Catholic

Washington DC May 16, 2009 Among the most prominent opponents of President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame is Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City- St. Joseph who in a recent incendiary speech described Catholicism as "the Church militant" and told his audience, "We are at war."

In the course of his speech Bishop Finnhe named as "enemies" in this war, not only those who disagree strongly with the Church on various matters, but those who believe in religious tolerance and who reach out in respectful difference in search of "common ground."

Bishop Finn went on to describe dissenters as "dangerous." He also denounced people "in our own ranks... who claim a certain 'common ground' with us, while at the same time they attack the most fundamental tenets of the Church's teachings...". And who are these dangerous enemies of the Church? Finn singles out Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame for having invited President Barack Obama to speak. The principle problem is that the president is prochoice. Finn also gratuitiously notes that the president,"is, of course, not Catholic."
'"The more dangerous 'human enemies' in our battle" declared Finn, "are those who in this age of pluralism and political propriety seek ways to convince us of their sincerity and good will."

As supporters of gays rights become more galvanized by the passage of Proposition 8, I thought it would be good to list several gays rights organizations that people may think of joining. Since conservative Evangelicals, Catholics and Mormons were especially prominent in supporting Proposition 8, I tried to find organizations that would help out Evangelicals, Catholics and Mormons who were either gay, lesbian or supported gay rights and perhaps help them speak out. If you know of an organization that I did not list, please feel free to post the name and website of the organization. It would be especially appreciated to know of any Mormon groups that would cater to Mormons who are gay, lesbian or are gay rights supporters.

GLAAD is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair and accurate representation of gays and lesbians in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and bad stereotypes. In their webpage is a great link to LGBT organizations that could be found in your local area.

I have a new defense for all those self-proclaimed orthodox bloggers who might criticize Saint Anthony Shrine for being welcoming of gay and lesbian Catholics:

At least we don’t have a Buddha.

It seems that down in Australia, a bishop there has issued a warning to a “renegade” parish “where women can preach, homosexual couples can be blessed and social justice is championed.” It seems the church is “operating outside practices and policies acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church.” (God forbid the Church should champion social justice.) The bishop concluded that whatever good the parish might be doing, it is decidedly not Catholic. (The crisis was, of course, precipitated by a person not a member of the parish who came in and took surreptitious photographs – yet another Catholic snitch on a self-appointed crusade to purify the Church. If you’re worried about impurities, my friends, try Lysol.)

I have signed on to the Platform for the Common Good and would like to ask you to join the movement by also signing on. This document represents the work of 2,500 Catholics nationwide. It is essential that we build as much support as possible so that we can pass on our platform to both political parties prior to their conventions in August and September. Please visit http://www.votethecommongood.com to sign, and pass the word on to others.

The goal is 10,000 signatures by August 15th. The platform and the petition will be sent to both campaigns prior to their conventions.

Summary of the platform is below the fold

You Have Heard of the "Dear John" Letter? Well, this is my “Dear Sean” letter. It’s a perfect inversion. Instead of being about break-ups, it’s about reconciliation. And leper kisses. That part is important. Dear Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archdiocese of Boston:

Sex and The Sacred: Gay Identity and Spiritual Growth, by Daniel A. Helminiak (Binghamton: Harrington Park Press, 2006), 235pp. (Review by Scott D. Pomfret, www.sincemylastconfession.com.)

Daniel Helminiak’s project in his 2006 collection of previously published essays, Sex and the Sacred: Gay Identity and Spiritual Growth, is a naked act of reclamation. Helminiak, a Catholic priest, professor of psychology and longtime member of the gay Catholic group Dignity, sets his sights on terms like “spirituality”, “Christianity”, and “natural law,” and wrests them from those who would use them to oppress gay people. He provides a cogent re-description of these and related terms in an effort to draw gays and lesbians back to the Eucharistic table. Helminiak’s manner is gentle and affirming: he knows that he is preaching to a GLBT audience of the wounded, who regard religious concepts with wariness at best and an understandable outright hostility in many cases. Heroically, he barely acknowledge Sisyphusian nature of his project; he says one thing that brings GLBT spiritual beings close; religious authorities say something new and hurtful that drives them away all over again.

My new book Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir is now available.  Publishers Weekly described it so: “A lighthearted memoir . . . Pomfret elucidates the eventual resolution of his spiritual crises with considerable integrity and manages to present sympathetic portraits of clergy, biting satires of church practices, and a nuanced rendering of a church and congregation considering its role in a changing world. . . . Unfailingly lively.” Set primarily in Boston during the revelations of the Scandal and the battle over same-sex marriage and gay adoptions, Confession is a funny-but-faithful account of my stalking Cardinal Sean O’Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston.  As a federal prosecutor and practicing Catholic, I was attempting to use lawyerly persuasion to change the cardinal's tune.  What I found along the way was a passionately atheist boyfriend, a host of motorcycle lesbians, gay priests, flaming friars, pious prelates, would-be Opus Dei homosexual monks, three “Hale” Marys, Harry Potter’s Satanism, and ten surefire ways to detect a fellow gay Catholic.