A group of Catholic school teens are on their way to Most Holy Redeemer Church to perform a play about the conflicts between Christianity and homosexuality.
The Most Holy Redeemer Church bulletin of February 22, 2009 reports that the church will host a production of a play called "Be Still and Know." From the bulletin: “The director, John Loschmann, along with the cast and crew from Sacred Heart Preparatory School, Atherton will perform "Be Still and Know" at Most Holy Redeemer on Sunday, March 8 at 2 pm. All are welcome. This play is based on the novel, The God Box, by Alex Sanchez and adapted for the stage by John Loschmann. It explores the subject of homosexuality within a Christian, adolescent context.” As with most things at MHR, I think it far more likely the play “explores” Christianity, within a homosexual context.
This raises a number of questions:
• Is the content of the play in agreement with Church teaching on homosexuality?
• Who decided on having this play produced at Sacred Heart of Atherton?
• Has the production of this play at Sacred Heart of Atherton been approved by the Archdiocese?
• Has the production of this play at Most Holy Redeemer been approved by the Archdiocese?
• Why is this play being performed at Most Holy Redeemer at all? The novel “The God Box” from which the play is adapted, is targeted at an adolescent audience. For obvious reasons, there are virtually no children at MHR. Why is a play targeted at children being performed at a parish where there are no children?
• Finally, has anyone at the Archdiocese read “The God Box?” Or even visited the website of Alex Sanchez, the book’s author?
To take the last point first: had they done so, they would have seen that Mr. Sanchez claims to be exploring the conflicts between Christianity and homosexuality. But an examination of his website shows that for him there is really no conflict: Christian teaching on homosexuality does not present a conflict to be struggled with, (as is true of Christian teaching on many things) but an obstacle to be overcome. That’s why his homepage features rave reviews of “The God Box” by people who share this view: Harry Knox, of the Human Rights Campaign; Steve Kindle of Clergy United, Nancy Wilson, of the Metropolitan Community Church, and Episcopalian bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori.
Catholic Teaching Not Allowed
It gets worse. Since “The God Box” is targeted at young people, let’s suppose a young same-sex attracted Catholic reads the book or sees the play, and goes to Mr. Sanchez’s webpage in search of guidance. There site has a number of sub-pages. One is a “Spirituality” page. It contains 31 links. Every link, without exception, is to an organization which denies Church teaching on homosexuality. Under the “Catholic” heading, do we find the Vatican, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, or the Courage Apostolate? No. The recommended Catholic spiritual resource is “Dignity USA,” a homosexual activist organization not even recognized by the Church, nor even allowed to meet on Church property. The one thing such a young person visiting Mr. Sanchez’s site would never receive would be genuine Catholic teaching on the issue of homosexuality.
Who Chose “The God Box,” and why?
The adaptation of “The God Box” that will be presented at Most Holy Redeemer is called “Be Still and Know” by John Loschmann, a drama teacher at Sacred Heart High School of Atherton. Why did Mr. Loschmann choose this particular work? Well, a web search reveals that Mr. Loschmann is a signatory to the “Represent Me” list on the Equality California website--a list of people who want Proposition 8 overturned. A further search shows Mr. Loschmann gave $100 to the No on Proposition 8 campaign. Leaving aside the question of whether a person who refuses to accept Church teaching on such a foundational issue as marriage should even be teaching at a Catholic school, it certainly explains Mr. Loschmann’s interest in adapting “The God Box.”
Why is a Play for Teenagers being performed at an Adults Only Parish?
But why did Sacred Heart choose Most Holy Redeemer, of all places, as a venue? At first glance it makes no sense. Why choose to present a play aimed at children in a parish that has virtually no children? (See footnote 1). Is there another connection between Sacred Heart of Atherton and Most Holy Redeemer?
The Principal at Sacred Heart is a man named James Everitt. A web search shows that a Mr. James Everitt of Redwood City is also a donor ($200 on October 6, 2008) to the No on Proposition 8 campaign. While that donation does not list an employer or address, it does give the city of residence and a zip code. And an earlier donation by James Everitt, listing the same city of residence and zip code gives the employer as “Sacred Heart Schools.” His position on this issue is thus in accord with Mr. Loschmann and the parishioners of Most Holy Redeemer, but not with the Catholic Church. But there may be a more direct connection: a December, 2008 webpage from the Most Holy Redeemer lists a James Everitt as a Lector at the Church. Certainly, there's a chance that it's not the same man, but it would sure account for the otherwise seemingly inexplicable choice to present the adaptation of “The God Box” at Most Holy Redeemer.
As to why Most Holy Redeemer would host such an event, that’s apparent: Because it validates their true religion, which, as I have argued before, is not Catholicism, but the celebration of homosexuality. The one thing the play is guaranteed not to have, the one thing that is anathema to Mr. Loschmann, Mr. Everitt, and the parishioners of MHR, the one thing they would never accept, is genuine Catholic teaching on homosexuality.
The now decades-long tolerance of the celebration of homosexuality at MHR is bearing fruit: today, among other things, they have openly same-sex “married” lectors, acolytes, and Eucharistic ministers serving at Mass. And now, with their allies in Catholic High Schools, they are actively seeking to corrupt the faith of our Catholic young people.
This is not about our same-sex attracted brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church, striving, as do we all, to live a Christian life. What we are confronted with is the “evangelizing” for homosexuality in our parishes and now our Catholic schools. It is being backed by the drama teacher and Principal of Sacred Heart of Atherton, and by the pastor of MHR. Our Archdiocesan officials have a duty to put a stop to it.
1) On November 10, 2006 Matt C. Abbott reported that Most Holy Redeemer’s September 30-October 6, 2006 census counted 312 men 74 women and 6 children (1.5% of the parish). http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/061110
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query most holy redeemer. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query most holy redeemer. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
An Impediment to Conversion
In 2008, it appeared that the Archdiocese of San Francisco had finally cracked down, and forced San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer parish to cease its annual participation in San Francisco’s “Gay Pride” parade. At the time, Most Holy Redeemer pastor Fr. Steven Meriwether said that parishioners chose not to participate in the parade of their own volition. But, as California Catholic Daily reported at the time, Maurice Healy, director of archdiocesan communications, said that the chancery did request that Most Holy Redeemer stay out of the 2008 ‘Pride Weekend,’ including the parade. ‘It was probably a combination of that and the archdiocese talking to them,’ said Healy, when told that Fr. Meriwether had insisted parishioners made the decision not to participate. ‘At the parish level and the archdiocesan level, it probably was felt that it was a good idea.’”
Whether or not Mr. Healy’s speculation that MHR thought that non-participation in the parade “was a good idea” was true in 2008, it certainly is not true now. The May 15, May 22, and May 29 Most Holy Redeemer parish bulletins contained the item “PRIDE Outreach: May 29th. Short planning meeting after 10:00am Mass in Ellard Hall. For more information, contact Jim DeWan,” followed by Mr. DeWan’s email address. Mr. DeWan currently serves on the Most Holy Redeemer pastoral council.
The Most Holy Redeemer bulletin is not the only place the parish’s participation is being promoted. It was also promoted in the April 2011 issue of Communion, the monthly newsletter of “Catholics for Equality”—an organization that both Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Service and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington DC have said “cannot be legitimately recognized as Catholic” and “…not a Catholic Organization.” The editor of Communion, who is also a founding member of Catholics for Equality, is Most Holy Redeemer parishioner Eugene McMullan.
The Communion entry reads: “I am very pleased to announce to you that Most Holy Redeemer will be participating and have a marching contingent at this year’s annual Pride Parade. We are doing this, not under the banner of MHR, but as private Catholic citizens. We have reached out to other Catholic parishes, and have received enthusiastic responses. Fr. Steve (Meriwether) has generously given us blessing and support in this effort. We will be registering and signing up for the parade, but at this point are most likely not to have a booth at the after parade festivities, but would very much be interested in doing so in future parades, and events.” The entry also included Mr. DeWan’s contact information.
While the 2008 Archdiocesan statement referred to “this year’s parade,” it is impossible to see how any Archdiocesan objection to the parish’s participation in the 2008 parade would not be equally valid today. It is equally impossible to see how holding a meeting on archdiocesan property coordinating parishioners’ attendance at the event, and inviting members of other parishes to join, is any less objectionable.
The Catholic objection to the parade is that it is a celebration of “pride” in objective sin. If Catholic teaching on the nature of homosexual acts is true, being proud of those acts is an impediment to conversion, and the greatest possible spiritual danger. While Most Holy Redeemer certainly does not accept that teaching as true, the Archdiocese of San Francisco certainly does. Allowing such a planning session on its property is incompatible with that teaching.
As noted, Mr. DeWan is a member of the Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council, which, it is safe to say, is unique, albeit representative of the parish. Past members include Matt Dorsey, who successfully lobbied the organizers of the 2008 “Pride” parade to bestow the sarcastic “Pink Brick” award on his own Archbishop, the Most Reverend George Niederauer; former council member Catherine Cunningham and former council president Roz Gallo, who are same-sex “married” to one another; and former council vice-president Patrick Mulcahey who keeps a “slave,” and who in 2010 taught workshops on the Master/slave lifestyle at the 2010 Master/slave Conference.
Whether or not Mr. Healy’s speculation that MHR thought that non-participation in the parade “was a good idea” was true in 2008, it certainly is not true now. The May 15, May 22, and May 29 Most Holy Redeemer parish bulletins contained the item “PRIDE Outreach: May 29th. Short planning meeting after 10:00am Mass in Ellard Hall. For more information, contact Jim DeWan,” followed by Mr. DeWan’s email address. Mr. DeWan currently serves on the Most Holy Redeemer pastoral council.
The Most Holy Redeemer bulletin is not the only place the parish’s participation is being promoted. It was also promoted in the April 2011 issue of Communion, the monthly newsletter of “Catholics for Equality”—an organization that both Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Service and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington DC have said “cannot be legitimately recognized as Catholic” and “…not a Catholic Organization.” The editor of Communion, who is also a founding member of Catholics for Equality, is Most Holy Redeemer parishioner Eugene McMullan.
The Communion entry reads: “I am very pleased to announce to you that Most Holy Redeemer will be participating and have a marching contingent at this year’s annual Pride Parade. We are doing this, not under the banner of MHR, but as private Catholic citizens. We have reached out to other Catholic parishes, and have received enthusiastic responses. Fr. Steve (Meriwether) has generously given us blessing and support in this effort. We will be registering and signing up for the parade, but at this point are most likely not to have a booth at the after parade festivities, but would very much be interested in doing so in future parades, and events.” The entry also included Mr. DeWan’s contact information.
While the 2008 Archdiocesan statement referred to “this year’s parade,” it is impossible to see how any Archdiocesan objection to the parish’s participation in the 2008 parade would not be equally valid today. It is equally impossible to see how holding a meeting on archdiocesan property coordinating parishioners’ attendance at the event, and inviting members of other parishes to join, is any less objectionable.
The Catholic objection to the parade is that it is a celebration of “pride” in objective sin. If Catholic teaching on the nature of homosexual acts is true, being proud of those acts is an impediment to conversion, and the greatest possible spiritual danger. While Most Holy Redeemer certainly does not accept that teaching as true, the Archdiocese of San Francisco certainly does. Allowing such a planning session on its property is incompatible with that teaching.
As noted, Mr. DeWan is a member of the Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council, which, it is safe to say, is unique, albeit representative of the parish. Past members include Matt Dorsey, who successfully lobbied the organizers of the 2008 “Pride” parade to bestow the sarcastic “Pink Brick” award on his own Archbishop, the Most Reverend George Niederauer; former council member Catherine Cunningham and former council president Roz Gallo, who are same-sex “married” to one another; and former council vice-president Patrick Mulcahey who keeps a “slave,” and who in 2010 taught workshops on the Master/slave lifestyle at the 2010 Master/slave Conference.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Drag Queens and Porn Stars and Gay Politicians
Just another Most Holy Redeemer Fundraiser
On October 16, 2010 San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer hosted a fundraiser for the Castro Country Club. Guests include a number of same-sex attracted San Francisco politicians. The politicians were Scott Weiner, Rafael Mandelman, and Rebecca Prozan, all homosexualist, and all of whom were running for San Francisco Supervisor for district 8. Prozan is “married” to another woman.
The homosexualist newspaper the San Francisco Bay Times reported: “The Castro Country Club filled a room at Holy Redeemer Church on Oct. 16 for their Harvest Festival Banquet with more than 150 people for a benefit for the club.”
The Castro Country Club, an organization that fights alcoholism, was, interestingly enough, founded by a Catholic Priest, Fr. Joseph Healy. On November 11, 2007, the webpage of Most Holy Redeemer announced: "Congratulations and Welcome, Fr. Joe! The MHR family welcomes Fr. Joseph Healy, a 'son of the parish' who has been assigned to Most Holy Redeemer as Parochial Vicar. We wish you many happy and successful years here at MHR." Why “son of the parish”? In his book on Most Holy Redeemer, “Gays and Grays: the story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer” Fr. Donal Godfrey SJ, explains: "The Castro Country Club was founded by an openly gay parishioner at MHR, Joseph Healy; Healy has since become a priest in the diocese of San Francisco." Fr. Healy passed away in 2009—may he rest in peace.
The SF Bay Times story continued: “The three-layer chocolate mousse truffle torte with wild berry compote was delicious and briefly distracted diners from staring at honored guest Michael Brandon, who is a champion charity fundraiser and provocative erotic film star and stage performer.” That is a roundabout way of saying that an ostensibly Catholic Church hosted a homosexualist porn star. Brandon’s website describes him as a “producer, director, and porn star award winner” and the site contains an obscenity disclaimer and requests persons under 18 years of age not to enter the site.
Brandon was not the only questionable character in attendance. Quite in keeping with Most Holy Redeemer practices, the event was emceed by a well known San Francisco drag queen who goes by the name “Ivy Drip”, also known for headlining “Adults Only” events.
Apparently the organizers were a little concerned about allowing a “Catholic” church to host their event, but the SF Bay Times reported: “Controversy was averted when it was made clear that no room rent was paid for the space.” There was no mention of fear of controversy or scandal on the Most Holy Redeemer end.
On October 16, 2010 San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer hosted a fundraiser for the Castro Country Club. Guests include a number of same-sex attracted San Francisco politicians. The politicians were Scott Weiner, Rafael Mandelman, and Rebecca Prozan, all homosexualist, and all of whom were running for San Francisco Supervisor for district 8. Prozan is “married” to another woman.
The homosexualist newspaper the San Francisco Bay Times reported: “The Castro Country Club filled a room at Holy Redeemer Church on Oct. 16 for their Harvest Festival Banquet with more than 150 people for a benefit for the club.”
The Castro Country Club, an organization that fights alcoholism, was, interestingly enough, founded by a Catholic Priest, Fr. Joseph Healy. On November 11, 2007, the webpage of Most Holy Redeemer announced: "Congratulations and Welcome, Fr. Joe! The MHR family welcomes Fr. Joseph Healy, a 'son of the parish' who has been assigned to Most Holy Redeemer as Parochial Vicar. We wish you many happy and successful years here at MHR." Why “son of the parish”? In his book on Most Holy Redeemer, “Gays and Grays: the story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer” Fr. Donal Godfrey SJ, explains: "The Castro Country Club was founded by an openly gay parishioner at MHR, Joseph Healy; Healy has since become a priest in the diocese of San Francisco." Fr. Healy passed away in 2009—may he rest in peace.
The SF Bay Times story continued: “The three-layer chocolate mousse truffle torte with wild berry compote was delicious and briefly distracted diners from staring at honored guest Michael Brandon, who is a champion charity fundraiser and provocative erotic film star and stage performer.” That is a roundabout way of saying that an ostensibly Catholic Church hosted a homosexualist porn star. Brandon’s website describes him as a “producer, director, and porn star award winner” and the site contains an obscenity disclaimer and requests persons under 18 years of age not to enter the site.
Brandon was not the only questionable character in attendance. Quite in keeping with Most Holy Redeemer practices, the event was emceed by a well known San Francisco drag queen who goes by the name “Ivy Drip”, also known for headlining “Adults Only” events.
Apparently the organizers were a little concerned about allowing a “Catholic” church to host their event, but the SF Bay Times reported: “Controversy was averted when it was made clear that no room rent was paid for the space.” There was no mention of fear of controversy or scandal on the Most Holy Redeemer end.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
"Come for Pride, Stay for Dignity"
The June 21 Most Holy Redeemer parish bulletin published an announcement promoting DignityUSA’s 2009 National Convention. The convention will be held in San Francisco from July 2 through July 5. Because one of their stated aims is to “reform (the Catholic Church’s) teachings and practices regarding human sexuality”, Dignity is not allowed to meet in any Catholic Church or Catholic church property within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. But, no surprise, Most Holy Redeemer and the University of San Francisco will be represented at the convention. We ask: why would a Catholic Church promote such an event? Let’s look at the convention’s webpage:
One of the two Keynote speakers will be radio and television commentator Richard Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is a parishioner of Most Holy Redeemer. Immediately, on the convention’s “Keynote” webpage, Mr. Rodriguez attempts to confuse issues:
But back to our question: why would a Catholic Church promote such an event?
On November 25, 2008 Salon online magazine interviewed Mr. Rodriguez on the subject "Why Churches Fear Gay Marriage.” In the interview Mr. Rodriguez described his church:
Why would a Catholic Church promote such an event? Convention “workshop” presenters include:
Rosemary Ananis: An “ordained bishop” of the American Catholic Church of New England. Lives with her partner of more than 20 years.
Bob Butts and Dick Young : Life partners since 1987. Young is a former National Board member of DignityUSA. Some years ago, Butts worked with DignityUSA’s then national president, Mark Matson, to establish the Ohio chapter of the “Defenders.” The “Defenders” are a group that "takes a stand for the sacredness of our leather sexuality and explores practical ways of integrating sexuality and spirituality." The Defenders have been frequent guests at MHR's parish hall.
Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, the executive director of Campus Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. ‘Nuff said.
Sr. Jeannine Gramick: Co-founded New Ways of Ministry, and a number of Dignity USA chapters. Two of her books were the subject of a Vatican investigation and were judged to be dangerous and erroneous. In a 1999 decree signed by Pope John Paul II, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prohibited her from pastoral work with lesbian and gay persons.
John McNeill: Jesuit priest expelled from the order in 1987 by the Vatican for publicly challenging the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the issue of homosexuality. Co-founder of the New York City chapter of Dignity.
Victoria Rue: A “Roman Catholic ‘woman priest‘” who was ordained in July 2005 by three women “bishops." Lives with her partner of twenty years.
Nicole Sotelo: Former member Dignity San Francisco Board of Directiors. Coordinator at Call to Action/USA. Ms. Sotelo made news earlier this month with a column “Don’t Tell the Pope” in the National Catholic Reporter, in which she basically denied the existence of the priesthood.
___________________________________________________________
We asked: why would a Catholic Church promote such an event?
We answer: a Catholic Church wouldn’t. We answer: Most Holy Redeemer is no longer a Catholic Church. Back on August 28, 2007 we reviewed Fr. Donal Godfrey’s book “Gay and Grays: the Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish.” At that time we wrote:
No, what is seen as blasphemous at MHR is anything that challenges the celebration of homosexuality. Our review of Fr. Godfrey’s book has some examples, which could be multiplied just about endlessly.
Or just look at the recent column by MHR Pastoral Council member Matt Dorsey attacking Archbishop Niederauer for his support of natural marriage and the family. Three times in that column, Mr Dorsey used the phrase “our community,” e.g. “We owe it to our community to Pink Brick Archbishop George Niederauer.” Not once does the phrase “our community” refer to the Catholic Church--he is always refering to same-sex attracted persons.
Why does our Archdiocese ignore this issue? I hope it is because they want to encourage same-sex attracted people to come into the Church, and they fear that asserting Church teaching on homosexuality would discourage them. But if that is indeed the approach, it must be termed a failure. After 25+ years we don’t have same-sex attracted persons coming into the Church, but rather an entire parish church that has come out as gay. But much worse than that, the victims are those scandalized same-sex attracted persons struggling to live a chaste life. A commentator to “A Shepherd’s Voice” has written:
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
One of the two Keynote speakers will be radio and television commentator Richard Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is a parishioner of Most Holy Redeemer. Immediately, on the convention’s “Keynote” webpage, Mr. Rodriguez attempts to confuse issues:
“The institutional Roman Catholic Church promulgates its teaching and guidelines for pastoral ministry to homosexual persons admonishing Thou Shalt Not Love Same Gender Persons.”That’s a gross misstatement of Catholic doctrine, and Mr. Rodriguez knows it. I can’t count the number of same gender persons that I love. Or hug, for that matter,-- a “physical expression” of love.
But back to our question: why would a Catholic Church promote such an event?
On November 25, 2008 Salon online magazine interviewed Mr. Rodriguez on the subject "Why Churches Fear Gay Marriage.” In the interview Mr. Rodriguez described his church:
"I belong to a Catholic parish in San Francisco (Most Holy Redeemer), where my partner and I are acknowledged by the other people in the parish as a couple. We take communion together, the priests know who we are, they're supportive of who we are, and what we are, and they see us in various roles -- giving eulogies to dead friends but also helping to baptize little babies. We're very much a part of that community. That's why I'm not prepared to lose it because some archbishop in Colorado or cardinal in Los Angeles is behind Proposition 8. It is not my church that they're talking about, it's not even my experience of love."In a July 21, 2006 interview with PBS host Bill Moyers, Mr. Rodriguez was equally clear:
“Well, the question is is my Catholic Church closer to Protestant Christianity, and I think it is.”
Why would a Catholic Church promote such an event? Convention “workshop” presenters include:
Rosemary Ananis: An “ordained bishop” of the American Catholic Church of New England. Lives with her partner of more than 20 years.
Bob Butts and Dick Young : Life partners since 1987. Young is a former National Board member of DignityUSA. Some years ago, Butts worked with DignityUSA’s then national president, Mark Matson, to establish the Ohio chapter of the “Defenders.” The “Defenders” are a group that "takes a stand for the sacredness of our leather sexuality and explores practical ways of integrating sexuality and spirituality." The Defenders have been frequent guests at MHR's parish hall.
Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, the executive director of Campus Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. ‘Nuff said.
Sr. Jeannine Gramick: Co-founded New Ways of Ministry, and a number of Dignity USA chapters. Two of her books were the subject of a Vatican investigation and were judged to be dangerous and erroneous. In a 1999 decree signed by Pope John Paul II, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prohibited her from pastoral work with lesbian and gay persons.
John McNeill: Jesuit priest expelled from the order in 1987 by the Vatican for publicly challenging the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the issue of homosexuality. Co-founder of the New York City chapter of Dignity.
Victoria Rue: A “Roman Catholic ‘woman priest‘” who was ordained in July 2005 by three women “bishops." Lives with her partner of twenty years.
Nicole Sotelo: Former member Dignity San Francisco Board of Directiors. Coordinator at Call to Action/USA. Ms. Sotelo made news earlier this month with a column “Don’t Tell the Pope” in the National Catholic Reporter, in which she basically denied the existence of the priesthood.
___________________________________________________________
We asked: why would a Catholic Church promote such an event?
We answer: a Catholic Church wouldn’t. We answer: Most Holy Redeemer is no longer a Catholic Church. Back on August 28, 2007 we reviewed Fr. Donal Godfrey’s book “Gay and Grays: the Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish.” At that time we wrote:
“…the authentic community-forming experience at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco is not Catholicism, but homosexuality. Existentially, Most Holy Redeemer is not a Catholic parish. It is not a Christian parish. It is a gay parish.”This can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. All one need do is to look at any occasion in which the teaching of the Catholic Church comes into conflict with the celebration of homosexuality. Having openly homosexual “married” persons serving on the altar as lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, or Acolytes at the Mass, is not seen as blasphemous, or even objectionable at MHR.
No, what is seen as blasphemous at MHR is anything that challenges the celebration of homosexuality. Our review of Fr. Godfrey’s book has some examples, which could be multiplied just about endlessly.
Or just look at the recent column by MHR Pastoral Council member Matt Dorsey attacking Archbishop Niederauer for his support of natural marriage and the family. Three times in that column, Mr Dorsey used the phrase “our community,” e.g. “We owe it to our community to Pink Brick Archbishop George Niederauer.” Not once does the phrase “our community” refer to the Catholic Church--he is always refering to same-sex attracted persons.
Why does our Archdiocese ignore this issue? I hope it is because they want to encourage same-sex attracted people to come into the Church, and they fear that asserting Church teaching on homosexuality would discourage them. But if that is indeed the approach, it must be termed a failure. After 25+ years we don’t have same-sex attracted persons coming into the Church, but rather an entire parish church that has come out as gay. But much worse than that, the victims are those scandalized same-sex attracted persons struggling to live a chaste life. A commentator to “A Shepherd’s Voice” has written:
"I was active in the gay community including co-habitating with "boyfriends" for almost a decade... The fatigue of watching friends die and one night stands, alcohol and recreational drugs... all the stereotypes - I did them.
One day I could not take it anymore and after hearing an MP3 of a sermon given by a pretty traditional priest, I found myself making a good confession for the first time in 8 or 9 years.
What frustrates me to no end is that in catering and cajoling these folks this opportunity this call to conversion may never come. It is also rather a slap in the face to those of us who seek to grow in chastity and holiness and have turned from this."
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
New Archdiocesan Policy: No Drag Queens at Most Holy Redeemer
This is a battle we have been fighting for a long time. From a long article (read the whole thing) in today's Bay Area Reporter:
"A local gay recovery group will not be holding its annual fall fundraiser in the social hall of the Castro neighborhood's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church after officials said that no drag queens would be allowed.
For the past couple of years the Castro Country Club has held its event in the church's social hall and had drag queens as entertainment.
As a statement issued by the country club's board of directors explained, the new no-drag-queen policy at the church is simply unacceptable.
'The Castro Country Club had planned to hold our third annual Harvest Feast on October 20, 2012, at Most Holy Redeemer Church, where we have held this and other events in the past,' the directors said in a statement.
But that changed when the club was notified by the church last week that they would not be able to hold the dinner if any drag queens were part of the program, the board said.
'In previous years, we have had Ivy Drip and Heklina, both well-known entertainers and community fundraisers, serve as emcees of the event, and we felt we could not in good conscience abide by the church's new policy,' the board said.
'It is our organization's policy to be inclusive and welcoming to all. Drag queens are no exception. We are currently seeking an alternative venue for the Harvest Feast, which provides an important source of revenue for our annual budget,' the board added.
Individual members of the country club declined to comment and referred to the board's statement.
Most Holy Redeemer's new pastor, the Reverend Brian Costello, confirmed over telephone on Monday, August 6, that drag queen performers and emcees are no longer permitted to participate in events at the church.
Costello said that during a telephone conversation with a Castro Country Club representative, when the topic of drag queens came up, he told the person, 'That is not going to work under the present circumstances.'
'I said work with me. You can still have the dinner. You can have a regular emcee, but not drag queens on church property,' Costello said."
"During Sunday Mass on Sunday, October 7, 2007, Archbishop George Niederauer gave communion to two members of the activist group and drag troupe Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an indecent that angered, hurt, and even horrified some conservative Catholics, as well as it grabbed local and national headlines.
Called to task locally by the California Catholic Daily and a '90 years young' priest, the Reverend John Malloy, on A Shepherd's Voice blog, Niederauer apologized for giving communion to gays dressed as nuns.
Attempts to reach the Sisters for comment on the recent change of policy at Most Holy Redeemer were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, as recent as April 29, in a Shepherd's Voice post Malloy blasted the 'gay parish' for hosting an April 14 'drag show' to benefit the Castro Country Club, 'a substance abuse treatment organization.'
'Hosting a drag show at [Most Holy Redeemer] is the equivalent of sending a case of wine to Castro Country Club,' wrote Malloy. 'It is beyond irresponsible for the Archdiocese of San Francisco to allow it.'"
"A local gay recovery group will not be holding its annual fall fundraiser in the social hall of the Castro neighborhood's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church after officials said that no drag queens would be allowed.
For the past couple of years the Castro Country Club has held its event in the church's social hall and had drag queens as entertainment.
As a statement issued by the country club's board of directors explained, the new no-drag-queen policy at the church is simply unacceptable.
'The Castro Country Club had planned to hold our third annual Harvest Feast on October 20, 2012, at Most Holy Redeemer Church, where we have held this and other events in the past,' the directors said in a statement.
But that changed when the club was notified by the church last week that they would not be able to hold the dinner if any drag queens were part of the program, the board said.
'In previous years, we have had Ivy Drip and Heklina, both well-known entertainers and community fundraisers, serve as emcees of the event, and we felt we could not in good conscience abide by the church's new policy,' the board said.
'It is our organization's policy to be inclusive and welcoming to all. Drag queens are no exception. We are currently seeking an alternative venue for the Harvest Feast, which provides an important source of revenue for our annual budget,' the board added.
Individual members of the country club declined to comment and referred to the board's statement.
Most Holy Redeemer's new pastor, the Reverend Brian Costello, confirmed over telephone on Monday, August 6, that drag queen performers and emcees are no longer permitted to participate in events at the church.
Costello said that during a telephone conversation with a Castro Country Club representative, when the topic of drag queens came up, he told the person, 'That is not going to work under the present circumstances.'
'I said work with me. You can still have the dinner. You can have a regular emcee, but not drag queens on church property,' Costello said."
We applaud Fr. Costello's action, and we pray for him as he shepherds his flock. His love for his parishioners seems clear. So does his understanding of his duty towards them.
The BAR article continues:
"It seems the directive is the result of several factors.
'I am the new pastor,' Costello added. 'There is a new archbishop. The archdiocese told me straight out, 'No drag queens.'"
"It seems the directive is the result of several factors.
'I am the new pastor,' Costello added. 'There is a new archbishop. The archdiocese told me straight out, 'No drag queens.'"
The response of LGBT activists to the action of Fr. Costello and the Archdiocese speaks volumes. Dignity SF, the "Rainbow Sash" movement, and New Ways Ministry all objected. Joe Murray, a founder of the Rainbow Sash Movement told BAR: "Either gay and lesbian people are welcome at Most Holy Redeemer or they are not. It's that simple." That's utter nonsense. The new policy says nothing about same-sex attracted persons. It deals with drag queens. Mr. Murray is saying that same-sex attracted persons and drag queens are identical.
The article also mentions this website:
"During Sunday Mass on Sunday, October 7, 2007, Archbishop George Niederauer gave communion to two members of the activist group and drag troupe Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an indecent that angered, hurt, and even horrified some conservative Catholics, as well as it grabbed local and national headlines.
Called to task locally by the California Catholic Daily and a '90 years young' priest, the Reverend John Malloy, on A Shepherd's Voice blog, Niederauer apologized for giving communion to gays dressed as nuns.
Attempts to reach the Sisters for comment on the recent change of policy at Most Holy Redeemer were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, as recent as April 29, in a Shepherd's Voice post Malloy blasted the 'gay parish' for hosting an April 14 'drag show' to benefit the Castro Country Club, 'a substance abuse treatment organization.'
'Hosting a drag show at [Most Holy Redeemer] is the equivalent of sending a case of wine to Castro Country Club,' wrote Malloy. 'It is beyond irresponsible for the Archdiocese of San Francisco to allow it.'"
We are glad to see that the Archdiocese now shares this view.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Most Holy Redeemer Parishioners Force Removal of Picture of Pope-Emeritus Benedict
From Fr. Brian Costello's pastor's message in the Most Holy Redeemer parish bulletin of March 3, 2013:
“Two weeks ago, after Pope Benedict XVI had announced to the world that he would be resigning the office of Peter as of February 28th, I put the Pope’s picture, that usually hangs in the rectory, in the church. A handful of people told me that they would rather it not be there. They explained that the feeling was while he was Pope, as well as his time as a Cardinal, Pope Benedict had made hurtful and hateful statements regarding the LGBT Community and thus, his picture should not be placed on the altar of MHR. I was also warned, many parishioners would walk out of Sunday Mass if the picture was not removed. I spoke with a close priest friend of mine, and even though both of us were saddened by this, the wisest course, I felt, was to remove the Pope’s picture.”
Who would have thought that parishioners in a Roman Catholic church would demand the removal of a picture of the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church? Well, we pretty much did, and back in 2007, we told you so.
Fr. Costello may not have realized it, but by putting a picture of the pope in Most Holy Redeemer Church, he was committing an inadvertent act of blasphemy. On August 28, 2007 we reviewed Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ’s just-released book Gays and Grays: The Story of the Inclusion of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish. We wrote that Fr. Godfrey’s book “…shows that the authentic community-forming experience at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco is not Catholicism, but homosexuality. Existentially, Most Holy Redeemer is not a Catholic parish. It is not a Christian parish. It is a gay parish.” We then provided evidence for this assertion. We documented where and when celebrations of homosexuality were promoted, despite being in obvious conflict with Church teaching. Further, we documented instances where the larger Church had opposed the celebration of homosexuality, and was met with direct opposition by MHR parishioners and staff.
Because the real lived religion at MHR is the celebration of homosexuality, things or persons that support this celebration will be experienced as orthodox; conversely, things or persons that assert Catholic teaching when it conflicts with the celebration of homosexuality will be experienced as blasphemous. Observe MHR’s variety of ecumenism. Like all religions, the religion at MHR is quite willing to practice ecumenism when there is nothing vital to its identity at stake. As long as that's the case, MHR is perfectly happy to accommodate other denominations.
Note the endless parade of non-Catholic and anti-Catholic speakers at Most Holy Redeemer (a situation which appears to have improved under Fr. Costello). Whatever their denomination, what they have in common is the celebration of homosexuality. Such speakers include Fr. Godfrey himself; the Reverend Vincent Pizzuto, who left the Catholic Church to be ordained in a church that performs same-sex “weddings”; Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, who “married” another man; open lesbian Episcopal Reverend Jane Spahr who celebrates same-sex “marriages”; same-sex “married” Episcopal Reverend John Kirkely; Ora Prochovnick, past president of San Francisco’s Reform Jewish “LGBTQ” Congregation Sha’ar Zahav; the Reverend Jeff Bart, from the homosexual-founded Metropolitan Community Church--the list could be extended, but we will stop here. That practically none of the speakers are Catholic is negatively significant: it just shows that Catholicism is not the formative identity at MHR. It also shows that for MHR, one's sectarian affiliation is irrelevant--what matters is one's attitude towards the celebration of homosexuality. That is the issue on which compromises will not be made, where differences will not be tolerated, because that is the real lived religion, not Catholicism.
Because the celebration of homosexuality is the real religion, activities that would be considered blasphemous and sacrilegious in a Catholic church are not experienced as such at MHR. Note the hosting (now apparently discontinued) over a period of years of the anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, or of the actually sado-masochistic groups Golden Gate Guards, Inter-Club Fund, Defenders, Exiles and others at MHR’s parish’s hall. Such activity would obviously be considered blasphemous and sacrilegious at a Catholic parish. But as we wrote in 2007: “…such events will not be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous, because they validate the community-forming experience…” And we noted, and provided examples of, the inevitable corollary: “Indeed, at this point, what will be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous is that which denies the value of the community-forming experience…”
All of which brings us to Fr. Costello and the picture of Pope Emeritus Benedict. The Pope, the successor to St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth, who holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Holy Father, who authoritatively proclaims the teaching of the Church, and whose concern is our salvation. But one of those teachings is that homosexual acts are sinful, and, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “In no way can they be condoned.” Fr. Costello wanted to put Benedict’s picture on the altar, in thanksgiving for a lifetime of work in the Church. Given the religion at MHR, as we have described it above, is it any wonder the parishioners refused to allow it?
“Two weeks ago, after Pope Benedict XVI had announced to the world that he would be resigning the office of Peter as of February 28th, I put the Pope’s picture, that usually hangs in the rectory, in the church. A handful of people told me that they would rather it not be there. They explained that the feeling was while he was Pope, as well as his time as a Cardinal, Pope Benedict had made hurtful and hateful statements regarding the LGBT Community and thus, his picture should not be placed on the altar of MHR. I was also warned, many parishioners would walk out of Sunday Mass if the picture was not removed. I spoke with a close priest friend of mine, and even though both of us were saddened by this, the wisest course, I felt, was to remove the Pope’s picture.”
Who would have thought that parishioners in a Roman Catholic church would demand the removal of a picture of the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church? Well, we pretty much did, and back in 2007, we told you so.
Fr. Costello may not have realized it, but by putting a picture of the pope in Most Holy Redeemer Church, he was committing an inadvertent act of blasphemy. On August 28, 2007 we reviewed Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ’s just-released book Gays and Grays: The Story of the Inclusion of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish. We wrote that Fr. Godfrey’s book “…shows that the authentic community-forming experience at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in San Francisco is not Catholicism, but homosexuality. Existentially, Most Holy Redeemer is not a Catholic parish. It is not a Christian parish. It is a gay parish.” We then provided evidence for this assertion. We documented where and when celebrations of homosexuality were promoted, despite being in obvious conflict with Church teaching. Further, we documented instances where the larger Church had opposed the celebration of homosexuality, and was met with direct opposition by MHR parishioners and staff.
Because the real lived religion at MHR is the celebration of homosexuality, things or persons that support this celebration will be experienced as orthodox; conversely, things or persons that assert Catholic teaching when it conflicts with the celebration of homosexuality will be experienced as blasphemous. Observe MHR’s variety of ecumenism. Like all religions, the religion at MHR is quite willing to practice ecumenism when there is nothing vital to its identity at stake. As long as that's the case, MHR is perfectly happy to accommodate other denominations.
Note the endless parade of non-Catholic and anti-Catholic speakers at Most Holy Redeemer (a situation which appears to have improved under Fr. Costello). Whatever their denomination, what they have in common is the celebration of homosexuality. Such speakers include Fr. Godfrey himself; the Reverend Vincent Pizzuto, who left the Catholic Church to be ordained in a church that performs same-sex “weddings”; Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, who “married” another man; open lesbian Episcopal Reverend Jane Spahr who celebrates same-sex “marriages”; same-sex “married” Episcopal Reverend John Kirkely; Ora Prochovnick, past president of San Francisco’s Reform Jewish “LGBTQ” Congregation Sha’ar Zahav; the Reverend Jeff Bart, from the homosexual-founded Metropolitan Community Church--the list could be extended, but we will stop here. That practically none of the speakers are Catholic is negatively significant: it just shows that Catholicism is not the formative identity at MHR. It also shows that for MHR, one's sectarian affiliation is irrelevant--what matters is one's attitude towards the celebration of homosexuality. That is the issue on which compromises will not be made, where differences will not be tolerated, because that is the real lived religion, not Catholicism.
Because the celebration of homosexuality is the real religion, activities that would be considered blasphemous and sacrilegious in a Catholic church are not experienced as such at MHR. Note the hosting (now apparently discontinued) over a period of years of the anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, or of the actually sado-masochistic groups Golden Gate Guards, Inter-Club Fund, Defenders, Exiles and others at MHR’s parish’s hall. Such activity would obviously be considered blasphemous and sacrilegious at a Catholic parish. But as we wrote in 2007: “…such events will not be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous, because they validate the community-forming experience…” And we noted, and provided examples of, the inevitable corollary: “Indeed, at this point, what will be experienced by the parishioners as blasphemous is that which denies the value of the community-forming experience…”
All of which brings us to Fr. Costello and the picture of Pope Emeritus Benedict. The Pope, the successor to St. Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth, who holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Holy Father, who authoritatively proclaims the teaching of the Church, and whose concern is our salvation. But one of those teachings is that homosexual acts are sinful, and, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “In no way can they be condoned.” Fr. Costello wanted to put Benedict’s picture on the altar, in thanksgiving for a lifetime of work in the Church. Given the religion at MHR, as we have described it above, is it any wonder the parishioners refused to allow it?
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Monday, April 15, 2013
Openly Homosexual SEIU Boss to Address Most Holy Redeemer on “Being Catholic”
Ms. Henry’s “Catholicism” bears the same relation to Catholicism as “same-sex marriage” does to marriage, and in fact, Henry admits as much. On May 29, 2012, Henry told the Denver Post "I think of my church as the church of the people and not as the institutional hierarchy that has doctrines that are not connected to my faith." In other words, her faith is something other than Catholicism.
That the doctrines “not connected to Henry’s faith” include the doctrine that homosexual acts are sinful and the doctrine that marriage is between one man and a woman goes without saying. But they are not unique. In an April 12, 2011 SEIU press release, opposing a congressional attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, Henry wrote:
"Planned Parenthood is an essential part of our nation's healthcare system, yet a handful of ideologically-driven Members of Congress want to prevent millions of American women from receiving life-saving healthcare. Since its formation, Planned Parenthood has been a leader in providing access to services such as cancer screenings, annual exams and other important preventive services. Every dollar in federal funding goes toward preventive care. Simply put, Planned Parenthood saves lives.”
“Simply put, Planned Parenthood saves lives.” Obviously, another Catholic “doctrine not connected to Henry’s faith” includes the doctrine that human life is to be protected from conception until natural death.
Less than a year later, on February 13, 2012, writing as President of the SEIU, Henry urged Senator Barbara Boxer to vote against the Blunt Amendment. The Blunt amendment, written in response to the HHS contraception mandate, would have allowed employers to refuse to include contraception in health care coverage if it violated their religious or moral beliefs. It was defeated in the senate. Every Catholic bishop in the United States supported, and still supports, such a conscience exemption. As a result of the rejection of the Blunt Amendment, a number of Catholic Universities and other institutions and persons were forced into suing the government in an effort to simply exercise their first amendment right to religious freedom, to be faithful to the Church. Yet Ms. Henry, who claims the name "Catholic", used the considerable power of her union to oppose this.
Ms. Henry’s invitation is a particular slap at San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. On March 26 of this year, the day the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Proposition 8 case, the Archbishop, joined by thousands of others, was speaking in front of the court against the redefinition of marriage. A scant two hours before, Ms. Henry, in the exact same spot, had been addressing a crowd in support of the redefinition of marriage--precisely the opposite message (see photo above, courtesy of SEIU Facebook page)..
Given her leadership role in opposing non-negotiable teachings of the Catholic Church it seems contradictory that Henry would title her talk “How Being Catholic Informs my Leadership.” It compels the obvious questions: 1) where she could have arrived at such a definition of what “Catholic” means, and 2) in what sort of “Catholic” environment could she have been practicing, that such a definition went unchallenged.
But when one learns that Henry has been a parishioner of Most Holy Redeemer since 2007, was indeed listed as a lector in the church at that time, the contradiction resolves itself, and the root of her understanding of “Catholicism” crystallizes. In the past we have referred to Most Holy Redeemer as “the counter-cathedral in the Castro.” We meant, and still mean that, quite seriously. As we have demonstrated (and Ms. Henry's appearance is one more piece of evidence), the real lived religion at Most Holy Redeemer is not Catholicism, but the celebration of homosexuality. The word “Catholicism” is used, but the reality symbolized by the word is abandoned, and a new self-created thing is shoved into its place. The corruption is identical to the phrase “same-sex marriage”: the word “marriage” is used, but is emptied of its content and demonically assigned a diametrically opposed meaning.
As the inverted image of San Francisco’s St. Mary’s Cathedral, the counter-cathedral becomes the source of inverted teaching. On November 23, 2009, we noted an article in the publication Metro Active San Jose, called “Gay Catholics Come Out.” The article profiled San Jose’s St. Julie Billiart church. The Metro wrote “(Fr. Jon) Pedigo said that as he started to notice the growing LGBT Catholic community that was coming to St. Julie's, he decided to consult the established gay Catholic community at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco's Castro District.” We wrote at that time “Instead of seeking advice from his bishop, Fr. Pedigo chose to consult MHR. This is our point: MHR has become a de facto teaching authority--that’s why Fr. Pedigo consulted them, that’s why a Notre Dame student is writing a paper on their ‘theology.’ The Church hierarchy may deny that MHR has any actual authority, but Fr. Pedigo and others think they do, and are basing their actions on MHR‘s example.”
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Changes at USF: Fr. Donal Godfrey Out as Executive Director of University Ministry
The "Lane Center's" Julia Dowd to serve as Interim Director.On September 15 we noted the apparent departure of Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ from the position of Executive Director at University Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. His departure is now confirmed.
Godfrey’s departure comes on the heels of the revelation that his long-time associate Patrick Mulcahey, has, over a number of years, been teaching and moderating workshops on the Master/slave and sado-masochistic lifestyle. (See California Catholic Daily, September 3, 2010).
As recently as August 30, 2010, according to a cached webpage from the ministry’s site, Fr. Godfrey was still serving as Executive Director of the Ministry. Sometime between August 30 and September 15, 2010, (which obviously includes the date the California Catholic Daily story was published) Fr. Godfrey was replaced by Ms. Julia Dowd, a layperson. Fr. Godfrey will continue to serve as one of the ministry’s five “Associate Directors.”
Fr. Godfrey was appointed on August 1, 2007. His views on the Church’s position on homosexuality were already quite well known: In 2002 he was one of the panelists at the University’s "New Jewish & Christian Approaches to Homosexuality" symposium (where he quoted Mr. Mulcahey extensively). In 2006, he gave a homily at San Francisco’s predominantly homosexual Most Holy Redeemer Church on “Finding God in the Erotic.” The homily was published in the “Gay Catholic Forum.” In April 2007, he celebrated the famous “Gay Service” at Most Holy Redeemer, which was broadcast worldwide on "BBC Radio4." The photograph above is from San Francisco's 2003 Gay Freedom Day Parade. Photo credit: Most Holy Redeemer Church.
Immediately following his appointment, Lexington Books published "Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish." Fr. Godfrey had been working on the book for much of the decade. On March 3, 2008, Godfrey plugged the book in an Australian publication called Eurekastreet.com/au in an article titled "Towards a church apology for gay prejudice." On March 9, 2008, Godfrey gave another homily at Most Holy Redeemer “The Call to Come Out.” The homily likens Jesus’s calling Lazarus to come out of the tomb to same-sex attracted persons coming out of “the closet.” That homily was also published in the “Gay Catholic Forum.”
On July 18, 2008 Godfrey visited World Youth Day in Australia. He attended an "Acceptance" forum. "Acceptance" --"gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender Catholics"--is the Australian version of "DignityUSA." The Australian Church did not allow Acceptance to attend the official World Youth Day events.
_____________________________________________
While Catholics will be heartened by the news that one of the world’s most famous homoactivist priests is no longer be in charge of ministry at a Catholic University, his replacement, Julia Dowd, does not give much reason for rejoicing. On October 20, 2007, Ms. Dowd, joined by members of USF’s LGBTQ Caucus, attended the "OutThere" conference at De Paul University. The conference’s program makes clear that the its purpose was to create more effective advocacy for positions opposed to the Catholic Church on Catholic Universities. The description of USF’s presentation reads:
“This roundtable describes a series of community conversations on LGBTQ issues and Catholicism held in 2006 at the University of San Francisco. Three public forums, two held at local parishes, invited open dialogue in the midst of a church-wide debate following statements by church officials about LGBTQ issues. Roundtable participants will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the series as a model to educate and create community debate.”
The “conversations” described include “Is it Ethical to Be Catholic? Queer Perspectives” held at Most Holy Redeemer Church on February 12, 2006.
In addition to her new position as Executive Director of University Ministry, she continues to serve as an associate director of USF’s Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought. Over the past few years, the Lane Center has hosted such speakers as Fr. James Keenan, SJ, who, on April 28, 2003 spoke before the Massachusetts legislature "as a Catholic moral theologian," opposing Massachusetts Bill H. 3190, which would define marriage as between one man and one woman; Professor and ex-priest Paul Lakeland, who is best known for his support of Connecticut's recent attempt to have lay persons take over the governance of the Catholic Church; renegade Australian Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, (despite Archbishop George Niederauer's orders that he was not to speak at any Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese); professor and abortion advocate Sylvia Marcos, who believes in working to make abortion legal in countries where it is now illegal; and the Rev. Ignacio Castuera, President of the Clergy Network of Planned Parenthood and the Rev. Lisa Sargeant, Chaplain of (now defunct) Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. Ms. Dowd was also one of the signatories to a March 1, 2009 document supporting the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to the release of the document, Sebelius’ Archbishop, Joseph Naumann had already called Sebelius' actions on abortion "a scandal to the faithful," and had requested she refrain from receiving communion.
Godfrey’s departure comes on the heels of the revelation that his long-time associate Patrick Mulcahey, has, over a number of years, been teaching and moderating workshops on the Master/slave and sado-masochistic lifestyle. (See California Catholic Daily, September 3, 2010).
As recently as August 30, 2010, according to a cached webpage from the ministry’s site, Fr. Godfrey was still serving as Executive Director of the Ministry. Sometime between August 30 and September 15, 2010, (which obviously includes the date the California Catholic Daily story was published) Fr. Godfrey was replaced by Ms. Julia Dowd, a layperson. Fr. Godfrey will continue to serve as one of the ministry’s five “Associate Directors.”
Fr. Godfrey was appointed on August 1, 2007. His views on the Church’s position on homosexuality were already quite well known: In 2002 he was one of the panelists at the University’s "New Jewish & Christian Approaches to Homosexuality" symposium (where he quoted Mr. Mulcahey extensively). In 2006, he gave a homily at San Francisco’s predominantly homosexual Most Holy Redeemer Church on “Finding God in the Erotic.” The homily was published in the “Gay Catholic Forum.” In April 2007, he celebrated the famous “Gay Service” at Most Holy Redeemer, which was broadcast worldwide on "BBC Radio4." The photograph above is from San Francisco's 2003 Gay Freedom Day Parade. Photo credit: Most Holy Redeemer Church.
Immediately following his appointment, Lexington Books published "Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish." Fr. Godfrey had been working on the book for much of the decade. On March 3, 2008, Godfrey plugged the book in an Australian publication called Eurekastreet.com/au in an article titled "Towards a church apology for gay prejudice." On March 9, 2008, Godfrey gave another homily at Most Holy Redeemer “The Call to Come Out.” The homily likens Jesus’s calling Lazarus to come out of the tomb to same-sex attracted persons coming out of “the closet.” That homily was also published in the “Gay Catholic Forum.”
On July 18, 2008 Godfrey visited World Youth Day in Australia. He attended an "Acceptance" forum. "Acceptance" --"gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender Catholics"--is the Australian version of "DignityUSA." The Australian Church did not allow Acceptance to attend the official World Youth Day events.
_____________________________________________
While Catholics will be heartened by the news that one of the world’s most famous homoactivist priests is no longer be in charge of ministry at a Catholic University, his replacement, Julia Dowd, does not give much reason for rejoicing. On October 20, 2007, Ms. Dowd, joined by members of USF’s LGBTQ Caucus, attended the "OutThere" conference at De Paul University. The conference’s program makes clear that the its purpose was to create more effective advocacy for positions opposed to the Catholic Church on Catholic Universities. The description of USF’s presentation reads:“This roundtable describes a series of community conversations on LGBTQ issues and Catholicism held in 2006 at the University of San Francisco. Three public forums, two held at local parishes, invited open dialogue in the midst of a church-wide debate following statements by church officials about LGBTQ issues. Roundtable participants will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the series as a model to educate and create community debate.”
The “conversations” described include “Is it Ethical to Be Catholic? Queer Perspectives” held at Most Holy Redeemer Church on February 12, 2006.
In addition to her new position as Executive Director of University Ministry, she continues to serve as an associate director of USF’s Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought. Over the past few years, the Lane Center has hosted such speakers as Fr. James Keenan, SJ, who, on April 28, 2003 spoke before the Massachusetts legislature "as a Catholic moral theologian," opposing Massachusetts Bill H. 3190, which would define marriage as between one man and one woman; Professor and ex-priest Paul Lakeland, who is best known for his support of Connecticut's recent attempt to have lay persons take over the governance of the Catholic Church; renegade Australian Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, (despite Archbishop George Niederauer's orders that he was not to speak at any Catholic institutions in the Archdiocese); professor and abortion advocate Sylvia Marcos, who believes in working to make abortion legal in countries where it is now illegal; and the Rev. Ignacio Castuera, President of the Clergy Network of Planned Parenthood and the Rev. Lisa Sargeant, Chaplain of (now defunct) Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. Ms. Dowd was also one of the signatories to a March 1, 2009 document supporting the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to the release of the document, Sebelius’ Archbishop, Joseph Naumann had already called Sebelius' actions on abortion "a scandal to the faithful," and had requested she refrain from receiving communion.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Counter-Cathedral in the Castro.
San Jose Pastor Visits Most Holy Redeemer for Advice
In the August 24 article “Fr. Reese Comes to San Francisco: What Most Holy Redeemer Has come to Mean,” California Catholic Daily discussed the consequences of “tolerating” an openly homosexualist parish. The article noted that when in San Francisco, dissenters such as Bishop Kevin Dowling, Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese, or Bishop Thomas Gumbleton make a beeline for Most Holy Redeemer. It has become San Francisco’s counter-cathedral, famous worldwide. The article also pointed out that such visits are not harmless. They certify the presence of a separate center of teaching authority in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, a counter-cathedral--at least when the subject is homosexuality. This is obvious to everyone who is not willfully blind; right now there is a student at Notre Dame University writing a paper on the “theology” of Most Holy Redeemer Church--as if a genuine Catholic parish could have its own theology! Allowing such a separate teaching authority to exist is proving to be a monumental failure of responsibility by the Archdicese of San Francisco, and predictable consequences have followed.
The current (November 18) issue of “Metro Active San Jose” has a long article called “Gay Catholics Come Out” by Ms. Jessica Fromm. The subheadline is “Secretly, San Jose is the most gay-friendly diocese in the nation. And now, one parish wants the world to know.”
The article profiled St. Julie Billiart Parish in San Jose and its pastor, Fr. Jon Pedigo. Ms. Fromm spends the first 3000 words or so discussing the situation in San Jose. It’s a familiar litany: the difficulty homosexualist Catholics have in accepting Church teaching on the reality of marriage and the intrinsic immorality of homosexual acts, how conflicted they are between their personal experience and the teaching of the Church (who isn't?) etc. etc. She interviews a familiar cast of characters: the former Jesuit priest James B. Nickoloff, who is same-sex “married” in the state of Massachusetts and is now a fellow at the (Jesuit) Santa Clara University; the Oakland Diocese’s Fr. Jim Schnexayder, co-founder of the Catholic Association for Lesbian & Gay Ministry; Mr. Bill Welch, former President of Dignity San Jose.
More importantly, Ms. Fromm relates what Fr. Pedigo did when he realized that many same-sex attracted Catholics were attending his parish:
“Pedigo said that as he started to notice the growing LGBT Catholic community that was coming to St. Julie's, he decided to consult the established gay Catholic community at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco's Castro District.” Instead of seeking advice from his bishop, Fr. Pedigo chose to consult MHR. That’s our point: MHR has become a de facto teaching authority--that’s why Fr. Pedigo consulted them, that’s why the Notre Dame student is writing a paper on their “theology." The Church hierarchy may deny that MHR has any actual authority, but Fr. Pedigo and others think they do, and are basing their actions on MHR‘s example.
Ms. Fromm continued, quoting Fr. Pedigo: "I said, 'Look, I'm a server in San Jose, and I have all these gay and lesbian people coming for baptism and wanting their babies to be baptized and raising their kids and their families Catholic. And we've got kids in the youth group who are sexual.' I asked, 'What do you guys do about this? What have you done?'"
What has Most Holy Redeemer done? It’s the church that from 2000-2008 hosted nearly-annual events by s/m groups in their parish hall; it's the church that allowed the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to receive the Blessed Sacrament; it’s the church that currently has at least six openly “same-sex married” parishioners serving at Mass as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and acolytes; it’s the church whose Eucharistic minister/transgender activist “Lisa Rae” Dummer escorted the Young Adult Group to the 2007 Transgender Cotillion; it’s the church whose pastoral council member Matt Dorsey earlier this year condemned Archbishop Niederauer in the pages of the homosexualist Bay Area Reporter for his support of Proposition 8 and convinced the producers of San Francisco’s gay pride parade to award the Archbishop the “pink brick.”
According to Ms. Fromm, Fr. Pedigo has proved to be a good student: “From that time (when he consulted MHR) forward, Pedigo has freely acknowledged and supported the gay and lesbian Catholics who flock to St. Julie's. He publicly opposed Prop. 8, going so far as to post video interviews with gay Catholic families on his blog….”
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
In the August 24 article “Fr. Reese Comes to San Francisco: What Most Holy Redeemer Has come to Mean,” California Catholic Daily discussed the consequences of “tolerating” an openly homosexualist parish. The article noted that when in San Francisco, dissenters such as Bishop Kevin Dowling, Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese, or Bishop Thomas Gumbleton make a beeline for Most Holy Redeemer. It has become San Francisco’s counter-cathedral, famous worldwide. The article also pointed out that such visits are not harmless. They certify the presence of a separate center of teaching authority in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, a counter-cathedral--at least when the subject is homosexuality. This is obvious to everyone who is not willfully blind; right now there is a student at Notre Dame University writing a paper on the “theology” of Most Holy Redeemer Church--as if a genuine Catholic parish could have its own theology! Allowing such a separate teaching authority to exist is proving to be a monumental failure of responsibility by the Archdicese of San Francisco, and predictable consequences have followed.
The current (November 18) issue of “Metro Active San Jose” has a long article called “Gay Catholics Come Out” by Ms. Jessica Fromm. The subheadline is “Secretly, San Jose is the most gay-friendly diocese in the nation. And now, one parish wants the world to know.”
The article profiled St. Julie Billiart Parish in San Jose and its pastor, Fr. Jon Pedigo. Ms. Fromm spends the first 3000 words or so discussing the situation in San Jose. It’s a familiar litany: the difficulty homosexualist Catholics have in accepting Church teaching on the reality of marriage and the intrinsic immorality of homosexual acts, how conflicted they are between their personal experience and the teaching of the Church (who isn't?) etc. etc. She interviews a familiar cast of characters: the former Jesuit priest James B. Nickoloff, who is same-sex “married” in the state of Massachusetts and is now a fellow at the (Jesuit) Santa Clara University; the Oakland Diocese’s Fr. Jim Schnexayder, co-founder of the Catholic Association for Lesbian & Gay Ministry; Mr. Bill Welch, former President of Dignity San Jose.
More importantly, Ms. Fromm relates what Fr. Pedigo did when he realized that many same-sex attracted Catholics were attending his parish:
“Pedigo said that as he started to notice the growing LGBT Catholic community that was coming to St. Julie's, he decided to consult the established gay Catholic community at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in San Francisco's Castro District.” Instead of seeking advice from his bishop, Fr. Pedigo chose to consult MHR. That’s our point: MHR has become a de facto teaching authority--that’s why Fr. Pedigo consulted them, that’s why the Notre Dame student is writing a paper on their “theology." The Church hierarchy may deny that MHR has any actual authority, but Fr. Pedigo and others think they do, and are basing their actions on MHR‘s example.
Ms. Fromm continued, quoting Fr. Pedigo: "I said, 'Look, I'm a server in San Jose, and I have all these gay and lesbian people coming for baptism and wanting their babies to be baptized and raising their kids and their families Catholic. And we've got kids in the youth group who are sexual.' I asked, 'What do you guys do about this? What have you done?'"
What has Most Holy Redeemer done? It’s the church that from 2000-2008 hosted nearly-annual events by s/m groups in their parish hall; it's the church that allowed the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to receive the Blessed Sacrament; it’s the church that currently has at least six openly “same-sex married” parishioners serving at Mass as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and acolytes; it’s the church whose Eucharistic minister/transgender activist “Lisa Rae” Dummer escorted the Young Adult Group to the 2007 Transgender Cotillion; it’s the church whose pastoral council member Matt Dorsey earlier this year condemned Archbishop Niederauer in the pages of the homosexualist Bay Area Reporter for his support of Proposition 8 and convinced the producers of San Francisco’s gay pride parade to award the Archbishop the “pink brick.”
According to Ms. Fromm, Fr. Pedigo has proved to be a good student: “From that time (when he consulted MHR) forward, Pedigo has freely acknowledged and supported the gay and lesbian Catholics who flock to St. Julie's. He publicly opposed Prop. 8, going so far as to post video interviews with gay Catholic families on his blog….”
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Fr. Godfrey Out as Executive Director of Ministry at USF?
It looks that way.
According to (Jesuit) University of San Francisco's "University Ministry" webpage, Father Donal Godfrey is no longer the organization's Executive Director. As recently as August 30, 2010, Fr. Godfrey was listed as Executive Director of the school’s University Ministry on the Ministry’s cached webpage. Sometime between August 30 and September 15, 2010 Fr. Godfrey was demoted to the position of Associate Director. The Executive Director of University Ministry at the Jesuit school is now Ms. Julia Dowd, a layperson.
The 2007 appointment of Fr. Godfrey, one of the most visible homoactivist priests in the world was a slap in the face to any Catholic who believes that students at a “Catholic” university have a right to expect Catholic teaching from their priests. Godfrey’s appointment should never have happened. His public dissent from Church teaching—dissent is far too weak a word—his public teaching that the Church is simply wrong about the sinfulness of homosexuality has been tolerated, and with his appointment, actually encouraged by his Jesuit superiors for many years. What, after all of Fr. Godfrey’s ongoing and public activities, could finally cause the Jesuits to rethink having him in this important position?
On September 3, 2010, the California Catholic Daily reported that Mr. Patrick Mulcahey, a past parish council vice-president and current Eucharistic Minister at San Francisco’s notorious Most Holy Redeemer parish was presenting workshops at the “Master/slave Conference 2010” which was held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Silver Springs, Maryland on September 3-6. From the article:
“The workshop presenters biographical page has this to say about Mr. Mulcahey: 'Patrick has been tying men up and doing unspeakable things to them for 35 years. He has presented on M/s, leather and BDSM [bondage discipline sado-masochism] topics in the Bay Area and currently serves as vice chairman and special events chair of the 15 Association, a men’s leather/BDSM club celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. He lives in San Francisco with his slave Patrick where he earns his living as a writer….'”
The article further revealed a long standing relationship between Mr. Mulcahey and Fr. Godfrey, dating back at least to 2001:
“In 2002, at USF’s New Jewish and Christians Approaches to Homosexuality symposium, Father Godfrey cited Most Holy Redeemer as an example, and quoted Mr. Mulcahey at length. In April 2003, at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Father Godfrey offered a preliminary version of his 2007 history of Most Holy Redeemer as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Doctor of Ministry. When the history was published in 2007, under the title Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, the first person Father Godfrey chose to acknowledge and thank for his support was Patrick Mulcahey. Gays and Grays quotes Mulcahey numerous times."
The direct quote from the very first page of Gays and Grays in which Fr. Godfrey’s acknowledges and thanks Mr. Mulcahey reads:
"Three others gave special support. They are Patrick Mulcahey, Dr. Patti Jung, and Robert Garrett . Patrick Mulcahey is a friend, three time Emmy-winning writer, and parishioner at Most Holy Redeemer."
The California Catholic Daily article continues to describe the ongoing relationship between the two men. Fr. Godfrey obviously considers Mr. Mulcahey to be an authoritative voice:
“On March 3, 2008, in the Australian online Jesuit publication EurekaStreet.com.au, Godfrey quoted Mulcahey again. On December 2, 2008, Books, Inc., located in San Francisco’s Castro District, hosted a discussion of Gays and Grays with Father Godfrey. The homosexualist publication, the Bay Area Reporter, published a blurb for the event: “Executive director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco, and author of Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church discusses his book and the gay-inclusive parish; writer Patrick Mulcahey joins the discussion.”
Of course it is possible that the California Catholic Daily article had nothing to do with the demotion of Fr. Godfrey—although the timing is certainly suggestive. But if it did not, the questions should be: why not? Why is he still even an Associate Director of University Ministry? The revelation that a Catholic priest has a long-standing friendship and alliance with a man who publicly boasts of keeping a “slave” and who gives workshops on the Master/slave lifestyle (on more than one occasion) should be enough to cause his superiors to send him on an extended period of discernment and reflection. Under no circumstances should such a priest have been appointed to a position overseeing the spiritual welfare and development of young people.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
According to (Jesuit) University of San Francisco's "University Ministry" webpage, Father Donal Godfrey is no longer the organization's Executive Director. As recently as August 30, 2010, Fr. Godfrey was listed as Executive Director of the school’s University Ministry on the Ministry’s cached webpage. Sometime between August 30 and September 15, 2010 Fr. Godfrey was demoted to the position of Associate Director. The Executive Director of University Ministry at the Jesuit school is now Ms. Julia Dowd, a layperson.
The 2007 appointment of Fr. Godfrey, one of the most visible homoactivist priests in the world was a slap in the face to any Catholic who believes that students at a “Catholic” university have a right to expect Catholic teaching from their priests. Godfrey’s appointment should never have happened. His public dissent from Church teaching—dissent is far too weak a word—his public teaching that the Church is simply wrong about the sinfulness of homosexuality has been tolerated, and with his appointment, actually encouraged by his Jesuit superiors for many years. What, after all of Fr. Godfrey’s ongoing and public activities, could finally cause the Jesuits to rethink having him in this important position?
On September 3, 2010, the California Catholic Daily reported that Mr. Patrick Mulcahey, a past parish council vice-president and current Eucharistic Minister at San Francisco’s notorious Most Holy Redeemer parish was presenting workshops at the “Master/slave Conference 2010” which was held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Silver Springs, Maryland on September 3-6. From the article:
“The workshop presenters biographical page has this to say about Mr. Mulcahey: 'Patrick has been tying men up and doing unspeakable things to them for 35 years. He has presented on M/s, leather and BDSM [bondage discipline sado-masochism] topics in the Bay Area and currently serves as vice chairman and special events chair of the 15 Association, a men’s leather/BDSM club celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. He lives in San Francisco with his slave Patrick where he earns his living as a writer….'”
The article further revealed a long standing relationship between Mr. Mulcahey and Fr. Godfrey, dating back at least to 2001:
“In 2002, at USF’s New Jewish and Christians Approaches to Homosexuality symposium, Father Godfrey cited Most Holy Redeemer as an example, and quoted Mr. Mulcahey at length. In April 2003, at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Father Godfrey offered a preliminary version of his 2007 history of Most Holy Redeemer as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Doctor of Ministry. When the history was published in 2007, under the title Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, the first person Father Godfrey chose to acknowledge and thank for his support was Patrick Mulcahey. Gays and Grays quotes Mulcahey numerous times."
The direct quote from the very first page of Gays and Grays in which Fr. Godfrey’s acknowledges and thanks Mr. Mulcahey reads:
"Three others gave special support. They are Patrick Mulcahey, Dr. Patti Jung, and Robert Garrett . Patrick Mulcahey is a friend, three time Emmy-winning writer, and parishioner at Most Holy Redeemer."
The California Catholic Daily article continues to describe the ongoing relationship between the two men. Fr. Godfrey obviously considers Mr. Mulcahey to be an authoritative voice:
“On March 3, 2008, in the Australian online Jesuit publication EurekaStreet.com.au, Godfrey quoted Mulcahey again. On December 2, 2008, Books, Inc., located in San Francisco’s Castro District, hosted a discussion of Gays and Grays with Father Godfrey. The homosexualist publication, the Bay Area Reporter, published a blurb for the event: “Executive director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco, and author of Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church discusses his book and the gay-inclusive parish; writer Patrick Mulcahey joins the discussion.”
Of course it is possible that the California Catholic Daily article had nothing to do with the demotion of Fr. Godfrey—although the timing is certainly suggestive. But if it did not, the questions should be: why not? Why is he still even an Associate Director of University Ministry? The revelation that a Catholic priest has a long-standing friendship and alliance with a man who publicly boasts of keeping a “slave” and who gives workshops on the Master/slave lifestyle (on more than one occasion) should be enough to cause his superiors to send him on an extended period of discernment and reflection. Under no circumstances should such a priest have been appointed to a position overseeing the spiritual welfare and development of young people.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Return to Most Holy Redeemer
On Sunday, May 23, 2010 Most Holy Redeemer Church will host the “Great District 8 Chili Cook-Off” to help raise funds to rebuild an orphanage that was destroyed in the Chilean earthquake. The event is organized by the Rainbow World Fund. District 8 is the political district where Most Holy Redeemer is located, hence the name.
According to the homosexualist publication the Bay Area Reporter, “Emcees for the event will be current District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty and Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
This marks the “Sisters” first public return to Most Holy Redeemer since October 7, 2007, when the Sisters embarrassed His Excellency George Niederauer by presenting themselves for communion in their conventional attire. The blasphemy drew international attention and outrage. In the media firestorm that followed, MHR took the side of the Sisters against the Archdiocese. In the week following the blasphemy, the MHR even published a letter in their parish bulletin from one of the offending “Sisters,” thanking the parish for their welcome.
The Wikipedia entry for Sister Roma says he is “an American drag performer, social rights activist, and art director of gay pornography….Roma is the art director at gay pornography studio Hot House Entertainment and co-hosts an online live-format talk show about the adult pornography industry.”
In addition to being a professional pornography director, “Sister Roma” has MC’d the horrific Folsom Street Fair. In 2008, he posed as “Mary Magdalene” in the notorious poster for the 2008 Folsom Street Fair. The poster was a take-off of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” with men and women in leather attire posed as the apostles, and various whips and BDSM restraint devices scattered around the table. The poster caused outrage among Christians all over the country. Sister Roma has also acted as Emcee at the SPI’s “Hunky Jesus” contest. The “Hunky Jesus” contest is an annual San Francisco event that takes place on Easter Sunday. It is a mockery of the Crucifixion. Men dress up as what they think Jesus looked like, and prizes are awarded for what is considered to be the best costume. The 2010 “winner” was “Junky Jesus,” who wore a loincloth covered with syringes.
"Sr. Roma" (right) officiating at "Hunky Jesus" contest.
Photo credit: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
The relationship between the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Most Holy Redeemer goes back many years:
“When I spoke with Sr. (Cleta Harold) about entering RCIA, I was clearly not about to compromise anything regarding my sexuality. I didn’t go into a lot of details, but I showed up in my Levis and leather jacket and talked about my background as a Gay activist, clearly not about to change that…I talked about my background with witchcraft and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and my disagreements with certain points of the catechism. Sister never batted an eyelash, but asked if I could show up Sunday mornings at 8.” --Jack Fertig (aka “Sister Boom Boom” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence) "Gays and Grays" by Fr. Donal Godfrey, p 42.
Fr. Godfrey says the episode described above happened “some years” after 1982. Apparently, Sr. Cleta’s instruction did not take—in 2001, Mr. Fertig converted to Islam, and currently works as an astrologer. In 2006, the SPI hosted “Revival Bingo” at Most Holy Redeemer, where prizes included dildos, etc. Outrage expressed at the time caused the Archdiocese to force MHR to discontinue the events.
Sunday’s event is scheduled to be keynoted by the Consul General of Chile Alex Geiger. It is possible that Senor Geiger does not know with whom he will be sharing the stage. If you would like to express your thoughts to him, here is his contact information:
Cónsul General: Sr. Alex Geiger
Canciller (Chancellor): Sra. Amelia Campos
Telephone: (415) 982-7662
Fax: (415) 982-2384
E-mail address: cgsfchile@sbcglobal.net; acampos@chileanconsulatesfo.org
If you would like to express your opinion about the propriety of having a person who has repeatedly and publicly mocked the Catholic Sisters and the Crucifixion acting as MC for an event in a Catholic Church, please contact:
The Most Reverend George Niederauer
Archbishop, the Archdiocese of San Francisco
415-614-5500
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Speaking of MHR: Talk About Chutzpah!
Earlier this week, we received this email claiming to be from Mr. Joe Cooper, webmaster for Most Holy Redeemer parish, and a member of the MHR Pastoral Council:
Dear Mr. Cooney,
Please remove any and all photos used from the Most Holy Redeemer website from the following web page: http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/ There was no permission asked or consent given to use these photos.
In the future, please refrain from the use of any verbiage or photos from the website for any of the websites administered by yourself or Fr. John Malloy, including but not limited to:
http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/
http://www.sanfrancisco-catholic.com/
I would appreciate your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at this address.
Thank you.
Joe Cooper
Most Holy Redeemer Web Administrator
Here's comes the chutzpah: the email was cc’d to His Excellency Archbishop George Niederauer; as well as to Most Holy Redeemer pastor Fr. Steve Meriwether; Mr. Maurice Healy, Executive Editor of Catholic San Francisco; and Fr. John Itzaina, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church.
We find it delicious that in the very week His Excellency Archbishop Niederauer was awarded a “Pink Brick” at the instigation of Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council member Matt Dorsey (see “Niederuaer Deserves Pink Brick” in the Bay Area Reporter) for his "remorseless" support of natural marriage, another member of the MHR Pastoral Council, Joe Cooper, chose to copy the Archbishop on this email.
We hope His Excellency, and Mr. Healy, and Fr. Itzaina had an opportunity to view the photos in question. (Since MHR is Fr. Meriwether’s parish, he probably doesn’t need photos.) They are instructive: one shows two openly same-sex "married" persons, plus a very open and active member of the "leather community" serving at Mass, one shows a "transgender" MHR Eucharistic Minister presenting the MHR Young Adults Group as "debutantes "at the 2007 "SF Transgender Cotillion", and one shows Fr. Donal Godfrey, Executive Director of Campus Ministry at USF with his arm around another guy at the 2003 Gay Pride parade. We don't blame Most Holy Redeemer for being touchy--as we have pointed out before, they are the only parish in the history of the Roman Catholic Church to have photos of parish events posted on a website that requires an obscenity disclaimer.
We respect Mr. Cooper's request, but we think the creation of a counter-church in the Castro is a very important event, and one that deserves full coverage. And it's our opinion that material which is posted on a non-commercial website which is then posted (with proper credit) on another non-commercial website for purpose of criticism, comment, and education, constitutes fair use.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Dear Mr. Cooney,
Please remove any and all photos used from the Most Holy Redeemer website from the following web page: http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/ There was no permission asked or consent given to use these photos.
In the future, please refrain from the use of any verbiage or photos from the website for any of the websites administered by yourself or Fr. John Malloy, including but not limited to:
http://johnmalloysdb.blogspot.com/
http://www.sanfrancisco-catholic.com/
I would appreciate your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at this address.
Thank you.
Joe Cooper
Most Holy Redeemer Web Administrator
Here's comes the chutzpah: the email was cc’d to His Excellency Archbishop George Niederauer; as well as to Most Holy Redeemer pastor Fr. Steve Meriwether; Mr. Maurice Healy, Executive Editor of Catholic San Francisco; and Fr. John Itzaina, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church.
We find it delicious that in the very week His Excellency Archbishop Niederauer was awarded a “Pink Brick” at the instigation of Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council member Matt Dorsey (see “Niederuaer Deserves Pink Brick” in the Bay Area Reporter) for his "remorseless" support of natural marriage, another member of the MHR Pastoral Council, Joe Cooper, chose to copy the Archbishop on this email.
We hope His Excellency, and Mr. Healy, and Fr. Itzaina had an opportunity to view the photos in question. (Since MHR is Fr. Meriwether’s parish, he probably doesn’t need photos.) They are instructive: one shows two openly same-sex "married" persons, plus a very open and active member of the "leather community" serving at Mass, one shows a "transgender" MHR Eucharistic Minister presenting the MHR Young Adults Group as "debutantes "at the 2007 "SF Transgender Cotillion", and one shows Fr. Donal Godfrey, Executive Director of Campus Ministry at USF with his arm around another guy at the 2003 Gay Pride parade. We don't blame Most Holy Redeemer for being touchy--as we have pointed out before, they are the only parish in the history of the Roman Catholic Church to have photos of parish events posted on a website that requires an obscenity disclaimer.
We respect Mr. Cooper's request, but we think the creation of a counter-church in the Castro is a very important event, and one that deserves full coverage. And it's our opinion that material which is posted on a non-commercial website which is then posted (with proper credit) on another non-commercial website for purpose of criticism, comment, and education, constitutes fair use.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Monday, March 9, 2009
Same-Sex "Married" Lector Reads for Students at Most Holy Redeemer
When I saw the flyer for “Be Still and Know” that was posted in the marquee of Presentation Theater at USF, I also noticed it announced that the cast and crew from Sacred Heart of Atherton were to attend Mass at Most Holy Redeemer at 10 AM on Sunday, March 8. This was prior to the performance.
Well, if it is exposure to a public repudiation of Church teaching that the school wants for its students, they went to the right place. For, according to Most Holy Redeemer’s Lector schedule for the 10AM mass on March 8, one of the Lectors was a man named Michael Vargas. This same Michael Vargas recently had a letter to the editor published in "Catholic San Francisco." The letter began:
"Archbishop Niederauer’s recent “open letter” did nothing but rub salt in the wounds for at least two members of his flock. My husband and I do not think we are alone…"
and was signed:
"Michael Vargas
Martin Bednarek
San Francisco"
Here we have two same-sex “married” men proudly asserting their contempt for Church teaching in the Archdiocesan newspaper. And one of them serves as a Lector in a "Catholic" church! Assuming that Mr. Vargas was there on schedule, one of these same men was reading scripture at Mass to the students of a Catholic High School.
_________________________________________________________
But what is unthinkable in the Catholic Church is normal at MHR. Had the students attended next week, they could have received the Blessed Sacrament from a man who goes by the name of “Lisa Rae” Dummer. Dummer is scheduled to be a Eucharistic Minister at next Sunday’s 10AM Mass.
This photograph is courtesy of the Most Holy Redeemer webpage.
Well, if it is exposure to a public repudiation of Church teaching that the school wants for its students, they went to the right place. For, according to Most Holy Redeemer’s Lector schedule for the 10AM mass on March 8, one of the Lectors was a man named Michael Vargas. This same Michael Vargas recently had a letter to the editor published in "Catholic San Francisco." The letter began:
"Archbishop Niederauer’s recent “open letter” did nothing but rub salt in the wounds for at least two members of his flock. My husband and I do not think we are alone…"
and was signed:
"Michael Vargas
Martin Bednarek
San Francisco"
Here we have two same-sex “married” men proudly asserting their contempt for Church teaching in the Archdiocesan newspaper. And one of them serves as a Lector in a "Catholic" church! Assuming that Mr. Vargas was there on schedule, one of these same men was reading scripture at Mass to the students of a Catholic High School.
_________________________________________________________
But what is unthinkable in the Catholic Church is normal at MHR. Had the students attended next week, they could have received the Blessed Sacrament from a man who goes by the name of “Lisa Rae” Dummer. Dummer is scheduled to be a Eucharistic Minister at next Sunday’s 10AM Mass.
This photograph is courtesy of the Most Holy Redeemer webpage.
That’s “Lisa Rae” in the back—he’s the big guy with flowers and wearing a corset. The photo shows Dummer preparing to present the Most Holy Redeemer Young Adult Group as “debutantes” at the “2007 Transgender San Francisco Cotillion.” Even I was shocked the first time I saw this—and I’m a born-and-raised San Franciscan. A Catholic Young Adult group being escorted to a “transgender” event by one of the parish’s own Eucharistic Ministers!
Dummer is a serious “transgender” activist. He was the organizer of the 2007 Transgender Cotillion and he is the Director of the 2009 event. He is also the Board Chair of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, an organization which seeks to establish “equality” at the expense of sanity.
_____________________________________________________
Did the responsible person at Sacred Heart of Atherton who OK'd the events at MHR know these things? The principal at Sacred Heart is a man named James Everitt--who gave $200 to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign. There is also a James Everitt listed as a lector on the MHR website. Is this the same man? As I said in my original post on this subject, I believe so, because that is the best way to account for the otherwise inexplicable Sacred Heart/MHR connection. And if this is so, then yes, Mr. Everitt does know the people at Most Holy Redeemer, and he does know what goes on there, and with this knowledge, he still thought it was a good idea for his students to visit the parish.
If I were a Sacred Heart parent, or a Superintendent of Catholic Schools I'd be asking a few questions.
Posted by Gibbons J. Cooney
Sunday, April 29, 2012
MHR Update: Drag Show Held in Parish Hall
On April 14 San Francisco's "gay parish," Most Holy Redeemer, hosted a "drag" show to benefit the Castro Country Club,a substance abuse treatment organization. Hosting a drag show at MHR is equivalent to sending a case of wine to the Castro Country Club. It is beyond irresponsible for the Archdiocese of San Francisco to allow it.
We contributed to this article, which is from California Catholic Daily:
On Saturday, April 14, San Francisco’s infamous Most Holy Redeemer Church hosted the Third Annual Miss Castro Country Club Pageant. The pageant is a drag show. The Castro Country Club describes itself as a “clean & sober gathering place for all people and a home for the queer recovery community.”
The pageant was advertised in a number of homosexualist media outlets. The event MC was a transvestite who uses the name “Laybelline,” and one of the judges, another transvestite, uses the name “Syphillis Diller.” The competitors used similar names. At least one video of one of the performers is already up on YouTube.
Most Holy Redeemer has frequently made national news for their scandalous hosting of pro-homosexual events. Drag shows are nothing new: in 2011 the parish hosted the Switch Hitters Ball, and in 2007, the parish hosted the Desperate Divas drag contest, just one week before the unfortunate visit of Archbishop George Niederauer, when he gave communion to two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
More recently, the parish extended an invitation to renegade Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles to speak at one of their 2011 Advent Vespers services. On November 22, 2011, CalCatholic reported on the planned event. We reported that in 2004 Charles left his wife of 42 years, and “married” another man—an action that caused the Episcopal Church to sever ties with him. We followed up with a report on two other scheduled Most Holy Redeemer Advent Vespers speakers: the Revs. Jane Spahr and Roland Stringfellow. Both are openly homosexual supporters of same-sex “marriage.
Following CalCatholic’s exposure of the events, Archbishop Niederauer forced the parish to withdraw the invitations. Whether or not CalCatholic’s stories played a part, it is a fact that Father Steve Meriwether, the pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, has not celebrated a single Sunday mass at the parish in 2012, according to parish bulletins. All 2012 Sunday Masses have been celebrated by visiting priests, frequently by Monsignor James Tarantino, the Vicar for Administration for the dioceses, who has a solid reputation.
Whether this represents a sanction against Meriwether, who was reappointed to a second six-year term at the parish in 2010, or whether he is just taking time off is an open question.
On Palm Sunday and the Palm Sunday vigil all the masses at the parish were celebrated by the well-known homosexual activist Jesuit, Father Donal Godfrey. Godfrey has also been the celebrant at a number of other Sunday and vigil Masses at the church in 2012. On All Saints Day 2011, Godfrey was invited to celebrate Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral for the students of Sacred Heart High School.
Another 2012 guest celebrant at Most Holy Redeemer has been Father Joe Klecha. Father Klecha has celebrated liturgies for DignitySF at the Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. The Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church serves as DignitySF’s “parish” because the archdiocese of San Francisco does not allow DignitySF to meet on Catholic property.
We contributed to this article, which is from California Catholic Daily:
On Saturday, April 14, San Francisco’s infamous Most Holy Redeemer Church hosted the Third Annual Miss Castro Country Club Pageant. The pageant is a drag show. The Castro Country Club describes itself as a “clean & sober gathering place for all people and a home for the queer recovery community.”
The pageant was advertised in a number of homosexualist media outlets. The event MC was a transvestite who uses the name “Laybelline,” and one of the judges, another transvestite, uses the name “Syphillis Diller.” The competitors used similar names. At least one video of one of the performers is already up on YouTube.
Most Holy Redeemer has frequently made national news for their scandalous hosting of pro-homosexual events. Drag shows are nothing new: in 2011 the parish hosted the Switch Hitters Ball, and in 2007, the parish hosted the Desperate Divas drag contest, just one week before the unfortunate visit of Archbishop George Niederauer, when he gave communion to two members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
More recently, the parish extended an invitation to renegade Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles to speak at one of their 2011 Advent Vespers services. On November 22, 2011, CalCatholic reported on the planned event. We reported that in 2004 Charles left his wife of 42 years, and “married” another man—an action that caused the Episcopal Church to sever ties with him. We followed up with a report on two other scheduled Most Holy Redeemer Advent Vespers speakers: the Revs. Jane Spahr and Roland Stringfellow. Both are openly homosexual supporters of same-sex “marriage.
Following CalCatholic’s exposure of the events, Archbishop Niederauer forced the parish to withdraw the invitations. Whether or not CalCatholic’s stories played a part, it is a fact that Father Steve Meriwether, the pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, has not celebrated a single Sunday mass at the parish in 2012, according to parish bulletins. All 2012 Sunday Masses have been celebrated by visiting priests, frequently by Monsignor James Tarantino, the Vicar for Administration for the dioceses, who has a solid reputation.
Whether this represents a sanction against Meriwether, who was reappointed to a second six-year term at the parish in 2010, or whether he is just taking time off is an open question.
On Palm Sunday and the Palm Sunday vigil all the masses at the parish were celebrated by the well-known homosexual activist Jesuit, Father Donal Godfrey. Godfrey has also been the celebrant at a number of other Sunday and vigil Masses at the church in 2012. On All Saints Day 2011, Godfrey was invited to celebrate Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral for the students of Sacred Heart High School.
Another 2012 guest celebrant at Most Holy Redeemer has been Father Joe Klecha. Father Klecha has celebrated liturgies for DignitySF at the Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. The Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church serves as DignitySF’s “parish” because the archdiocese of San Francisco does not allow DignitySF to meet on Catholic property.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Where are we going?
On May 21, 2007, the "San Francisco Chronicle" ran an article ("SF's Same-sex couples asked to adopt foster kids.") about the recruiting effort by the city of San Francisco to find homosexual couples to adopt children. In the body of the article was the sentence: "Aiding San Francisco with its recruitment effort is Family Builders, an Oakland nonprofit adoption agency with which the city contracted to match parents with kids."
"Family Builders by Adoption" is a name familiar to Bay Area Catholics.
That article provoked this lengthy post.
From 2006: "In an adroit end-run against a Vatican ban on granting adoptions to same-sex couples, Catholic Charities of San Francisco will launch a new project in coming weeks that experts say will lead to the placement of hundreds of foster children around the state every year. . . Next month, the collaboration formally begins between Catholic Charities CYO and California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption exchange run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Family Builders by Adoption. . . . . '"
'When Catholic Charities first approached us, I was very hesitant. My organization has a long history of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. It was really ironic -- I had to make sure that our (!) integrity and values were not compromised.' -Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, Family Builders.
"There will be critics who say that kids will still be placed with same-sex couples,'' said (Brian) Cahill, (Executive Director, Catholic Charities CYO) who is planning "an aggressive recruitment'' of potential adoptive parents among the archdiocese's parishes. "That is true -- the largest potential number of adoptive parents in the foster care system are gay and lesbian couples. But this is what we are supposed to be doing. This is the work of the church."- Excerpts from "Catholic agency finds way out of adoption ban. Alliance with other groups gets around same-sex parent issue." San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, August 27, 2006. It should be mentioned that the Director of Services and Programs for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Mr. Glenn Motola, also sits on the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption.
"Family Builders by Adoption" is a name familiar to Bay Area Catholics.
That article provoked this lengthy post.
From 2006: "In an adroit end-run against a Vatican ban on granting adoptions to same-sex couples, Catholic Charities of San Francisco will launch a new project in coming weeks that experts say will lead to the placement of hundreds of foster children around the state every year. . . Next month, the collaboration formally begins between Catholic Charities CYO and California Kids Connection, a statewide adoption exchange run by the Oakland-based nonprofit Family Builders by Adoption. . . . . '"
'When Catholic Charities first approached us, I was very hesitant. My organization has a long history of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. It was really ironic -- I had to make sure that our (!) integrity and values were not compromised.' -Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, Family Builders.
"There will be critics who say that kids will still be placed with same-sex couples,'' said (Brian) Cahill, (Executive Director, Catholic Charities CYO) who is planning "an aggressive recruitment'' of potential adoptive parents among the archdiocese's parishes. "That is true -- the largest potential number of adoptive parents in the foster care system are gay and lesbian couples. But this is what we are supposed to be doing. This is the work of the church."- Excerpts from "Catholic agency finds way out of adoption ban. Alliance with other groups gets around same-sex parent issue." San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, August 27, 2006. It should be mentioned that the Director of Services and Programs for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Mr. Glenn Motola, also sits on the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption.
On Monday, May 28, 2007, Family Builders by Adoption runs the following ad in the SF Chronicle:
The full-page ad was part of an ad campaign around the San Francisco Bay Area.
The website "California Catholic Daily" followed up the May 21, 2007 story and the May 28 ad campaign, with a story of their own "An Act of Moral Violence" on May 28, 2007. Some excerpts:
"'I think Catholic Charities in San Francisco is very supportive of all our work, they're just restrained by church edicts," said Jill Jacobs, executive director of Family Builders.
Catholic Charities had no comment on the ad campaign, but praised Family Builders.
'We greatly admire the work of Family Builders by Adoption, and that is why we have partnered with them on the California Kids Connection Web site, to help find adoptive homes for the most vulnerable children in the foster care system,' stated Executive Director Brian Cahill in an e-mail….
The Archdiocese of San Francisco did not respond to requests for comment on the campaign.'"
This post is an attempt to chronicle how and why the Archdiocese of San Francisco found itself unable to comment on the city of San Francisco's aggressive push to have children adopted by homosexual couples.
The controversy over the Catholic Charities/CYO facilitating of adoptions by same-sex couples is only one in an ongoing series of events. Simple sustained attention shows that there has been a relentless advancing of a "gay" agenda in the Archdiocese. Each "compromise" made by the Archdiocese, no matter how well-intentioned, was in fact a retreat. Then the position retreated to became the new ground from which further "compromises" were demanded. The main protagonists in this are Catholic Charities, the University of San Francisco/the Jesuits, and a few Catholic parishes. A chronological sample:
The Beginning:
On February 6, 1997, Archbishop William Levada grants domestic partnerships benefits to the gay employees of Catholic Charities. He does this in order to retain funding for Catholic Charities from the city of San Francisco. The Archbishop justifies this as part of a larger plan, one that will allow any non-married person to name another person with whom they live as a beneficiary. Since the Archbishop's generous plan was only announced after the threatened cancellation of funding, a reasonable person would conclude that the plan was developed as a response to the threat, not on its own merits. It is, in our opinion, a total cave-in to San Francisco's powerful gay lobby. San Francisco gay activist/Supervisor Tom Ammiano understands this perfectly well: "'I think this is a very positive step for the two entities -- the archdiocese and the city -- to try to coexist without devaluing each other's principles,'' Ammiano said." - SF Chronicle, 2/7/1997. Just how interested Supervisor Ammiano is in not "devaluing" the Church's principles will become evident in the years ahead.
"Gay Pride" in the Archdiocese:
Starting in the 1990s, things go on at Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco that one would not normally expect in a Catholic Church... More than once, clergy and parishioners officially represent Most Holy Redeemer, with banners, t-shirts, and an official contingent, in San Francisco's "Gay Pride" parade. The video below shows the participation of Most Holy Redeemer Church and St. Agnes ' Church in the 2005 & 2006 parades.
We must warn you that parts of this video are obscene; nevertheless, we do not apologize for posting it.
Most Holy Redeemer will have a contingent at the parade again this year, on Sunday, June 24. Please follow this link to their webpage promoting the event.
One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link) : Sunday Mass lets out at Most Holy Redeemer Church.
One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Most Holy Redeemer Pastor and (at that time) Archdiocesan Chancellor Fr. Steven Meriwether blesses parishioners on their way to the 2006 "Gay Pride" parade.
One picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Fr. Meriwether is currently the head of the "Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs" Department of the Archdiocese.
St. Agnes Church in San Francisco, staffed by Jesuits, also has parishioners officially representing St. Agnes with an banner in the Gay Pride parade. Not only that, the Pastor himself, Fr. Cameron Ayers, attends the parade (see video link, above).
The University of San Francisco: Jesuit Education
On February 12, 2006 the University of San Francisco's "Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender Caucus" sponsors a seminar hostile to the Church. The seminar is held at Most Holy Redeemer on February 12, 2006, and is entitled "Is it Ethical to be Catholic?" The University, a Jesuit Institution, funds this group. Information about the event, as well as a complete transcript, may be found here.
On March 26, 2006 the University of San Francisco’s LGBTQ Caucus sponsors a seminar at St. Agnes Parish: “Alienated Catholics: Establishing the Groundwork for Dialogue.” A sample: “Thus, despite coming up against Magisterial teachings to the contrary, the alienation which homosexual catholics experience is not rooted in that which they believe to be intrinsic to Christian tradition itself, but rather, is associated with an erroneous interpretation of tradition imposed by the teaching authorities of the church. To put it plainly, we simply disagree with the church’s interpretation of Scripture and Tradition which we otherwise experience as affirming.” -Dr. Vincent A. Pizzuto, Assistant Professor Theology and Religious Studies, USF
Same-sex Adoptions:
In 2005 it is revealed that branches of "Catholic Charities," including those in Boston and San Francisco, have been facilitating the adoption of children by same-sex couples. In 2003, the Vatican had insisted such adoptions stop, but that order had been ignored. In 2005-6, the Archdiocese of Boston finally complies. By doing this, it loses funding from the state of Massachusetts. In early 2006, the Archdiocese of San Francisco also says it will comply.
On March 21, 2006, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors issue a non-binding resolution, authored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano. It reads, in part: "It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need." (Supervisors Slam Vatican on Adoptions; San Francisco Chronicle, March 22, 2006) The article continues: "'It appears that Catholic Charities is trying to find a creative solution such as that one [the domestic partners "compromise" of 1997] when it comes to adoptions', said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, a gay Catholic, parent and grandparent who wrote the resolution adopted Tuesday." Once again, Supervisor Ammiano proves to have an admirably clear understanding of the dynamic situation.
In 2006, San Francisco gets a new Archbishop, George Niederauer. He is now faced with a similar challenge to the one faced by Archbishop Levada back in 1997: either allow Catholic Charities to allow adoptions by same-sex couples, or Catholic Charities will lose city and state funding. His response is similar to Levada's. On August 3, 2006, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: "Catholic Charities plans to collaborate with both California Kids Connection, a network provided by the nonprofit Oakland-based Family Builders by Adoption, and the state Social Services department, which oversees the welfare of 82,000 foster children. Archbishop George Niederauer said that the new partnership would still allow children to be placed with gay and lesbian couples. 'That would be a decision that would be made by the adoption agency,' Niederauer said. 'We can no longer run an agency that makes those decisions.'"
In fact, Catholic Charities, an arm of the Archdiocese, will actually supply staffing to "Family Builders." And who are "Family Builders"? "We're about the gayest adoption agency in the country," Jill Jacobs, director of Family Builders by Adoption (which runs the network California Kids Connection), told the Bay Area Reporter, a homosexual newspaper. Jacobs confidently said that the new partnership poses no risk to its pro-homosexual policies since she had made it clear to Catholic Charities "who we were, and that in our own adoption program more than half the families we serve are LGBT families." -"A Distinction without a Difference", Catholic World Report. Again, it is probably worthy of mention that the Director of Services and Programs for Catholic Charities of San Francisco, Mr. Glenn Motola, also sits on the Board of Directors of Family Builders by Adoption.
On February 9, 2007, Archbishop Niederauer is interviewed on KCBS radio. Among other things, he comments on the adoptions "compromise": "… and I'm really very happy with the decision made by the Catholic Charities CEO, on that, was to work with the program on the Internet for finding homes for children, posting their pictures and being able to guide people who would be interested in this particular child to an adoption agency which could handle the situation." The transcript of the interview may be read here.
Blasphemous Bingo:
Beginning in October, 2006, Most Holy Redeemer Church begins hosting "Revival Bingo" on the first Thursday of the month in their basement hall. "Revival Bingo" is hosted by a group called the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence." This group has been around for many years. Their chosen identity consists in the mockery of Catholic Sisters. The "Bingo" offers prizes such as spankings for the lucky winners. The November 2, 2006 bingo is MC'd by a person named "Peaches Christ," who claims to be a direct descendant of Jesus. The "Bingo" takes place in the same building that houses the Blessed Sacrament.
Two "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence"
One Picture is worth 1,000 words (follow link): Fun on Bingo Night
News of this event sparked nationwide outrage among Catholics. Various Catholic blogs publicized this, and, as a result, the Archdiocese directs Most Holy Redeemer to discontinue the Bingo. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence issued a press release expressing "shock and surprise" at this: "The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence believe that our commitment to giving is in alignment with the philosophy of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which represents a cross-section of the San Francisco population. It is unfortunate and extremely disappointing that this appears not to be the case, and that our shared values cannot overcome our differences of opinion when it comes to how we serve the community."MHR Goes Global:
On April 29, 2007, the BBC World Service airs a "Gay Service" from Most Holy Redeemer. A transcript can be read here. As this is on the BBC's website, it has worldwide circulation. The Archdiocese issues a statement saying it did not know of the event, and had not approved it.
And this brings us back to where we began, and what provoked this post:
On Monday, May 21, 2007 the San Francisco Chronicle runs a long story on same-sex adoptions:
Excerpt: "Today, the San Francisco Department of Human Services is starting a campaign to recruit more people like the VanGundy's (two gay men) to adopt foster kids, especially teens, who are among the hardest to place. The agency sees gays and lesbians as an underutilized pool of potential parents. . . . Aiding San Francisco with its recruitment effort is Family Builders, an Oakland nonprofit adoption agency with which the city contracted to match parents with kids."And, again, from California Catholic Daily:
"The Archdiocese of San Francisco did not respond to requests for comment on the campaign."
If you'd like to share your feelings about this:
US Nunciature
Archbishop Pietro Sambi
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W,
Washington, DC, USA
Telephone: (202) 333-7121Fax: (202) 337-4036
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Piazza del S. Uffizio,
11, 00193
Roma, Italy
Telephone: 06.69.88.33.57 or 06.69.88.34.13 Fax: 06.69.88.34.09
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
Telephone: (415) 614-5500
E-mail: info@sfarchdiocese.org
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