"Nobody Should Be Thrown Out": Francis's Latest Shock Wave (in Some Circles) re: Same-Sex Civil Unions

James Alison, "Pope Francis backing same sex unions isn't a surprise. But it's still a big deal"

As Jamie Manson tweets today, the usual Vatican shuffle is now taking place regarding what Pope Francis is said to have said (or is now said not to have said) regarding same-sex unions. You know that shuffle: it's a two step; one step forward, then walk the forward step back two steps, until no one knows who has said what (or not said what) or what was meant. As Jamie Manson also says in the tweet I have just linked, LGBTQ people deserve much, much better than this.

Married Gay Catholic Minister Hounded Out of Ministerial Job with Acts of Hate from Organized Catholic Hate Groups

I wish so much that this story had not flashed across my computer screen on the very same day in which I posted Rolando's testimony about what has been done to him and John. But here this additional story is, staring all of us in the face. Dan Morris-Young writes, 

"I Am Excommunicated from This 'Redemptive Institution' Because 3 Years Ago, John and I Formalized our 49-Years of Living, Loving and Ministering Together by Registering Our Civil Union"

The following is testimony that Rolando shared at Bilgrimage several days ago. This testimony deserves a wider hearing than it will receive if it remains in a combox; I'm posting it as a stand-alone comment for that reason. This story is just so painful — and it's one that is repeating itself over and over in Catholic institutions right now. 

My Twitter Conversation with Catholic Democrats about "Tremendous Push Back" Against Viganò Crowd's Homophobia: Where Is That Push Back Taking Place?

Here's an exchange I had on Twitter yesterday with Catholic Democrats:

My Interview with OUTWORDS Project: The Importance of Hearing LGBTQ Stories As Foundation for Defining LGBTQ Humanity

I mentioned here some weeks ago that I had been invited by a national project collecting the stories of LGBTQ leaders (and, in cases like mine, not so much leaders, but ordinary people down in the trenches) in communities around the nation to do an interview for the project. That interview took place yesterday, and I confirmed with the interviewers that I can share more specific information about it now. 

On Palm Sunday, a Letter I Wrote a Bishop Twenty Years Ago: "Your Eyes Are Fixed More on Power, Privilege, and Façades, Than on the Substance of the Gospel"

I shared excerpts of this letter here almost three years ago to the day, noting that I sent it to the then-bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, William Curlin, as Steve and I, with my mother (who was declining and suffering from dementia and for whom Steve and I were providing care), left the diocese of Charlotte, because we had no other choice. Our jobs as Catholic theologians had been taken from us without explanation, we had been blacklisted as Catholic theologians, we had no way to make a living and no health-insurance coverage.

Teen Suicides Diminish as Marriage Equality Is Enacted: Pro-Life Catholic Response?

Resistance requires intersectionality. It requires that you know and live Lilla Watson's principle. Know your freedom is bound up w mine. pic.twitter.com/CqFgayDm9p

— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) January 29, 2017

Bob Shine of News Ways Ministry comments on a recent report in JAMA Pediatrics, the pediatric journal of the American Medical Association, showing that suicide attempts by teens have declined as marriage equality for same-sex couples has been legalized: 

Some Valentine's Day Thoughts: On Love, God, and the Churches' Destruction of Gay Lives and Gay Love

And now some Valentine's Day statements for you — about love (and what assaults on love in the name of "God" can do to people):

NCR Readers Respond to Father James Martin's Bridge-Building Proposal: "Talk About False Equivalences!!"

At National Catholic Reporter, Brian Roewe provides a summary of Father James Martin's commentary as he received New Ways Ministry's Bridge Building award several days ago. Several comments readers have made in response to Father Martin's proposal for two-way bridge-building between the LGBTQ community and the Catholic hierarchy stand out for me, since they parallel points I made in my response to the proposal:

Fred Clark on Shenanigans of Those Trying to Rescue White Evangelical Brand from Trumpism

With impeccable evangelical cred, Fred Clark cries foul on the attempt of some leading white evangelical commentators right now to try to rescue the white evangelical brand from Trumpism, and to maintain that evangelicals are more diverse than the some seven in ten white evangelicals voting for the Donald:

Father James Martin's "Two-Way Bridge" Presentation: Some Questions I'd Like to Ask

I was not able to listen to Father James Martin's bridge-building address yesterday, as he received New Ways Ministry's Bridge Building award. I did tune into Twitter as Fr. Martin was delivering his address, and caught a stream of tweets from New Ways Ministry with soundbytes about what Fr. Martin was saying. I was not able to remain on Twitter long enough to get a sense of the contours of the full presentation, and I have not yet read it.

Helpful Links: Live-Streaming of PRRI-Catholic University Press Conference on Catholic Vote; Text of Father Martin's Bridge-Building Address

A follow-up to what I posted yesterday about the media event PRRI is holding today with Catholic University of America, regarding the Catholic vote: as Chris Morley points out in a comment following that posting, PRRI has tweeted that the press conference will be live-streamed. The link for the live-streaming provided by PRRI's tweet points to the C-Span Live Stream site.

Quote for Day: "The Catholic Crisis That the Trump Phenomenon Has Highlighted Is Not Entirely Different from the Crisis American Evangelicals Are Experiencing"

Massimo Faggioli maintains that this "presidential election of 2016 is especially important for the Catholic Church itself for at least two reasons." "The first is that the reaction of the US bishops towards the competition between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shows the paralysis created by the single-issue platform of official Catholic discourse."

Patricia Miller on Catholics Driving Exodus of Nones, Kaya Oakes on How Nones Aren't Coming Back — And Why Should They, Considering What the Church Is Offering?

Two more helpful pieces of commentary on the recently published PRRI report about why Americans (and especially younger ones) are leaving religion behind — both at Religion Dispatches:

The Churches and Gay Folks: Three Statements To Read Side by Side

Three statements from religious news sites today that should be read and discussed side by side, I think:

Michael Coren: Not Only Did Some Christians Oppose Slavery — Many Christians Defended Slavery, Citing the Bible and Longstanding Tradition

As Michael Coren reminds us in his Epiphany: A Christian's Change of Mind and Heart Over Same-Sex Marriage (Toronto: Signal, 2016), p. 61, not only did some Christians oppose slavery and work for aboltion, but many Christians also avidly defended slavery. Noting as they did so that slavery was practiced by the biblical patriarchs, blessed by the bible, taken for granted by Paul, and had long been considered essential to proper social order in Christian societies — just as the subordination of women to men was essential if Christian social order was to be maintained in Christian societies. 

Michael Coren: Let's Not Forget That Many Churches Used to Oppose (and Not Long Ago) Gender Equality and Women's Right to Vote, Citing the Bible As Their Authority

Another snippet from Michael Coren's Epiphany: A Christian's Change of Mind and Heart Over Same-Sex Marriage (Toronto: Signal, 2016), p. 67. As he notes, many churches today maintain that they would be in violation of unchangeable biblical teaching if they changed how they dealt with gay* people, and became welcoming, affirming, and accepting of those who are gay. 

Pope Francis: Gay People Should Be Respected, Accompanied Pastorally, and Apologized to by the Church

If you can't understand how the church has marginalized the LGBT community, then you've not been listening to the LGBT community. Ask them.

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) June 26, 2016

I have house guests for a number of days, and haven't been able to find much time to blog. I did happen to be online last evening, however, scrolling through Twitter, when news broke of Pope Francis's statement aboard his flight from Armenia to Rome that the church is obliged to tell gay people it's sorry for abusing them. According to Reuters, the pope said the following:

A Day in May: Testimonies of LGBTQ Irish People About Marriage Equality Vote — "I Believe God Did Work Through Us on That Day"

In two postings a month ago (here and here), I pointed you to a book by Irish journalist Charlie Bird — A Day in May (Newbridge: Merrion Press, 2016)— about how the marriage equality battle was won in Ireland. The book came out in June, and I've just finished reading and wanted to share some notes about it with you.

More on Daniel Berrigan's Forgotten (?) Legacy of Advocacy for LGBTQ People: A Reader Comments

I'm very grateful for the good conversation that has developed here around the topic of Dan Berrigan's witness to Catholic values of social justice and peacemaking in his pastoral outreach to LGBTQ people, especially people with AIDS. I blogged about this issue this morning, and want once again to make a statement of thanks to both BronxVoter and Bob Shine for correcting what is perhaps an excessively negative or critical focus in my own thinking about this legacy. Both Bronx and Bob pointed me to valuable resources that help me reframe what I think about this legacy.