the Church to become what it professes to be--the Body of Christ, the Community of the Beloved Disciple.

Thanks to the 30 Catholics who showed up in early January and are committed to gathering others in house church meetings.

We are planning a second training for March. This grass-roots Catholic movement marches on.

Archbishop Orders Minnesota Priests to Support or Stay Silent on Anti-Gay-Marriage Amendment

2012-01-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

By Andy Birkey

NOTE: The following article was first published January 5, 2011 by The American Independent.

Minneapolis Archbishop John C. Nienstedt's private speech was leaked

to a progressive Catholic group, which published the anti-gay text Thursday

“There ought not be open dissension on this issue,” is the message the Catholic hierarchy is telling priests in Minnesota — “this issue” being same-sex marriage.

In a private speech to Minnesota’s priests last October, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt said that any priest who disagreed with the church’s efforts to place a constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples should remain silent. Any disagreements should be brought to him personally, he said. The Catholic Church in Minnesota has been a driving force for the anti-same-sex-marriage amendment since it passed onto the 2012 ballot last May.

Nienstedt later sent the text of that speech to priests who were unable to participate in the gathering. Someone in the church recently leaked the text to the Progressive Catholic Voice, a group working for reform within the church. On Thursday, PCV published statements condemning Nienstedt’s speech.

In the speech, Nienstedt told the priests he expects participation in getting the amendment passed from everyone within the church:

It is my expectation that all the priests and deacons in this Archdiocese will support this venture and cooperate with us in the important efforts that lie ahead. The gravity of this struggle, and the radical consequences of inaction propels me to place a solemn charge upon you all — on your ordination day, you made a promise to promote and defend all that the Church teaches. I call upon that promise in this effort to defend marriage. There ought not be open dissension on this issue. If any have personal reservations, I do not wish that they be shared publicly. If anyone believes in conscience that he cannot cooperate, I want him to contact me directly and I will plan to respond personally.

Nienstedt also noted that he’s created teams of “a priest and a married couple” to go into Catholic schools to talk about the amendment.

In a public statement, various members of Progressive Catholic Voice said the Archbishop’s direction is unbelievable.

“When I first read this letter I couldn’t believe that the Archbishop was telling priests and deacons to be silent if they were opposed to the marriage amendment,” said Paula Ruddy, parishioner at Minneapolis’ St. Boniface. “Is one’s position on whether the State constitution should be amended a matter of Church doctrine? How are Catholics to form their consciences if their pastors are not candid with them?”

Ruddy is also a member of the editorial board of the Progressive Catholic Voice.

That group’s editor, Michael Bayly, called the speech problematic.

“The Archbishop’s letter is problematic in many ways,” he said. “As a gay man, I find it particularly offensive that he can’t even bring himself to name gay and lesbian people. We’re simply a ‘minority’ seemingly out to destroy the church and civilization. Such an absurd caricature would be funny if not for the hurtful and damaging consequences to individuals, couples and families resulting from the Archbishop’s anti-marriage equality activism.”

Minnesota’s Catholic hierarchy has come under intense scrutiny over its support for the anti-gay constitutional amendment.

In the run-up to the 2010 gubernatorial election, the church sent out approximately 400,000 DVDs and mailings urging Catholics to vote for Republican Tom Emmer, the only candidate in the race who opposed marriage equality for same-sex couples and a staunch Catholic.

The campaign, paid for by an anonymous donor and produced by the Knights of Columbus, sparked protests against the church.

More recently, the Archdiocese’s lobbying wing, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, has joined with the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council to form the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition, a group dedicated to passing the amendment in November.

Another Day, Another Beautiful Prayer

2012-01-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

In response to Archbishop Nienstedt's prayer to exclude civil rights to same gender couples, another Catholic offers an alternative prayer. Here at Catholics for Marriage Equality, we hope these alternative prayers multiply in the coming months, giving Catholics lots of choices to pray in a spirit of Gospel welcome and compassion. Read the latest prayer, this by Dr. Bernard Schlager, and his accompanying commentary. Pray well, good people!

SoulSense

2011-12-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

SoulSense is an occasional feature here at Sensus Fidelium that acknowledges our desire to marry action and activism with contemplation. Listening and responding to our soul hunger strengthens our witness in a world waiting for justice.

LISTEN WITH THE EAR OF YOUR HEART (St. Benedict of Nissa)

There’s been a lot of advice lately for Cardinal Francis George of Chicago to listen. In the wake of his demeaning and demonizing suggestion that the gay community might be morphing into another KKK, folks within the Catholic church have been calling him to task: Cardinal, listen to the voices of LGBT Catholics in Chicagoland. Listen to their stories of exclusion. Listen to their stories of love. Listen, also, to voices from afar, like that of Frank Mugisha in Uganda, who gives the world courageous account of the violent, oppressive actions against LGBT persons in that country.

Will the Cardinal listen to the clarion call to listen? Some of us have a pretty cynical answer to that question, but any of us can only hope. In the meantime, we have every opportunity to practice what we preach. While we go about the crucial work of speaking our truth to power, we commit also to the work of fine-tuning our own ability to listen well – to the still, small voice of the Spirit within, to the voice of God as she speaks through the natural creation, to that same voice spoken through other persons.

It’s an art, listening. And most of us are pretty sloppy artists. But here’s a quick refresher, gleaned from a TED talk by author Julian Treasure. He offers a simple acronym for our daily challenge to listen well to persons with whom we're in conversation:

RASA – the Sanskrit word for “essence,” as in “the essence of good communication and relationship is the ability to truly listen.”

R = RECEIVE, as in ‘pay attention to the person’
A = APPRECIATE, as in ‘making little noises such as “mm, oh, ok, uh huh....”
S = SUMMARIZE: as in using the word ‘So, ...‘ Understanding is crucial.
A = ASK, as in ‘ask questions afterwards’

We ask our fellow Catholics to listen to the stories of their LGBT sisters and brothers.

We ask church leaders to listen.

And, hopefully, we’re asking ourselves to listen consciously, intentionally. To listen consciously is to begin living fully.

--Jim Smith, Coordinator of parish inreach, C4ME

Courageous Conversations

2011-12-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Exciting challenges ahead by evidence of the previous post at Sensus Fidelium. In a Minnesota Public Radio feature, the Catholic siblings of a lesbian in a committed relationship weigh in on the upcoming marriage amendment vote. Here at Catholics for Marriage Equality, we're not too surprised that these siblings land differently, one from another. The family appears tightly knit, and the gay sister and her partner seem well accepted by all. But when it comes to supporting sis with a NO vote next November, the sibs offer a less clear picture, with one sibling ready with a bold NO, while others sit on the fence.

Proves we cannot take our loved ones and their opinions for granted. Challenges all of us to have those courageous conversations with parents, siblings, in-laws, adult nieces and nephews, and good friends. Encourages us to tell them why marriage matters to us as an inclusive institution, and how same-sex love equally and uniquely reveals the face of God.

Blessings on your courageous conversations!

– Posted by Jim Smith, coordinator of parish inreach, C4ME

Catholic Family with Lesbian Sister Weighs Marriage Amendment

2011-12-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

By Sasha Aslanian

Note: This story was first published December 23, 2011, by Minnesota Public Radio. To listen to this story, click here.

St. Paul, Minn. — In the 16 years since Eileen Scallen called to say she was bringing a girlfriend home for a school reunion, her five brothers and sisters have become accustomed to having a gay sibling.

Scallen had made a comfortable life for herself in San Francisco, and at 36 was a law professor. On a trip home to Minnesota, she met and fell in love with Marianne Norris, a former nun and the mother of two grown daughters and then a high school principal.

She later moved back to Minneapolis to live with Norris, who her siblings now consider one of the family.

But Scallen worries that their loyalty to her may only go so far. She fears they won't understand her opposition to proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. Accepting a gay sibling and her partner is one thing, but agreeing that they should have the right to marry — an idea Scallen said goes to the heart of her most important relationship — is a much bigger step.

"The fact that they might not honor that, and I might find out, is really painful," Scallen said.

Minnesota already has a law on the books defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Supporters of the amendment, which will be on the ballot in November, say that unless the state's constitution is changed, gay rights advocates will continue their push for a law that legalizes same-sex marriage.

Polls vs. family ties

According to a recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in 2010, 46 percent of Catholics support gay marriage while 42 percent are opposed. Polls show that Minnesotans are evenly split on the issue, which likely will divide some families.

That's a concern that Scallen has long struggled with. In 1999, as she and Norris planned a commitment ceremony at Norris' home, they worried that Scallen's siblings might react.

"I was struggling because I knew my brothers and sisters were not ready," Scallen said. "They were not ready for that."

So the two women held a private ceremony, without their families. It was just the two of them, and a friend who witnessed the event.

"We wrote our own vows and we had our own ritual," Scallen recalled. "I sobbed through the whole thing, so I was grateful no one else was there. It was so emotional and so meaningful."

As meaningful as the ceremony was to them, it didn't give them the legal protections of marriage. They've drawn up wills and health directives to protect the one who outlives the other. But Scallen is quick to point out that they can't write up contracts to give themselves the rights a married couple has. They can't sue for wrongful death, or receive survivor's benefits from Social Security.

Their inability to marry led Morris to give up her teaching job at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

When the two met, Norris was near retirement in Minnesota and more financially vulnerable if she were uprooted.

"If we had been able to get married, I wouldn't have had to leave Hastings," said Scallen, now a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law. "I wouldn't have had to leave San Francisco because Marianne could have had my pension.

"If something had happened to me, she could have had my benefits and so it wouldn't have been a problem."

For Scallen, the issue is about whether they agree the couple's relationship should be entitled to the same legal status enjoyed by straight couples. Although she has talked to her brother and sisters about her relationship, she hasn't discussed the amendment with them and is not sure she can count on them to vote against it.

As Catholics who grew up in Annunciation parish in South Minneapolis in the 1950s and 60s, the Scallens were taught that homosexuality is a sin. All are practicing Catholics and aware that the church's leaders in Minnesota have made passage of the amendment a political priority.

But Scallen's siblings are wrestling with the issue.

Her oldest brother Tommy, an events promoter in downtown Minneapolis, is a practicing Catholic, but plans to vote against the marriage amendment

"I want my sister to be happy," he said. "If two people want to make this commitment and they're serious about it and they go ahead and do it, you know, so be it. Fine. Success! It's a tough road. I want to see people happy, don't want to dictate how they live their lives."

Sheila Gregory, the second oldest of the Scallen siblings, lives in Edina and isn't sure how she's going to vote.

Still, last fall, when Gregory received a DVD the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis mailed to Catholics urging them to vote to protect traditional marriage, she didn't watch it.

"I got it and I just thought, 'No, I'm not even going to look at it," Gregory said. "I figured it might upset me that the church has come down with such a harsh opinion. I mean these are people that just want to live their lives."

Next in the birth order is Patrick Scallen, another attorney in the family. He bought the Scallen ancestral home in Minneapolis from the family's late mother, and attends Annunciation Church, the parish where they all grew up.

Like Gregory, Patrick doesn't yet know how he'll vote on the amendment. He's struggling between what he's seen of his sister's relationship with Norris, and the position of Catholic leaders.

"If the church says, 'This is the way,' I generally want to believe that and toe the line," Patrick Scallen said. "But there are some issues, and this is probably one of them, that bear more thought."

The youngest sister, Maureen Scallen Failor, of Bloomington, describes herself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal.

"Will I vote? I honestly can't say one way," she said. "I'm almost a point to not vote just to make a statement that government has no place in this. That's kind of where my position is at."

Scallen Failor knows if she leaves the question blank, it will count as a no vote and support her sister's position. It would be her way of protesting the issue being on the ballot. Archbishop John Nienstedt has made passage of the marriage amendment a top political priority. Scallen Failor sees it differently.

"Right now I'm not really happy with the Catholic Church," she said. "However, that is where I find my God. So I kind of put the institution of the religion to the side."

Scallen Failor's twin, Tim Scallen, declined to comment. He said he preferred to keep his views private, but loves and supports his sister.

For those keeping a tally, Eileen Scallen has one sibling who will vote with her against the amendment. Two say they don't know which way they'll vote. And one might not even vote on the amendment.

But without hesitation, they all agree one thing: If their sister could marry her partner, they'd be there.

"With bells on," Scallen Failor said. "She was there for my wedding. She was my maid of honor. Absolutely."

(NOTE: To hear more Catholics sharing their perspective on the marriage amendment, click here for Catholics for Marriage Equality MN's video series.)

Image: Eileen Scallen and Marianne Norris. (MPR Photo/Sasha Aslanian)

Quote of the Day

2011-12-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

. . . While it is true that the Catholic hierarchy in [Maryland] opposed the [marriage equality and gender non-discrimination] bill, the Catholic people did not. A 2009 Greenberg, Quinlan, and Rossner poll revealed that a 49% plurality of Maryland Catholics favor legislative action that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, with only 42% opposed. Given that this poll is now almost three years old, and that support for marriage equality keeps increasing, especially among Catholics, the statistic of support from that poll has most likely increased.

. . . And while the press identified African-American opposition to the bill as a reason for its downfall, this explanation does not do justice to the amazing amount of support for marriage equality among African-Americans. If you have any doubt about this, visit the website of the Maryland Black Family Alliance.

The same problem plagues both Catholics and African-Americans: while some leaders of these communities are vocally and stridently opposed to marriage equality, the grassroots folks are strongly supportive. . . .

– Francis DeBernardo

"Catholics Are Not the Problem in Maryland—And Neither Are African-Americans"

Bondings 2.0

December 22, 2011

Talking Marriage Equality this Holiday Season

2011-12-19T21:05:00.000-08:00

OutFront Minnesota, Minnesotans United for All Families and Freedom to Marry have produced a great Holiday Conversation Kit to help folks talk about marriage equality with family and friends. (Catholics may also be interested in Catholics for Marriage Equality MN's Tips for Speaking as a Catholic in Support of Marriage Equality.)

Following is how OutFront MN's Organizing and Policy Director Chris Stinson introduces and explains the Holiday Conversation Kit.

________________________________

Thousands of pro-equality champions are heading home for the holidays. If you're not exactly looking forward to the conversation turning to the anti-marriage amendment you are not alone.

But this is an opportunity that we can't afford to miss. The single most important action you can take is to start a conversation about why marriage matters to you. How else will your friends and family know that defeating the constitutional amendment is important to someone they love?

We know it can be difficult, but it's worthwhile. That's why we've prepared some materials if you feel like you could use some help:

Download our holiday conversation kit and commit to talk with 10 friends and family about why marriage matters in Minnesota this Holiday Season.

Also, if you haven't already read our booklet Speaking from Faith for Marriage Equality, I really recommend it if you anticipate having a discussion with relatives for whom faith or religion is very important.

These conversations make a big difference: people who've talked to someone they know and trust about marriage equality are much more likely to support marriage for same-sex couples.

Not all Minnesotans have thought about how harmful a constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples might be for our state. We can't afford a Minnesota where our marriages may never be recognized: where you and the love of your life could be treated as strangers even after 5, 10, or 25 years of commitment to each other.

Defeating the amendment will not only be a huge achievement for marriage equality and all the couples and families it would have impacted, it will energize all other areas of work being done to bring full equality to Minnesota. Similarly, if we fail, the road to full equality for LGBT Minnesotans becomes much longer and more difficult.

Will you start a conversation with your family and friends?

– Chris Stinson

Organizing and Policy Director

OutFront Minnesota

Recommended Off-site Link:
Mary Bednarowski on the Power of Our Stories – Michael Bayly (The Wild Reed, April 19, 2007).

A Prayer for Archbishop Nienstedt

2011-12-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

Chris Wogaman, a Christian writer and supporter of C4ME-MN, has written the following prayer in response to Archbishop John Nienstedt's defensive and exclusive "Prayer for Marriage." The Archbishop's prayer, which is intended for use as part of the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass, was issued on Thursday, December 15. For many, it signifies a troubling escalation in the Catholic hierarchy's political activism around the proposed "marriage amendment" to the Minnesota state constitution.

___________________________________

Heavenly Creator,

You have called us into many kinds of loving relationships, among which is that of marriage, a relationship limited to this mortal plane of existence, but not limited in its power to join two people together.

Help us to grow in those relationships that are life-giving in many ways, that animate our hearts and minds as well as parent our next generations, for these relationships bring us closer to you as well as each other.

God, we ask that you bring peace to the hearts of those who are troubled about the love that some people have for one another. Calm our defensiveness with your comforting Spirit, and enlarge our vision, for we can but see through a glass, darkly, the miracles of love you have empowered among us.

We pray through the strong name of Jesus, in whom is the life and light of all humankind. Amen.

C4ME-MN in the News

2011-12-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN is one of a number of groups highlighted in the December 10 St. Cloud Times article by Brandon Largent. The focus of this article is on how people of faith are organizing on both sides of the "marriage amendment" issue.

Largent's article is reprinted in its entirety below.

____________________________________________

Sides Rally Faithful in Marriage Vote

By Brandon Largent

St. Cloud Times

December 10, 2011

With a vote now less than a year away on amending Minnesota’s constitution to define marriage as heterosexual only, organizations on both sides of the debate are rallying people of faith to hit the polls.

The marriage amendment, if passed in November, would define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Minnesota for Marriage, a coalition of faith leaders from the Minnesota Family Council, Minnesota Catholic Conference, National Organization for Marriage and other organizations, is identifying voters to get them out to vote in 2012, Minnesota for Marriage Director of Communications Chuck Darrell said.

“There is a growing movement to silence people of faith,” Darrell said.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference is reaching out to Catholic district bishops and down into the parishes across the state, setting up church captains to encourage people to vote “yes” on the marriage amendment, Darrell said.

“Churches not only have a constitutional right, but a duty to speak out on these issues in the public square,” Darrell said.

Protestant and evangelical factions also are reaching out to churches through pastors and activists, Darrell said.

The coalition manned booths at last summer’s Minnesota State Fair and the Christian Community Fair at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Nov. 12, Darrell said.

Organizations poised against the amendment also are reaching out to people of faith statewide.

OutFront Minnesota, a Minnesota organization fighting for gay equality, has a faith-organizing group looking to find more churches throughout the state that oppose the constitutional amendment, OutFront Minnesota Operations Director Adam Robbins said.

The faith organizers are looking to host training programs to help people learn how to tell their stories about why marriage for same-sex couples matters to them, OutFront Minnesota Faith Organizer Javen Swanson said.

“The people who want the amendment to pass use mostly faith-based arguments, but we know that there are lots of people of faith who are against the amendment,” Swanson said. “The public needs to know that people of faith aren’t all against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people.”

On Nov. 8, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul hosted the first of such training programs, with 230 people of different faiths participating. They were led by Lutherans Concerned/North America, a Lutheran-based organization working toward GLBT rights within the Lutheran church, the program’s executive director, Emily Eastwood, said.

“It’s a grassroots effort to say that this amendment does not make sense for Minnesotans or Lutherans,” Eastwood said.

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, a Roman Catholic group that advocates marriage equality for all, also is working to rally people of faith against the amendment.

“The Catholic support of marriage equality is one of the highest of all religions,” Catholics for Marriage Equality MN Executive Coordinator Michael Bayly said.

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN recently released a series of video vignettes of couples and their outlooks on faith and marriage that premiered in September at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis and has been released online.

“If you look at what the Catholic people think, it’s very different from what the bishops are saying,” Bayly said.

Almost three-quarters of Catholics support allowing gay and lesbian people to marry — with 43 percent favoring outright marriage and 31 percent preferring civil unions, according to a Public Religion Research Institute report.

“Right now, Minnesota is poised to be the first state ever to defeat this constitutional amendment, but we can’t be complacent,” Swanson said. “If we won it, we would be very close, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Branden Largent is a student in the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Murphy News Service is a student-based journalism project at the university.

A Few Questions . . .

2011-12-14T22:22:00.000-08:00

In the December 13 edition of the Star Tribune, Paul Bridgland of Marshall, MN, poses a number of important and insightful questions in response to a supporter of the Catholic hierarchy's pro-marriage amendment activism. Bridgland's letter is reprinted below.

___________________________________

The Dec. 10 Letter of the Day claimed that the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment would protect the "civil right of children ... to grow up raised by their biological mother and father."

This is a common assertion among amendment supporters. A variation is "every child should be raised by both a father and a mother."

To those claiming to protect the children, I ask the following:

1. Will adoption be illegal under the amendment, since adopted children are denied their "civil right ... to grow up raised by their biological mother and father"?

2. Will a single parent be granted a "grace period" to locate and establish an appropriate two-parent household before the state steps in to restore the civil rights of their children?

3. Will the biological father and mother of every minor child in Minnesota be required to establish a shared household in which their children are raised, regardless of the marital status of the parents? Will the fathers of children by more than one mother be required to establish a separate household with each mother, or one large communal home? What about mothers with children by more than one father?

4. If producing children is an essential part of marriage, will fertility tests be required as part of the marriage license application process?

If you think these questions are absurd, I agree. But so is the claim that the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment has anything at all to do with protecting the interests of children.

The only reason for making that claim is because "I care about children" is easier to say than "I don't think gays should have the same rights I have."

– Paul Bridgland

Archbishop Just One of Many Catholic Voices in Gay Marriage Debate

2011-12-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

By Michael Bayly

Not all Catholics support Archbishop John Nienstedt's and the Minnesota Catholic Conference of Bishops’ aggressive support of the proposed “marriage amendment” to the Minnesota State Constitution. Indeed, according to recent findings of the Public Religion Research Center, “Catholics are more supportive of legal recognitions of same-sex relationships than members of any other Christian tradition and Americans overall.”

Unlike the bishops, U.S. Catholics recognize and respect that in a pluralistic society such as ours, the Roman Catholic hierarchy should not be expending time and resources imposing its understanding of sexuality and marriage onto wider society. This is especially true when one acknowledges that the bishops’ understanding of these realities is out-of-step with the collective wisdom of the Catholic people. On issues relating to the intimate lives of heterosexuals (such as contraception) and homosexuals (civil marriage rights) the Catholic faithful have clearly moved beyond the hierarchy’s limited understanding of sexuality.

My sense is that the Catholic faithful are not, in theory, opposed to the bishops making statements on important social issues. After all, in the Catholic tradition the bishops collectively comprise one of the church’s three sources (or magisteria) of truth. However, the teachings they articulate must be reasonable. In other words, they must be informed by and in constant dialogue with the church’s other two sources of truth, namely the insights of Catholic theologians and the wisdom of the Catholic people (the sensus fidelium). Yet on issues relating to sexuality, the bishops tragically abandoned such dialogue years ago. As a result, official church pronouncements on sexuality are woefully impoverished and disturbingly fixated on specific sex acts rather than on the relational quality of consensual adult partnering. The bishops have forgotten that truth (including the truth of human sexuality) is discovered through time, and that tradition (including the tradition of marriage) evolves. Thankfully, the Catholic people have not forgotten these liberating hallmarks of our living Catholic faith. Accordingly, we not only respectfully listen to and consider what the hierarchy says, but also seek out the wisdom of theologians and our own and others’ lived experiences. All need to be prayerfully considered if we are to make an informed and authentically Catholic response.

It is also important to remember that in the past, when the bishops have weighed in on social issues such as racism and immigrant rights, they did so in order to reduce discrimination and expand the circle of acceptance and inclusion in our society. This is not the case with their activism around marriage equality. Indeed, they are advocating the exact opposite: discrimination and exclusion. For many Catholics this is a blatant and grievous betrayal – not only of Catholicism’s rich social justice tradition, but of the very way of being Catholic in the world. This “way” reflects the way of Jesus and is always seeking to discern and celebrate God’s presence in the lives and experiences of all. Many Catholics want their bishops to embody this way and to stand boldly for the principles of justice, compassion, equality, and inclusion. Yet when it comes to gay people, gay lives, and gay relationships, the bishops have chosen not to embody these Gospel principles in their words and actions. For many Catholics this is both painful and scandalous.

No doubt some parishes will follow the Archbishop’s recent directive and establish committees to rally support for the “marriage amendment.” They are free to do so. I hope, however, that they and others will take the time to be open to other Catholic perspectives on this issue. A good place to start is with the video series recently produced by Catholics for Marriage Equality MN and premiered last month at the Riverview Theater. It features local gay and lesbian Catholics and their loved ones sharing their perspectives on faith, family and marriage. This and other helpful resources can be viewed at www.c4me.org.

Michael Bayly is the executive coordinator of Catholics for Marriage Equality MN.

A Catholic Statement of Support for Marriage Equality

2011-12-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Background: Catholics for Marriage Equality MN is a grassroots initiative launched by lay Catholic individuals and groups in response to the clerical hierarchy’s campaign to deny civil marriage rights to lesbian and gay people. The initiative seeks to support, educate and mobilize Catholics in the advancement of freedom and equality for LGBT people at the federal, state, and local levels.

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN was officially launched with the hosting of an educational forum entitled “Why You Can Be Catholic and Support Gay Marriage.” Drawing approximately 400 people, this forum was held October 21, 2010, at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis and featured author and moral theologian Daniel Maguire from Marquette University. Maguire highlighted and discussed the support for same-sex marriage that can be found in all the world religions, including Roman Catholicism.

That same month C4ME-MN issued a statement outlining various reasons for supporting civil marriage equality for same-sex couples. These reasons relate to points of ethics, constitutional law, social justice, and Catholic moral teaching. The statement reflects C4ME-MN's recognition of marriage equality as a social justice issue, as a matter of fairness, and as a contributor to individual flourishing, the stabilization of relationships, and the common good of society.

We invite you to read and reflect upon this statement and, if you feel so moved, to support it by signing your name to it at the C4ME-MN website, here.

_______________________________________

As Catholics of the State of Minnesota, we support civil marriage equality for the following reasons:

Point of Social Justice

In their 1997 pastoral statement, Always Our Children, the Catholic bishops of the United States write: "Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities. The teachings of the Catholic Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them.” These are powerful words, rooted in Jesus’ call for social justice. As such they supersede certain teachings of the Church that reflect a medieval and inadequate understanding of human sexuality – teachings that, accordingly, are unresponsive to the presence and movement of the Spirit in the lives of LGBT people. Furthermore, we believe that civil marriage is one of those “fundamental human rights” referred to by the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Of any religious group in the U.S., American Catholics are among the strongest supporters of equality for LGBT people. We recognize that this support is intrinsic to Catholicism as it is a support drawn from the rich tradition of Catholic social justice teachings, grounded in the Gospel message of love.

Point of Constitutional Law

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that a State shall not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The State of Minnesota currently protects heterosexual unions with many legal benefits. There are no good reasons for denying the same protections to homosexual unions. Constitutional democracy is a democracy in which principles of justice are accepted by the people to regulate the vote of a majority in depriving a minority of rights.

Civil marriage should not be denied to anyone based on sexual orientation. Just as civil divorce would not be denied by the state because some churches do not believe in divorce and remarriage, civil marriage also should not be denied based on religious beliefs concerning sexual orientation.

No house of worship should have to perform a marriage ceremony against its will, and never because of the intrusion and/or compulsion of government. Guided by the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, government should not try to define persons suitable for marriage in houses of worship.

Point of Catholic Moral Teaching

The Catholic teaching of Probabilism holds that when there is a debate on a moral issue (in this case homosexuality and same-sex unions), where there are good reasons and good authorities on both sides of the debate, Catholics are free to make up their own minds. The magisterium of the Catholic hierarchy notwithstanding, there is debate among theologians and the faithful, the sensus fidelium, on the issue of homosexual unions. We do not believe that homosexual sex is per se a sin. We believe heterosexism (prejudice against people who are homosexual) is a sin. “It is a serious sin because it violates justice, truth, and love. It also distorts the true meaning of sex and thus also harms everyone, including heterosexuals.” (Maguire, Daniel. "A Catholic Defense of Same-Sex Marriage.")

Point of Ethics

When a significant number of U.S. citizens do not hold with Catholic ethical teaching on a specific issue, it is a violation of justice for a voting majority of Catholics to enact laws based on their own ethics. Catholics would suffer if a voting majority of other religious bodies enacted laws requiring behavior or denying benefits based on their religious ethics. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the common ethic of people in a religiously pluralistic society.”

You can now show your support for marriage equality by signing your name to C4ME-MN's Statement of Support. To do so, click here.