A CHALLENGE TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH- by Tom Luce
"Create a 21st century all-inclusive community handling dissent lovingly and doing the "least harm" to one another….repudiate the infallible teachings based on mythical writings, continue on doing justice peacefully!" - The "Galileo Reconciliation Commission:Dissenting with Love"- GRC/DL by Tom Luce 2006
to see more thorough explanation of the GRC/DL, scroll down to the next section, "My Honest, Serious Attempt..."
updated by Tom Luce 12.18.13, begun 2006 in the Oakland Diocese-- read earlier entries to find out what has taken place. Now I'm out of the Roman Catholic Church, and all bible-based religions. I'm a "Deist" (click to learn more)
Bobby Griffith
"I am evil and wicked...Damned" - Bobby Griffith, 1963-1983
"Prayers For Bobby:A Mother's Coming To Terms With The Suicide Of Her Gay Son" by Leroy Aarons, Harper One 1995
Bobby back-flipped from a bridge onto a thruway in Portland after years of agony inflicted by his religion's views of Same-Gender Orientation (SGO)
Amazon has this book if you can't find it elsewhere.
A CHALLENGE TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
By Tom Luce December 18th, 2013, 50th anniversary of my ordination to the Catholic priesthood in Rome This is a late-in-life, long overdue, conscientious challenge to the Roman Catholic Church. It is a challenge especially to my contemporaries, who have influenced adherence to this church, as well as to the wildly popular current Pope and those who look to him for real church reform. My challenge: review the history of the crimes of so-called “revealed” religions and at least understand the challenge written by revolutionary hero Thomas Paine in his “The Age of Reason” <www.deism.com>. Of “revealed” religions he said they “…appear to me as no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” Here is my challenge:
At the time I was—and still am 45 years now (2015)—married faithfully to one woman with 3 children, 3 grandchildren, working for justice in the disenfranchised people in Latin America and the Caribbean. When I married in 1970, still a priest willing to serve, I and thousands of others were thrown to hell without discussion. -continued next column…. ============================================================== |
My challenge is in memory of ERIC LEMBEMBE (click his name for a Human Rights Watch article on him), LGBT leader in Cameroon-- neck broken, feet smashed, body burned with an iron, head unrecognizable-- murdered this past July 2013. A devout Roman Catholic. In January 2013 the Cameroonian Catholic Church issued another condemnation of homosexuality: “homosexuality opposes humanity and destroys it.” (Jan. 12, 2013 36th annual gathering in Sangmélima of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon.) Pope Francis' "Lumen Fidei" is used to support Catholic teaching against "same sex marriage". But "New Ways Ministry" questions this. Eric is only one recent victim of the vile hatred spawned by the rigid adherence exacted under dire threats by the Roman Catholic Church—among other religions—to its allegedly God-dictated teachings in the Bible that homosexuals are, if they act according to their nature, immoral. "Intrinsically disordered." (Catholic Catechism #2357) No catholic official has condemned Eric’s murder (12/15/13). See a Human Rights Watch article for details. So I am personally a victim of church teaching. Since 2000 I have internalized the pain of all victims including suffering a lengthy suicidal depression of my own. I have tried totally without success to create a saving dialog within the church. I called it “The Galileo Reconciliation Commission” (GRC/LH) where dissenters of any doctrine would agree to do “the least harm” to one another. Since I am a knowledgeable, conscientious, surviving victim, I have had to examine how teachings like this one have been able to exist and blatantly justify killing people like me. Friends will tell me now that the LGBT movement has made extraordinary gains and it just “takes time”. For me, though, the issues are
The conclusion: the Roman Church is like all others, based on fables and capable of committing horrors in the name of God. Despite its immense works worldwide for peaceful justice that I respect, I cannot support it any longer because of the religious flaws at its core. We can do even more loving justice without the trappings of religion. Yes, I’ve joined the World Union of Deists on my 50th anniversary of ordination to the Catholic priesthood to counteract the poison of all religions still fostering hate and killing in the name of “God”. As so many others, I could have moved away quietly. But my conscience, refined by the church, requires a public witness. It comes, though, from the same loving, conscientious conviction that drove me to the priesthood. For the first time I myself have read Paine. This is thanks to the World Union of Deists founded by Bob Johnson in 1992, but based on 18th century thinkers like Paine. Thomas Paine believed with all his soul that the system of government by monarchs wedded to churches was evil. We regard him as a revolutionary hero. He also believed that religion needed a radical revolution. Most Americans don’t know anything about Paine’s views on religion. I even heard Thom Hartmann describe him last week as an “atheist.” Paine believed in one God and hoped for “happiness beyond this life.” However he wrote: “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church (Islamic), by the Protestant church…” He contributed to the success of the first revolution but was driven penniless and died alone because of his eloquent and expert refutation of Christianity and all other religions that “base their murderous behaviors on their inerrant, God-revealed teachings as the only true religion.” Sincerely, Tom Luce Tom Luce, 1515 Fairview St. Apt. C, Berkeley, Ca. 94703 Phone: 510-575-6326 [email protected] - Blog> NOTE: 11/28/21, Tom Luce: read the article, "A Church Mary Can Love" by Nicolas Kristof, NYT, Apr. 17, 2010, to see how people like me can appreciate with reservations, the Catholic Church. Click Here Here is a quote from the article: "......Yet there’s another Catholic Church as well, one I admire intensely. This is the grass-roots Catholic Church that does far more good in the world than it ever gets credit for. This is the church that supports extraordinary aid organizations like Catholic Relief Services and Caritas, saving lives every day, and that operates superb schools that provide needy children an escalator out of poverty. This is the church of the nuns and priests in Congo, toiling in obscurity to feed and educate children. This is the church of the Brazilian priest fighting AIDS who told me that if he were pope, he would build a condom factory in the Vatican to save lives........" |
MY HONEST, SERIOUS ATTEMPT AT REFORM FROM WITHIN OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HERE IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA: ZERO RESPONSE.
October 12, 2012
Dear Sister and Brother Catholics :
Back in 1938, the year I was born, a young man from my hometown, Barre, Vermont, escaped to New York City because within the narrow confines of our small town his being Same Gender Oriented (SGO) tormented him. Tragically he found no escape there and committed suicide. With this letter I issued a call to all practicing Roman Catholics who are SGO or allies to “come out” and help stop this torment still coming from within our Church. I have a practical solution, "The Galileo Reconciliation Commission Dissenting with Love-GRC/DL, a place where we put doctrinal dissent aside and call a moratorium on excommunication and condemnation. Instead we find a loving way to dissent and meanwhile we do the "least harm".
I issue the call as an SGO myself to enter with love into a new phase of openly asserting our conscientious convictions about our Church's teaching on homosexuality. It is a call to everyone in the Church--officials and regular members-- to find our voice and keep our place within the Church, working on a 21st century solution to doctrinal dissent that is so personal to us, "The Galileo Reconciliation Commission-Dissentign with Love - GRC/DL" gets at the real issue, the doctrine defining homosexuality as intrinsically disordered. Only by changing this doctrine can we possibly clear away the evil we are believed to embody. Fighting for "tolerance" for being "welcomed", accepted--all this wouldn't be necessary except for the doctrine. The deadliness of being SGO is still lurking around the lives of all SGO people, their families/friends. Most importantly for me, I feel responsible for all those who suffer from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"- MLK
It seems clear to me that as active members of our parishes and united as Catholics (worldwide) through our administrative structures, we can be most effective in nurturing change, beginning with a goal of "least harm", ceasing hurtful conversations, promoting loving dialog, reducing violence, creating understanding. I am SGO and am convinced I am a normal human being the way God created me, subject to the values central to Christian love for nurturing a just world, the same as "OGO" Opposite Gender Oriented people without having to deny my sexual orientation. Same gender love can be sacred! I am taking this stand as someone who has experienced 75 years (May 31) of life including ordination to the Catholic priesthood in 1963 in Rome during Vat. II, with theology degrees and 13+ years as a celibate; 43 faithful years of marriage with a wife, 3 children and 3 grandchildren; and "out" as SGO since 2000.
After some 70 years of careful discernment, SGO for me involves the arrangement of the whole array of innate physio/psycho/socio/bio components of my being that draws me to physically intimate fulfillment with humans of my own gender. This is no more, no less than the deep, beautiful, dynamic drive experienced by "OGO" Opposite Gender Oriented that is the ground of their unique bond for a lifetime commitment so essential to a world of love and justice. The fact that I have had only one "married" partner, a woman, gives me a deeper perspective about sexuality, that sheer physicality has to be subordinate to the fullness of love that I have pledged for my whole life as a lifelong nurturer of my family. During my maturing years I thought the debate about orientation was open and I didn't suffer with my SGO status. I was ready in 1970 to undertake an OGO marriage because I thought priesthood had to have this experience. Now I can say that SGO is definitely a handicap for an OGO pairing.
My call is to open a dialog about the need for theological reform of the Roman Catholic doctrine on us SGO's, believing we can create ways to dissent that leave behind Medieval methods. It is not a call to debate theory. We need to discover how to sustain our dissent with loving, personal advocacy, and seek to achieve the basic, "least harm", level of interaction. Neither silence nor fulmination is acceptable. Modern forms of medieval wipeouts-- anathemas, dismissal from church employment or mission, deadly silence, persecution, torture, death sentences-- are unthinkable. We will expect in return conversations that are loving and personal about our beliefs. We will expect inclusion in the celebration of Eucharist. as a proof our basic communion with each other and commitment to dissent in a modern way.
This is a plea to move beyond the "tolerance" approach developed in the 20th century to counter violence against SGO’s by advocating "loving the sinner and hating the sin". It goes substantially beyond the bishops' pastoral (1986) "Always Our Children". That letter went a long way exhorting everyone to love and respect and incorporate SGO's within the church. Nonetheless the Catholic Catechism (1994, sect.2357,8) still defines us--SGO’s-- as people with "inclinations...acts...objectively, intrinsically disordered... of grave depravity." That is a heavy burden for anyone especially the young and vulnerable and it is preached around the world. The Church has to end this diametrically opposed teaching. Putting it on the table of the Galileo Reconciliation Commission is a practical way to stop officials from taking violent actions like firings and to give everyone some room to reconcile.
We first have to find each other and our voice, openly, not the ecclesial version of "Don't ask, don't tell." With love, conscience, and intellect, my call envisions a calmness, an openness, an assurance, a cogency that listening together to God-given wisdom will move us to avoid the horrors of past disagreements and arrive at a new way of handling dissent. Lumen Gentium (Light of the People of the World), a major decree of Vatican II, teaches us all how the various ministries, those exercising authority, studying truth, seeking justice in unity, are the way of Jesus' church to grow in truth: "...enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church (17) let the layman take on his own distinctive role." Subsequent Canon Law Sect. 212, par. 3, establishes a role for the laity, "They have the right, indeed at times the duty..to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church..." We will operate simply on these Church documents as the basis of our work.
Unfortunately the Church--with much of the blame our own--- has been forced since Vat II into a very absolutist set of rules that outlaw dissent, even talking about issues. Medieval punishments have been meted out for dissent--excommunication, defrocking of priests, throwing religious out of their orders at an old age with no financial or healthcare. This has been a time of silence and fear. Even non-doctrinal issues like married priesthood, women priests, etc. have been removed from discussion. The question of SGO, of course, is so embedded in culture and in the minds of a celibate leadership and their followers who still believe celibacy is holier than sex that there is no room for us in such a church. Yes we can be tolerated, but our condition is sinful still, and unscientific practices to "straighten" us out or total abstinence are the only remedies. Like alcoholics.
Yes, I am convinced doctrinal change is in order, along with a tremendous development of understanding of all of sexuality that will embrace and enhance the lives of us all, not just SGO's, but celibate, and married. I invite you to respond to this call at first through participation in my new blog, "The Least Harm". There, using strict moderation rules of civility we can share our thoughts and feelings. As we are ready we can e-mail, phone, and eventually meet face-to-face, and include faithful from the opposition to devise a pastoral approach that does, "the least harm." I look forward to this very much. Hopefully we can use our numbers and unity as people of conscience to move the Church in the direction of truth about SGO. Think about the "Galileo Reconciliation Commission:Dissenting with Love"- GRC/DL, as the vehicle for real internal doctrinal development.
Sincerely,
Tom Luce
Thomas F. Luce 1515 Fairview St. Apt. C, Berkeley, Ca 94703 [email protected] 510-229-3571
Dear Sister and Brother Catholics :
Back in 1938, the year I was born, a young man from my hometown, Barre, Vermont, escaped to New York City because within the narrow confines of our small town his being Same Gender Oriented (SGO) tormented him. Tragically he found no escape there and committed suicide. With this letter I issued a call to all practicing Roman Catholics who are SGO or allies to “come out” and help stop this torment still coming from within our Church. I have a practical solution, "The Galileo Reconciliation Commission Dissenting with Love-GRC/DL, a place where we put doctrinal dissent aside and call a moratorium on excommunication and condemnation. Instead we find a loving way to dissent and meanwhile we do the "least harm".
I issue the call as an SGO myself to enter with love into a new phase of openly asserting our conscientious convictions about our Church's teaching on homosexuality. It is a call to everyone in the Church--officials and regular members-- to find our voice and keep our place within the Church, working on a 21st century solution to doctrinal dissent that is so personal to us, "The Galileo Reconciliation Commission-Dissentign with Love - GRC/DL" gets at the real issue, the doctrine defining homosexuality as intrinsically disordered. Only by changing this doctrine can we possibly clear away the evil we are believed to embody. Fighting for "tolerance" for being "welcomed", accepted--all this wouldn't be necessary except for the doctrine. The deadliness of being SGO is still lurking around the lives of all SGO people, their families/friends. Most importantly for me, I feel responsible for all those who suffer from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"- MLK
It seems clear to me that as active members of our parishes and united as Catholics (worldwide) through our administrative structures, we can be most effective in nurturing change, beginning with a goal of "least harm", ceasing hurtful conversations, promoting loving dialog, reducing violence, creating understanding. I am SGO and am convinced I am a normal human being the way God created me, subject to the values central to Christian love for nurturing a just world, the same as "OGO" Opposite Gender Oriented people without having to deny my sexual orientation. Same gender love can be sacred! I am taking this stand as someone who has experienced 75 years (May 31) of life including ordination to the Catholic priesthood in 1963 in Rome during Vat. II, with theology degrees and 13+ years as a celibate; 43 faithful years of marriage with a wife, 3 children and 3 grandchildren; and "out" as SGO since 2000.
After some 70 years of careful discernment, SGO for me involves the arrangement of the whole array of innate physio/psycho/socio/bio components of my being that draws me to physically intimate fulfillment with humans of my own gender. This is no more, no less than the deep, beautiful, dynamic drive experienced by "OGO" Opposite Gender Oriented that is the ground of their unique bond for a lifetime commitment so essential to a world of love and justice. The fact that I have had only one "married" partner, a woman, gives me a deeper perspective about sexuality, that sheer physicality has to be subordinate to the fullness of love that I have pledged for my whole life as a lifelong nurturer of my family. During my maturing years I thought the debate about orientation was open and I didn't suffer with my SGO status. I was ready in 1970 to undertake an OGO marriage because I thought priesthood had to have this experience. Now I can say that SGO is definitely a handicap for an OGO pairing.
My call is to open a dialog about the need for theological reform of the Roman Catholic doctrine on us SGO's, believing we can create ways to dissent that leave behind Medieval methods. It is not a call to debate theory. We need to discover how to sustain our dissent with loving, personal advocacy, and seek to achieve the basic, "least harm", level of interaction. Neither silence nor fulmination is acceptable. Modern forms of medieval wipeouts-- anathemas, dismissal from church employment or mission, deadly silence, persecution, torture, death sentences-- are unthinkable. We will expect in return conversations that are loving and personal about our beliefs. We will expect inclusion in the celebration of Eucharist. as a proof our basic communion with each other and commitment to dissent in a modern way.
This is a plea to move beyond the "tolerance" approach developed in the 20th century to counter violence against SGO’s by advocating "loving the sinner and hating the sin". It goes substantially beyond the bishops' pastoral (1986) "Always Our Children". That letter went a long way exhorting everyone to love and respect and incorporate SGO's within the church. Nonetheless the Catholic Catechism (1994, sect.2357,8) still defines us--SGO’s-- as people with "inclinations...acts...objectively, intrinsically disordered... of grave depravity." That is a heavy burden for anyone especially the young and vulnerable and it is preached around the world. The Church has to end this diametrically opposed teaching. Putting it on the table of the Galileo Reconciliation Commission is a practical way to stop officials from taking violent actions like firings and to give everyone some room to reconcile.
We first have to find each other and our voice, openly, not the ecclesial version of "Don't ask, don't tell." With love, conscience, and intellect, my call envisions a calmness, an openness, an assurance, a cogency that listening together to God-given wisdom will move us to avoid the horrors of past disagreements and arrive at a new way of handling dissent. Lumen Gentium (Light of the People of the World), a major decree of Vatican II, teaches us all how the various ministries, those exercising authority, studying truth, seeking justice in unity, are the way of Jesus' church to grow in truth: "...enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church (17) let the layman take on his own distinctive role." Subsequent Canon Law Sect. 212, par. 3, establishes a role for the laity, "They have the right, indeed at times the duty..to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church..." We will operate simply on these Church documents as the basis of our work.
Unfortunately the Church--with much of the blame our own--- has been forced since Vat II into a very absolutist set of rules that outlaw dissent, even talking about issues. Medieval punishments have been meted out for dissent--excommunication, defrocking of priests, throwing religious out of their orders at an old age with no financial or healthcare. This has been a time of silence and fear. Even non-doctrinal issues like married priesthood, women priests, etc. have been removed from discussion. The question of SGO, of course, is so embedded in culture and in the minds of a celibate leadership and their followers who still believe celibacy is holier than sex that there is no room for us in such a church. Yes we can be tolerated, but our condition is sinful still, and unscientific practices to "straighten" us out or total abstinence are the only remedies. Like alcoholics.
Yes, I am convinced doctrinal change is in order, along with a tremendous development of understanding of all of sexuality that will embrace and enhance the lives of us all, not just SGO's, but celibate, and married. I invite you to respond to this call at first through participation in my new blog, "The Least Harm". There, using strict moderation rules of civility we can share our thoughts and feelings. As we are ready we can e-mail, phone, and eventually meet face-to-face, and include faithful from the opposition to devise a pastoral approach that does, "the least harm." I look forward to this very much. Hopefully we can use our numbers and unity as people of conscience to move the Church in the direction of truth about SGO. Think about the "Galileo Reconciliation Commission:Dissenting with Love"- GRC/DL, as the vehicle for real internal doctrinal development.
Sincerely,
Tom Luce
Thomas F. Luce 1515 Fairview St. Apt. C, Berkeley, Ca 94703 [email protected] 510-229-3571
Dissenting with Love
(6/22/13) for "Communion" Vol IV Issue 7 Final Issue, Monthly newsletter of Catholics For Marriage Equality In California - (Catholics for Marriage Equality was established in June 2009 to advance civil marriage equality through prayer, presence and education. Address correspondence to co-editors Eugene McMullan and Kara Speltz ) note by Tom Luce, this newsletter no longer exists and cannot be found on Google.
By Tom Luce
The battle lines have been drawn in the fight between LGBT folks and the hierarchy, but it shouldn’t be a battle and I’m worried about what will be left to us in the long run. Moreover this is not just a clash with “the hierarchy,” but rather a problem of dissent within the communion of the faithful. So why not try something different, which I will call the Galileo Reconciliation Commission: Dissenting with Love (GRC:DL)?
My credentials: 75 years old; ordained a Catholic priest in 1963 during Vatican II with degrees from the Gregorian University; 13 plus years a faithful celibate; married/excommunicated/lost total church standing in 1970 (43 years still faithfully married, three children, three grandchildren); M.Ed. Counseling, MA foreign languages; self-declared as same gender oriented in 2000 during Vermont marriage debate (SGO, to avoid wrong connotations from the “g” word); a lifetime of fighting for social justice in Boston, Central America, Haiti and in the church.
Actually my best qualification as a proponent of the GRC:DL is my own personal conscience from lived experience, not any expertise in theology or whatever. I am a person with an innate, physical/psychological attraction for males and over a lifetime it has become clear that this is a God-given quality, not a sickness curable by prayer or by disciplined total abstinence. Same gender love can be as divine as opposite gender love. Maybe my marriage to a woman can be useful also as an example of conscience. I believe that a loving—physical and spiritual—relationship cemented by marriage trumps any need of changing my marital status after so much time and so many profound relationships with my wife and family. This in spite of a church leader here and some others who told me I couldn’t advocate for LGBT rights until I not only “talked the talk,” but “walked the walk,” meaning leave my wife and live honestly with a man. Sorry, I know many who do this and I don’t condemn them, but to make a hard and fast rule like this is insane.
The "Galileo Reconciliation Commission: Dissenting with Love-GRC:DL)" is a very simple mechanism. Everyone in the 21st century is appalled by the way the medieval church treated dissenters and so much murder was committed by all groups who found themselves in power or wanted to defend themselves. Did the differences between Peter and Paul result in excommunication/damnation? So why has the church since then not found a way to accommodate loving dissent? Oh I know: silence. Families keep the peace by forbidding discussion of politics, religion, or sex at the dinner table. This might have some foundation in other religious books, but in the Christian books? No. Love trumps all. So the approach with the GRC:DL is to share our differences, but in a way that will do the least harm. When dissenters accept one another on good faith, love takes over. No bad mouthing is allowed, especially in religious blogs not to mention in papal pronouncements.
To this day I believe the majority of defenders of SGO marriage do not speak out because they are beholden to the current ironclad, nasty rules against speaking out. The same is true on many other subjects, including birth control. Some time ago I announced my belief that priests should be able to marry. That conviction of conscience was costly. I was robbed of my retirement and health benefits and robbed of my priesthood. I thought that the thousands of us who did this in the 70s would by sheer numbers create such a moral force that the practice would be changed. No. So what did I do? Well I moved over to the Quakers since they definitely witnessed to the very basics of Jesus’ teaching. And I know, unfortunately, that in doing so I left more room for those who disagree with me to eventually get the conservative control they now have.
But what if the idea of a "Galileo Reconciliation Commission:Dissenting with Love"-GRC/DL were simply, unrelentingly, lovingly pursued in parish structures, diocesan structures, and beyond? Yes, we would have to be organized—a costly process to be sure. We would have to be ready for ecclesial disobedience and even non-violent direct action. But if our numbers are large enough, I think the most warlike of our sisters and brothers would be forced to “love” (or at least stop hurting) us. No more of the false dichotomy foisted on bishops or priests, love us but hate the sin. We simply achieve a Galileo milestone and declare our dissent with doctrine. We then spend our time working on dialogue, and hopefully the killings/suicides/persecution of LGBT persons will diminish markedly.
Finally it comes down to the threat of damnation that is still used to mold the behavior of Catholics based on magisterial definitions of sin. Petitions to bishops to reinstate church workers, TV interviews trying to teach bishops how to really love us are fine, but we need to address the doctrine. An effective mechanism of loving dissent committed to the principle of doing the least harm would keep more of us in the church while fostering the dialogue that will eventually lead to the revision of official dogma.
(6/22/13) for "Communion" Vol IV Issue 7 Final Issue, Monthly newsletter of Catholics For Marriage Equality In California - (Catholics for Marriage Equality was established in June 2009 to advance civil marriage equality through prayer, presence and education. Address correspondence to co-editors Eugene McMullan and Kara Speltz ) note by Tom Luce, this newsletter no longer exists and cannot be found on Google.
By Tom Luce
The battle lines have been drawn in the fight between LGBT folks and the hierarchy, but it shouldn’t be a battle and I’m worried about what will be left to us in the long run. Moreover this is not just a clash with “the hierarchy,” but rather a problem of dissent within the communion of the faithful. So why not try something different, which I will call the Galileo Reconciliation Commission: Dissenting with Love (GRC:DL)?
My credentials: 75 years old; ordained a Catholic priest in 1963 during Vatican II with degrees from the Gregorian University; 13 plus years a faithful celibate; married/excommunicated/lost total church standing in 1970 (43 years still faithfully married, three children, three grandchildren); M.Ed. Counseling, MA foreign languages; self-declared as same gender oriented in 2000 during Vermont marriage debate (SGO, to avoid wrong connotations from the “g” word); a lifetime of fighting for social justice in Boston, Central America, Haiti and in the church.
Actually my best qualification as a proponent of the GRC:DL is my own personal conscience from lived experience, not any expertise in theology or whatever. I am a person with an innate, physical/psychological attraction for males and over a lifetime it has become clear that this is a God-given quality, not a sickness curable by prayer or by disciplined total abstinence. Same gender love can be as divine as opposite gender love. Maybe my marriage to a woman can be useful also as an example of conscience. I believe that a loving—physical and spiritual—relationship cemented by marriage trumps any need of changing my marital status after so much time and so many profound relationships with my wife and family. This in spite of a church leader here and some others who told me I couldn’t advocate for LGBT rights until I not only “talked the talk,” but “walked the walk,” meaning leave my wife and live honestly with a man. Sorry, I know many who do this and I don’t condemn them, but to make a hard and fast rule like this is insane.
The "Galileo Reconciliation Commission: Dissenting with Love-GRC:DL)" is a very simple mechanism. Everyone in the 21st century is appalled by the way the medieval church treated dissenters and so much murder was committed by all groups who found themselves in power or wanted to defend themselves. Did the differences between Peter and Paul result in excommunication/damnation? So why has the church since then not found a way to accommodate loving dissent? Oh I know: silence. Families keep the peace by forbidding discussion of politics, religion, or sex at the dinner table. This might have some foundation in other religious books, but in the Christian books? No. Love trumps all. So the approach with the GRC:DL is to share our differences, but in a way that will do the least harm. When dissenters accept one another on good faith, love takes over. No bad mouthing is allowed, especially in religious blogs not to mention in papal pronouncements.
To this day I believe the majority of defenders of SGO marriage do not speak out because they are beholden to the current ironclad, nasty rules against speaking out. The same is true on many other subjects, including birth control. Some time ago I announced my belief that priests should be able to marry. That conviction of conscience was costly. I was robbed of my retirement and health benefits and robbed of my priesthood. I thought that the thousands of us who did this in the 70s would by sheer numbers create such a moral force that the practice would be changed. No. So what did I do? Well I moved over to the Quakers since they definitely witnessed to the very basics of Jesus’ teaching. And I know, unfortunately, that in doing so I left more room for those who disagree with me to eventually get the conservative control they now have.
But what if the idea of a "Galileo Reconciliation Commission:Dissenting with Love"-GRC/DL were simply, unrelentingly, lovingly pursued in parish structures, diocesan structures, and beyond? Yes, we would have to be organized—a costly process to be sure. We would have to be ready for ecclesial disobedience and even non-violent direct action. But if our numbers are large enough, I think the most warlike of our sisters and brothers would be forced to “love” (or at least stop hurting) us. No more of the false dichotomy foisted on bishops or priests, love us but hate the sin. We simply achieve a Galileo milestone and declare our dissent with doctrine. We then spend our time working on dialogue, and hopefully the killings/suicides/persecution of LGBT persons will diminish markedly.
Finally it comes down to the threat of damnation that is still used to mold the behavior of Catholics based on magisterial definitions of sin. Petitions to bishops to reinstate church workers, TV interviews trying to teach bishops how to really love us are fine, but we need to address the doctrine. An effective mechanism of loving dissent committed to the principle of doing the least harm would keep more of us in the church while fostering the dialogue that will eventually lead to the revision of official dogma.