At the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church (the Archdiocese of San Francisco) home-page, in the “Resources” section, are links to several internet sites which are not in agreement with the Church’s teachings on homosexuality, in fact, they directly oppose it:
From the gaychurch.org web-site:
In an article entitled “Some Talking Points on Christianity and Homosexuality” by Jerry Maneker; the author explains:
- “…the Bible doesn’t condemn, but actually affirms, same-sex love.”
- “Same-sex love is certainly affirmed in reading of the relationship between King David (called ‘a man after God’s own heart’) and Jonathan…If one reads the account of Deborah, a Judge and esteemed warrior in Israel, one comes away with a feeling that she may well have been transgendered, as she certainly didn’t live up to the cultural expectations of how a ‘woman’ is to behave.”
- “Why was the centurion so concerned about this particular slave as recorded in Matthew 8... ‘Doulos’ is the Greek word for slave! A ‘pais’ was frequently one who had a romantic-sexual relationship with an older man; that may well be why the centurion was so concerned about this particular young man and asked Jesus to heal him. If such a relationship was a sin or in any way inappropriate, wouldn’t Jesus have taken this opportunity to condemn or censure the centurion for having such a relationship?”
- “Particularly in the New Testament, same-sex love is never condemned!”
- “You also commit a grievous sin if you reject the sexual orientation given you by God.”
From an article on the same web-site, “Calling the Rainbow Nation Home” by ET Sundby:
- “It can only ‘be’ because homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon in nature, affecting every species including humans. For some reason, in God’s magnificent plan of creation – He has planned us to be this way.”
In another article, “The Bible, Christianity and Homosexuality” by Rev. Justin Cannon, he writes:
- “As we have seen, Scripture does not really have much to say about homosexuality. Furthermore, we have come to see that homosexual sex within a marriage can fulfill one of the divine ends of sex (i.e. the unitive), and that such a marriage also fits within the traditional Christian understanding of the sacrament of marriage.”
From the Dignity/USA – San Francisco chapter web-site:
Mission Statement:
- “Working for the development of a holistic inclusive understanding of sexuality in the Church, and for the acceptance of bisexuals, gays, lesbians, and transgendered people as full equal members… We affirm and celebrate our sexuality and love as gifts from God.”
Regarding Pope Francis’ call for a “Year of Mercy:”
- “Mercy is an act of love, compassion or service given to those who sin or are afflicted in some way. LGBTQ people, same-sex relationships, and transgender persons are not sins or afflictions.”
Part and parcel with the Dignity/USA – San Francisco Chapter is an association with a Dignity affiliated group called the Defenders of Dignity; the Defenders is a national “leather/levi” organization: “Its membership consists of gay men and lesbian interested in integrating their leather sexuality with their spirituality.” The Dignity/USA –San Francisco Chapter and the Defenders of Dignity hold joint monthly meetings.
Lastly, there is a link to something called the “Gay Catholic Forum;” this is actually a link to “Bondings 2.0:” “…a project of New Ways Ministry, a gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics, and reconciliation within the larger Christian and civil communities.”
On this web-site there is a clear argument made in support of same-sex marriage; in an article titled “Civil Same-Sex Marriage: A Catholic Affirmation” by Lisa Fullam:
- “We can all share in those wider, socially critical benefits of marriage, gay and straight, parents and the childless alike. Why would Christians deny to any of our brothers and sisters, at least in the realm of our civil life together, the opportunity for the blending and sharing of life toward, we hope, the “mutual perfection” that Pius XI said was the wider purpose of marriage? Love requires no less than our support of love.”
In October 1986, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a letter addressed to all the bishops of the Catholic Church entitled “On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons” (“Homosexualitatis problema” in Latin). This was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as prefect. Among other things, the said that accepting homosexual acts as morally equivalent to married heterosexual acts was harmful to the family and society and warned bishops to be on guard against, and not to support, Catholic organizations not upholding the Church’s doctrine on homosexuality: “All support should be withdrawn from any organizations which seek to undermine the teaching of the Church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely. Such support, or even the semblance of such support, can be gravely misinterpreted.” This clearly alluded to LGBT and LGBT-accepting “Catholic” groups such as Dignity/USA and New Ways Ministry.
In 1999, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, condemned New Ways Ministry’s positions on homosexuality, and ordered co-founders Sr. Jeannine Gramick and Fr. Robert Nugent to cease pastoral ministry within the gay and lesbian community. Fr. Nugent returned to parish-based ministry, but Sr. Gramick refused to comply. In 2010, the late Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago and then President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), stated that the New Ways Ministry for homosexual Catholics does not present an authentic view of Catholic teaching: “I wish to make it clear that, like other groups that claim to be Catholic but deny central aspects of Church teaching, New Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church and that they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the United States.”
Addendum: The Rev. John J. McNeill, a Jesuit priest who co-founded Dignity, was silenced in 1977, when the Vatican ordered him not to speak or write publicly on the subject of homosexuality. Yet, after the publication of “On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” McNeill publicly condemned the letter in a statement issued to “The New York Times” and “The National Catholic Reporter.” Cardinal Ratzinger responded by ordering him to keep silent on the subject, and to again cease his pastoral work with homosexuals; this time, McNeill refused. Under orders from the Vatican, the Jesuits expelled him in 1987. Later, McNeill said “I always knew I was gay. I tried to be closeted, but that didn’t succeed…The message is that God loves gay lovers and approves of them.”
