As a metaphor, the image of building bridges from the LGBTQ community to the Catholic church and vice versa does not work for me. A primary reason it does not work: it's not clear to me what is "over there," on the church side of the bridge. 1)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
As an LGBTQ person, I'm encouraged to build a bridge to the "over there" that is the Catholic church. Some LGBTQ Catholics say that they are on board with that encouragement and are working at it. 2)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
When I look "over there," at the church to which I'm supposed to build a bridge, it seems I see something radically different than what those bridge-building LGBTQ Catholics see. 3)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
I see a rotten, ruinous structure for the most part, one that needs to be razed, pulled down, burnt up and built anew — not anything to which I want to build a bridge. 4)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
I see this rotten and ruinous structure not merely because of how the Catholic hierarchical leaders have dealt with LGBTQ people. I see their rottenness — over and over and at the highest levels of the church — in dealing with abuse survivors. 5)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
I see the way in which women are slapped about, dismissed, made second-class citizens by the leaders of the church, and I ask: why would I ever want to build a bridge to THAT? 6)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
As a theologian, one whose vocation was crushed by the Catholic church because I'm gay and long partnered, I see how theologians (including my dissertation director) have been silenced, their gifts shoved away, and I ask, "A bridge to THAT?" 7)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
The reason the Catholic church is in ruins today, rotten at its core, is, quite simply, that its clerical elite, who comprise only a tiny portion of the people of God, would not yield any power to the lay sector of the church following Vatican II. 8)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
In reaction to Vatican II, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI bore down harder than ever on clerical power and privilege, with dire, ugly results for the church and its future. 9)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
Lay LGBTQ Catholics who are caught up in the "bridge-building" project are on board with a clerically defined church: that's clear to me. I'm not. If the price one has to pay to be Catholic and LGBTQ is to buy into that definition of the church, I can't pay it. 10)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
In summary, and very honestly, I'm just not interested in building bridges to that sort of church. I think it needs to tumble down as the necessary effect of the rottenness we've seen on such ripe display in the abuse crisis. If that happened, a bridge might then interest me. 11)— William D. Lindsey (@wdlindsy) February 20, 2018
P.S. The final word of tweet #3 should be "see" and not "build." That tweet should read, "When I look 'over there,' at the church to which I'm supposed to build a bridge, it seems I see something radically different than what those bridge-building LGBTQ Catholics see."
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