‘A small however vital step’

Native Catholic diocese reaches out to the LGBT neighborhood

On Saturday, Oct. 7, I attended a Mass for the members of the LGBT neighborhood and their households at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Hillcrest.

The Mass was celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan and noticed the twentieth anniversary of “All the time Our Youngsters” — a pastoral doc from the U.S. Catholic bishops to oldsters and pastors of LGBT kids — launched Sept. 10, 1997.

The invitation to take part got here from the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego’s Workplace for Liturgy and Spirituality, on behalf of Robert McElroy, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diegodiocese, who was additionally in attendance. McElroy could be very progressive and had “requested” that St. John’s attain out to the LGBT neighborhood, for the reason that parish is positioned in Hillcrest.

Being homosexual and Catholic has all the time been a problem for a lot of. It’s powerful sufficient when household and pals isolate somebody who’s homosexual, however not being accepted by one’s religion neighborhood provides one other layer to that isolation. With this in thoughts, I used to be curious; would this Mass tackle the challenges between the Catholic Church and our neighborhood?

My very own private experiences with the Catholic Church return a few years. I attended Catholic highschool and faculty and was a member of a non secular neighborhood for 17 years. I taught languages and faith in a number of Catholic excessive faculties. I first turned concerned with Dignity San Diego — a religion neighborhood for LGBT Catholics and their allies — within the late Eighties, serving as chapter president from 2001–2003.

Whereas chapter president, I confronted the native bishop and requested him to not vote responsible the sexual abuse scandal on gay monks at an upcoming bishops’ convention — and he didn’t. I felt this trade may need been a gap for dialog, however it wasn’t.

Shortly thereafter, he refused to permit for a Catholic funeral for 2 members of our neighborhood; and, when San Diego Satisfaction requested Dignity if a priest could be accessible to offer a blessing for same-sex {couples} in the course of the pageant — and we offered one — each the priest and I discovered ourselves designated as “persona non grata” by the bishop. When funerals of LGBT neighborhood members had been denied, I left Dignity and started attending St. Paul’s Cathedral.

With isolation working so deep, I used to be each curious and skeptical in regards to the upcoming Oct. 7 Mass. I wasn’t certain what to anticipate.

There have been a number of protesters within the entrance of the church — members of “Church Militant” — who had been praying. In addition they made their presence felt after Mass, distributing anti-gay materials. Whereas the protestor’s presence was peaceable, the massive presence of police was each reassuring and unsettling. I found later that the bishops and the clergy of St. John’s had obtained a number of telephone and e mail threats within the weeks previous to the service.

Simply strolling into St. John’s turned an emotional second. The church was full of members of the LGBT neighborhood; LGBT {couples} with their kids; LGBT youth with their mother and father; and plenty of allies. Not solely had been the 2 bishops current, they had been joined by over a dozen monks from the diocese.

I then realized the historic nature of this occasion: The bishop didn’t invite the LGBT neighborhood to hitch him for Mass on the cathedral, the bishops and the opposite monks introduced their message to us straight — in our personal neighborhood — at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hillcrest.

Throughout his homily, Bishop Dolan spoke of the necessity of the Catholic Church to succeed in out to LGBT households — which is the first message of “All the time Our Youngsters.”

On the conclusion of the Mass simply previous to the ultimate blessing, McElroy, in his place as Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, formally apologized for the therapy of the members of the LGBT neighborhood by the church hierarchy.

This was a robust second and people current reacted with gratitude, tears and applause. A reception adopted and the parishioners couldn’t have been extra welcoming.

As we left the church, they handed out a flier. It indicated that St. John’s has an LGBT ministry that celebrates Mass at 6 p.m. on the final Sunday of the month (apart from November and December as a result of vacation). It additionally provided the next: “In accordance with our parish mission assertion, we attain out to offer non secular nourishment for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender individuals and their households and pals. We search to affirm the intrinsic worth and self-worth of all individuals and to welcome them into full participation within the religion neighborhood. All LGBT persons are welcome.

“We additionally welcome family and friends of LGBT individuals and anybody who could be questioning what it means to be a supportive Catholic for LGBT parishioners.”

For additional data, the flyer requested these to contact pastoral affiliate Aaron Bianco at [email protected]

Because of this Mass, is the church door within the San Diego Diocese closed to LGBT Catholics? No. Are doctrinal points resolved? No; however it was a small however vital step in reconciliation.

For older members of our neighborhood, it has been a protracted journey to this present day. I’m hopeful that with this opening, wholesome dialog will observe in order that, in time, every member of our neighborhood will really feel welcome.

To cite the unique pastoral message from 1997: “Although at occasions you might really feel discouraged, harm, or offended, don’t stroll away out of your households, from the Christian neighborhood, from all those that love you. In you God’s love is revealed. You might be all the time our youngsters.”

— Tom Kirkman is a neighborhood resident and activist. He will be reached at [email protected]