Clerical Abuse: Vatican Puts its Head in the Sand.

September 30, 2009 — Terence Weldon

Following the announcement of Papal visit to the UK, the Guardian yesterday carried two important stories on Benedict XVI and the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI

In an opinion piece, Tanya Gold expressing deep anger at the Papal visit.  Under the heading, “Ignore the bells and the smells and the lovely Raphaels, the Pope’s arrival in Britain is nothing to celebrate“, she writes:

Save us, O Lord, save us all. Save us from the Pope. Joseph Ratzinger is coming to Britain. Gordon Brown is “delighted”. David Cameron is “delighted”. I am “repelled”. Let him come; I applaud freedom of speech. But no red carpets, please. No biscuits. No Queen.

In his actions on child abuse and Aids, Joseph Ratzinger has colluded in the protection of paedophiles and the deaths of millions of Africans. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Pope John Paul II’s chief enforcer), it was Ratzinger’s job to investigate the child abuse scandal that plagued the Catholic church for decades. And how did he do it? In May 2001 he wrote a confidential letter to Catholic bishops, ordering them not to notify the police – or anyone else – about the allegations, on pain of excommunication. He referred to a previous (confidential) Vatican document that ordered that investigations should be handled “in the most secretive way . . . restrained by a perpetual silence”. Excommunication is a joke to me, perhaps to you, but to a Catholic it means exclusion and perhaps hellfire – for trying to protect a child. Well, God is love.


(more…)

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Scripture Discussion in Kalamazoo

September 30, 2009 — Terence Weldon

There is an instructive story at Box Turtle Bulletin (which has become my favourite site for general LGBT news and comment) on a Kalamazoo discussion of the Bible and homosexuality.

With a city council anti-discrimination ordinance facing a test at the ballot box, a public meeting was arranged to hear a public discussion on just what Scripture has to say.  But this was a discussion, not an anti-gay tirade.

So the Wenkes sponsored a forum with ministers discussing scripture. But you probably have made some false assumptions about Wenke’s motivation. (Mlive.com)

“The more that you talk about this issue and the more you get to know families struggling with this issue, the more you know the Bible doesn’t condemn them,” Wenke said.

So Wenke’s forum was not limited to anti-gay messages. Rather, he presented three ministers who find scripture to condemn homosexuality and three that do not.

“It’s only .002 percent of the entire Bible, an incredibly small slice,” Laney said. “Sexual orientation is not a choice; it’s not a disorder. It’s part of God’s diverse creation.”

The Rev. Dr. Douglas Vernon, senior pastor of Kalamazoo’s First United Methodist Church, agreed, saying the Bible may be taken “very seriously” but not always literally.

“We believe there is no one right way to interpret Scripture,” Vernon said.

The Rev. John Byl, pastor of Immanuel Fellowship Church, and the Rev. Dr. Paul Naumann, of St. Michael Lutheran Church, disagreed, saying the literal words are relevant and timeless.

The organisers say they were encouraged by the turnout.  Expecting 300, they had 800. This is encouraging, but not surprising. It is easy to demonstrate that, as noted, the supposedly anti-gay texts are only a very tiny slice of the entire Scripture. Those who have gone into it more carefully have observed (i)that this in itself is surprising, in a Graeco-Roman cultural context where homoerotic relationships where commonplace; (ii) that the supposedly hostile texts have misinterpreted, mistranslated, or misapplied; (iii)and there are far more supportive texts than hostile ones.

Wherever the churches have approached the issue with careful reflection and study, there have been movements at least towards greater acceptance.The recent proceedings of the ECLA are a great example. Following an extended process of careful study and prayerful reflection on Scripture, the assembly passed a series of notable resolutions that recognise that differing interpretations are possible and equally valid, that approve the recognition of gay and lesbian pastors in committed, monogamous relationships that need no longer be celibate, on exactly the same terms as those of heterosexual  pastors, and that are likely to lead to the recognition of same sex marriage or blessing ceremonies in church.  This process towards rational debate and greater acceptance will continue.

We as queer Catholics and other people of faith need to say this to our non-religious friends, and point out that if they could just set aside their anti-religious bigotry, and try to understand the supportive side of the religious argument, they can assist the moderates in the churches in this move towards LGBT acceptance

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Some Faithful Dissenters

September 30, 2009 — Terence Weldon

Investigating further the question of the sensus fidelium and Catholic dissent, I came across two notable articles on the subject. (Here I acknowledge thanks to the magnificent archives of Michael Bayley at the Wild Reed, where I first came across the links.)

The first, posted at U.S. Catholic in July 2008, is Catholic Dissent: When Wrong Turns Out to be Right. This article reports on notable dissenters, who have faced hostility and direct opposition for their views, but have since been vindicated and in some cases canonized.

Working backwards chronologically, the article begins with  the Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray, who took a stand for freedom of religion against the established view that

civil governments had an obligation to officially recognize the church and support it.

Pope Pius IX made the point in no uncertain terms in 1846 in his encyclical Quanta cura and the accompanying Syllabus of Errors: “The state must recognize [the Catholic Church] as supreme and submit to its influence. . . . The power of the state must be at its disposal and all who do not conform to its requirements must be compelled or punished. . . . Freedom of conscience and cult is madness.

(more…)

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Selective Magisterium: Reflections on Brooten

September 29, 2009 — Terence Weldon

BernadetteBrootenI have just finished reading (for the first time –  I will re-read) Bernadette Brooten’s “Love Between Women”, which has been a stimulating, enriching experience. Now, I totally lack the academic credentials to offer a formal review. 6000 miles from home, I am also without some of my standard books that I would normally consult to check the contents of my memory, further limiting any scope for accurate statements of fact.. However, in a former life I worked professionally as a market research analyst, presenting and interpreting research data for marketing managers at leading grocery manufacturers.  I regularly told my clients that I didn’t claim to have all the right answers, but I hoped to find the right questions. Brooten’s book certainly raised a lot of good questions for me, and it is in a similar vein that I now share with you some thoughts.

First, the key purpose, methods and findings of the book. The purpose, of course, is clear from the subtitle: “Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism” – with a clear emphasis on “female”.  In this, it is the first such investigation, and represents an important complement to John Boswell, who in practice focuses heavily on male history. Like Boswell, she precedes her discussion of specifically Christian responses with a general survey of attitudes and practices in the wider Mediterranean world. Her methods are innovative, as she goes beyond the standard classical texts, adding to them records from magic, astrology and medicine.  These are useful, because the standards texts, by an educated male elite, tend to focus on a male elite, with far fewer references to women.  But magical binding spells to attract demonstrate the existence and public visibility among non-elites of female homoerotic desire, astrological writings show that the astrologers at least believed that sexual orientations of all kinds were determined at birth, and medical treatises showed a belief that some orientations were seen as diseased.

The two most important conclusions, though, which apply to both Christian and pagan perspectives were that the important distinctions in sexual partners were not on gender itself, but on the appropriate gender roles (that is, as the insertive or receptive partner in sexual penetration), and that there was a marked asymmetry in attitudes to male and female homoeroticism. (more…)

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Transgendered in Church, Again.

September 28, 2009 — Terence Weldon

I was moved by this story of the reception given to screening in a church hall of a documentary by an out, trans film maker about her experience and that of her family:

“This is the very first time our film has been in this community, ”  said Carol McKerrow, the mother of the three children portrayed in the movie. “In absolutely every way, the reception has been supportive and embracing and absolutely overwhelming.”

To understand the concerns one must understand the movie.  The screening of “Prodigal Sons“, directed and co-produced by Reed, follows a family of three children.

The oldest, Marc, suffered atraumatic injury in a car crash and has struggled ever since with mental illness. The youngest son, Paul, is gay while the middle child, formerly Pat McKerrow – a star quarterback for the 1975 Helena Bengal football team – returned to Helena as a woman after attending film school at the University of California Berkely. (more…)

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Church & Laity: More on the Sensus Fidelium

September 27, 2009 — Terence Weldon

Michael Bayley at the Wild Reed has already noted how his post on Richard Sipe, with his observations about sexuality and the sensus fidelium, has provoked widespread comment. I want to elaborate now on why this should have been so, and why it is important – and also to address some of the confusion in that comment.

Sipe’s observations were just a few comments extracted from a longer article on the coming reformation of the church: “Sexuality Sets Stage for Church’s Next Reformation, Expert Predicts.” (Arthur Jones, NCR January 2003). Let us not forget this context.  Many other observers have commented on the same idea, not as something to be desired, but as an imminent event. The challenge then, is to identify the ways in which we can accelerate and participate in this Kairos moment. But before venturing into the bigger picture, we must consider the specific points covered in the original Wild Reed post, and the subsequent discussion.

In the short extract posted, Sipe notes that there is a sharp divergence in thinking between the hierarchy and the laity on matters of sexuality, and goes on to remind us that in terms of traditional teaching on the sensus fidelium (SF), a teaching which does not carry with it the support of the faithful as a whole, lacks authority. It was this observation in particular that produced most of the vigorous discussion. (more…)

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Synchronicity: Thinking (and Speaking) Together

September 27, 2009 — Terence Weldon

I wrote a couple of days ago how about how closely Richard Sipe’s comments (quoted at the Wild Reed) on sexuality and the church, on the sensus fidelium, and the hierarchy, so closely matched the conclusions I was reaching myself.  What I didn’t know at the time,  was that William Lindsey posted a comment at the Wild Reed immediately after my own with almost identical thoughts on the comments thread. Bill, like me, also wrote about this in his own blog, drawing attention to the “synchronicity” involved:  Colleen Kochivar – Baker too had been writing along similar lines. Since then, Bill has written again about the synchronicities involved.

“Synchronicity” is a word I have been using a lot lately, especially in private correspondence with Bill Lindsey.  There have been several occasions where one or other of us have been wanting to write on a particular topic, but have been slow to do so:  then found the other has written something  almost identical.  As illustration, the story of the South African athlete is one example.  As a South African travelling in that country as the news broke of rumoured gender test results, I was thinking of writing, but stalled as I wondered if it was strictly relevant to this blog .  No sooner had I decided to put something together, than I found that Bill had written a post with almost identical thoughts to my own, so I left the topic alone, except for a comment at Bilgrimage.   There have also been other examples.

“Synchronicity” is a word carefully chosen, in clear distinction to “co-incidence”.  In strictly temporal terms, they mean much the same thing, but “co-incidence” implies an occurrence due purely to chance.  ”Synchronicity” has no such connotation, and suggests instead at least the possibility of some linking causality- such as (perhaps) the influence of the Holy Spirit. (more…)

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Out in Scripture Gospel Reflections: Insiders & Outsiders

September 27, 2009 — Terence Weldon

“Out in Scripture” is a project of the Religion and Faith  Programme of the Human Rights Campaign, which I found when reading about it on Fr Geoff Farrow’s blog.  It is the culmination of extensive discussion between 100 different scholars and pastors from 11 different denominations, based on the Revised Common Lectionary.  A particularly innovative feature that I have not seen elsewhere, is a parallel set of reflections specifically from the Trans perspective.

This is the main Gospel conversation for today, the 26th Sunday in ordinary time:

Mark 9:38-50 revolves around the theme of unexpected alliances. Jesus’ disciples, seeing someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name, wanted to stop him because he was not a part of their group (Mark 9:38). But Jesus’ rebukes the disciples: “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). Earlier (Mark 9:33-37), Jesus challenged the disciples’ understanding of what it means to be “great,” reminding them, “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” It seems the disciples focused on power and control. They assumed a position of privilege. They wanted to regulate who was in and who was out. This is much the same as when Christian communities attempt to regulate “who is in and who is out” by restricting the access and roles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in their congregations and denominations. Charles Allen observes that if one takes this passage seriously, blocking ministry of outsiders is a grave offense.

What gifts are churches missing out on by the exclusion of LGBT people from their communities?

Jesus’ admonition, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42), can be heard differently. Michael Miller proposes that people who are not creating stumbling blocks, but are contributing to the welfare of the community, are acceptable. They are acceptable whether they describe themselves in relation to the reign of God or not.

Holly Hearon hears this verse as a caution to the disciples not to exclude — that is, place a stumbling block before — those who are casting out demons in Jesus’ name. The text reminds us that the “in group” may be far larger than we can imagine. Allies may arise from unexpected places.

Who has proved to be an “unexpected ally” to you or your community in your efforts to work for the inclusion of LGBT people in church and society?

Also read some reflections on a range of additional readings here.

The Trans reflection

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Sexual Ethics and the Sensus Fidelium

September 25, 2009 — Terence Weldon

At The Wild Reed, Michael Bayley has a short extract from an old NCR article by Arthur Jones on Richard Sipe, speaking about the disjunction of the official teaching on sexual matters and the attitudes and practices of the laity.

At one point in Jones’ article, Sipe notes that “In terms of human sexuality, the Church is at a pre-Copernican stage of understanding” – a reference, notes Jones, to “15th century Catholic priest and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who resurrected, despite church opposition, the scientific theory of the sun rather than the Earth as the center of the solar system.”

Says Sipe: “The church has not come to understand the nature of sex. And it’s not easily understood – we have to struggle along with the neurological, the genetic, the psychological, the evolutionary basis of it. The church has not done that and is frightened of doing it.”

The post then continues with observations on the response of the laity and its importance:

What the laity has began to realize, [Sipe] said, is that the reason the [clergy sexual abuse] scandal is so destabilizing to the church is because it goes to the fundamentals of the doctrine. The laity wants all these questions reexamined and rediscussed – from contraception, homosexuality, masturbation, sex before marriage, to sex after divorce, even abortion. The laity is beginning to ask the church on questions of human sexuality, “On what basis are you saying this is natural and this is unnatural? The laity is questioning the church’s reasoning on what is natural and how it’s natural and demanding it be rethought. This questioning is so compelling that nothing can turn it back,” he said. (more…)

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Articulating the “Sensus Fidelium”: a German Example

September 24, 2009 — Terence Weldon

This interesting e-mail landed arrived in my mailbox overnight, from “Wir sind Kirche” (We Are Church, Germany). The lifting of the excommunication is back in the news, with reports that Benedict XVI was warned in advance about the holocaust denying views of Bishop Williamson, before  he went ahead.

However, the main feature that interests me is just the technique.  I have an impression that in the church we are allowing the neocath right wing to hog the limelight of public visibility, with public outcries and organised appeals to the hierarchy, while representing only a small minority of Catholics. This is odd, as progressives have never been slouches at political organising in the secular sphere, in the US or elsewhere.  Why, then, are we content in the church to settle for simply addressing fellow progressives in blogs or journals like NCR?  Is there any reason why we should not be able to organise more effectively to address the hierarchy directly?

The church has an accepted, but neglected, obligation to pay attention to the views of the people, the sensus fidelium. They not created a vehicle to formulate such a voice.  Where formal structures do not exist, we must create our own.

And now, the e-mail received - English translation by  Google  (edited by myself where I could untangle it).

If you want to support this appeal by a personal letter or an email to the German Bishops’ Conference and / or individual bishops:
The information (email addresses), the BTB and the German bishops can be found here: www.wir-sind-kirche.de/index.php?id=128&id_entry=1998 # addr

We are the Church’s appeal to the bishops’ conference: “Hold the course of the council!”
to the Fall General Assembly of the German Bishops’ Conference 21 to 24 September 2009 in Fulda
 (more…)

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