Gay man removed from Catholic parish involvement after getting married
The media has made much ado about Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, wherein he claimed that the Roman Catholic Church needs to be better at welcoming gay and lesbian people.
Cardinal Dolan also stated that the Catholic Church isn’t “anti-anybody” and should be a church for all.
But his words do not ring true for real life Catholics. In fact, as Cardinal Dolan was expressing his desire to have the church be open to all, one gay Catholic man was being stripped of his roles and responsibilities within his Long Island parish.
Nicholas Coppola is a parishioner at St. Antony’s Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside, New York. His involvement at the church included serving as a religious education instructor, lector, altar server, visitation minister for homebound members, as well as member of the Consolation Ministry and St. Vincent de Paul.
He has been completely out to his parish for years, and has had the support of his priest and fellow parishioners. Mr. Coppola and his husband, David were married on October 27, 2012. A number of parishioners attended their wedding.
Upon returning from his honeymoon in January, Mr. Coppola was called into the office of Fr. Nicholas Lombardi S.J., the pastor of St. Anthony.
Bishop William Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre received an anonymous letter, informing him of Mr. Coppola.
According to the letter:
“Nicholas Coppola is a Religion Teacher at St. Anthony’s. I have also seen him involved with other Parish work including his name on a board for “THE ST. ANTHONY PROJECT” to raise money for air conditioning in the Church. The problem is that he is a homosexual. He was recently married to another man. He does not hide this or keep it silent.”
The diocese then faxed the letter to Fr. Lombardi, noting that “it would be of concern to you if a catechist were, in fact, ‘married’.”
Fr. Lombardi stated that Mr. Coppola must be removed from all parish involvement. The reason stated was that Mr. Coppola made a public statement by getting married, which is against church teaching.
“I was in shock. I had just come home from my honeymoon. I went to mass on Martin Luther King Day, where we heard a great sermon about justice and equality,” said Mr. Coppola, recalling the meeting.
“After mass, I was summoned into the pastor’s office and told that I could no longer be active in my own parish.”
Mr. Coppola has had two meetings with the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and was informed that the bishop’s ‘hands were tied.’ While the Roman Catholic hierarchy states that it wishes to welcome gay and lesbian people into the church, being in a loving, committed relationship, and seeking protections for that relationship and for one another through civil marriage will exclude one from parish life.
Following Cardinal Dolan’s interview and assertion that the church is welcoming to gay and lesbian people, Mary Ann Walsh, Director of Media Relations, took to Huffington Post to respond to the heightened media attention around Dolan’s claims.
She stated very boldly, “No one is carded at a Catholic Church. Shunning is not the Catholic tradition.”
However, once Nicholas Coppola was identified as a married gay man, he was shunned from the parish.
“When I suffered a back injury that didn’t allow me to work, participating in the ministries at St. Anthony’s gave me a purpose,” said Mr. Coppola.
“Being shunned from a community that means so much to me takes a toll, not just to me, but to those around me. My mom cried. My husband has been a great source of support for me, but he is also struggling with this action. Even my fellow parishioners are hurt and angry that I can’t be involved in the parish anymore.”
Nicholas Coppola is not the first Catholic to be persecuted by Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Several employees of Roman Catholic parishes, schools, and related institutions have been fired for their support for marriage equality, no matter how public or private those beliefs have been.
Dominic Sheahan-Stahl was uninvited to speak at the graduation of his alma mater in Michigan.
Lennon Cihak was denied confirmation after urging people to vote against the anti-marriage amendment in Minnesota.
Most famously in Maryland, Barbara Johnson was denied communion at her own mother’s funeral because she was gay.
“We continue to hear assertions from the hierarchy that the Roman Catholic Church is loving and embracing to all, but the experience of Nicholas Coppola and so many others run counter to those claims,” stated GLAAD’s Director of News and Faith Initiatives, Ross Murray. “Until the hierarchy stops persecuting those within its ranks who support full equality for LGBT people, its message of love and inclusion means nothing.”
Mr. Coppola continues to express his hope for the church. “I want a church that is open to all and loves each one of us the same.”
GLAAD calls on the media to highlight the stories of Nicholas Coppola and others who have been persecuted by the Roman Catholic hierarchy for supporting full equality for LGBT people.
These stories represent the disconnect between words like that of Cardinal Dolan or Sister Walsh and the experience of real LGBT Catholics in America.
They will tell a fuller story of why Catholics overwhelmingly support LGBT equality, including marriage equality, despite virulent opposition from Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Complete Article HERE!
Milwaukee archdiocese to release sex abuse files
By Dinesh Ramde and M.L. JOHNSON
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Wednesday that it will release thousands of pages of documents tied to sexual abuse lawsuits, including depositions with some former top officials.
The archdiocese, which had been fighting the documents’ release, made its announcement the day before the matter was to be decided in US Bankruptcy Court in Milwaukee. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2011 to deal with about 500 sex abuse claims. Lawyers representing the men and women who filed the claims had been seeking the documents’ release.
The documents include depositions by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who previously led the Milwaukee archdiocese, as well as by former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland and retired Bishop Richard Sklba.Victims’ advocates have accused archdiocese leaders of transferring abusive priests to other parishes and concealing their crimes for decades.
Jerry Topczewski, the chief of staff for current Archbishop Jerome Listecki, said the archdiocese will post the documents on its website by July 1.
Topczewski said officials need time to ensure the identities of sexual abuse victims are redacted. The archdiocese also plans to post timelines to provide context for the documents.
‘‘I think what the archbishop has done is say, ‘If this is what’s needed for resolution, if this is going to help abuse survivors, then I’ll authorize their release without the court being involved,’ ’’ Topczewski said.
Dolan, who led Milwaukee’s Roman Catholics from 2002 to 2009, gave a deposition in February in which, his attorney said, he had answered questions about his decision to publicize the names of clergy members who had been accused of molesting children in mostly decades-old cases.
Complete Article HERE!
Pope stresses “fundamental” importance of women in Church
Pope Francis emphasised the “fundamental” importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, saying they were the first witnesses of Christ and have a special role in spreading the faith.
By Naomi O’Leary
The pontiff’s decision a week ago to include women in a traditional foot-washing ritual drew ire from traditionalists, who see the custom as a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles and said it should therefore be limited to men.
Francis, elected last month as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, said women had always had a special mission in the Church as “first witnesses” of Christ’s resurrection, and because they pass belief onto their children and grandchildren.
“In the Church, and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord,” Francis told thousands of pilgrims at his weekly audience in S. Peter’s Square.
He said that in the Bible, women were not recorded as witnesses to Christ’s resurrection because of the Jewish Law of the time that did not consider women or children to be reliable witnesses.
“In the Gospels, however, women have a primary, fundamental role … The evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women were the first witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria.”
See the pope’s full address here: (HERE).
It was the second time Francis had spoken of women’s role as witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, a subject of bedrock importance to the Catholic faith.
His Easter Vigil address on Saturday reached out to women and urged believers not to fear change.
REFORM
“This is very encouraging,” said Marinella Perroni, a theologian and leading member of the Association of Italian Women Theologians, which promotes female experts on religion and their visibility in the Church.
“Pope Francis is taking up, with a stronger emphasis, the teaching of previous popes about the role of women in the foundation of faith and the resurrection of Jesus,” Perroni told Reuters.
“The fact that the Pope acknowledges that the progressive removal of female figures from the tradition of the resurrection…is due to human judgments, distant from those of God…introduces a decidedly new element compared to the previous papacy.”
Supporters of liberal reform of the Church have called on the institution to give a greater voice to women and recognise their importance to the largest religious denomination in the world.
Some groups call for women to be ordained as priests, which the Vatican says is wrong as Jesus Christ willingly chose only men as his apostles. Advocates of a female priesthood reject this position, saying Jesus was merely conforming to the customs of his times.
The election of Francis, an Argentinean, last month came in the wake of another break with tradition when predecessor Pope Benedict became one of the few pontiffs in history to resign.
His 76-year old successor has set a new tone for the papacy, earning a reputation for simplicity by shunning some ornate items of traditional dress, using informal language in his addresses, and so far choosing to live in a simple residence rather than the regal papal apartments.
Sources inside the Vatican have said Francis could reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and restructure or even close down the Vatican’s bank following a series of scandals at the heart of the Holy See that damaged the Church’s reputation.
Complete Article HERE!
DreamWorks, Participant Pick Up Church Sex Abuse Scandal Film
Tom McCarthy has signed on to direct and co-write the script with Josh Singer.
by Tatiana Siegel
In a move certain to spark controversy, DreamWorks Studios and Participant Media have acquired film rights to the story of the Catholic Church’s decades-long cover-up of its pedophile priests in Massachusetts as uncovered during a yearlong investigation by the Boston Globe.
Tom McCarthy (The Visitor) has signed on to direct and co-write the script with Josh Singer (the upcoming WikiLeaks movie The Fifth Estate).
Anonymous Content’s Michael Sugar and Steve Golin and Rocklin/Faust’s Nicole Rocklin and Blye Faust will produce. David Mizner, who brought the project to the producers, will serve as a consultant and associate producer. Participant’s Jonathan King and Jeff Skoll will serve as executive producers.
Life rights have been acquired to the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight Team” of reporters and editors, including then-Globe editor Marty Baron, special projects editor Ben Bradlee Jr., Spotlight Team editor Walter “Robby” Robinson and reporters Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer and Matt Carroll.
The team spent a year interviewing victims and reviewing thousands of pages of documents and discovered years of cover-up by Church leadership. Their reporting eventually led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, who had hidden years of serial abuse by other priests and opened the floodgates to other revelations of molestation and cover-ups around the world that still reverberate today.
The Globe team won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service “for its courageous, comprehensive coverage of sexual abuse by priests, an effort that pierced secrecy; stirred local, national and international reaction; and produced changes in the Roman Catholic Church.”
The Church has been very vocal in the past about films they see as depicting the faith in a negative light and organized boycotts of movies including The Da Vinci Code.
“The Boston Globe’s coverage of the Catholic priest scandal opened the door to a bigger story that had worldwide ramifications,” DreamWorks president Holly Bario. “The story of how this team of editors and reporters came to uncover the truth will make a dramatic and compelling film, especially with the talents of our director Tom McCarthy and his co-screenwriter Josh Singer on board.”
Added King: “It’s great to be back in business once again with our friends at DreamWorks and Anonymous, especially on such a powerful and still-evolving story. We have been eager to do another movie with Tom McCarthy ever since The Visitor'”
The project marks the sixth collaboration between DreamWorks and Participant, having previously partnered on The Fifth Estate — which is due in theaters Nov. 15 — Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, the 2011 hit The Help, The Kite Runner and The Soloist.
Participant is no stranger to hot-button topics like the Catholic Church scandal. The company also backed such films as the documentaries An Inconvenient Truth and Food, Inc. Other Participant films include Good Night, and Good Luck; Charlie Wilson’s War; Waiting for Superman; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; and last year’s No, an Academy Award nominee for best foreign-language film.
In addition to The Visitor, McCarthy wrote and directed The Station Agent and Win Win. He was nominated for an Oscar for co-creating the story of Pixar’s Up. McCarthy also wrote the screenplay for the Disney film The Million Dollar Arm, starring Jon Hamm, which begins shooting in May. He is repped by the Gersh Agency and attorney Andrew Hurwitz.
Singer, a veteran TV writer, has worked on such shows as The West Wing, Law & Order: SVU, Lie to Me and Fringe. He is repped by WME and Anonymous Content.
Complete Article HERE!