QUOTE TO NOTE: Liberation Theology: ‘It’s in Their Bones”

Jamie Manson,  columnist for The National Catholic Reporter, recently interviewed Professor James Nickoloff, of the College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts, about the renewed interest in liberation theology since the election of Pope Francis.  At the conclusion of her interview, Manson questioned Nickoloff about how liberation theology applies to LGBT people.  Here’s the  relevant section:

“MANSON: Given that, globally, women suffer disproportionately from the effects of poverty and many gays, lesbians and transgender persons live under the constant threat of attack, imprisonment and even death, is it fair to include them in liberation theology’s understanding of “the poor”?

James Nickoloff

“NICKOLOFF: If we’re going to look at this from a biblical point of view, I would go with Jon Sobrino’s analysis. When Sobrino looks at the New Testament, he sees two groups that Jesus consistently takes particular care to stand with: the economically poor and the socially marginalized — those who are outcasts for various reasons. The notion of the preferential option for the poor goes back to the Hebrew Bible, but its contemporary formulation is less than 40 years old. We’re still rediscovering what is in the tradition and waking up to what it really says to our current situation.

“Because of the situation that the first liberation theologians were living in, which was massive political and economic injustice, they linked what they saw in the Gospel to that reality. But as time has gone on, they have been expanding the idea. The inclusion of women and the issue of violence against women globally is front and center in a lot of liberation work these days. Pushing this to include sexual minorities is just the next, logical step.

“I think we see it happening in parts of the church. In Massachusetts, I got to know some legislators during the marriage equality vote. Most of them were Catholic, and they spoke movingly about how their faith required them to vote in favor of these rights. They weren’t exactly using the theological language of the option for the poor, but that’s what they were talking about. Giving priority to those who have been left out. I think Catholic people get this notion of option for the poor. It’s in their bones.”

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Long Island Catholics Under Scrutiny for LGBT Support

Nicholas Coppola & husband, David Crespo, outside their Long Island parish (Credit: Long Island Newsday)

LGBT Catholics on Long Island are making their voices heard after Nicholas Coppola was removed from ministry for marrying his husband, David. These Catholics’ opinions are varied and complex, as reported in Long Island Newsday this week:

“Kathy and her partner, devoted Roman Catholics who are gay, feel welcome in their Suffolk County parish.

“But when the time came to baptize their children, they chose to have a private ceremony rather than stand with straight parents in a group baptism at Sunday Mass.

“Acceptance, they have decided, means keeping a low profile. The couple don’t hide their sexual orientation, but they don’t flaunt it either…

“For gay and lesbian Catholics on Long Island, home of the nation’s fifth-largest diocese, participation in a church…is fraught with complexities. Some, like Kathy, feel a general sense of acceptance, but within unspoken boundaries. Others are so alienated they won’t go inside a Catholic church.”

Involvement by LGBT Catholics is particularly strained on Long Island after the ousting of Nicholas Coppola from several volunteer ministries once he had married his husband. However, in contrast to the hierarchy’s harsh LGBT policies  on Long Island and nationwide, American Catholics support LGBT equality. The Newsday piece continues with comments from several LGBT advocates:

“‘There’s been a great shift in the last couple of decades and particularly in the last two to three years,’ said Jeannine Gramick, a nun with the Sisters of Loretto order, who founded the Maryland-based New Ways Ministry to seek acceptance for gays and lesbians in the church. ‘More and more gay Catholics are beginning to realize that non-gay Catholics in the pew are supportive,’ Gramick said.

“She and other advocates said the church hierarchy is not keeping up. Gay and lesbian Catholics are ‘leaving the church in droves,’ Gramick said. ‘It’s heartbreaking.’”

“Mary Kane, 50, head of the Suffolk chapter of Dignity, a national gay Catholic advocacy group, said it is hit or miss for gays and lesbians seeking a friendly parish on Long Island.

“‘There are very welcoming parishes, and there are some parishes where gay and lesbian couples don’t feel welcome or don’t go back,’ she said.

“Many parishes seem to operate on a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell basis,’ Kane said. ‘A lot of it depends on the priest.’”

Other LGBT Catholics described their experiences of alienation from Long Island parishes, which mirrors  the trend nationwide:

“Jamie Manson, of Long Beach, still feels excluded. She attended Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville — a ‘wonderful experience’ — majored in theology at St. John’s University, and received a master’s degree in Catholic theology and ethics at Yale Divinity School.

“Yet as a lesbian she feels so alienated from the Catholic Church she rarely steps inside one, except for weddings and funerals. ‘It’s so empty having nowhere to go — you feel like you are spiritually homeless,’ said Manson, 36.

“Dennis McCarthy, a longtime lay leader at Our Lady of the Snow parish in Blue Point, said the church has fallen behind the times. Until the church accepts gays and lesbians and adopts ‘a different attitude toward the role of women in the church,’ such as allowing them to be deacons and eventually priests, ‘I think they’re generally going to have a problem going forward,’ he said.

“Gays should hold ministerial positions and be allowed ‘participation in any way’ in parish life, McCarthy said.”

The  trend of firing LGBT educators, or even those assumed to be gay, and removing inclusive efforts at the parish level seems to be increasing, even as leading American bishops, like Cardinal Dolan of New York, claim to work at making Catholic churches more welcoming while closing the doors.

What have your experiences been in Catholic parishes where you live?  Share your thoughts in the “Comments” section of this post.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

How Cardinal Dolan Can Express His Love for LGBT People

Responses  to Cardinal Dolan’s Easter Sunday comments keep pouring in.   If nothing else, it shows how his comments struck nerves, both positively and negatively.  It shows how much affirmative words from the hierarchy are needed, and it shows how important it is that the hierarchy go beyond just words to send a positive message to LGBT people.

Jamie Manson

The National Catholic Reporter,  columnist Jamie Manson, says she is

“. . . getting weary of bishops and cardinals who tell me how much they love my gay and lesbian friends and I, while at the same time willfully misunderstanding us, refusing to talk to us and devaluing our relationships.”

Her analysis continues by pointing out several actions that Dolan has taken recently that emphatically do not show love for LGBT people:

• Co-signing an anti-marriage equality document with some of the most vociferous anti-gay leaders of Evangelical churches.
• Refusing to respond to a letter and petition written by Joseph Amodeo, a former member of the junior board of Catholic Charities of the New York archdiocese, pleading with Dolan to meet with LGBT homeless youth, many of whom were thrown out of their homes by religious parents. Amodeo later resigned from the board, without public reaction from Dolan.
• Failing to speak out when his brother bishops and priests turn the Eucharist into a political weapon, denying communion to LGBT people and those who support marriage equality.

After reviewing similar actions and statements by San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Pope Francis (when he was archbishop in Argentina), Manson provides an eloquent depiction of what true love is, which seems to echo St. Paul’s famous description in 1 Corinithians 13:

“While it may be true that Dolan, Cordileone and even the new pope are seeking a more pastoral approach to gays and lesbians, I really wish that they would stop calling it love.

“Love does not ignore letters pleading for dialogue and reconciliation.

“Love does not turn away spiritually hungry people from God’s Eucharistic table.

“Love does not use spiritually violent rhetoric against a marginalized community’s fight for justice.

“When we love another person, we genuinely desire to know her or him. When we love, we long to listen to the beloved and to learn his or her story. To love in this way, we must be authentically present to the beloved. This kind of love is risky because it demands vulnerability on the parts of both the lover and the beloved.

“If members of the hierarchy took the risk of truly listening to gay and lesbian couples, they might find, as the majority of U.S. Catholics have, that many of these couples equally embody the faithfulness, devotion, sacrifice and fruitfulness that characterize the best heterosexual relationships.

“They might open themselves up to the possibility that God is speaking new truths through the voices and lives of gay and lesbian couples and transgender persons. They might see that not only are same-sex couples entitled to equal rights and protection, they have as much potential to honor the institution of marriage as opposite-sex couples.”

Equally Blessed‘s Marianne Duddy-Burke and Mary Ellen Lopata, in an on-line New York Times op-ed, offer some suggetions to Cardinal Dolan to how he could back up his words of welcome with real actions. Among the items they suggest for the bishops are:

• Dropping opposition to immigration reform that would allow partners in same-sex couples to enter the U.S. legally
• Adopting anti-bullying programs in Catholic schools
• Changing to more pastoral tone and content when referring to LGBT people
• Dissociate the U.S. hierarchy from the National Organization for Marriage
• Abandon opposition to allowing lesbian and gay couples to adopting children.

They conclude their list with:

“Perhaps most important, the bishops should stop hiding from us. There is no reason the bishops, priests and deacons of every diocese in the United States cannot hold regular meetings with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics and their families to allow them to speak honestly about their experiences within the church. The result might not always be agreement, but at least it could be a spirit of respect and openness.

“We suspect that some of these recommendations will be received more warmly than others. But having them received at all would be progress for which we might one day have Cardinal Dolan to thank.”

(Equally Blessed is a coaltion of four national Catholic organizations which work for justice and equality for LGBT people in church and society.  The four organizations are Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, and New Ways Ministry.)

In a similar vein, Ross Murray of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in an online Washington Post op-ed, suggests three ways for Cardinal Dolan to back up his Easter Sunday message:

“1.Cardinal Dolan needs to stop talking about LGBT people and spend more time listening to them.”

“2.If Cardinal Dolan cannot talk about LGBT people without uttering words of condemnation, he should simply stop talking about LGBT people in general.”

“3.Cardinal Dolan could turn his stated love into tangible action that would help real LGBT people in their day-to-day lives.”

Murray elaborates on each of these three points in his essay, and he concludes with:

“God’s love is felt, not simply stated. When Cardinal Dolan makes such blatant attacks on LGBT people, it makes his ‘I love you and God loves you’ in front of the media ring hollow. Such expressions of love need to be backed up with tangible action. Do something that demonstrates that church leaders view LGBT people as more than a threat or a curse.

“Cardinal Dolan can keep saying that he loves us and God does too, but until he turns away from the camera to actually listen to the stories of our lives, these words will have no meaning.”

Clearly, Cardinal Dolan has his work cut out for him.  The challenge to him is the challenge that all Christians face: to make the Gospel incarnate in the world.  With all of the commentary and suggestions and support offered to him to do something tangible, Cardinal Dolan should have an easier time deciding what to do next.  The ball is in his court.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Catholic Activists Helped Bring Marriage Equality Case to the Supreme Court

Thea Spyer and Edie Windsor

Yesterday, Bondings 2.o highlighted the role that Catholics played at the prayer service and public demonstration as the Supreme Court heard two cases involving marriage equality this week.   Today, Jamie Manson, award-winning columnist for The National Catholic Reporter, highlights an important behind-the-scenes story about Catholic involvement in one of those cases–the challenge to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).   The plaintiff in that case is Edie Windsor, who was  married to Thea Spyer,  Toronto, Canada, in 2007.  Their marriage was recognized since 2008 by New York State, where they lived.  Yet, when Spyer passed away, Windsor received  a$363,053 estate tax bill  from the federal government which would not have been sent if the married couple were heterosexual.

What Manson highlights is the work that three Catholic gay activists, who are members of Dignity/New York, did to bring this case to the Supreme Court.  The first is Brendan Fay, who arranged for Windsor and Spyer’s wedding in Toronto.  Manson explains:

Brendan Fay

” ‘Edie called for help. It was urgent,’ Fay says. Windsor’s partner of almost four decades, Thea Spyer, had been battling multiple sclerosis since 1975, and doctors had given her only months to live. Fay reached out to Canadian Judge Harvey Brownstone of the Ontario Court of Justice, who gladly performed the ceremony.

“Fay was part of a small contingent of friends that shepherded Edie and Thea, who was confined to a motorized wheelchair, to a Toronto hotel, where they were married May 22, 2007.

” ‘There was hardly a dry eye as they exchanged words, “With this ring I thee wed … in sickness and in health, till death do us part,’” Fay remembers.”

When Fay learned of Windsor’s estate tax problem, he sought aid from two friends:

Vincent Maniscalco and Edward DeBonis

“After Mass one evening, he enlisted the help of fellow Dignity members Edward DeBonis and Vincent Maniscalco, who have been married since 2002. (Theirs was the first Catholic same-sex wedding announced in The New York Times.) DeBonis, an attorney, immediately thought of [Roberta] Kaplan [the attorney who argued Windsor's case at the Supreme Court yesterday], whom they had watched argue the 2004 marriage suit filed by 13 couples before the New York State Court of Appeals.”Robbie was compelling,” DeBonis recalls, “and she and her partner, Rachel Lavine, have been passionate about the marriage equality issue for many years.”

And Windsor attributes all her celebrity status to Fay:

” ‘Everything that has happened to make me so famous at this moment is caused by Brendan Fay,’ Windsor told the crowd a few weeks ago at a benefit concert for the St. Pat’s For All parade, an event Fay spearheaded in 2000. ‘When I first saw the brief that said Edie Windsor vs. the United States of America, I said, “No, no, blame him, not me!” she laughed.’ “

Bondings 2.o already noted the role Catholics have played in the prayer service and demonstration at the Supreme Court, as well as the fact that six of the nine justices on the Court are Catholic.  Manson’s story highlights yet another important role that Catholics have played in this story.  Fay, DeBonis, and Maniscalco are to be lauded for living their faith so boldly and generously.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Spirit Day Supported by Catholics Across the USA

Spirit Day, a national event to raise awareness about the problem of bullying directed against LGBT youth, was held on Friday, October 19th, sponsored by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).  People were asked to wear purple on that day as a sign of solidarity with LGBT youth who’ve experienced bullying or violence.

Catholic individuals and parishes played a prominent role in promoting the event, including: Dignity USA, New Ways Ministry, Fortunate Families, the Los Angeles Archdiocese Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics and the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry.

National Catholic Reporter columnist Jamie Manson notes that one long time Catholic justice advocate who took part in the event explained her reason for doing so:

Sister Alice Zachmann, SSND

“Sr. Alice Zachmann signed onto Catholics for Spirit Day. She is a well-respected voice throughout the American Roman Catholic Church, and also in Rome. Zachmann is also a recipient of the Catholic University of America’s highest honor — the James Cardinal Gibbons Award. In responding to why she’s signing the statement, she wrote: ‘The issue is one of justice concerning young people who are being bullied because of their sexual orientation.’ “

[Editor's Note:  Sister Alice is also a regular reader of Bondings 2.0.]

You can view (and post) photos of Spirit Day activities by clicking here.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

The Catholic Imagination and Marriage Equality

Sometimes it’s good to stand back and take a long view of an issue–especially when the issue is one as contentious as marriage equality is in the Catholic community.  A long view can help us see what is important in a debate, what are the core issues at the heart of a question.

Jamie Manson takes such a long view in her National Catholic Reporter column this week entitled “Why do so many Catholics support marriage equality? Blame the Catholic imagination.”   As the title suggests, Manson looks past the usual answers to her question:  that Catholics support marriage equality because of their social justice tradition, that they support marriage equality because they recognize that love is at the heart of lesbian and gay relationships.  Instead she takes a broader view and looks at something a little more intangible, but no less real:  the Catholic imagination.

Manson describes the Catholic imagination this way:

“In his book The Catholic Imagination, Fr. Andrew Greeley writes, ‘Catholics see the Holy lurking in creation. As Catholics, we find our houses and our world haunted by a sense that the objects, events and persons of daily life are revelations of grace.’

“The Catholic imagination, or ‘Catholic sacramental view of the world,’ as my mentor Margaret Farley calls it, has its roots in the Catholic understanding of the relationship between grace and nature.

“In Catholic theology, grace perfects nature. Yes, human beings are a mess, and we’re born into a very messy world. But because we are created by God and because everything God creates is good, there is intrinsic goodness in us. God offers us countless opportunities of grace to help us transform ourselves and to redeem us.

“Catholics believe the finite is capable of the infinite. This is why Greeley says objects, events and persons all have the capability to reveal God’s grace to us. That grace can come in our experiences of love, forgiveness, compassion, justice, sacrifice, but also in the midst of suffering, brokenness and desolation.”

In one sense, if you are a Catholic, you didn’t need to read that explanation because you already constantly experience that perspective on the world.  It is the perspective that was ingrained in us from stories of the saints, from sacramental participation, from rosaries and monasteries, statues, candles, stained glass, and from attending the Eucharist.   It’s good to hear it, though, so that we have a clear, succinct definition of what could otherwise be a vague term.

How does this Catholic imagination interact with marriage equality?  Manson explains:

“. . . the affirming nature of the Catholic view of the human person and the core Catholic belief that all finite things are capable of the infinite makes the Roman Catholic position on LGBT persons and same-sex relationships much more problematic. . . .

“. . .the Catholic imagination sees God everywhere, believes that God reveals Godself in all things and understands God can work through any human being or human relationship. By insisting that genital complementarity is an absolute requirement for marriage, the hierarchy places limits on God’s power to work within all of the relationships of all God’s beloved children.

“Those who possess a sacramental view of the world often realize that any human person or relationship that brings love, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, generosity or faithfulness into the world is a sign of God’s grace. Perhaps this is the reason so many Catholics defend marriage equality: They have recognized these graces can come forth as much through same-sex couples as heterosexual couples. Those who have a Catholic imagination recognize that a couple’s ability to enter into a marriage commitment is not contingent on their anatomies, but on the depth, strength and fruitfulness of their bond.

“Given their sacramental view of the world, it is little wonder that so many Catholics dissent from the bishops’ disparaging characterization of LGBT persons and same-sex relationships. The hierarchy’s position simply does not do justice to the power of the Catholic imagination.”

Manson has provided the church with a great service by presenting this analysis.  By placing the Catholic imagination at the base of why church members support marriage equality provides a firm grounding in authentic Catholic thought and experience.   It also shows why the bishops continue to fail to make their case against marriage equality to Catholic people.  Philosophical and theological arguments shrivel up when faced with the power of the Catholic imagination so deeply ingrained in our souls.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Catholics for Marriage Equality Counter Bishops’ Bulletin Inserts in Washington

The Washington State Catholic Conference is asking parishes to distribute bulletin inserts which are opposed to marriage equality to their parishioners today, in anticipation of next month’s referendum on the issue.  Catholics for Marriage Equality Washington, a large grassroots network of Catholics who support the rights of lesbian and gay couples to marry are countering this effort by asking their members to distribute an alternative brochure outside their churches today.

In the brochure, Love Overcomes Fear, they stress Catholic social teaching about the dignity of each human being and Jesus’ message of love for all.

“We are shocked when we read the language and examples used by our bishops to incite fear in our Catholic brothers and sisters if Referendum 74 passes.  The message of Jesus is love and compassion, not fear,” said Kirby Brown, of Catholics for Marriage Equality Washington (CFMEWA).

“While many pastors and their parish ministry teams may not use what the Bishops are sending them, remember we, the laity, are the Catholic voice of support for marriage equality in our state. We are the Church. “Let’s use our voice!”  said Brown.

You can read the bishops’ two bulletin inserts, a Q & A sheet and a list of supposed consequences of legalizing marriage equality by clicking here.

You can read the CFMEWA brochure by clicking here.  For a high-quality copy of this handout, email cfmewa@gmail.com.

CFMEWA is also encouraging members to attend three upcoming events which are of interest to Catholics who support LGBT issues:

Jamie Manson, The Church at a Crossroads

Jamie Manson, a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, will be at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral on Capitol Hill  in Seattle on Sunday, October 14, 1 – 4 PM. Jamie will lead a dialogue about the crises facing the Catholic Church in the U.S. and in a search for signs of hope in this challenging climate. (The cost is $25 at the door. Please rsvp to Call to Action Western Washington, Betty Hill, tombethill@comcast.net)

People of Faith Singing A Gospel Concert for Marriage Equality

A participatory concert at Seattle First Baptist, 1111 Harvard Avenue. Come and sing! Come and be inspired! Come and commit to Washington United for Marriage.  Sunday, October 14,from 6:30 – 8:30 PM (Goodwill offering goes to Washington United for Marriage)

Sisters & Brothers in Christ: Faith Journey of LGBT Catholics

On Thursday October 18^th from 7 – 9 PM, St. Joseph Parish in Seattle offers a panel presentation of personal stories about how some St. Joe’s parishioners who are gay and lesbian, as well as family members and straight supportive friends live lives of faith. The panel will be followed by an open community discussion, conversation and refreshments.

For more information on these events, contact cfmewa@gmail.com

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

New York Times columnist Bill Keller suggested  in a recent that essay that Catholics who are discouraged about the hierarchy’s positions on women’s ordination, women religious, and marriage equality that they should leave the church:

“Much as I wish I could encourage the discontented, the Catholics of open minds and open hearts, to stay put and fight the good fight, this is a lost cause. . . . Summon your fortitude, and just go. If you are not getting the spiritual sustenance you need, if you are uneasy being part of an institution out of step with your conscience — then go. The restive nuns who are planning a field trip to Rome for a bit of dialogue? Be assured, unless you plan to grovel, no one will be listening. Sisters, just go.”

A barrage of online comments criticizing his suggestion prompted him to write a follow-up column in which he qualified his critique of Catholicism.  Reflecting on a visit to Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia church, designed by Antonio Gaudi, Keller states:

“One thing . . . history reminds us is that the Catholic Church is capable of adapting to science and social mores more readily than fundamentalist strains of Christianity. The Church is proud of its respect for Reason, reflected in its nurturing over the centuries of universities, libraries and scholarly discourse, its embrace of Augustine and Aquinas. Prodded by science and intellectual dispute, the official teaching on faith and morals changes—at a glacial pace, and up to a point.

“Take slavery, for one example. At the Alhambra, both the magnificent Moorish palace and the later additions by Catholic kings were built with slave labor. Jesus himself never uttered a disapproving word on the subject of slavery, and several popes justified it, at least the enslaving of non-Christians. But at last, in the 19th century—following legal abolition rather than leading it—the Vatican formally condemned the selling of human beings.

“Or take evolution. Around the time Gaudi was grappling with the architectural challenge of his soaring nave in Barcelona, the Church was grappling with the works of Charles Darwin. Catholicism, which had long before eschewed the literal Creationist view of Genesis in deference to geological science, never formally condemned the theory of evolution, but found it hard to swallow. After much ecclesiastical hand-wringing, the Church settled on a version of Intelligent Design—allowing for the possibility that God created us indirectly, through a process of natural selection, rather than in six literal days of divine magic.

“So it is not unthinkable that the Church could someday sanction the ordination of women, or drop its comparatively recent decrees against contraception, or let priests marry, or welcome homosexuals into the family.”

He also quoted University of Notre Dame Professor Lawrence Cunningham, who told Keller:

” ‘A rule of thumb in the history of Catholic Christianity is that all great change happens from below, not from above.’ “

National Catholic Reporter  columnist Jamie Manson responded to Keller’s suggestion for disaffected Catholics to leave the church by noting that

” . . .the ability to leave the church is a luxury afforded only to Catholics in the West.

“Catholics in the United States and Europe can leave the church. Few have to worry about bringing shame on their families or being ostracized from their communities. They don’t believe the decision will affect the fate of their souls or God’s disposition toward them. They are free to shop in the vast spiritual marketplace, offering everything from zen meditation to the prosperity gospel, vying for their attention, devotion and money.

“In the United States and Europe, the doctrines of the Vatican have little influence over legislation, culture or individual moral decision-making. According to a recent study, as few as 8 percent of Catholics in the U.S. think the bishops’ advice is very important when deciding how to vote.”

But Manson goes on to enumerate the many social problems in developing nations are exacerbated by official Catholic church policies because of the great influence the ecclesial institution wields.  They to can’t “leave” the church, if they wanted to.  Manson urges Catholics in the West to remain in solidarity with these brothers and sisters in other countries:

“The magisterium teaches that, because of a woman’s genitalia, God is unable to call a woman to the priesthood. It also insists that any woman who “simulates” the consecration of the Eucharist commits a “grave sin” against the sacrament (equal to pedophilia). How can women ever achieve true empowerment and equality in a country where its religious leaders declare that even God views a woman’s body as inadequate and invalid?

“Those in the U.S. and Europe can roll their eyes, shake their heads and throw up their hands at the hierarchy’s arcane teachings on sexuality, but in many parts of our world, these doctrines have life-or-death consequences.

“For these reasons alone, regardless of how we personally feel about the Roman Catholic hierarchy, it is important to remain in solidarity with Catholics worldwide and to continue to dedicate our activism to reforming the church’s teachings.”

Manson is not naive; she knows that staying in the church can be difficult and oftentimes feel futile.  She suggests an alternative to just staying or even staying and fighting.  Her conclusion is to take responsibility for the ministry we would like to see:

“If the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church were realizing their prophetic potential, they would muster the courage to be a living witness to the equality of women and the dignity of LGBT persons in our world. They would use their intellectual power and pastoral sensitivity to apply sophisticated, ethical discernment in matters related to the life-saving use of contraceptives.

“We know that the hierarchy isn’t doing this, but that doesn’t mean that Catholics with the resources and privilege shouldn’t be. Ministering on the margins, questioning religious authority and speaking truth to religious power do not equal “leaving the church.” In fact, as our own faith history has taught us time and again, these are most important steps to becoming the church that the world most deeply needs.”

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Support for Sister Margaret Farley Continues to Flood In

Sister Margaret Farley, RSM

Yesterday’s news that the Vatican has censured Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics, the groundbreaking theological work of Sister Margaret Farley, RSM, a retired professor at Yale Divinity School, has evoked numerous responses in support of this theologian.

Grant Gallicho

Perhaps the most telling response came in a tweet from Commonweal magazine’s Grant Gallicho, who posted the following message on Twitter yesterday:

“And now the Vatican-condemned book by Sr. Margaret Farley has reached 138 on Amazon’s bestseller list. Up from 147,982 just a few hours ago.”

According to another one of his tweets, the book eventually reached the #21 position.

 

The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) carried an article about the confidential letter (which they received from several anonymous sources) that Sister Patricia McDermott, President of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, sent out to Mercy nuns.  The text of the letter is compassionately supportive of Sister Farley.  NCR reports:

Sister Patricia McDermott, RSM

“Acknowledging that many will be ‘deeply saddened’ by Monday’s announcement of the Vatican’s criticism of Mercy Sr. Margaret Farley, the head of the global Mercy order has asked her sisters for their ‘careful and compassionate accompanying’ of those discouraged by the move.

” ‘I am sure that some of you will be angered and frustrated by this news and I totally understand your feelings and thoughts,’ writes Sr. Patricia McDermott, the president of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, in a letter addressed to all Mercy sisters and lay associates.

” ‘I have no doubt that many in our Church — including theologians, ethicists, pastoral ministers and concerned laity — will also be distressed with the public statement by [the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.]

” ‘I ask for your careful and compassionate accompanying of Margaret during this time as well as for those who will be saddened and discouraged by this announcement.’ “

Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL

Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL, co-founder of New Ways Ministry and someone personally familiar with Vatican censure, offered this response to the news:

“The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) may have determined that Sister Margaret Farley’s book, Just Love, is a source of confusion to the Catholic faithful, but my 40 years of pastoral experience in working with lesbian and gay Catholics and their families contradicts this judgment. This book and Sister Margaret’s other writings and presentations have brought common sense and balance to a world in which sexuality is treated either too casually or too rigorously. Farley’s work has put sex in the human context of relationship, instead of hedonism or narrow functionalism.

“What a pity that Vatican II did not complete its work of reform of the Roman curia. The CDF could serve the Church as an international body that would draw together the world’s leading theologians to discuss pressing social and ethical issues. How tragic that its power is being wasted and abused.”

Jamie Manson

NCR columnist Jamie Manson, who served as Sister Farley’s research assistant for two years at Yale, has published an essay which gives an excellent and thorough explication of the theologian’s method and positions in Just Love.  For those interested in learning more about Sister Farley’s thought, this piece is an excellent introduction.  Manson concludes with the statements:

“It is tragic that the bishops cannot accept the spirit in which Margaret Farley wrote Just Love. The book addresses moral questions that affect not only all members of the faithful, but the ethical dilemmas that affect members of the hierarchy themselves.

“If members of the CDF had the courage to read book with an open, honest understanding of their own human reality, they might recognize that Farley’s intention was not sow seeds of dissent, but to offer the fruits of love and justice to those seeking a fuller integration of their bodies and spirits.”

Equally Blessed, a coalition of faithful Catholics who support justice and equality for LGBT people (comprised of Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, New Ways Ministry) issued the following statement:

“We are saddened, but not surprised that the Roman Catholic hierarchy has found fault with the valuable work of yet another female theologian.

“The Vatican’s legalistic parsing of Sister Margaret Farley’s work will only enhance her well-deserved reputation as a gifted scholar. Rome’s attempt to steer Catholics away from Just Love will serve instead as a recommendation for all those who seek a sexual ethic rooted in justice and mutuality, rather than in platitudes and abstractions.  The positions Sr. Margaret articulates resonates with many Catholics, who seek to live out the values of our faith in the context of real life.

“We applaud particularly Sister Margaret’s understanding that “same-sex relationships and activities can be justified according to the same sexual ethic as heterosexual relationships.” As always, when differing with the hierarchy she makes it clear that this is purely her personal opinion. Yet the scholarly care with which she reaches it will be persuasive to Catholic readers who do not believe the Vatican’s claim that intellectual inquiry is unnecessary because the truth is what the Vatican says it is.

“We are hopeful that Sister Margaret’s strong body of work will inspire and encourage other Catholic theologians to continue this kind of research.”

Michael Peppard

In a blog post on the dotCommonweal blog, Michael Peppard, a professor of early Christianity, offers a good chronology of the investigation of Sister Farley’s work and also a critique of the Vatican’s comments on it.  His conclusion:

“If even the Pope — whose every word and move is watched globally — is permitted to step out of his office and write as a spiritual seeker and theologian, what about a woman religious with a Ph.D. and forty years’ experience in the classroom? The Pope draws from contemporary philosophical currents (historical criticism derived from an Enlightenment consciousness) and contemporary experience (of anti-Semitism and its horrific effects) in the course of his presentation of Jesus. Just as with the Pope’s books on Jesus, attentive readers of Sr. Farley’s book on ethics know that she clearly states when she is speaking her own opinion about the principles of just relationships. It’s hard to imagine how Catholic readers would be in danger of mistaking her assessments for those of the Catechism. And after over forty years as a professor at a prominent seminary, Sr. Farley knows that she is not giving the faithful questions that they don’t already have.  The faithful know what the Catechism says, and if we don’t, it’s easy to find out.  But the faithful also have close, personal experiences with faithful Christians who, for example: divorced a spouse because the relationship was unjust and causing grave harm; or lived in a relationship of vastly unequal power and wanted to end it but couldn’t; or were raised from childhood to be men or women of stalwart faith and morality by their faithful parents, who happened to be of the same sex. Sr. Farley’s book results from years of study and witness to the questions raised by men and women who tried to live their Christian lives with faithfulness and righteousness.”

James Martin, SJ

On America magazine’s In All Things blog, Fr. James Martin, SJ, writes the following praise of Sister Farley in his most recent post:

“Margaret Farley is an immensely well respected theologian and scholar, and is a revered mentor for many Catholic theologians.  It would be difficult to overstate her influence in the field of sexual ethics, or the esteem in which she is held by her colleagues.  With this stinging critique, the Vatican has again signaled its concern about theologians writing about sexual morality. This Notification will certainly sadden Sister Margaret’s many colleagues, her generations of students, and those many Catholics who have profited by her decades of reflection on the faith.  It will also, inevitably, raise strong emotions among those who already feel buffeted by the Vatican’s Apostolic Visitation of Catholic sisters in the US, and its intervention into the LCWR”

These recent statements supporting Sister Farley join the chorus of theologians who responded yesterday as the news broke.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

How Sacramental Is Marriage? Wills and Manson Offer Perspectives

Jamie Manson

Garry Wills

Inside and outside the church, the debate on marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples has provided some interesting discussion about the institution of marriage generally.  Two recent articles by prominent Catholic thinkers and observers, Garry Wills and Jamie Manson, are two exceptionally good examples.

In “The Myth About Marriage,” published in The New York Review of Books, Wills focuses on whether or not marriage has any religious significance:

“Why do some people who would recognize gay civil unions oppose gay marriage? Certain religious groups want to deny gays the sacredeness of what they take to be a sacrament. But marriage is no sacrament.”

In examining the scriptures used to support a religious view of marriage–such as the Creation story, Jesus’ comments on divorce (Mark 10:8), and the wedding at Cana (John 10:1-11)–Wills finds no evidence of the institution of marriage as a Christian sacrament.  He quotes Fr. Raymond Brown, the renowned Scripture scholar on the Cana story:

“Neither the external nor the internal evidence for a symbolic reference to matrimony is strong. The wedding is only the backdrop and occasion for the story, and the joining of the man and woman does not have any direct role in the narrative.”

Wills also relies on Joseph Martos, who wrote the classic text on the history of the sacraments, Doors to the Sacred, for a history of the sacrament of marriage, which begins only in the 12th century, and culminates in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. (An accessible summary of Martos’ scholarship on marriage can be found in Marriage Equality: A Positive Catholic Approach, chapter 8.)  Wills concludes his argument:

“Those who do not want to let gay partners have the sacredness of sacramental marriage are relying on a Scholastic fiction of the thirteenth century to play with people’s lives, as the church has done ever since the time of Aquinas. The myth of the sacrament should not let people deprive gays of the right to natural marriage, whether blessed by Yahweh or not. They surely do not need—since no one does—the blessing of Saint Thomas.”

While I appreciate Wills’ point, I think he is throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water.  Marriage does have both civil and religious dimensions to it.  Many marriage equality advocates strongly support this dual dimension to the institution, but equally as strongly advocate for a separation of the dimensions to their proper authorities:  the secular, political realm governs civil marriage, while the religious realms govern religious marriage.

Wills is accurate in relating Martos’ history of marriage, however, I came away with a different perspective from Martos than he seems to have done.  In my reading, Martos’ history shows that, indeed, marriage is an institution which has evolved over time.  It changes with different understandings of human beings, their relationships to one another, their sexuality, and the “contract” that society has with its members in terms of conferring rights and responsibilities.

Marriage also changes with evolving religious understandings of love and its symbolic roles and messages.  Religious people and institutions do have the right to determine those roles and messages–within the confines of their institutions.  More importantly, those roles and messages, even in religious settings, evolve and change over time, as new understandings emerge.

Marriage equality for lesbian and gay couples is being considered by society now precisely because our society has come to realize the value of the love and commitment between couples who share the same gender.  And as polls continue to show, for many Catholics, their is a religious dimension to the quest for securing marriage equality for these couples:  Catholics want equal justice for all couples whose love and commitment contribute to the common good.

Jamie Manson, in a National Catholic Reporter column entitled, “Sacramental Marriage Beyond Anatomy,”  explores this religious dimension of marriage (applying it to same-gender and different-gender couples).  She first recounts her personal experience, first in witnessing difficult marriages, and then witnessing marriages that were life-giving:

“It wasn’t until I attended graduate school, where many of my classmates were married, that I began to see that two people could flourish in a relationship. I realized that the same couples share a love so deep it actually can inspire hope and faithfulness to their larger community.

“Watching these couples, I began to understand what sacramental marriage means. If a sacrament is a sign of God’s grace, it follows that relationships that are signs of God’s love, mercy, forgiveness, and faithfulness are sacramental. These signs of grace are part of the new life that married couples are called to bring into the world, with or without children.

“I was well into my graduate studies when I realized that I was not heterosexual. I was grateful to have had so many married friends to show me the marks of a good and holy marriage. It helped me to know what to aspire to in my own relationships with women. I also met many same-sex couples during my studies and through them I was able to see that God was present in their relationships in the same way God was manifest in the relationships of my straight friends.”

Manson continues this line of thought by making the sacramental dimension to marriage explicit in her argument, pointing out that anatomical gender is less important that quality of relationship as an indicator of sacramentality:

“What made my straight friends’ marriages sacramental wasn’t the fact that their anatomies matched up in a particular way or that they could procreate. As I learned from my childhood, complementing genders and an ability to reproduce in no way guarantees that a marriage will be graced or sacramental. Their marriage was good and holy because it helped both partners to grow in generosity, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness. . . .

“To make procreation and gender complementarity the criteria for marriage simply does not do justice to the Catholic sacramental imagination. To believe that a sacramental marriage cannot happen between two people of the same sex is to place limits on God’s power to work within the relationships of God’s beloved children.

“If we take seriously the Catholic notion of sacramental love, then our concerns shouldn’t be over the anatomies of a couple, but whether or not the couple, through their commitment, brings the life of God more fully into our world. Is their relationship inspiring others to greater faithfulness? Are they a sign of the power of forgiveness and unconditional love? Are the sacrifices that they make for one another an incarnation of the selfless love to which Jesus calls us? . . .

“Rather than concern over the anatomical reality of a couple, the sacramental nature of marriage should be judged by whether there is equality and mutuality between spouses, whether the relationship helps both spouses to flourish individually and as a couple, and whether their relationship brings the love, mercy, and faithfulness of God more fully into our world.”

Manson makes a convincing case for the fact that marriage does have a religious dimension to it.  What I like about her argument is that her view is that the religious dimension comes from the relationship between the partners, not the anatomy of the partners.  Is this a development in our understanding of marriage?  YES!  And a very good one!  It reflects both our religious and psychological understanding that sexuality and marriage are about more than just human beings’ potential for procreation.

Manson’s view of marriage not only aids committed same-gender couples who seek recognition of their relationships, but it also can help us to take a different, more compassionate, approach to heterosexual couples whose marriages are marred by inequality, injustice, and abuse. In effect, by recognizing the importance of relationship as an indication of sacramentality, the discussion on same-sex marriage is helping, not hurting, heterosexual marriage to become a better institution in society.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry