McCarrick Defrocked, Abuse Summit Convening, and NY Times Lets Gay Priests Speak: My Twitter Commentary

For years, Roman Catholic Church leaders have driven gay congregants away in shame. And yet, thousands of ministers are gay men.

Two dozen gay priests have shared with us the stories of their lives in the Catholic closet. https://t.co/BN0Dy6Zn0i

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 17, 2019

Like the man in the White House, I've been tweeting this morning — but what preoccupies my attention is perhaps quite different from what preoccupies his. Here's a selection of tweets from this morning that, to my way of thinking, tell a certain story when they're read together.

The framing of this story by the Times is absolutely right:

"For years, Roman Catholic Church leaders have driven gay congregants away in shame. And yet, thousands of ministers are gay men."

But many Catholics will not like this framing, will kick against it, deny it's true. https://t.co/Xb0kjyM5Tb

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

In particular, they will deny that the church has for years driven away gay congregants in shame.

This testimony is not supposed to count.

These people are not supposed to exist.

These lives are considered negligible as we preach our "good" news and our "love."

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

"But Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists have something else in common. Each are controlled by all-male leadership and power structures that exclude women from decision-making and oversight." /1

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

"Only men can be Roman Catholic priests and bishops. And only men can be Southern Baptist pastors. It should not be surprising then that men dominate the oversight processes which could demand accountability and honesty." /2

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

But the tribalistic ethics governing both churches dictate that it's distasteful and forbidden to raise questions about male entitlement and control (or about race matters). Because. Because that's unfair. /3

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

Unfair to the men who run things and are ordained by God to do so, and who have arranged the conversation to be about something else altogether — like how God calls women to submit to men and LGBTQ folks not to exist. /4

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019

When people entrenched in power in an embattled institution want to keep change at bay, they

1. Commission a study.
2. "Let's all come to the table and hear both sides."
3. Create work groups to keep studying/talking.

What they don't do

1. Change.
2. Give up power.
3. Listen.

— 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚖 𝙳. 𝙻𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚢 (@wdlindsy) February 18, 2019