Cardinal Francis George of Chicago has responded to reports that the archdiocesan gay ministry would be sponsoring a religious roundtable at the Gay Games held in Chicago last week. It’s not exactly repudiation of the ministry, though.
The cardinal was specifically responding to claims by the notorious Rainbow Sash Movement regarding the listing of AGLOChicago (Archdiocesan Gay Lesbian Organization of Chicago) as a sponsor of the event organized by Human Rights Campaign, which was to “discuss how to counter religious attacks on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.” RSM had claimed that this was an endorsement by AGLOChicago, and thus implicitly an endorsement by Cardinal George, of the pro-gay agenda of the games and the homosexual activist movement. Here’s the RSM press release, which seems to me to be designed elicit the greatest possible reaction, and thus press attention, to RSM:
“In a stunning gesture of good faith the Archdiocese of Chicago seems to be rethinking its relationship with the Gay and Lesbian Community,” said the press release. “The Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach Ministry (AGLO) has added its name to the sponsorship list of the ‘Faith and Fairness’ religious roundtable to be held July 16, 2006 at the Chicago Cultural Center.” The release continued, saying that the Rainbow Sash movement “applauds Cardinal Francis George for allowing an official Ministry of the Archdiocese to be involved in the religious Round Table.”
Cardinal George responded very strongly:
“It is my understanding that AGLO was never asked by the Human Rights Campaign to be a sponsor of the religious roundtable, nor did they offer any support other than publicizing the event in their newsletter, Blaze, which is not routinely monitored by the Archdiocese.” This last clarification was in response to an unsubstantiated claim by the Rainbow Sash Movement that the AGLO newsletter was routinely monitored by the archdiocese, and therefore—the insituation was—whatever appears in the newsletter must be in total agreement with the official stance of the archdiocese and the Cardinal.
It seems that AGLO has once again dragged the cardinal and the archdiocese places it shouldn’t be. This is the problem with many gay-lesbian ministries because they often only pay lip service to the Church’s teachings on the morality of homosexual acts and in reality give a wink and a nod to immorality and depravity. Perhaps this latest incident will impel the cardinal to clean house at AGLO and ensure that the organization is not leading people into sin, but is in fact providing authentic Christian ministry to people with same-sex attraction.
Technorati Tags:bishops, cardinal, Catholic, homosexuality
bk_keywords:Courage, Beyond Gay, David Morrison.
Dear Dom,
It sounds that H.E. George needs to polish the archdiocese to bring its true luster to the fore. Dump AGLO and let the halo show!
George’s apparent lack of resolve to the ongoing monkey on his back that is the AGLO, would appear to lend credence to Father Greeley’s claim of a “Boy’s Club,” that functions as the “lavendar mafia,” in true old-style Chicago fashion.
This piece by Tom Roeser on the new head of Chicago’s Loyola University shows how deep the schism in the Church has grown regarding the adulation of homosexual depravity:
7/22/2006
“Loyola’s New Theology Chair Teaches Gay Love is Just as Good as Heterosexual; Condemns “Heterosexism”; Says Church’s Moral Law Will Ultimately Change to Reflect Her Views
Fidelity to Bible Doesn’t Mean We Should Replicate All 1st Century Morality, Says Dr. Patricia Beatty Jung, Celebrated Speaker at Gay Rallies.”
http://www.tomroeser.com/blogview.asp?blogID=22613
Above should read instead: “new head of Chicago’s Loyola University Theology Department.” Sorry. Although does it make a difference, really?