Tag: Catholic Church

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Catholic columnist resigns over “devil-makes people-gay” commentary

The author of a column in the official publication of the Boston archdiocese, who also served as an advisor to the U. S. Catholic bishops, resigned on Friday.

Daniel Avila wrote an opinion piece published in The Pilot, a weekly newspaper. Published on Oct. 28, just in time for Halloween, the article suggested that homosexuality is the work of the devil.

Gay rights groups and many among the Catholic laity were upset by the author’s views, which they considered to be bad science, theology, and spirituality.

Indeed Avila’s piece, “Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction,” caused a disturbance in Greater Boston and beyond, especially in the LGBT and allies’ blogosphere.

Accordingly, Avila resigned on Nov. 4 from his position as an advisor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. His resignation was accepted, to be effective immediately, according to the Associated Press.

Locally, for more than a decade, Avila advised the Massachusetts Catholic Conference (MCC).

The USCCB and the MCC are official lobbying arms of the nation’s bishops and the state’s bishops, respectively.

Reactions of gratitude and relief were swift from advocacy organizations.

“Mr. Avila’s dangerous view that Satan causes people to become gay has no place in any credible news publication, whether it be mainstream or religious press,” said Sharon Groves, director of The Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program.

“He ignored not only the widely accepted science that [homosexuality] is normal, but also the modern thinking of many religions. I am pleased the Conference of Catholic Bishops accepted his resignation and I ask them to speak up and denounce his dangerous rhetoric.”

Two days before Avila left his position, the Pilot, which is the nation’s oldest Roman Catholic publication, retracted the column. At the same time, Avila apologized for any pain his piece caused and said his views are not those of the bishops.

“Statements made in my column, ‘Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction’ . . . do not represent the position of the [USCCB] and the column was not authorized for publication as is required policy for staff of the [USCCB]. The teaching of Sacred Scripture and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church make it clear that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and have inviolable dignity,” said Avila in a written statement.

“ Likewise, the Church proclaims the sanctity of marriage as the permanent, faithful, fruitful union of one man and one woman. The Church opposes, as I do too, all unjust discrimination and the violence against persons that unjust discrimination inspires. I deeply apologize for the hurt and confusion that this column has caused,” Avila said.

Terrence C. Donilon, communication’s secretary for the Boston archdiocese and Cardinal Sean O’Malley, said via e-mail correspondence, “The Avila piece was pulled because Dan retracted it and apologized and because it simply should not have been printed/published in The Pilot.”

“It is not the position of the archdiocese or the church and is simply wrong,” Donilon added.

“Daniel Avila’s column was hurtful and deeply offensive so we are grateful he quickly resigned,” said Wayne Besen, executive director for Truth Wins Out. “Demonizing never creates a healthy dialogue and Avila represented a major obstacle to the church’s claim to respect all people.”

“The [USCCB was] correct to accept Avila’s resignation,” said John Becker, director of communications and development for advocacy organization based in Burlington, Vt. “There is no place for such extremism and Avila’s poisonous remarks served to further alienate LGBT Americans from the Catholic Church.”

Marianne Duddy-Burke of Medford, Mass., said she, too, was pleased with bishops’ decision but called for further action.

“Avila’s resignation is a good first step for the bishops,” said Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, the nation’s oldest LGBT Catholic advocacy organization.

“But they need to demonstrate they understand the ramifications of the violent language against the gay Catholic community and our families,” Duddy-Burke said over the telephone.

“Dignity USA is calling for a policy advisory committee consisting of LGBT Catholics and family members to be appointed by the bishops and to be consulted by them on decisions that effect to our community.”

The Pilot’s Oct. 28 commentary is not the first time that editor Antonio Enrique published an apology and now a retraction.

“Cardinal O’Malley, as publisher of The Pilot, should strongly consider requesting that Mr. Enrique submit his resignation,” said Charles Martel, a local social worker in private practice and co-founder of Catholics for Marriage Equality. “Ultimately, this will be the only way that the cardinal shows he is serious about the meaning of accountability in the Archdiocese.”

Complete Article HERE!

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Catholic decree on gay marriage comes as no surprise

Rosemary Palladino of Grasmere would like to get married in a Catholic church, but knows it probably won’t happen.

Ms. Palladino, an attorney, attends weekly mass with her partner of her partner of 38 years, Marianne Brennick. She wondered why Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, following the spiritual lead of Pope Benedict XVI, felt the need to issue an official statement, banning gay marriage in Roman Catholic churches in the archdiocese.

In a decree dated Oct. 18, Archbishop Dolan forbade any priest or deacon from performing same-sex marriages. The unions cannot be done in any church building, hall or other property. The prohibition even extends to consecrated items such as chalices, vestments and liturgical books.

“The marital union between one man and one woman was universally accepted by civil law as a constitutive element of human society, which is vital to the human family and to the continuation of the human race,” Archbishop Dolan said.

“In reversal of this tradition, the New York State Legislature recently enacted a law that recognized same-sex union as marriages in the State of New York. This law is irreconcilable with the nature and the definition of marriage as established by Divine law.”

A complete version of the decree is listed under the pastoral tab at Archny.org.

The state’s Marriage Equality Act permits same-sex civil unions while at the same time protecting the right of religious groups to choose against performing the marriages.

“It would be wonderful to be able to get married in the Catholic Church but I don’t expect it, I don’t hope for it and I don’t need it because we could get married in a civil setting,” said Ms. Palladino, who intends to wed but so far has no definite plans.

A founder of Staten Island Stonewall, Ms. Palladino questioned why religious groups have involved themselves in the issue of civil marriage for same-sex couples.

“I think the whole issue of religious marriage was just an attempt to muddy the waters,” Ms. Palladino said. “The bill was not about making Catholic churches or other churches perform marriages for same-sex couples. It was about making civil marriage available to same-sex couples, regardless of what religion they follow or don’t follow.”

She continued: “What I don’t understand is why religious organizations try to interfere with the civil rights of people as they have done in New York and California. I especially wonder how many of their members approve of the fact that their donations are being used to wage these legal battles.”

Archbishop Dolan’s decree has “no bearing on what city hall does,” said state Sen. Diane Savino.

“Marriage is a sacrament, the church has a right to determine who they marry and who they don’t,” she added.

She said she was puzzled about why the archbishop felt a need to issue the decree.

“I guess he felt he had to clarify, I’m not sure why,” Ms. Savino said.

“It’s a house of worship, it’s their right, otherwise, no comment,” said Assemblyman Matthew Titone, who married his partner of 18 years, Giosue Pugliese, at Borough Hall in September.

Complete Article HERE!

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Accountability, transparency and the bishops

It has been almost 10 years since the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States mandated accountability and transparency in regard to the sexual abuse of children, but how that accountability and transparency was defined was ultimately left up to individual bishops, as was their application.

Truly independent oversight by a group of bishops who did not think it necessary to hold themselves to the same sanctions they placed on priests continues to be essentially nonexistent. Diocesan review boards set up to investigate those accused of inappropriate or questionable behavior serve at a bishop’s pleasure, and he alone decides whether or not to follow their recommendations.

Review board decisions are not binding on bishops, and board members themselves have no way of knowing whether they have received all the information a diocese has on an individual priest’s questionable behavior. Diocesan review boards, moreover, do not necessarily investigate all those accused or removed from ministry.

This has played out time and time again since 2002, as bishops across the country have decided not to follow the USCCB’s mandates but rather have spent years and millions of dollars fighting the court-ordered release of documents, files and records, keeping depositions sealed, avoiding having to testify in civil court cases by filing for the federal protections of a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy and challenging state court decisions right up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While no bishop in the United States has ever been held criminally responsible for facilitating or enabling the sexual exploitation of a child, they have cut deals to avoid prosecution in a number of jurisdictions. Bishops have left known sexual predators in ministry, transferred them around a diocese, to other dioceses and even out of the country in attempts to protect a religious institution’s image rather than the children, who are its most vulnerable members and about whom Jesus speaks so often in the gospels.

More than that, saying one is concerned about protecting children in the present and the future does not mitigate any organization’s responsibility for crimes against children committed in the past.

Until arbitrary and outdated criminal and civil laws covering childhood sexual abuse are brought into the 21st century, all children remain at risk. Childhood sexual abuse is an epidemic in this country, an epidemic that worsens daily and one that is not confined to the Catholic community.

However, in every state where there has been movement to revise the criminal and civil statutes of limitation covering the sexual abuse of children, the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, together with state Catholic conferences, has been at the forefront in viciously opposing legislative reform that would better protect all children.

This has been the case in numerous states, including Colorado, Ohio, Maryland, New York and now in Pennsylvania, where House Bills 832 and 878 are languishing — not even being allowed into committee, where both discussion and testimony are possible.

Legislators have backed down from doing the morally right thing, which is to allow victims access to justice, because they fear a powerful backlash from a Catholic vote.

Accountability, transparency, justice and morality appear to be absent in the rationale of such opposition. Added to this is an appalling amount of disinformation about proposed legislation that is being spewed out by bishops and state Catholic conferences.

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, along with state Catholic conferences and a number of bishops, has publicly stated that removing statutes of limitation is not fair to an accused individual who may not be able to defend himself against claims alleging sexual abuse in the past.

What is never mentioned is that in civil cases, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiff, not with the accused, and if proof is nonexistent, has been destroyed or cannot be found, individual cases will not go forward.
When Archbishop Charles Chaput was the spiritual leader of the Denver archdiocese, he was quoted as saying that the result of any kind of statute of limitation reform would lead to a “dismantling and pillaging [of] the Catholic community,” but the archbishop never offered evidence to support such a specious claim.

In 2007, Delaware passed the Child Victims’ Law, removing all civil statutes of limitation going forward in regard to the sexual abuse of children while opening a two-year civil window for bringing forward previously time-barred cases of abuse by anyone.

Delaware now has the strongest legislation in the country on childhood sexual abuse with no criminal or civil statutes of limitation going forward, and the Catholic community has been neither dismantled nor pillaged.

We have reached a new time in this country with two high ranking clergymen — Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., and Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former vicar of clergy in Philadelphia — now facing criminal charges for putting children in danger because of their mishandling of priests accused of sex crimes.

On Friday, prosecutors in Philadelphia submitted a 53-page motion in the criminal case involving Msgr. Lynn and four others, alleging that “church leaders handled similar accusations against dozens of other priests ‘saying that Msgr. William J. Lynn acted under a well-established, deliberate, orchestrated plan’ by Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials to protect abusive priests.”

Should those who failed so miserably for so long be trusted to take the high ground now and do the right thing? Remember, altruism was never the basis for the U.S. bishops’ 2002 decisions.

Holding those who commit the heinous crime of sexually exploiting children or enable others to do so is much more than the temper of the times. It is matter for the criminal justice system because it is society’s responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Complete Article HERE!

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Boston Catholic journal withdraws gay devil column

The oldest Roman Catholic newspaper in the United States has retracted an opinion column suggesting the devil may be responsible for gay attraction.

The column, which appeared Friday in the Archdiocese of Boston’s official newspaper, The Pilot, was titled “Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction.” It was written by Daniel Avila, an associate director for policy and research for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In the column, Avila says “the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil.”

It also says “disruptive imbalances in nature that thwart encoded processes point to supernatural actors who, unlike God, do not have the good of persons at heart.” It says that when “natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.”

The 182-year-old newspaper withdrew the column from its website on Wednesday, saying it had failed to recognize the “theological error” before publication. It posted an apology from Avila saying the column didn’t represent the position of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose stated purpose is to “promote the greater good which the Church offers humankind,” and wasn’t authorized for publication.

Avila said he deeply apologized for the “hurt and confusion” the column caused.

Archdiocesan officials said Avila’s apology would appear in the issue of The Pilot to be published this week, The Boston Globe reported.

The Boston archdiocese, the bishops’ group and Avila were involved in communications leading to the decision to retract the column, said archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon, who called Avila “passionate about his faith and passionate about his church.”

“This one,” Donilon said, “clearly just got away from him.”

Several gay rights organizations, including DignityUSA, an association of gay Catholics, and MassEquality, a Massachusetts group organized to support same-sex marriage, didn’t immediately return telephone or email messages seeking comment Wednesday night.

Complete Article HERE!

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Vatican stunned by Irish embassy closure

Catholic Ireland’s stunning decision to close its embassy to the Vatican is a huge blow to the Holy See’s prestige and may be followed by other countries which feel the missions are too expensive, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

The closure brought relations between Ireland and the Vatican, once ironclad allies, to an all-time low following the row earlier this year over the Irish Church’s handling of sex abuse cases and accusations that the Vatican had encouraged secrecy.

Ireland will now be the only major country of ancient Catholic tradition without an embassy in the Vatican.

“This is really bad for the Vatican because Ireland is the first big Catholic country to do this and because of what Catholicism means in Irish history,” said a Vatican diplomatic source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

He said Ireland informed the Vatican shortly before the announcement was made on Thursday night.

Dublin’s foreign ministry said the embassy was being closed because “it yields no economic return” and that relations would be continued with an ambassador in Dublin.

The source said the Vatican was “extremely irritated” by the wording equating diplomatic missions with economic return, particularly as the Vatican sees its diplomatic role as promoting human values.

Diplomats said the Irish move might sway others to follow suit to save money because double diplomatic presences in Rome are expensive.

It was the latest crack in relations that had been seen as rock solid until a few years ago.

DAMNING REPORT

In July, the Vatican took the highly unusual step of recalling its ambassador to Ireland after Prime Minister Enda Kenny accused the Holy See of obstructing investigations into sexual abuse by priests.

The Irish parliament passed a motion deploring the Vatican’s role in “undermining child protection frameworks” following publication of a damning report on the diocese of Cloyne.

The Cloyne report said Irish clerics concealed from the authorities the sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009, after the Vatican disparaged Irish child protection guidelines in a letter to Irish bishops.

While Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore denied the embassy closure was linked to the row over sexual abuse, Rome-based diplomats said they believed it probably played a major role.

“All things being equal, I really doubt the mission to the Vatican would have been on the list to get the axe without the fallout from the sex abuse scandal,” one ambassador to the Vatican said, on condition of anonymity.

Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said he was profoundly disappointed by the decision and hoped the government would “revisit” it.

“This decision seems to show little regard for the important role played by the Holy See in international relations and of the historic ties between the Irish people and the Holy See over many centuries,” Brady said in a statement.

The Vatican has been an internationally recognized sovereign city-state since 1929, when Italy compensated the Catholic Church for a vast area of central Italy known as the Papal States that was taken by the state at Italian unification in 1860.

It has diplomatic relations with 179 countries. About 80 have resident ambassadors and the rest are based in other European cities.

The Vatican guards its diplomatic independence fiercely and in the past has resisted moves by some countries to locate their envoys to the Holy See inside their embassies to Italy.

Dublin said it was closing its mission to the Vatican along with those in Iran and East Timor to help meet its fiscal goals under an EU-IMF bailout. The closures will save the government 1.25 million euros ($1.725 million) a year.

Complete Article HERE!