Readers of the book Hidden Voices: Reflections of a Gay, Catholic Priest knew the 2011 work’s author only as “Anonymous” until last week. Fr. Gary Meier has come out as the author of the book, which is being re-released to include his name.
Hidden Voices is introduced with an explanation of why the author published it in 2011:
“This book is for all those who are being or have been driven away. And that’s not just the gay population; it’s all of those who have accepted a member of their family, all of those who have allied as friends.”
In U.S. Catholic, Fr. Meier spoke about his decision to now go public as a gay priest:
“‘It has been difficult to remain part of a hierarchy that has been so hostile towards homosexuals in recent years… Our church once stood for and represented the radical nature of God’s love for all people. That is not the true today – especially towards the LGBT community – and therefore I feel compelled to stand in solidarity with those Catholics who have lost their jobs, have been denied the sacraments, have been excommunicated or who have been made to feel “less than” by their church leaders because of who they love.’”
Fr. Meier is a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which responded ambiguously in a statement after the priest’s gay and literary identity was made public. The statement called on Fr. Meier to become an example for those who “struggle” with “same-sex attraction.” U.S. Catholic notes this limited acceptance might change as the story spreads:
“Regardless of what the archdiocese says, the floodgates are likely to open and Meier will undoubtedly receive some harsh criticism from many in the church. Some will probably call for him to be dismissed from the priesthood or banned from public ministry.”
Terence Weldon at Queering the Church helpfully sets Fr. Meier’s coming out within the broader context of gay Catholic priests today, and he addresses the archdiocese’s urging for him to be a ‘model’:
“In the Catholic Church, there is likewise a high proportion of gay priests…a slowly increasing trickle of priests are coming out, acknowledging their orientation, and publicly identifying as gay – but also insisting on their celibacy…The number of Catholic priests who have come out publicly is still minute – but very many more have at least begun the process. Many of them will continue, taking it further. In years to come, openly gay priests will not be anywhere near as rare as they are today…
“In the Catholic Church, the orthodox teaching is crystal clear that to be homosexual is entirely natural and not in any way sinful – but this message is often obscured, so that young people do not receive it, experiencing instead only the perception of outright rejection. What better way can there be, to demonstrate emphatically that gay people truly are welcome in the Church than to have one of us at the altar, as celebrant?…
“The more that priests like Fr Meier, and other gay and lesbian Catholics, can come out and demonstrate the value for ourselves in obeying the Catechism, and integrating our sexuality into our personalities, the easier it will be for younger people who grappling with these issues to deal with them.”
For his part, Fr. Meier looks forward hopefully with the release of Hidden Voices ascribed to him, which he admits on his personal website is uncharted territory:
“I am not sure where exactly any of this will lead. It is a huge leap of faith and to be perfectly honest with you, very frightening. I know that while many will celebrate and be grateful for this publication, others will be angry and upset and feel as if I am betraying the church. I have no such intention. I am just a man trying to live a life of integrity and speak the truth that God has given me to speak.”
To hear more from Fr. Meier himself, views this YouTube video from Rising Voices:
New Ways Ministry applauds Fr. Gary Meier for his courage in writing Hidden Voices and coming out now as an openly gay Catholic priest, and we send our prayers as this leap of faith begins to unfold further.
As the Boy Scouts of America deliberate about accepting gay members, with a decision looming next week, Catholics involved with scouting are lining up on both sides of the debate.
An article in USA Today reports on the upcoming decision facing BSA:
“The proposal, which would allow gay Scouts but continue to exclude gay adults as leaders, has the unanimous support of Boy Scouts’ top officials, and will be voted on by the group’s 1,400-member national council on May 23…
“Already suffering a long-term membership decline, the Scouts’ proposal is an effort to appeal to younger parents who increasingly support gay rights. But the current two-pronged ban has strong support among existing members and volunteers, many of whom believe accepting gay members will clash with their religious convictions.”
Strong opposition comes from faith-based groups, responsible for over 70% of scouting troops nationally, and among these are Catholics conflicted by the proposal. The National Catholic Council on Scouting released a vague statement affirming the hierarchy’s understanding of gay issues and promising to respond once the proposal is voted on.
At the grassroots level, USA Today reports some Catholic scout leaders are already threatening resignation, and some pastors plan to sever ties with BSA if openly gay scouts are allowed. Yet other Catholic leaders are hoping that gay scouts will be accepted:
“At St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church in Springfield, Va., the Rev. John De Celles announced in his church bulletin that the parish troop would end its relationship with the Boy Scouts if membership standards change…
“As many as a quarter of the 273,000 Boy Scouts connected to Catholic-run troops could leave, some leaders estimate. Still, many Catholic parishes welcome the move to allow openly gay scouts into their troops.
“‘If it changes, that’s fine with us. In fact, I’m hoping they do change it,’ said Monsignor Donald Romito of St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Irvine, Calif. ‘We’re welcoming to everybody, and everybody’s welcome to join the Scouts. It wouldn’t impact our relationship with the troop at all.’”
For its part, the BSA leadership is advocating strongly for the national council, which meets May 22-24, to allow gay scouts and has worked to address the concerns of Catholics and other faith-based participants:
“We believe that this policy remains true to the virtues, the core principles of scouting, not of any one religion, but of Scouting,” said BSA executive committee member Nathan Rosenberg, in a webcast urging support for the plan.”
Like one’s faith and one’s sexuality, involvement in scouting is a large influence on a young person’s identity. Catholics involved in scouting must encourage youth to openly embrace every part of who they are during formative years. It is time for Catholic leadership to echo Monsignor Romito’s call to welcome every youth who wishes to participate in BSA troops and end a discriminatory practice that forces scouts to remain closeted.
A Catholic high school in Albuquerque is insisting that a male transgender student wear a girl’s graduation robe at the school’s commencement ceremonies next week.
Damian Garcia
Damian Garcia transitioned last year and changed his name from Brandi Garcia, which is the name on his birth certificate. KQRE-TVreports that St. Pius High School, which requires male graduates to wear black robes and female graduates to wear white robes, is insisting that Damian wear a white robe. Damian stated:
“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends. I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”
The teachers and students at the school all refer to him as “Damian,” and his parents support his gender transition and wearing a black robe.
The television statement captured the remarks of Damian’s father, Luis Garcia:
“I look at him and I call him my son. That’s how he wishes to be acknowledged is as a male. . . All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of.”
School officials say that if there is a question about which color robe to wear, they are guided by the information on a student’s birth certificate, and Damian’s birth certificate says “female.”
The school’s reasoning shows the problems that can occur when rules become more important than human beings and human reality. For officials to say that they cede all of their ability to make a judicious decision based on the birth certificate, and not the human and social reality with which they are faced, is ignorant and insensitive.
This situation highlights another important issue: why are graduation robes “gendered” in the the first place? Why must boys wear one color and girls another color? A simple solution would be to eliminate the color distinction, since it serves no meaningful purpose anyway.
An important lesson to be learned from this story, too, is that parental love for a child can often lead the way for the rest of the church to learn how to love and accept transgender people and other sexual and gender minorities. The love of Damian’s parents, expressed by his father, is awe-inspiring, and reminds us of the unconditional love that God has for each of us. So often our Catholic faith reminds us that God loves each of us as a parent. It would be well for the officials at this Catholic school to learn a lesson from Damian’s parents on how to love and accept and treasure each student.
Here are some items that you may find of interest:
1) Today, May 17th, is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. GayStarNews reports that, for the first time, Catholic churches in Italy will be hosting prayer services to commemorate the day.
2) Peace Advocacy Network, a Philadelphia non-profit, will be protesting a “sports camp” for gay man, to be held on the grounds of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s seminary, St. Charles Borromeo, on May 23rd. The sports program is sponsored by Courage, a group which promotes celibacy for lesbian and gay people, and which sometimes promotes the discredited “reparative therapy” to change a person’s orientation. According to Metro.us, the sports camp ”claims to help gay men repair their ‘sports wound’ and become ‘manlier’ – in so many words, performing ‘conversion therapy’ to ‘reform’ their homosexuality.”
3) The Vatican is asking San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, to step down from his position, but Gonzalez Nieves is refusing to leave. According to Latin Times, the Vatican’s action against the archbishop is prompted by “allegations of protecting pedophile priests, abusing his power, promoting Puerto Rican independence, and supporting a law that would allow gay couples living together, hereditary rights.”
4) In Zambia, a Catholic priest who is running for the nation’s presidency, has stated that he will not arrest gay and lesbian people, and that he supports marriage equality. According to The Times of Zambia, “Father [Frank] Bwalya said he would respect homosexuals, claiming this was in line with the Catholic Church which prescribed respect for every individual.”
5) The Vatican has confirmed that Scotland’s Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned earlier this year when it was revealed that he had sexually molested several seminarians and priests, would be leaving the British country for “spiritual renewal,” according to The Daily Mail. Earlier, O’Brien had refused to leave the country though many Catholic leaders felt his presence was divisive. O’Brien had been an outspoken critic of LGBT equality and justice in the UK.
6)QueeringTheChurch.comreports on a set of “gay mysteries” of the Rosary, developed by Stephen Lovatt. The mysteries are: the healing of the Centurion’s boy, the answering of the Rich Young Ruler, the raising from the dead of Lazarus, the Last Supper, and the Kiss of Judas.
Two more nations in South America acted on marriage equality in the wake of legislative victories in Uruguay and Argentina. Colombian legislators rejected equal marriage legislation in a heated vote, while a leading Brazilian court ruled to allow same-gender marriages and all of this occurs in the shadows of an impending trip to the continent by the first pope from South America this summer.
Colombia
In a tense debate, the Colombian Congress rejected a marriage equality bill in a 51 to 17 vote which signaled a backlash to the growing acceptance of LGBT people in South America. Financial Timesnow reports couples seeking marriage licenses will need to register in the courts.
The legislation was prompted by a 2011 ruling from Colombia’s highest judiciary body, the Constitutional Court, that the Congress must enact equal marriage law within two years. Colombia has a dominant Catholic majority, many of whom vocally oppose pro-LGBT laws, however Cardinal Ruben Salazar is on the record endorsing civil unions as a form of legal protection for same-gender couples.
Brazil
The National Council of Justice, a high-powered judiciary body in heavily Catholic Brazil, ruled the government may not deny marriage licenses to same-gender couples. However, The Telegraph reports this rule has deeper implications than just allowing the legislature to act:
“‘This is the equivalent of authorising same-sex marriage in Brazil,’ said Raquel Pereira de Castro Araujo, head of the human rights committee of the Brazilian bar association.
“Supreme Court Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa explained that there was no reason for government marriage licensing offices to wait for Congress to pass a law on same-sex marriage before extending gays rights they legally already have.
“‘Are we going to require the approval of a new law by Congress to put into effect the ruling that already has been made by the Supreme Court? That would make no sense,’ he said in comments quoted by the G1 news website.”
Brazil is the largest Catholic nation worldwide, and the institutional Church there has not been friendly to LGBT rights. Bondings 2.0 reported earlier in May about a priest who was excommunicated for speaking out about inclusivity and welcome for sexual minorities. It appears conservative Catholic influences remain strong in the legislature too, and opponents of LGBT rights insist room remains for a challenge:
“In Congress, a strong religious faction opposes same-sex marriage, and has not yet approved a law on same-sex marriage regulations. And the NCJ’s decisions are subject to appeal before the Supreme Court…
“While some state courts have recognised same-sex marriages, the council’s ruling was the first to set out a national standard.”
In the interim, it appears Brazil will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-gender couples as it simultaneously prepares for the arrival of Pope Francis for World Youth Day this summer.
Pope Francis
The effects of the new papacy on national hierarchies’ actions around pending marriage equality bills remains an open question, though Bondings 2.0 and others have mused about how he might act given his history of support for civil unions as a compromise. A piece in The National Catholic Reporter sheds further insights in terms of marriage. John Allen writes:
“On this score, I was told by three sources in Argentina that the [New York] Times basically got it right: Bergoglio did, in fact, favor civil unions…
“Guillermo Villarreal, a Catholic journalist in Argentina, said it was well known at the time that Bergoglio’s moderate position was opposed by [conservative bishops]…The difference was not over whether to oppose gay marriage, but how ferociously to do so and whether there was room for a compromise on civil unions…
“Behind the scenes, sources say Bergoglio tried to avoid fireworks on the gay marriage issue. One young Catholic told me, for instance, he had wanted to organize a public recitation of the rosary on the eve of the vote outside the legislature, knowing that supporters of gay marriage would also be there and the prayer would be a provocation. He wrote to Bergoglio seeking advice, he said, and Bergoglio called him directly, suggesting they pray at home instead.”
As highly Catholic nations, like Brazil and Colombia, continue slowly progressing towards full marriage rights for same-gender couples, perhaps the detente approach of Pope Francis on civil marriage will mute some of the most vocal anti-LGBT opposition. How the new Pope will deal with, if at all, the issue of marriage equality spreading throughout the Americas during his first return visit will be interesting to track.
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.”
Marriage Equality Advocates Celebrate in the Minnesota State House
Minnesota becomes the 12th state in the US to adopt marriage equality into law today, just six months after voters defeated a constitutional amendment to define marriage heterosexually. In both campaigns, Catholic advocates and opponents played a central role in shaping the marriage equality conversation.
After a successful House vote last week, the Senate voted 37-30 yesterday to pass the bill. Legislators now send the bill to Governor Mark Dayton who is expected to sign it this afternoon. The New York Times reports on the victory, and turnaround, in Minnesota:
“In a way, Monday’s vote was a startling shift in the conversation in this state. For much of 2012, Minnesotans had been debating an amendment to the state Constitution that would have done the opposite — define marriage as between a man and a woman…Minnesotans in November rejected the amendment and sent majorities of Democrats to both chambers of the State Legislature, setting off an intense new push to legalize same-sex marriage.
“‘That whole constitutional amendment backfired on them,’ Amy Britain, 46, said Monday…She said it proved that Minnesotans, like many Americans, had changed their views on marriage.”
At Queering the Church, Terence Weldon notes the importance of Catholic efforts by Minnesotans involved in the struggle:
“This is not new: Catholics have been prominent in marriage victories elsewhere, as have other faith groups…But it is true that for a long time, it appeared that church groups were overwhelmingly opposed, and only fairly recently has faith–based support become reasonably widespread. Minnesota, I suspect, is one example where the religious support has been particularly telling…
“I’m not going to even attempt to offer a run-down of all the people and groups who have contributed, or how. But for some indication of just how much there has been, cross to yesterday’s post at The Wild Reed, ‘Drawing the Circle Wide‘, written in anticipation of today’s success and giving an extensive list of some of those people, with pictures, whose hard work has now paid off. Then cross to today’s post at Sensus Fidelium, ‘It’ll be legal by August 1st‘, where you can read more about the legwork done by Catholics for Marriage Equality MN…”
Leading up to the 2012 elections, marriage equality advocates fought fiercely to defeat an anti-gay amendment being voted on while the Catholic hierarchy spoke and spent heavily to write discrimination into law. Today, once the governor signs marriage equality into law, all Minnesotans will be able to marry while religious liberty protections remain in place.
“‘I grew up in the Catholic Church, I grew up with two gay uncles and a gay godfather, and I grew up in the hip hop community. So the Catholic Church and hip hop community are known as being very homophobic communities in a lot of ways.’”
These are the words of Macklemore, an independent hip hop artist from Washington State, who topped music charts last week with his song, “Can’t Hold Us.” Macklemore has also been speaking out for LGBT equality through his music and his growing fame. He has topped musical pop charts in the US and abroad with his music that includes deep social critiques, reaching number one with the song “Thrift Shop” that glorifies shopping for second-hand goods.
On the same album,The Heist, released in 2012, Macklemore also included a song titled “Same Love” as his entrance into the debate on marriage equality, specifically Referendum 74 in Washington State. Inherent to the artist’s pro-equality music is his Catholic upbringing, which Macklemore speaks about frequently in media appearances. He compares the Church to the hip hop community, which both contain homophobic cultures internally. On his website, the artist writes:
“Growing up in the Catholic Church, I saw first-hand how easily religion became a platform for hate and prejudice. Those who ‘believed’ were excused from their own judgments, bypassing the stark issue of basic civil rights…
“[In both the Church and hip hop] The consequence and impact of what we say, and the culture of shame and abuse it creates, has very real, sometimes deadly impacts upon LGBTQ young people looking for acceptance and belonging.”
“Same Love,” video available above and lyrics here, is laced with critiques against anti-LGBT religious institutions and with an unequivocal endorsement of God’s love for all and our common call to inclusion. These include:
“America the brave still fears what we don’t know//And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten…
“When I was at church they taught me something else//If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed//That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned…”
Macklemore no longer adheres to an organized religion, but his justice-infused music and spiritual side linger as partial remnants of his Catholic upbringing. In his harsh critique of injustices, Macklemore is bringing together the worlds of church, pop culture, and independent music as he calls each institution to live justly.
He has even gained positive reviews from conservative opponents who value his nuanced approach. One blogger at Patheoscalls Macklemore’s music “brave,” writing:
“…Macklemore tackles the issues with a degree of subtlety and nuance that we as Christians could learn a lot from. He understands the line between criticizing the Church and recognizing who the true God is. He understands the different between politics and people. He also gets that as important as laws and governance are, true change can only come from the individual…
“Because to Macklemore, it’s not only about a law. It’s about an attitude. It’s not about determining whether or not homosexuality is a sin–it’s the posture of our hearts toward our neighbors.”
Macklemore’s music is a reminder that cultural shifts entail much more than episcopal pronouncements and demonstrations. The success of the Catholic-tinged “Same Love,” even among conservative young adults, reveals that LGBT equality is as much a generational waiting game as a prescient legal and ecclesial struggle.
As marriage equality becomes law in state after state, related legal matters like adoption rights for LGBT individuals and same-gender couples are gaining public attention. Catholic public figures are reviewing long-standing positions by the hierarchy anew, with Republican Congressman Paul Ryan endorsing equal adoption rights and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaking strongly against what he perceives as anti-Christian laws.
Rep. Ryan, a Catholic, spoke at a town hall in Wisconsin last week where an attendee questioned him about a poor rating with the Human Rights Campaign, specifically a 1999 vote against allowing same-gender couples in the District of Columbia to adopt. David Gibson reports on the comments at Religion News Service, quoting Rep. Ryan as saying:
“Adoption, I’d vote differently these days. That was I think a vote I took in my first term, 1999 or 2000. I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period.”
The Wisconsin congressman’s record on LGBT rights is abysmal otherwise, having voted against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and the Matthew Shephard Hate Crimes Protection Act and vocally opposing marriage equality. Gibson points out that in another shift, Rep. Ryan also claimed:
“…he has “always supported” civil unions. Though there is no evidence to support that, it’s a clear sign that the politics of the issue have changed and that even the most conservative Republicans need to appear more hospitable to gays and lesbians in order to expand their voting bloc.”
You can view the town hall remarks in the YouTube video below:
Last weekend, on the television program Meet the Press, Newt Gingrich, a Catholic, reinforced his opposition to LGBT rights, including adoption by same-gender couples. Gingrich expressed an increasingly common talking point by anti-gay groups who claim that LGBT rights lead to the persecution of Christianity. The Huffington Postquotes the failed presidential hopeful:
Newt Gingrich
“‘But what I’m struck with is the one-sidedness of the desire for rights…There are no rights for Catholics to have adoption services in Massachusetts; they’re outlawed. There are no rights in D.C. for Catholics to have adoption services; they’re outlawed.
“‘Does [supporting LGBT rights] mean that you actually have to affirmatively eliminate any institution which does not automatically accept [homosexuality]?’”
However, another panelist on Meet the Press challenged Gingrich’s claims about Catholic Charities in Massachusetts and D.C. being forced to end their adoption services. The Huffington Post reports:
“Panelist Joy Reid, managing editor for The Grio, countered Gingrich’s argument, saying that Catholic Charities decided on its own to discontinue adoption services, rather than comply with the state’s nondiscrimination laws and provide adoptions for both heterosexual and same-sex couples.”
Pew Forum polling last year showed 55% of Catholics supported LGBT adoption rights, and it is increasingly clear to politicians this number is climbing. Recent controversies with Catholic Charities and relations to government in Palo Alto, California and Denver reiterate that the legal struggles will continue for the foreseeable future. As for the implications on Church politics, David Gibson writes:
“…Ryan, who has touted his Catholic faith as evidence of his social as well as economic conservatism…[has a] significant break with the Catholic hierarchy, which has even shut down adoption services rather than placing children with same-sex couples.
“This could spell more trouble for the Catholic bishops in their battle on gay rights; they have already been losing their own faithful, and losing political allies like Ryan is tough.
“Then again, many would say Ryan’s economic policies were hardly in line with the bishops and Catholic teaching, so there.”
Educator Carla Hale remains terminated from Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, even though support for her continues to grow and legal action against the Columbus Diocese commences. Over the last week, there have been a number of developments in this story, and this blog post will give you a round-up in three areas: legal action, response from the bishop, student and alumni reactions.
Legal Action Commences
Hale, a lesbian woman outed in her mother’s obituary, has since filed a complaint with the City of Columbus claiming the firing violated anti-discrimination laws. The Columbus Dispatch reports:
“Commissioners [of the Columbus Community Relations Commission] could decide within a few months whether the diocese violated the city’s ordinance that protects employees from discriminatory treatment for a range of reasons that include sexual orientation.
“If the commission decides that the diocese discriminated against Hale, the case could be forwarded to the office of City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr., which would decide whether to prosecute.”
Ms. Hale is also working with the local Catholic teachers union to try to return to educating students as she has for the past nineteen years. Her legal case raises constitutional questions about the relationship between church and state, and will largely hinge on what role she provides within Catholic education:
“The Cincinnati and Tabor cases both deal with the ‘ministerial exception,’ which says that religious institutions are exempt from anti-discrimination laws when hiring employees who teach church doctrine.
“’Churches have the ability to decide who will minister their faith according to the dictates of the faith,’ [Ohio State University law professor Marc] Spindelman said. He said there are arguments on each side. The church might argue that all teachers at Bishop Watterson participate in its religious mission to mold not only good students but also good Catholics, he said.
“But the school also knew that Hale was a Methodist and was employed to teach physical education, not Catholicism, Spindelman said. ‘Is she more like the priest, or more like the person who comes in to change the lights or answer the switchboard?’”
Bishop Defends Firing
Bishop Frederick Campbell
Bishop Frederick Campbell of the Columbus Diocese spoke publicly on the matter, claiming the firing was a matter of protecting the Catholic faith’s integrity. The Columbus Dispatch reports:
“Campbell said earlier in the day that Hale was not fired because of her sexual orientation but because her ‘quasi-spousal relationship’ with another woman violates the church’s moral teaching. He said Hale violated a teacher contract and Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus policy that prohibits immoral behavior and requires employees to follow general church tenets.”
The bishop has been careful to link the firing to the obituary for Ms. Hale’s mother which listed her female partner, and focused his remarks on the now public nature of their relationship. However, not all believe this explanation is acceptable:
“Hale’s attorney, Thomas Tootle, has said he sees no distinction between Hale’s sexual orientation and her relationship status. He argued that neither the teacher contract nor the diocesan policy specifically bound Hale, a Methodist, to abide by church tenets or to practice Catholicism.”
Critics have questioned the bishop’s position, including the father of a current Bishop Watterson student. That father was ejected from a major donors dinner after expressing concerns that Bishop’s Campbell’s position causes more suffering on students. After receiving threats, including from the hacker group Anonymous which has threatened diocesan officials with the release of potentially embarrassing unspecified information, the high school is now paying for a police officer to patrol during classes.
As the Bishop’s Annual Appeal commences this week, many other donors are refusing to donate due to the firing of Carla Hale and may instead place mock checks in the collection plate.
Student & Alumni Reactions
Students and supporters are speaking out, using social media to generate interest in the Hale controversy and also witnessing outside Columbus diocesan offices. The Columbus Dispatchreports:
“As cars passed the [diocesan] offices on Gay Street, the students held poster-board signs with messages: ‘Come together,’ ‘We are all children of God’ and ‘#halestorm,’ the Twitter hashtag used to support Hale. Many wore rainbow ribbons or buttons incorporating an equals sign into the Watterson crest.
“Senior Zac Simmons said he was demonstrating because he wanted his voice to be heard.
“’She’d always be there for us, and I just want to be there for her,’ he said of Hale.”
Alumni of Bishop Watterson High School are also speaking out against the injustice of Ms. Hale’s termination. William Klatt hosted an evening for alumni and those interested in labor rights as both an education on recent events and planning for how to support Carla Hale now. His sister, Anna, is asking the Columbus diocese to own its discriminatory actions while pointing to the widespread youth support for the fired teacher. This Weekreports:
“‘Catholic leadership may be stuck in outdated, harmful beliefs, but its youth are not,’ Anna Klatt wrote.”
New Ways Ministry continues expressing its support for Ms. Hale, and echoes the youth voices of Bishop Watterson students and alumni who are witnessing to a church and society where everyone is equal. For a full history of events, view recent Bondings 2.0 posts below:
Posted by newwaysministryblog 
As the Boy Scouts of America deliberate about accepting gay members, with a decision looming next week, Catholics involved with scouting are lining up on both sides of the debate.
Two more nations in South America acted on marriage equality in the wake of legislative victories in 
The National Council of Justice, a high-powered judiciary body in heavily Catholic Brazil, ruled the government may not deny marriage licenses to same-gender couples. However, 
Pope Francis
