Recently in Homosexuality Category

By John Gehring
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

Just in time for Halloween, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is once again spooked about all those "radical secularists" lurking ominously behind ever corner. In case you didn't notice, these godless heathens are "waging war" against American culture and plotting to "smash the last vestiges of Christianity in America." So argues the irrepressible cultural warrior in a recent On Faith commentary and in his new book, "Secular Sabatoge: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America."

You have to hand it to the guy. Donohue makes righteous indignation and throwing rhetorical bombs into an art form. He is about as subtle as a fist in your face. If you are looking for reasoned and sensible analysis turn on PBS, Donohue seems to snarl. His latest depiction of cultural doom probably elicits a yawn from most religious Americans who are not obsessed with the bogeymen of multiculturalism, secularism, homosexuality and Hollywood hedonism that Donohue rails against with a bullying style.

Everyday in our churches, mosques and synagogues people of faith gather humbly to pray for wisdom, compassion and justice. We give public expression to this faith by comforting the sick, welcoming the strangers among us and seeking peace in a world torn by violence. We lobby Congress to pass health-care reform, fix a broken immigration system and address global climate change as profound moral issues. Even on difficult issues, we reject culture-war showdowns by encouraging pro-choice and pro-life elected officials to find common ground and reduce abortions by increasing support for pregnant women, expanding adoption opportunities and preventing unintended pregnancies.

Keeping track of Donohue's latest offensive comment keeps the watchdogs at Media Matters for America busy. Here's a few of his signature gems:

▪ "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular...Hollywood likes anal sex." MSNBC, Scarborough Country, 12/8/04

▪ "A lot of these people are gold diggers looking to get money from the Catholic Church."  -Speaking about the clergy sex abuse scandal. The Last Word with Matt Cooper 5/29/2009

At least when he gets to feeling down about things, Donohue raises his chin and cheers himself up with this comforting thought:

▪ "The culture war is up for grabs. The good news is that religious conservatives continue to breed like rabbits, while secular saboteurs have shut down: they're too busy walking their dogs, going to bathhouses and aborting their kids. Time, it seems, is on the side of the angels."  On Faith, Washington Post, 10/19/09

It's sad, if unsurprising, that the media regularly turns to Donohue for a "Catholic view" on issues. While Donohue's bluster makes for sensational television, he rarely raises his voice to speak about issues at the heart of Catholic social teaching. While the U.S. Catholic bishops' 2008 election-year statement on political responsibility emphasized a consistent ethic of life tradition that recognizes torture, unjust war, the death penalty, genocide, racism and poverty as "direct assaults on innocent human life," Donohue is uncharacteristically mute on these points. Abortion is not the only "life issue" for Catholics. As Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles told the Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. last year: "We are not a one-issue Church...but that's not what always comes out."

We live in an age where the shrillest voices often drown out sober debate and thoughtful insights. Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh watch their ratings soar with every outrageous remark. Bill Donohue gets invited on TV because he bellows and bloviates with the best of them. While some enjoy the antics, most of us are tired of the noise machine. Faith and reason are not enemies, but together help illuminate our path through the dark forests of fear, ignorance and injustice. Sometimes we just need to turn down the volume and tune out the shouters to find our way.

Timothy Palmer is the Director of Policy and Communication at the Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion

Those of us who are both openly gay and openly Christian (and happily reconciled in the two) are used to the deliberate pace that many Christian denominations have taken toward fully embracing their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) congregants.  Having consecrated one openly gay bishop in 2003, it took the Episcopal Church another six years to give itself permission to (maybe) doing it again.  The Lutherans approved a progressive statement on human sexuality by the slimmest of margins last week, while the Presbyterians narrowly defeated a measure in the spring that would have permitted the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy. 

Every time, the media played up the schism angle.  And every time, the media missed the bigger story. 

Every controversial vote and painstaking step forward shrouds what are, in fact, stunning advances for LGBT people of faith.  The mainline traditions are either moving forward on this issue or, at worst, standing in place.   The Presbyterian vote, while leaving existing polity unchanged, revealed a notable shift in favor of gay and lesbian clergy, enough to put opponents on their heels when the question is considered again.  In the Episcopal Church, the attention paid to the election of gay and lesbian bishops overshadowed a host of other actions:  resolutions supporting transgender civil rights, pastoral support for blessing same-sex marriages and unions, and new liturgical resources for same-sex ceremonies to be considered in 2012.

As for the Lutherans, the adoption of the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, spurred convention delegates to approve a measure allowing partnered lesbian and gay persons to serve in ministry.  What's significant here is that the Lutherans not only upheld the equality and dignity of lesbian and gay persons as individuals, but of lesbian and gay persons in relationship.  The newly approved Lutheran statement treads tantalizingly close to recognizing same-sex marriage before pulling back.  But it is clear where Lutheran theology is leading.

All in all, it has been a blessed summer for LGBT Christians.  Opponents are, predictably, predicting fallout - that membership in Lutheran and Episcopal congregations will continue to decline.  But who is to say whether denominations suffer from too much progressive action or from too little of it?  Some congregations that have taken deliberate steps to welcome LGBT persons and families have suffered temporary declines in membership.  But many find they attract new members over time, including same-sex and heterosexual couples who want to raise their children in inclusive communities of faith. 

So rather than counting how many people march out of Episcopal and Lutheran parishes, how about we watch for how many march in?  If the arc of history truly does bend toward justice, then perhaps the Episcopal and Lutheran leadership have not so much gambled their immediate futures as invested in their long-term vitality.

That is the future I am counting on - one painstaking step at a time.

For the last month, I've been in Australia and only occasionally heard news from the United States.  I haven't minded too much missing arguments over health care and the Supreme Court confirmation hearings.  But I have fretted about missing the General Convention of the Episcopal Church--my own denomination's triennium meeting now happening in Anaheim.

I know that sounds a little crazy.  After all, what kind of church geek would be jonesing for a denominational meeting while looking out her hotel window at the Sydney Opera House? 

But this meeting was particularly important for Episcopalians.  Six years ago, in 2003, my church confirmed the election of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion.  That meeting made international news and led to a painful theological backlash from conservative Anglicans and some churches in Africa and South America.  Three years later, in 2006, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution of "restraint" at the convention, committing itself to conversation and no further ordinations of bishops whose "manner of life" (i.e., they were gay or lesbian persons) was offensive to other Anglicans.  This, too, made news as conservative Anglicans launched a political and legal assault to divide the Episcopal Church and drive a wedge between American Episcopalians and the larger body of Anglicans around the world.

And now, in 2009, six years have passed.  Episcopalians have done a lot of talking, some serious crying, much worrying, and have tried to honor the wide diversity of Anglicans around the world.  We didn't ordain any more gay or lesbian clergy as bishops.  We practiced restraint.  We listened.  We tried to be nice.  We prayed.  Yesterday, the Convention meeting in Anaheim summed up what Episcopalians have learned in that process.

By a 2-1 margin, Episcopalians agreed "that through our own listening the General Convention has come to recognize that the baptized membership of The Episcopal Church includes same-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God."  And the Episcopal General Convention equally has come to understand "that God has called and may call such individuals, to any ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church."  In plain English, the Episcopal Church has now formally recognized the lived reality of faithful same-sex Christian couples in our community and that the Holy Spirit may call persons in such relationships to Christian ministry--even the ministry of bishop. 

This affirmation doesn't demand that anyone do anything or anyone be forced to believe something they find offensive.  Indeed, in the resolution, the church stated that Christians are not of a unified mind and that Christians "of good conscience" may disagree in regards to these concerns.  But the resolution also does two important things:  1) it recognizes that many, many Episcopalians are perfectly comfortable and open to being part of a diverse spiritual community that includes gay and lesbian brothers and sisters; and 2) that local dioceses may chose their bishops by discerning the best candidate for ministry without restriction placed on sexual identity. 

Some may argue that the Episcopal Church has broken faith.  No, Episcopalians are struggling to be faithful and to live justly as our society widens its understanding of human relationships and marriage.  The attempt to do so is not somehow "secular" or untraditional.  Rather, adapting to local cultures is an important part of being Anglican. 

Around 600, Pope Gregory the Great saw a group of blond-haired children in a slave market and was told they were "Angli," or "Angles," from Britain.  Gregory replied, "Not Angles, but Angels" and dispatched missionaries to the British Isles.  He instructed the missionaries to work within the context of the culture they encountered in order to preach the gospel and spread the church.  These first missionaries accommodated their message to many of the spiritual practices they found in pagan England.  It is deeply Anglican to believe that God works within human cultures, in all their variety.  As recently as 1988, when African Anglican bishops asked that the church permit polygamy as a Christian practice, western Episcopalians and Anglicans approved the tradition of multiple wives as an appropriate expression of faith in some cultural contexts. 

The same Anglicans who have been mad about Gene Robinson for six years will continue to be angry.  The same Anglicans who have threatened schism will continue to threaten.  Maybe Anglicans in the rest of the world won't understand.  Some people will see this as unbiblical.  But, trying to figure out faith in particular cultural contexts is Anglican tradition.  For 1400 years, Anglicans have believed weaving together the message of Jesus with human culture and experience is the best way to embody the love of God and neighbor.  We don't always do that perfectly, but we are trying.  After all, we're Anglicans not Angels.