Tag: Gay Catholics

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Support for priest who posted pictures on gay dating website

By Bimpe Archer

Fr Rory Coyle
Fr Rory Coyle has been absent from clerical duties since March

THE main churches have been urged to engage with the LBGT community in a bid to ease the burden of `invisibility’ from the “many, many members” who feel forced to conceal their sexuality.

The call from the Rainbow Project came as parishioners rallied to support a high-profile Co Armagh priest after it emerged that he had taken a leave of absence from clerical duties after posting pictures of himself on a gay dating website.

Fr Rory Coyle, a member of Armagh GAA’s management committee and member of the board of governors of St Malachy’s Primary School and chaplain of St Catherine’s College, Armagh, withdrew from public life in March, when he asked for some time off to reflect on his future.

Among the material the popular priest posted on the website `Grindr’ earlier this year, were naked images of himself and inappropriate comments.

The 35-year-old also made reference to previous sexual activity in posts where he described himself as a `lecturer’.

Fr Coyle has been a curate in Armagh for the last six years and was master of ceremonies during the funeral Mass of Cardinal Cahal Daly.

A number of parishioners took to social media to hit out at the reports explaining the reason for the priest’s absence from his clerical duties.

They expressed support for Fr Coyle on the Irish News Facebook page, for the “absolute gentleman” who they said married them and baptised their children, describing him as “a legend and great craic”.

One parishioner described him as “a lovely man, loved by the parish including those of us who for a long time have believed that the Catholic Church should focus on more important things than people’s sexuality or whether people have babies out of wedlock”.

John O’Doherty of the Rainbow Project said it deals with “clients from all walks of life” who are struggling to come to terms with themselves because they “do not know other people who are LBGT”.

“The biggest issues that still affect people are invisibility and isolation,” he said.

“The invisibility of not knowing other LBGT people in civic society and isolation of not seeing anyone else that looks like you. That can make it hard to understand what it means to have a minority sexuality.”

Mr O’Doherty said while the smaller faiths in Northern Ireland, including humanists, pagans and some of the reformed Presbyterians had been open to engaging with his pressure group and been inclusive of their LBGT members, the main churches had remained aloof.

“People from the LBGT community are of all faiths and none,” he said.

“Everybody needs a support network. Our services are open to absolutely everyone and we do welcome people from all walks of life and all faiths and none.

“From a faith perspective we are happy to engage with all faiths. The main churches, the Church of Ireland, the Catholic Church, the Presbyterians and Free Presbyterians do not engage with us.”

Complete Article HERE!

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Gay man settles with Catholic school that pulled job offer

Matthew Barrett (right) says his job offer at Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, was rescinded when he listed his husband as an emergency contact.
Matthew Barrett (right) says his job offer at Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, was rescinded when he listed his husband as an emergency contact.

 

BOSTON — A Boston man who had a job offer from an all-girls Catholic high school rescinded after administrators learned that he was in a same-sex marriage has settled a lawsuit with the school.

The Boston Globe reports 45-year-old Matthew Barrett’s confidential settlement with Fontbonne Academy comes nearly five months after a Massachusetts judge found the Milton school had discriminated against Barrett.

Fontbonne Academy officials pulled their offer of a food service position to Barrett in 2013 after he listed his husband as an emergency contact.

Ben Klein, Barrett’s attorney, says the settlement means that the December Superior Court ruling against the school will stand, establishing a legal precedent that employers have no religious justification for discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

In December 2015, a superior court judge rejected Fontbonne’s claim that hiring Barrett would infringe on its constitutional rights because it views his marriage to a man as incompatible with its religious mission.

The judge said Barrett’s duties as a food services director did not include presenting the teachings of the Catholic Church.

“As an educational institution, Fontbonne retains control over its mission and message. It is not forced to allow Barrett to dilute that message, where he will not be a teacher, minister or spokesman for Fontbonne and has not engaged in public advocacy of same-sex marriage,” Norfolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins wrote.

The judge also found that a religious exemption to the state anti-discrimination law applies only if a religious organization limits admission to people of a certain religion. Fontbonne is open to students and employees of all faiths, with the exception of its administration and theology faculty.

At the time, Barrett’s attorney, Ben Klein of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said Fontbonne was liable to pay damages for lost wages and compensatory damages for discrimination.

“Marriage equality has been the law of Massachusetts for over a decade, and it is now the law of the land. But you can’t have equality if you can get married on Saturday and fired on Monday,” Klein said.

Fontbonne released a statement Wednesday saying it “expresses deep gratitude to Mr. Barrett for his willingness to come together with us in a spirit of conciliation.”

Complete Article HERE!

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Actor playing Jesus Fired from Sunday Parade for being ‘too gay’

File Under:  We don’t want no sissy Jesus!

By Kyle Zabawa

sissy jesus

The actor was accused of “ostentation and parody” after showing a bare shoulder…

Ramón Fossati – an actor famed for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in traditional Spanish Easter parades for the past 30 years – has been allegedly banned from playing the part because he’s gay.

The Junta Mayor de Semana Santa Marinera, the ruling powers which organize the Holy Week celebrations, accused Ramón of “ostentation and parody,” after he exposed  a naked shoulder and excitable behaviour. They also believed he was giving “false blessings” to the crowd.

Ramón himself says that his actions were not intended to be disrespectful in the slightest. Explaining that his ensemble was in keeping with traditional religious paintings portraying Christ bare shouldered. The Times reports that he also modified his costume so only bare one shoulder could be shown, over fears that exposing both could prove too risqué.

Religious authorities strictly moderate Easter processions in Spain, with women in particular being fined for showing cleavage or for sporting dresses above the knee.

Although Ramón’s sexuality wasn’t brought up at the time of the ban, the Jesus Christ superstar suspects that it was because he’s gay: “It could be jealousy. Or maybe it was punishment for being gay. But everyone where I live knows my sexual orientation and it is not an issue.

“I am deeply religious and this is the worst thing that could happen.”

Having originally been fined €300 [£237] following the parade last year, Ramón’s fine was, thanks to an appeal, reduced to €60 [£47]. His ban is expected to stand until 2019.

Complete Article HERE!

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The Catholic Church in Michigan just made an important concession toward gay couples

By Peter Holley

rosary

For years, the Catholic Church has been in the throes of a heated debate over how accepting it should be of gay relationships.

The church teaches that gay behavior is sinful; however, no institution is immune from changes in the world around it.

The Michigan Catholic Conference — which oversees health care for Catholic employees in the state — announced in a letter last week that it is modifying its coverage in a way that will make it possible for gay employees of the church to get health benefits for their partners and spouses.

It does so in a way, however, that doesn’t affirm gay marriage, but simply redefines who qualifies for health coverage in a way that could include same-sex couples.

The move comes less than a year after a deeply divided Supreme Court delivered a historic victory for gay rights, ruling 5 to 4 that the Constitution requires that same-sex couples be allowed to marry no matter where they live.

The letter, sent to pastors and church employees, said health care coverage will be expanded to include legally domiciled adults. A person is considered an LDA, the letter notes, if they’re 18 or older, are financially interdependent with the church employee, and have lived with that person for at least six months.

Under the previous arrangement, a same-sex spouse would not be covered by health insurance because the Catholic Church defines a spouse as someone of the opposite gender, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A person’s sexual orientation or behavior will not factor into the church’s decision to provide employees with health care, according to Dave Maluchnik, director of communications for the MCC. Instead, he said, the church’s primary consideration will be residency.

“The church’s teaching on marriage and human sexuality is not changing,” Maluchnik told The Washington Post. “Our health benefit plan is expanding its eligibility to include a legally domiciled adult and, as such, the benefit is not dependent upon the relationship. It’s dependent upon residency. As long as the qualifications are met, then the benefit can be extended.”

The letter does not include the words “gay” or “same-sex relationship” and Maluchnik said projecting homosexuality into the letter was “a narrow reading” on the eligibility change. He pointed out that the rule change could just as easily apply to a friend, cousin, sibling or parent who lives with the employee.

But gay rights advocates celebrated the change nonetheless.

“The Catholic Church prides itself on being about families, so it’s good to see them taking a step that will actually protect families,” Stephanie White, executive director of Equality Michigan, told The Post.

She said the eligibility change is particularly important in Michigan, where there is no state law that protects LGBT people from discrimination. White believes the change also highlights the benefit of having federal agencies take a lead on “issues of fairness” and predicts that in time, people will realize there’s no reason not to outlaw discrimination.

“The policy also shows that even groups and businesses that are resistant to basic non-discrimination protections can find a way to follow the law and treat everyone equally,” White said.

Maluchnik noted that the decision to expand eligibility came after lengthy discussions among church officials. The alternative to expanding eligibility —removing spousal coverage entirely — would have hurt employees, he said.

“This decision was made following extensive consultation with the National Catholic Bioethics Center and also with our legal counsel to help us ensure that the health plan is compliant with federal and state laws and at the same time being consistent with Catholic teaching,” he said.

He told The Post that the modification to the church’s health plan occurred because of the federal government’s decision to “redefine marriage and the definition of a spouse.”

“It complies with federal law, as it is, in 2016,” Maluchnik told the Free Press. “This is the world in which we now live.”

Complete Article HERE!

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Catholic high school: Archdiocese ‘does not permit’ same-sex wedding announcement

By BY JOEL CONNELLY

Sartain
Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain: Catholic Church can in no way associate itself with same-sex marriage.

Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle has refused to run an announcement in its alumni magazine for the same-sex marriage of an alumna who once served as student body vice president and homecoming queen.

In response to the submission by the 1997 graduate, the school sent her a letter saying, in part, “… the archdiocese does not permit this type of information to be published in our Catholic school magazine.”

The reaction has been a much-circulated Facebook post by James Nau, who was student body president in Blanchet’s class of 1997 and homecoming king.

In an open letter to the Archdiocese of Seattle, Nau quoted St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians — “if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” and wrote:

“The policy which prohibits the public acknowledgment of (the)  marriage stands behind a faith that you no doubt believe is right, but it does so at the cost of what is greater: Love.

“When there is an opportunity to rejoice in love that exists among the members of your community, you have chosen instead to shut them out, and on this issue Pope Francis has warned, ‘a church with closed doors betrays herself and her mission.'”

Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain firmly closed all doors to same-sex marriage after Washington voted for marriage equality in 2012.

Sartain published a “policy refresher” raining down prohibitions on same-sex “marriage” — quotation marks courtesy of the archbishop. They include:

  • “No priest or deacon or lay minister may officiate at a same-sex marriage.”
  • “No church facility or school facility may be offered for such an event, even if it is to be witnessed by a non-Catholic minister or civil official.”
  • “No church facility or school facility may be used for a reception after such an event.”
  • “No church ministers, ordained or lay, may offer ‘wedding preparation’ for such couples.”

The archbishop’s chilly, hard-line stand on same-sex marriage has never gone down well with many Catholics.

Then-Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Catholic, helped persuade the Legislature to vote for marriage equality.  Eastside Catholic High School students walked out of school and mounted a sustained protest in late 2013 after the school’s vice principal was forced out over marriage to his husband.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a devout Catholic, went to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in 2013 to marry his husband, Michael Shiosaki, in a deeply traditional ceremony.

Nau has received a strong, affirming response to his Facebook post, 227 “likes,” 59 comments and 122 shares by mid-afternoon Thursday.

“The Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle has played a large role in my life,” he wrote.

Nau is a graduate of St. Louise School, Blanchet and Seattle University. He has mentored fellow Catholics at confirmation, worked at CYO summer camps, taught and coached for three years at Blanchet, and participated in campus ministries.  He stood vigil beside the body of Archbishop Thomas Murphy as the popular prelate lay in state at St. James Cathedral.

“It is my education by the Archdiocese of Seattle that has made me into the person who writes this letter,” he concluded.

In a subsequent update, Nau writes that he received a “gracious” email response from Antonio DeSapio, in which the president of Bishop Blanchet thanked Nau for his engagement but said that “we cannot knowingly publish anything that is contrary to Church teachings.”

The experience has been “very alienating,” Nau wrote in a response to DeSapio, adding:

“As a teacher, I keep thinking about what this policy says to your current students, and I hope that you consider what this incident teaches the students in the Archdiocese who might be gay or questioning their sexual identity as well as what it says to their friends, families and teachers who love and support them.

“What does it teach students whose parents are gay?”

The Blanchet denial, as with removal of the vice principal at Eastside Catholic, appears to have had an unintended consequence — one worth pondering at the archdiocesan chancery on First Hill.

The Eastside Catholic students came together in their protest and bonded with students at other Catholic high schools, such as Seattle Prep and Blanchet.

The refusal to announce the wedding appears to have similarly connected and reconnected Blanchet alumni.  Here is how Nau put it to DeSapio:

“Thanks to social media, we do not lack the means to come together in support and celebration of one of our own, but your policy forces us to do it outside your walls.

“Do you wish for Blanchet to remain an institution that forces large portions of its warm and affirming alumni community to exist separate from itself?

“This effort to rally . . . has more quickly and effectively connected me with my classmates than any issue of the Blanchet magazine. … My connection to the archdiocesan community has grown not because of your policy, but because of our shared objection to it.”

Does the chancery understand this?

Complete Article HERE!