Responses to Cardinal Dolan on What Gay Folks Are Entitled to: Truth Wins Out and Dan Savage

I've seen several good statements about the comments Cardinal Dolan made on Easter day regarding pastoral treatment of LGBT human beings by the Catholic church, about which I blogged yesterday:

For Truth Wins Out, Evan Hurst responds to Cardinal Dolan's comments as follows:

LGBT couples and families don’t need a "skim milk" serving of love and support from Cardinal Dolan and the Catholic Church; they need religious institutions to stop pretending that LGBT people’s happiness is dictated by the rules of their churches, and to stop fighting against the basic rights all Americans deserve.

And he concludes,

Cardinal Dolan was one of the strongest and most vocal opponents of marriage equality in New York state, despite the fact that a majority of Catholics in that state stood on the side of fairness and equality. Statements such as his ring especially hollow with informed Americans, considering the fact that the Church has still yet to take any meaningful action to put a stop to the constant flow of sexual abuse cases perpetrated by many of their own clergy. The opinions of Dolan and other religious leaders who share his view will only become more irrelevant to the people they consider parishioners, unless they search their souls and begin to truly preach a message of inclusion for all people, clean up their own house, stop trying to adjudicate people’s love lives and support policies which benefit all American families.

At his Savage Love site (warning: as readers perhaps know, Savage's language can be salty and is NSFW), Dan Savage notes that it has seemed to pose no problems at all to the Catholic hierarchy that the thrice-married Mr. Gingrich was having an affair with his current (and Catholic) wife before he became Catholic, and though the couple are now married thirteen years, they have no children--but they were freely permitted a Catholic wedding, no questions asked.

And so,

Dolan's God's rules only apply when gay couples want to marry. Straight couples can do whatever they want. Straight couples like Newt and Callista can shit all over God's rules and Dolan's church won't object. Hell, Dolan's church will bless the the shit out of that union.

Savage is right. There's a glaring double standard in how Catholic leaders treat heterosexual and homosexual people, and that double standard--and the deep injustice that continues to be dished out to those who are gay--puts the lie to any statements about a kindler and gentler approach to those who are gay. Until the double standard and the injustice are acknowledged and dealt with honestly . . . .