Are Marginalized
Lesbian and Gay Catholics
Welcome in the Church?

by
John Montague
May 2002

Table of Contents

Introduction
Where We Came From - The Church As Institution
The Revelation of God Through Human Experience
Ecclesiology: The Dialectics of History
Ecclesiology - Lumen Gentium
A Fellowship of Believers - The People of God
Church as Sacramental Mystery
Church as Prophetic Voice in a Sinful World
A Reign of God Ecclesiology
Theological Anthropology - Gaudium et Spes
Theological Anthropology and Nature, Grace, and Sin
Theological Anthropology and Sexual Ethics
Ecumenical Perspectives On This Issue
Lesbians/Gay Ministry in the Catholic Church: A Vision for the Future
Conclusion
Endnotes
Bibliography

Introduction

        I would like to consider the marginalization of gays and lesbians in our Church. I will divide my remarks into three sections. First, I will discuss the need for ministry to this community in the context of two areas of systematic theology: Ecclesiology, and Sin and Grace. I am especially interested in how individuals and institutional structures including the Church, respond to God's merciful intervention. Secondly, I will discuss the ethical and ecumenical implications of working with gay and lesbian people. Third, I will make recommendations for a theology of ecclesiology and ministry with lesbian/gay persons that includes dialogue. As Higgins and Letson recently wrote: "If the Church's message is going to get the hearing it deserves, the Church will have to learn to speak with the faithful rather than opting to speak at them." (1)

        I will now review how this paper will proceed. Since the prevailing 'institutional' model of Church was a major reason for calling Vatican II, I will offer a brief explanation of that model. This is necessary in my opinion to explain post Vatican II reactionary movements, and why gay and lesbian ministry is still uncommon forty years after the Council began. I will then discuss revelation from the viewpoint of our human experience. I will also discuss my vision of church as portrayed by Anne Clifford as outlined in her book Introducing Feminist Theology which is an amalgam of five elements: a) A fellowship of believers, the People of God; b) A sacramental mystery that both transcends and is visibly present in the world; c) A Prophetic Voice in a Sinful World; d) An institution visibly structured with clear lines of authority; and, e) The Presence of the reign of God within the heart of the individual believer. To achieve the second objective of this paper I will present material on the theology of grace, sexual ethics, and ecumenical perspectives. Finally, I will present recommendations for ministry to the gay and lesbian Catholic community.

        My focus will be on the need for compassionate ministry to transform oppressed people, and bring them into full participation. Receptive hospitality is essential to permit their giftedness to be shared with the Christian community. Christology from above teaches us to believe in an incarnate Son, whose soteriological significance transforms human suffering, into our participation in the redemption of the world. Lesbians and gay persons participate in that redemption in various ways. The recent AIDS crisis has brought a powerful witness of love and generosity to the awareness of heterosexual society. In speaking about his experience of pastoral care in New York City in the early 1980's moral theologian Enda McDonagh writes about meeting gay

"….couples where the attention and self-sacrifice of the healthy partner and the responses, loving and spiritual, of the partner who was seriously ill, was extraordinarily impressive. And I couldn't believe but that this was some manifestation of truly Christian love. I had to accept that there was true Christian love going on in this relationship, and in a number of relationships I saw." (2)
        Further in speaking about the misunderstanding of the pastoral needs that gays and lesbians experience, Robert Doran writes:
"Now I ask you simply to imagine what the infamous Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...might have been like if it had begun with… 'Many homosexual relationships exhibit a fidelity and tenderness whose holiness is evident.' In fact, the Letter never mentions fidelity and tenderness, to say nothing of exhorting the bishops to encourage the development and exercise of such virtues....Nor does it ask the forgiveness of gay and lesbian people for the violence perpetrated upon them because of centuries of homophobic church teaching." (3)
The tension between the institution and sacramental models of Church suggests that we examine the historical context from which these models arise.

Where We Came From - The Church As Institution

        No rational person can doubt that organizational structure is essential for the delivery of the ministry and ongoing development of the Church's mandate to preach the good news of the Kingdom. From apostolic times there have been ministers, the exercise of authority, and prescribed forms of worship. There is a distinction however between 'institutionalism' and the institutional element in the Church. Insistence on the institutional visibility of the Church has been a priority from the late Middle Ages until Vatican II. Emphasizing church government tends to highlight visible structures, especially the rights and powers of officers. However having a structure does not necessarily imply institutionalism, anymore than law implies legalism. According to Avery Dulles: "By institutionalism we mean a system in which the institutional element is treated as primary. ..A Christian believer may energetically oppose institutionalism and still be very much committed to the Church as institution." (4) This concept of institutionalism is a deformation of the true nature of the Church, and is always a danger to it. The institutionalist development occurred primarily in the late Middle Ages and Counter Reformation when theologians and canonists were responding to attacks on the papacy and hierarchy. Mary Hines writes:

"Although there is more to the church than its institutional dimension, this came to dominate the church's self-reflection in the second millennium of its history and gave rise to assertions of power and authority not only internally but in the state as well. The institutional ecclesiology climaxed with Vatican I's definition of papal infallibility." (5)
She points out how the Church had largely identified with its centralized leadership in Rome, which asserted increasing control over the local churches through the various documents emanating from the papacy and its curial offices Dulles suggests that: "…we shall have to leave open the question how far the claims of institutionalization would have to be moderated in a balanced ecclesiology that draws on various models, giving the institution no more - and no less - than its due." (6) The relationship between the Church as institution and the human experience of gay/lesbian people presents an opportunity to examine how sexual orientation is a channel for God's revelation.

The Revelation of God Through Human Experience

        A theology that begins with personal human experience can counteract institutionalization. With John Fortunato I can say: "Gay and Christian are the cornerstones of who I am." (7) I have come to learn that both are good. Paradoxically I have discerned that being of gay sexual orientation is a gift from God. It helps me appreciate what it feels like to be an outsider and to be discriminated against. Being gay teaches me the meaning of poverty of spirit, identifying with those in need of equality. In short, it brings me closer to Christ. However, this is not true for all gay Catholics, and less so for lesbians, due to the patriarchal exercise of ecclesiastical power. I know many who reject the Church because it's homophobic praxis is too painful. An example of inadequate pastoral ministry is when the Chairman of the Ontario Bishops in 1985 went on television strongly resisting the inclusion of sexual orientation as grounds for non-discrimination in the Ontario Human Rights Code. He gave me pause to reconsider if I could, in conscience, remain a Catholic. This bill now prohibits an employee from being fired or denied renting accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation. Although religious organizations are given an exemption from the Human Rights Code concerning hiring employees, the bishops attempted to deny all gays and lesbians their basic legal rights as citizens. When bishops exercise power out of an 'institutional' model of church without consultation with gay Catholics, they illustrate that the two greatest enemies of gay persons are ignorance and fear.

        The ecclesial ambiguity I experience has required me to discern my purpose in life and ask: Why does God's creation include some people who are gay? What is their vocation in the world? Like Augustine I am dissatisfied with what I can merely taste, feel, hear, see, and touch. This is the grace of self-transcendence. There has to be something more, and that Mystery is God. Revelation informs me that a loving God views each person as precious, and to be treated with compassion. Revelation through scripture and tradition teaches me that every gift is from God. As James 1:17 states: "Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father…" Mathew 10: 8 teaches that we ought to share our gifts: "You received without payment, give without payment."

        This revelation presents a clearer vision of the inadequacy of current theology on ministry with gay persons. My own revelation leads me to embrace my vocation, and discern God's call. I am doing this as a pastoral counselor, spiritual director, and retreat facilitator. I also pray for education to enlighten ignorance, and in showing compassion, hope to relieve fear on both sides. God's revelation is offered through human experience, and the need to interpret that revelation suggests that we examine how the Church is involved in the dialectics of history.

Ecclesiology: The Dialectics of History

        Neil Ormerod perceives the lack of a systematic theology of ministry in theological literature. He writes: "Often our ecclesiologies have produced little more than descriptive and historical accounts of the Church, whereas what is needed is a theology which is empirical, critical, normative, and dialectical." (8) It will be empirical insofar as it examines data about the Church from the past and present. In order to be critical it will address questions to that data. The Church will be normative in the way it gives an account both of what it is empirically and of what it should be. It will be dialectical inasmuch as it gives an account of what it fails to be and develops changes to return to its authentic identity.

        My exposition of ecclesiology will begin with reference to Lonergan's method of doing theology. I will also present models of Church to explain historical developments witnessed in ecclesiology at Vatican II. I recognize that Avery Dulles is only presenting a typology in his discussion of models of the church, however, it is necessary to briefly review these models in order to situate how each of them is inadequate to completely represent the work of establishing God's kingdom in this world.

        Our horizon changes as we employ a critical historical method of doing theology, and use new information from both the physical and social sciences. Bernard Lonergan proposes that we know through a process that involves reflection on experience, understanding, judgment, and decision or commitment. He developed a scale of values, which are: vital, social, cultural, personal, and religious. Lonergan says the aim of systematics is not to increase certitude but to promote understanding. Lonergan places his ecclesiology under the discussion of the special category 'Communications'. He does this because he says that the responsibility of practical theology is to effectively communicate Christ's message. His definition states "The Christian church is the community that results from the outer communication of Christ's message and from the inner gift of God's love." (9)

        Robert Doran distinguishes between the reality being mediated, which is grace, and the structures that mediate, many of which pertain to the structures of human living. For example since the Church exists in the world:

"The Church cannot effectively restore the integrity of the scale of values if the Church's cultural forms and social organization are themselves distorted. The Church must strive to exemplify the integrity the world lacks because of sin, and its regular failure to do so makes the Church a countersign of the Kingdom. There are no grounds here for pride or triumphalism." (10)
Joseph Komonchak writes about the change in cultural values which was envisioned before Vatican II:
"…Pope JohnXXIII to have called the Council under the banner of aggiornamento was to admit that the Church had not yet adapted itself to the specific challenges of contemporary culture and history. It was still too dependent on decisions made in other historical circumstances and with the resources of a culture long past. The previous notion of culture had failed to perceive its own particularity and relativity. …the Church found itself bound to a cultural form and to historical decisions and policies which might have been appropriate in one set of cultural circumstances and in one historical moment but which were quite inadequate to different circumstances and moments." (11)
        When a major paradigm shift occurs in the life of the Church the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the continuity in the tradition that make the good news meaningful.

        Ormerod suggests that, for Doran, participation in the Paschal Mystery is the defining characteristic of the Church. Without this feature the Church misses the reason for its existence. Ormerod states: "Doran's image of Church isembedded in a profoundand systematic account of the nature of evil, the process of redemption and a positive vision of human flourishing." (12)

        Doran points out that:"…no human organization would be worthy of the name Church if it were not concerned with the mediation of grace to restore personal integrity." (13) But in order to restore personal integrity, church authorities need to hear the lived experience of her members. This is particularly important for groups who have not been permitted any dialogue. Unfortunately, the institutional ecclesiastical structure presently lacks internal mechanisms for ongoing healthy self-critique. Even feedback is sometimes viewed with suspicion, anger, and recriminations. The reason for this dynamic is suggested by Ormerod: "Because it is not in touch with the reality of actual cultural self-transcendence, it may conceive of transcendence in some purely 'spiritual' sense, as in an extrinsicist account of grace, or some 'other-worldly' understanding of religion." (14)

        Theological extrinsicism refers to a theology of grace that is unconnected to personal, psychological, cultural and social reality. An example on the cultural level is a tradition that is often not open to gay/lesbian sexuality on 'biblical grounds'. Ormerod proposes:

"One cannot separate out the concrete social organisation and life of a community from the meanings and values, which inform that living. The two levels interact dynamically, creating tensions, or mutually reinforcing one another…As Doran presents it, the work of restoration is part of the healing vector operative in human history. Grace is mediated to bring about personal authenticity, cultural progress and social harmony. " (15)
        One major response we witness to Vatican II has been a reactionary movement against change. To understand this phenomenon we need to consider how the Church has always adapted to historical and cultural circumstances. Writing about the non-historical sense of interpreting church tradition Michael Fahey describes contemporary reactive behavior of the neoconservative movements.
"At the same time neoconservatism is another social factor developing worldwide among lay Catholics and Catholic hierarchs. The term neoconservatism is used to describe an international, interconfessional mind-set found variously in different continents or churches. In general, Catholic neoconservatives are believers who judge that doctrinal integrity and ecclesiastical structures are being threatened by some in the church who are lessening the solid base of authentic tradition because of misguided enthusiasm and selective emphases or ignorance. Neoconservatives possess an acute, self-confident, but rather nonhistorical sense of tradition. Typically they stress the value of established institutions and possess a wary, cautious outlook on theological pluralism." (16)
        In the past half-century ecclesiology has been affected by the introduction of the historical critical method, especially for interpreting scripture, historical documents, Councils, and the development of doctrine. Neo-conservatives view such new methods of doing theology as a threat to the purity of the tradition. The dialectic between elements in the tradition that are unchanging, with new methods of doing theology, offers an examination of the theology of Vatican II contained in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church 'Lumen Gentium'. In doing so I begin with a definition of Ecclesiology.

Ecclesiology - Lumen Gentium

        Gerald O'Collins defines Ecclesiology as:

"That branch of theology which systematically reflects on the origin, nature, distinguishing characteristics, and mission of the church. Although no articulated ecclesiology can be found in the Bible, the New Testament offers various images for the church, including the spouse of Christ (Eph 5: 25-32; Rv 21:2; 22:17), the body of Christ (Rom 12: 4-5; 1 Cor 12: 12-27; Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:18, 24), the people of God (1 Pt 2:10; Rom 9: 25), the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19), the family and the household of God (Eph 2: 19-22)." (17)
        Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church is considered to be the most important document of Vatican II; although it does not define any new dogmas, it presents the Church's understanding of her nature. It shifts the emphasis from the Church as 'institution' to the pastoral nature of the Church including all the people of God, both cleric and lay. Christian communities consist of disciples following the Christ of faith. They are not abstract entities.

        The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church underwent the most extensive revisions from the initial conception to final editing. Although debate and controversy surrounded the drafting, Lumen Gentium was approved almost unanimously, with only five bishops voting against. The formal structures of ecclesiastical government are not discussed in Lumen Gentium until the third chapter. The first two chapters focus on the primary notions of the Church: mystery, sacrament, people of God, and Body of Christ. The analogy to the hypostatic union is used here to emphasize that the Church is undivided:

"But the society furnished with hierarchical agencies and the Mystical Body of Christ are not to be considered as two realities, nor are the visible assembly and the spiritual community, nor the earthly Church and the Church enriched with heavenly things. Rather they form one interlocked reality which is comprised of a divine and a human element." (18)
A Fellowship of Believers - The People of God

        Lumen Gentium made ample use of the models of Body of Christ and Sacrament, but emphasized the concept of the People of God. This paradigm focused on participation in the life of the church by all the faithful. The concept of the 'People of God' more clearly points to the concrete reality of the Church as a human community rooted in history. To this day progressives invoke the 'People of God' model, as their authority for advocating change.

        The People of God is not identified with any given societal organization, even the Roman Church. In the second chapter of Lumen Gentium, the new People of God is described as a Spirit filled community, "a fellowship of life, charity, and truth."

        When John XXIII was asked why at his age he convoked an ecumenical Council he replied: 'To make the human sojourn on earth less sad.'(19) This remark implied that the Church had become stuck in a medieval mentality of governance and praxis that was less relevant to the modern world. Referring to the covenant God made with the people of Israel as a people unto Himself, the document states:

"All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant which was to be ratified in Christ, and of that more luminous revelation which was to be given through God's very Word made flesh." (20)
        Eugene Kennedy explains a contemporary pastoral problem that illustrates the difference between the models of Church as 'institution', and as 'People of God'. The recent front page shocking "sexual slaughter" of the innocents in the United States, with its associated cover-up, is a contemporary example of what he called:
"the unhealthy dry rot within the institutional structure, which is being brought down like the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Acting as an institution rather than the People of God the Church is following the advice of lawyers rather than its pastoral heart. Its bureaucrats have turned into Samson, shaking the pillars until the temple comes down around them. These twin catastrophes mark the real ending of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first." (21)
        Chapter II of Lumen Gentium with the actual title, 'The Church as the People of God' reflects the triple office of Christ: priest, prophet, and king. These roles are compared to worship (ministry), witness, and communal life. Calling the faithful to exercise responsibility for leadership, the Council refers to the inter-relatedness of the priesthood of the faithful with the ordained.
"Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated. Each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ." (22)
        It is important to note the importance placed in the 'sensus fidelium' in section 12.
"The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office. It spreads abroad a living witness to Him, especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the tribute of lips which give honor to His name (cf. Heb. 13:15). The body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One (cf. Jn.2:20,27), cannot err in matters of belief." (23)
        The People of God form a fellowship of believers in Anne Clifford's conceptual framework when they are joined in common worship of the Trinitarian God revealed in Jesus Christ. She states that: "…church is an event that happens when people gather to celebrate their faith by hearing the biblical Word preached to them and, in many cases, sharing in the sacrament of Eucharist…" (24)

Church as Sacramental Mystery

        The concept of the Church as sacrament developed from the synthesis between the institutional and mystical visions of the Church. In an attempt to bring together the external and internal elements twentieth century theologians appealed to the concept of Church as sacrament. Henri de Lubac suggests this model combines both aspects:

"If Christ is the sacrament of God, the Church is for us the sacrament of Christ; she represents him, in the full and ancient meaning of the term, she really makes him present. She not only carries on his work, but she is his very continuation, in a sense far more than that in which it can be said that any human institution is its founder's continuation." (25)
        In the first article of Lumen Gentium, Vatican II declared that by virtue of its relationship to Christ: "..the Church is a kind of sacrament of intimate union with God and of the unity of all mankind; that is, she is a sign and instrument of such union and unity." The concept of the Church as sacrament also occurs in Lumen Gentium, Articles 9 and 48; Sacrosanctum Concilium, Article 26; Ad Gentes, Article 5; and Gaudium et Spes, Article 42.

        My proposition is that: The Church is a sacrament of God's kingdom only when she is embodied somehow within a particular worshipping community. We are the present disciples at the table of life: the sacrament of the Church. This sacramental mystery transcends and is visibly present in the world. When Christians witness both in worship and service to the truth of the gospel they do so because of heartfelt conviction inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and not as in the institutional model, to fulfill a 'Sunday obligation'. Those who fully participate in the Church and actively constitute it as a sign, share in its reality as sacrament.

        The sacramental model of Church is helpful in bridging the institutional model, and the model of mystical communion. It supports the relationship between the visible institution, with the tangible communion of grace. It gives ample scope to the workings of the Holy Spirit beyond the limits of the institutional Church.

        A criticism of the model of Church as sacrament is that it: "… can induce an attitude of narcissistic aestheticism that is not easily reconcilable with a full Christian commitment to social and ethical values." (26) In this respect the notion of the Church as a 'sacrament of dialogue with the world' to reform injustice brought about by evil, somewhat balances this criticism. The Church has failed however to accomplish this search for justice for lesbian/gay people largely because the Church has not attempted to understand the lives of people with this orientation.

Church as Prophetic Voice in a Sinful World

        The prophetic role of the Church includes the social justice dimension. The fundamental option for the poor calls us to reach out to the marginalized in our midst. It is a liberation theology based on Jesus' example of healing, and welcoming everyone into community. It is about koinonia, which means sharing in Christ's sufferings (Phil 3:10), and subsidizing those in need (Rom 15:26). This prophetic witness of the Church in the modern world is the real challenge of Vatican II, which emphasized that: "The holy People of God share also in Christ's prophetic office." (27) None of the models of Church are exhaustive of all the dimensions that constitute this bride of Christ. While each is important, they are all incomplete in reaching for the Reign of God, which this servant of God professes to the world.

A Reign of God Ecclesiology

        John Sobrino conceptualizes the 'eschaton' not in the sense of the four last things, but as the Reign of God:

"What is ultimate in Christian faith. ..It is up to theology to seek out that ultimate element that will the best account of the totality of the faith, and the element selected will determine the character of the theology that selects it. In our opinion, this is what has been occurring in theology for a century now, with the rediscovery that Jesus' message was eschatological. Those who made the discovery proposed a concrete content for this eschatological message: the Reign of God." (28)
        Anne Clifford suggests that people who identify with the 'Reign of God' model of Church look to the heart of the individual believer. This approach is the extreme opposite of the institutional model. She states however that: "Persons attracted to this model are likely to speak of their Christian commitment as divine election or in relationship to a 'born again" experience. Persons who favor this model do not believe that any specific organizational structure is necessary for the church to be true to the gospel." (29) In the oft-quoted phrase of Iranaeus, "Where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and every grace." (30)

        Jesus message was that the Kingdom takes shapes in the present (Mt 4:23; 9:35). He proclaimed in Mk 1:15 that the Kingdom of God has come near. Kingdom and Reign of God are inter-changeable in this context. Historically: "While the NT did not identify God's kingdom with the church, from the time of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) this has often been done." (31) The primacy of the Reign of God relates to the concern of liberation theology for the oppressed poor of this world. The opposite of the Reign of God is non-reign of God, the history of grace and sin. Sobrino states it is about the triumph of justice:

"The concept of the Reign of God evinces the ultimacy of the will of God, the design of God, the transcendence of God - as well as the content of the concept of God as the supreme god: love and tenderness. Liberation theology calls this God the God of life. By virtue of the very nature of the Reign, God does not appear as a God jealous of the good of human beings; on the contrary, the glory of God consists in the life of the poor. But God is jealous of other idols - the idols with which God is in strict contrariety. Therefore the love of God can be denominated justice - love in opposition to the death procured by other gods." (32)
Theological Anthropology - Gaudium et Spes

        What understanding of anthropology can complement our ecclesiology? The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World begins with the 'preferential option for the poor': "The joys and hopes, the grief and anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts." (33) The joy and hope Jesus left his Church are transmitted when the community takes seriously the mandate to welcome both the strange and the stranger. This document advocates for social justice, and peace appealing to solidarity with the whole human race. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World suggests the Church is a healer and servant. People find the grace of Lumen Gentium when they experience Gaudium et Spes. We cannot be light to the peoples of this world unless we are experiencing hope and joy, at least some of the time. In the logic of Gaudium et Spes all humanity are in God's image, and all humanity are included in Christ's salvation, but with a special priority for the poor. In this way, economic injustice is now not just an issue of charity but also of Christology. "God becomes the God of the victims of this world, and this divine solidarity goes as far as the very cross, and so authentically that it becomes meaningful to speak of a crucified God." (34)

        We help poor people not so that we can see Christ in them, but because as transformed Christians we realize that they are our brothers and sisters. Economic injustice perpetuates class distinctions that create living conditions of human inequality by which the vulnerable poor are perceived as totally 'other'.The fundamental option for the poor is about returning to people what belongs to them in justice. The same dynamic occurs with lesbian/gay folk. It is easier for many to see them as totally 'different', and therefore rightfully excluded from the decision-making structures of church and society. Only by relating to them as people with the same needs and emotions as everyone else can they be understood and loved as brothers and sisters in Christ.

       The Christ event embraces all (section 22). The solutions to the despair and dehumanization of modernity are in the Gospel. Rather than 'Christ above culture' now "Christ transforms culture'. This transformation consists of an active historical engagement with the world seen not merely as an event but an unfolding. It speaks about a new consciousness of the Church's responsibility for the world. The ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium spoke of 'the People of God' with custodial hierarchy, and the 'Body of Christ' with sacramental responsibility. Gaudium et Spes speaks about the Church as a Servant-Healer in collaboration with the world. Unfortunately in the past few years the Servant-Healer dialogue that is required to heal divisions within the Church is lacking. John O'Malley writes in 1983 about the disillusionment following Vatican II.

"Especially in Gaudium et Spes it held out the hopes for a world in which justice and peace would reign and in which religion and technology would cooperate for a more humane environment. ..It helped create a vision of hope in a world receptive to such a message. But visions of hope, unless somehow soon realized, tend after a short while to be forgotten or to turn sour. It seems to be true, unfortunately, that the 'rhetoric of reproach' has more staying power." (35)
        The anthropology of Gaudium et Spes views human beings as comprised of both body and soul (sections 14-21). Dignity consists in sharing in the light of truth. Conscience refers to 'loving the good'. Freedom is not a license but a condition for good. Atheism and nihilism are presented as inadequate responses to the mystery of death. In sections 23-32 they speak of the false 'interdependence' of self-interest. The unity of people mirrors the relationships within the Trinity. 'Duties' and 'dialogue' are presented as responsibilities. Rights are based on justice and love. Genuine equality is premised on a shared ethic. The Word of God ends isolation and restores unity. "It seems fair to say that the language here chosen deliberately disavows any lingering sentiment favoring a ghettoized Church or any attempts to implement some medieval vision of a Christian theocracy." (36)

Vatican II which sees the world of sin and grace, is emphasizing in this document the mission of the church, rather than the constitutive elements of it's ecclesiology. Gaudium et Spes lacks any overarching systematics; it is very much about 'what', and little about 'how'.

"This Constitution announced that the church is to be a player in the theater of human history. The church will no longer stand apart from but must be involved in the massive social and cultural transformations of modern times. How to act out of this new stance has occupied much of the discussion about the church's mission and nature in the post-Vatican II period." (37)
Theological Anthropology and Nature, Grace, and Sin

        Gerald O'Collins and Edward Farrugia definition of grace states:

"(Lat.'favor'). Any undeserved gift or help freely and lovingly provided by God, but above all the utterly basic gift of being saved in Christ through faith (Rom 3:21-26; 4:13-16,25; Eph 2:5-8), a grace that God wishes to give all human beings (1 Tm 2:4-6). The fullness of Christ's grace (Jn 1:16-17) brings us new birth (Jn 1:13; 3:3; 1Pt 1:3-5) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5), making us adopted children of God (Rom 8:14-16) and members of Christ's body (1 Cor 12:27). The self-communication of God (often called uncreated grace) means the deification of human life (2 Pt 1:4) and lifts to a new and undeserved level the relationship of creature to creator, thereby transforming human nature (created grace) and anticipating the future life of heaven. From the beginning Christians have recognized the special role of the sacraments in the life of grace. It is through the grace of baptism, for example, that our sins are forgiven and that we are justified and sanctified (1 Cor 6:9-11)." (38)
        The phenomenon of suffering is universal to all humankind. For Christians life is about how we enter the story of the cross and resurrection in our own unique circumstances.
"The difference between redemptive and non-redemptive suffering is in the interpretation, not the event. Conversion is a shift of the interpretive horizon, which effects a change in the possibilities of transformative action. Resistance and surrender restructure a new set of choices and values emerging from love rather than fear. Suffering is accepted as a consequence of moral choices proceeding from love rather than as a means to an end. " (39)
        Revelation teaches both in scripture and the tradition, that the law of the cross is the solution to the problem of evil. The embrace of our exiled self involves pondering the cross like Mary did at the crucifixion. By holding the tension between "carrying unfairness and proper self-assertion…" (40) grace can transform the tension into compassion. This requires insight, or what Lonergan called 'aha'. Embracing travail is the secret of transformative change because it requires that we share our dependency with a lover greater than ourselves, who will teach us how to grow in generosity. It is grace, which shifts our appetites from self-absorption to self-surrender without fear of sadism or masochism. Cynthia Crysdale describes how this grace applies in specific circumstances. "It can also involve the general stirring up of Desire that grants us antecedent willingness. In this case we are moved in a deep and perduring way to long for, seek, and abide in communion with God, which, in turn, leaves us open to whatever actions God might call us to." (41)

        Truth is contained not in rigid formulations of our projections onto God, but in our readiness: "…to have our religious experience and ideas about God broken wide open." (42)

        Grace also shifts our bias to reject tradition while refusing to explore redemptive truth within it, and "Inauthentic faith succumbs to the temptations of certitude and control, packages God and prescribes salvation." (43) Grace, conversion, and the law of the cross go together. They cannot be separated. This is the confusion of our post-modern society that values individualism, while experiencing alienation from spiritual imtimacy based on authentic relationship with self, community, and God. Confusion, anger at institutional religion, and fear of conversion involving genuine change, are obstacles to the operation of grace.

        Befriending one's shadow side means that: "The comfort of the psychic status quo must be surrendered, the superego must yield to an intentional conscience, and guilt must give way to Desire." (44) Moral conversion using co-operative grace here means choosing value over mere satisfaction and changing distorted patterns of acting. Intellectual conversion includes seeking graced insights: "…even when such insights are into a network of great pain - either the pain of victimization or the pain of repentance or, most likely both." (45)

        Moral conversion is the shift in realizing that pleasure is not a value. It is this hermeneutic of experience that I share with Augustine, as evidenced in my intellectual and affective response to his unparalleled work, Confessions. The current television series 'Queer as Folk' is a painful reminder of my selfish pre-conversion behavior. In the experience of primordial absence of the heart, I like Augustine, sought to fill the void of emptiness: "…in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you…" (46) Augustine describes his libertine lifestyle wherein people became sexual objects as gratification to fill the void in his heart. Because his addictive cravings ran so deep, he realized that only God could fill them. The union with the 'Beloved' for which I also longed, is portrayed by Augustine: "You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." (47)

        In reading the 'Confessions' I intellectually experienced a memory. Prior to my conversion, I knew that there had to be more to life than what I experienced through the senses. Like Augustine I deluded myself: "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet." (48) Affectively, the Confessions are validating to me as a testament to unchanging human nature that for some of us has included addictive behavior. I identify with Augustine's acknowledgement of his search for spiritual freedom.

        Distinct from Pelagius, Augustine's notion of freedom affects the inner being, not merely the desire to act out of necessity. Duffy writes: "Freedom, Augustine thinks, is opposed not to necessity but to an inner servitude that coerces me into acting contrary to my authentic nature." (49) The prior reaching down by God to humankind vitiates the position that human effort is all we require for salvation. Sexual and spiritual unions both require surrender. It is in this kenosis that we find ourselves, and know something of the God of 'unknowing'. In speaking about vulnerability that is at the heart of freedom, Laporte says: "It requires a letting go, a flowing with the spontaneity which alone brings effective power." (50)

        Augustine's weakness became his strength in co-operating intellectually, morally and religiously as well as in a psychic way with God's grace. For Augustine as for me, God's mystery is revealed in vulnerability. The heuristic approach to mystery Augustine points out is similar to Paul's kenotic letting go of self before Trinitarian awesome splendor. In 7:18 Augustine states:

"He would cure them of their pride that swelled up in their hearts and would nurture love in its place, so that they should no longer stride ahead confident in themselves, but might realize their own weakness when at their feet they saw God himself, enfeebled by sharing this garment of our mortality." (51)
        In describing how the Church understands the complexity of human existence, grace, and sin, McBrien writes:
"Thus, the Church's moral vision and its approach to the demands of Christian existence are qualified always by its confidence in the power of grace and by its readiness to expect and understand the weaknesses and failures rooted in Original Sin. And so Catholicism is a moral universe of laws but also of dispensations, of rules but also of exceptions, of respect for authority but also for freedom of conscience, of high ideals but also of minimal requirements, of penalties but also of indulgences, of censures and excommunications but also of absolution and reconciliation." (52)
        The tension between grace being offered and how it is received suggests that we examine how sexual ethics impacts on the real lives of lesbian/gay people.

Theological Anthropology and Sexual Ethics

        Distinct from pure spirits and other animals, humans organize themselves culturally and socially around established sexual roles and behaviors related to gender. Aristotle understood 'nature' as the cause or source of activity in a being. The Romans emphasized the 'law' of the natural order. Cicero defined the natural law as the innate power of reason to direct action. The third century Roman jurist Ulpian distinguished 'jus naturale', meaning what nature has taught all animals. Aquinas accepted both interpretations of natural law. The first developed by Stoics and Ulpian emphasized biological structures given in nature as the source of morality. The second is the 'order of reason from the tradition of Aristotle and Cicero considered the human's ability to learn from experience. Gula suggests that: "The vacillation between the 'order of nature' and the 'order of reason' as the basis of moral teaching has caused great confusion in Catholic moral thought." (53)

        What distinguishes humans from animals is our ability to employ reason to make sense of our human instincts. Reason in the sense of 'recta ratio' involves using the whole of reality including observation and research, intuition, emotions, and common sense. Gula explains that modern understanding of 'nature' sees the biological orders not dictating moral obligations, but rather providing the data and the possibilities for persons to use in order to achieve human goals.

        Some scholars adopting post-modern ideas propose a quasi-deconstructionist stance toward nature and biblical authority in the last few decades. Nelson states: "Our bodies are always sexual bodies, and our sexuality is basic to our capacity to know and experience God." (54) Pope John Paul II stated: "…sexuality ..is by no means something purely biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person…" (55) The Magisterium has come to see sex as essentially constitutive of personal identity, adopting the language of the couple's inter-subjectivity to express sex's moral meaning. Cahill suggests that: "…a cautious but essentially realist ethics is necessary to avoid the social ineffectiveness of moral relativism." (56) She proposes that by using a practise based approach to moral discernment we can generalize to objective though revisable evaluative judgments to avoid rigidity and abstraction. The 'nature' of sexuality is constituted by ongoing reinterpretation and understanding in the context of new insights from all the bio-psychosocial sciences.

        The tension between the 'order of reason' and the 'order of nature' has bedeviled Christian thought. Dealing with that tension is at the heart of any real ethic. There is a third element operative which sublates the other two. The relation of passion and reason depends on how we view the 'flourishing human person'. If, as in much of neo-Patonism, it is the 'self' devoid of passion and living by 'pure reason', then the passions are at war with us. Yet, Cahill notes, there is a fuller sense which sees passion as a ground and guide for reason. Nature and reason are both aspects of something broader, namely the fullness of humanity as a transcendent good.

        Aquinas says that the highest faculty of the human person is the ability to love. Love can shape our reason, will, actions and our development as humans. Lonergan brings fresh thinking into the older doctrine of marriage by distinguishing the essential end of procreation from what he terms the most excellent end on the supernatural level of personalist development. "There results more than a suggestion that as fecundity is for offspring so sex has a personalist finality of its own." (57) Love is the basic principle of union between subjects. Referring to Casti Connubii Lonergan writes: "…there can be no doubt that the encyclical is speaking of a process of development through conjugal love to the very summit of Christian perfection." (58)

        With the development of the personalist vision of sexuality one can finally speak of sexuality per se, not merely as a function of marriage. For the Christian this raises the question of how sexuality is integrated with the life of grace. Lonergan says that grace comes to us through the realities of life in all dimensions. We adapt to God's nature, which is love, through loving. In Lonergan's anthropology, relationship and friendship are necessary for our own perfection. Pleasure exercises a positive aspect in his thought. While knowing that sin is real, his emphasis is on the relation with God implanted in us through creation and allowing for pleasure in all dimensions of the self. Discernment guides us to see in such pleasure an opening for growth.

        No topic in sexual ethics is more controversial for our contemporary church than the meaning of homosexual love. In talking with people attempting to reconcile gay feelings with their faith in Jesus Christ, pastoral counselors are confronted with a person who stands on the margin of the sheepfold asking for acceptance.

        The American Catholic Bishops in their 1976 pastoral letter "To Live in Christ Jesus" wrote: "…because heterosexuals can usually look forward to marriage, and homosexuals, …might not, the Christian community should provide them a special degree of pastoral understanding and care." (59) John Coleman states that the letter addressed to the world's Bishops ten years later by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: "…subsumes some pastoral applications under the moral rubric, but studiously avoids any statement of pastoral compassion for the struggles of homosexual Christians." (60) He suggests that moral theology and pastoral ministry exist in a certain tension: "Conspicuously absent from the CDF letter is the sense of the moral life as a growth process and attention to persons and situations as well as ideal norms…" (61)

        The argument that homosexuals are 'objectively disordered' and that homosexual genital acts are 'intrinsically evil' were included in the 1986 letter. This was done to counteract a benign interpretation that was developing since the 1975 previous document of the CDF entitled 'Persona Humana', 'Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics'. The argument emphasizes the procreative end of marriage as being the purpose for which God created sexuality. Peter Hebbblewaite comments on the Vatican document:

"For the whole structure of Aquinas's ethics reposes on the relationship between function and God-intended purpose, and pleasure or delectation are the sign that we are in the presence of a well-ordered appetite. This is still the basis for the procreation-sexuality link which I consider so important. But if God has created people who are so blighted that pleasure and delectation come only in some nonprocreative way in which they are not allowed to be engaged, then God is a very cruel god indeed. God has made a botch of creation. There are two ways out of this dilemma. Either you say that those of a homosexual orientation have a perfect right to loving sexual fulfillment just as much as anyone else - and that lets God off the hook - or you elude the distressing conclusion that God is a tyrant and a bungler by abandoning the 'orientation is OK, acts are not OK' argument altogether. This is precisely what we see happening in the CDF letter." (62)
        Christians need both psychological and theological soundness to integrate homosexual feelings. The attitude that being gay means license to live without boundaries in sexual behavior creates a spiritual vacuum. Mature Christian life involves careful discernment and prayer. It also needs to be acknowledged that God calls some people to celibacy either as lay people or to religious life. From a pastoral standpoint young people who are just 'coming out' can benefit from meeting homosexuals who live in monogamous committed loving relationships that are life giving. Lesbian/gay persons are blessed if they meet wise Christian people who listen to them. Potential manipulation by emotionally immature gay people can reinforce a negative perception and cynical view of healthy relationships, and values based on Christian ethics.

        Practice wisdom exists in the Christian gay/lesbian community, among groups like Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and in some quarters of the theological academy, and in Catholic parishes with high geographical concentrations of gay persons that have attempted to include the marginalized and alienated in their Christian community. The question then becomes how to reach out to the thousands of former gay and lesbian Catholics who do not know that there is a welcome ear for those who can accept it. Ministry to gay/lesbian people requires addressing the following two questions:

"How does the primacy of individual conscience, a principle that the Church has always recognized, figure in discussions about gay and lesbian committed relationships? Is the dignity of each person's and couple's educated conscience in discerning the call of God, self and others being respected? " (63)
        Obviously, the struggle to form and respect conscience and the critical issue of 'human dignity' form two poles in the concern with justice, which is so foundational to the life of Christians. The problem with individual conscience as an ultimate issue is that it tends to deprive the person of the wisdom of the community, and the community of the wisdom of the person. Understanding conscience as dialogical and communal is going to be central to any way forward with regard to homosexuality.

        The meaning of 'homosexuality', as distinct from its origins or purpose, is a key concern. We have moved beyond the sense of its being a perversion in all cases to a more nuanced approach. It does lack a critical good in sexuality, i.e. the good of procreation, though that is also true of sterile couples.

"The Thomistic structure does certainly place the emphasis on beatitudo, which is always pleasant as the fulfillment of the human person. One of the key concerns in this discussion is going to have to be how we understand both the meaning of pleasure and the nature of fulfillment; note how much of the debate assumes understandings of both of these. We need to test those out as part of theological wisdom." (64)
        Justice is very much an issue that needs to be included in any discussion of sexual ethics in our contemporary world. The structure of patriarchy needs to preserve power through exclusion so that there can be some way of guaranteeing privilege. The broader issue of marginalization is important. Both sides of the debate on homosexual love can justify their own position through a 'rational' rejection of the other. A key ethical concern is how one overcomes that type of radical alienation. Inclusion really touches upon the ethical demands of the Reign of God. This can only be done through cooperation with God's grace in humble dialogue.

        At the "New Ways Ministry Symposium" in March 2002 Bishop Matthiesen suggested, that if Bishops were to speak to members of their own families who are lesbian and gay, as Bishop Gumbleton has with his brother, they would become less defensive and more loving towards them. They would realize how the Church has marginalized gays and lesbians, and generally stifled healthy ministry and refused to welcome them into full participation in Christian community.(65) This is an example of the dialogue that is often lacking, particularly with respect to questions of sexual ethics.

Ecumenical Perspectives On This Issue

        In the past thirty years the Metropolitan Commuunity Church which was started by gay people for gay ministry has flourished throughout North America. Many of the major Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Anglican, United, Lutheran, have lesbian/gay Christian groups. Only the Catholic Church has forbidden her lesbian daughters and gay sons to meet on her property. The Protestant Churches have various levels of acceptance of gay people. The Anglican and United Churches in Canada have welcomed the diaspora of gay Catholic groups such as 'Dignity' into their buildings when they have been exiled from Catholic property by their bishops. Some dioceses such as Chicago and Los Angeles have established innovative ministries to the lesbian/gay community that has been life-giving for many. When the Bishop in Chicago went to celebrate mass with this group last year he asked the local pastor if all the people in the group were celibate. The pastor wisely answered that you would not ask that question of the regular Sunday morning congregation.

        Vatican II does not propose that the Roman Church is co-extensive with the Church of Christ as had been taught by Pius XII in the encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi in 1943.

"Instead of saying that the Church of Christ is the Roman Catholic Church, the text states that the Church of Christ subsists in the Roman Catholic Church, thereby admitting that it is also alive in other Churches and communities not in full communion with Catholicism (8)." (66)
        Many Roman Catholic gay and lesbian people have moved from the Church of their baptism and first communion to other Christian communities that they perceive as more welcoming. They may be alienated because of how their local Christian communities have ignored them, or because of magisterial teaching. Due to their sexual orientation they may feel unwelcome in the local parish that conveys homophobic attitudes. It is as if what was unknown when they were baptized as infants, now prevents them from partaking of full acceptance in the Catholic community. This is clearly disordered. Only by God's mysterious grace, usually through the intervention of an understanding priest or pastoral minister, do some feel comfortable remaining within the Catholic community or returning to it.

        Gregory Baum points out that people can have unrealistic expectations of what to expect from Christian community. When their every desire is not realized they can become cynical and even become apostates. There are a few gay Christian communities that have been founded by former Catholic men and women religious. While these base Christian communities offer the Church other manifestations of community, they must be contributing to building up the whole body of the Church. If they are not in dialogue with the universal Church they can become turned in upon their own alienation, and this breeds cynicism. They also can turn on their leaders when conflict arises. Self-awareness is necessary to appreciate that no pastoral minister can always meet every need of every person. Baum writes: "The longing desire for the warm and understanding total community is the search for the good mother, which is bound to end in disappointment and heartbreak. There are no good mothers and fathers, there is only the divine mystery summoning and freeing us to grow up." (67)

        Unfortunately most of these Christian gay communities have been excluded from dialogue with ecclesiastical authorities and are not invited to Church Unity octaves and other ecumenical dialogues. This needs to change. The witness of faith in these groups can be a source of new understanding for theologians and Church authorities.

        It is possible to provide positive and effective ministry to the gay and lesbian Catholic community. It can only be done with real compassion. Pastors and bishops can then only help the gay/lesbian community to confront their issues such as promiscuity when they know they are held in love. The Samaritan woman could not have changed her lifestyle if she did not feel Jesus honest care for her. This cannot be done from behind desks in offices far removed from the gay/lesbian community. It is a dialogical and pastoral process. Wherever the grace of Christ is at work, the Church will be a sign of God's Kingdom.

Lesbians/Gay Ministry in the Catholic Church: A Vision for the Future

        This paper started from the premise that the only place to learn how to live the 'Good News' is in community. The paradox involves the dilemma of finding a parish that welcomes diversity, while holding the tension of what is essential within the tradition. We are not talking about eccentric self-seeking, but the vulnerability of certain persons who have been made to feel alienated and unwelcome from the Catholic church going community.

        The four marks of the church - one, holy, catholic, and apostolic guarantee that wherever we travel around the globe we are invited into the faith community, even if we do not understand the local language of the liturgy. After all, we are 'ONE'. However, people can find themselves treated differently depending on the subjective emphases of the local ordinary. For example, in the archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Archbishop has initiated a progressive outreach ministry to lesbian and gay Catholics that would be anathema in many dioceses in the same state, country, and internationally. Does that mean that ministry to the marginalized depends exclusively on the whims of the chief shepherd of the diocese?

        An incident in 1998 involving two completely different Episcopal pastoral responses illustrates the arbitrary approach to lesbian/gay ministry.

"In Melbourne, Archbishop George Pell refused a similar gathering of activist homosexuals Holy Communion at St. Patrick's Cathedral; in Canberra, Bishop Pat Power, an auxiliary bishop in Canberra Diocese, Australia, welcomed the group and commented: 'I have to admit that at time's the Church's teaching on human sexuality has been overly negative and there are times when it has been out of touch with human reality. Together we need to find new and better ways for the Church to enunciate its teaching on sexual morality'." (68)
        Gregory Baum suggests that: "The Church, guided by the Spirit, is forever learning." (69) Christianity is relevant insofar as it exists in the world of real imperfect people who attempt, however feebly at times, to find answers to personal, family, and communal issues from the wisdom tradition of the Christian Church. Jesus' invitation to discipleship suggests that no perfect persons need apply. Yet, we are called to a discipline in following him.

        In 1982 John Fortunato wrote a seminal work on gay spirituality entitled Embracing the Exile - Healing Journeys for Gay Christians. His thesis is that when we embrace the exile we transcend ourselves, and in doing so, find God. The Church fulfills its pastoral mandate when like Jesus it compassionately reaches out to those on its margins and is transformed itself in the process. The Church also must admit that at times it needs to dialogue to learn about the reality of lived human experience.

        The most controversial document of Vatican II Donald Campion suggests: "…accepts as its point of departure the emergence of valid new intellectual disciplines chiefly those of the psychological, social, and historical sciences, as well as the unfolding of world-wide trends such as urbanization and industrialization with their inevitable impact on man and his works (54)." (70) This is a hopeful sign of the Church's openness to consider the insights of modern social science, which in the long term will influence the attitude that ecclesiastical authorities deal with sexual minorities.

        In speaking about the diversity of pastoral ministry, Paul writes:

"The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way with him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Paul's exhortation to speak the truth in love enables me to make two recommendations. First: The Bishops need to initiate a dialogue with gay/lesbian people, and their families of origin. No appropriate pastoral ministry can occur if pastoral shepherds do not know about the painful and joyful events that gay and lesbian members experience. Second: Diocesan pastoral leaders should be encouraged to develop ministry programs for gay/lesbian people and their families that are part of the fabric of the worshipping community's life. Examples of ministry include organizing retreats, supporting Catholic Parents Networks that provide group ministry for families and friends, and education in parishes to encourage appropriate pastoral hospitality. Lesbian and gay people exist everywhere, so the need for pastoral ministry programs exists in every diocese and parish. Educational programs that affirm lesbian/gay people and that eradicate fearful and prejudicial attitudes need to be developed urgently. Social and spiritual programs that explain and satisfy human needs for relationship, friendship, intimacy, and participation need to be a major part of ministry activity.

        Dying to institutional triumphalism and pretense can result in the opportunity for forgiveness and long overdue structural transformation. Paradoxically it may represent the beginning of appropriate ministry and dialogue with communities marginalized for being sexually different. Pope John XXIII called the Vatican Council to begin dialogue within the Church. In the Conclusion to Gaudium et Spes in the section entitled 'Dialogue between all Men' his vision of this dialogue is stated eloquently:

" By virtue of her mission to shed on the whole world the radiance of the gospel message, and to unify under one Spirit all men of whatever nation, race, or culture, the Church stands forth as a sign of that brotherliness which allows honest dialogue and invigorates it. Such a mission requires in the first place that we foster within the Church herself mutual esteem, reverence, and harmony, through the full recognition of lawful diversity. Thus all of those who compose the one People of God both pastors and the general faithful, can engage in dialogue with astounding fruitfulness." (71)
Conclusion

        In this paper I have first, discussed the need for ministry to the lesbian and gay Catholic community using the systematic areas of ecclesiology and grace. I have presented some considerations concerning sexual ethics affecting this population. I briefly referred to some of the ecumenical aspects. Finally I presented recommendations, which are vital to begin the dialogue for effective ministry and praxis.

        I have attempted to answer the question raised in the title of this paper: Are marginalized lesbian and gay Catholics welcome in the church? Officially they are included with their baptismal seal. The Reign of God is not achieved however until they are welcomed warmly into decision making about the morality of their relationships. They are able to withstand the uncomfortable reception they often experience only by 1) embracing the cross lovingly and with forgiveness, and 2) following their conscience. Living out Christian life involves ignoring prejudice and loving enemies.

        This year 2002 marks the fortieth anniversary since the first session of Vatican II. Like the sleeping giant that suddenly comes to life, the laity is assuming responsibility for helping the Church examine long held classical conceptions of gender roles and sexual behavior. Marginalized people bring a hermeneutic of suspicion about how ecclesiastical power is exercised. Speaking about theologians writing out of the experience of Third World poverty Fahey says: " They plead for a renewal in theological methodology that would include a critical analysis of the major structures of oppression." (72) I think this analysis very much applies to the lesbian/gay community.

        The authenticity of the tradition comes under question when it ceases to be in living dialogue with the world. As Doran has effectively shown: " …a key symptom of the lack of health of this dialectic is the social marginalisation of the poor. ...The Church may be comfortable, but at the price of excluding the non-conforming voice, usually of the victims and the powerless." (73) An example is survivors of sexual abuse by clergy who sometimes are shunned by their communities for failing to be silent. Kennedy prays:

"Blessed are the imperfect for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. There would be no need for love if we were all perfect, no faults to forgive, no tears to dry. Nor would there be any need for faith, or hope, or community. The heart of ministry is found not in the achievement of perfection ourselves, but in forming healthy relationships that help others grow to their human fullness." (74)
        The challenge continues to find competent and effective ministry for marginalized Catholics including gays and lesbians, and their parents. They need to locate a parish, which includes in their mission statement a welcome sign for those 'who feel alienated and unwelcome'.

        Christ gives unlimited grace through the membership of the baptized faithful that we all may be one. Komonchak sums up what those on the way to Emmaus felt when their hearts were burning (Luke 24:32) within them: "The community we call the Church arises when the gift of the Spirit enables a group of people to say, "Jesus is Lord". (75)

        The pastoral approach that needs proclaiming and which is workable, may be summed up as follows: "To lesbian and gay Catholics throughout the world and to the people who minister with them, that they know that other members of the Body of Christ experience their pain from the family of faith, stand with them in their struggles to speak their truth, and celebrate their unwavering hope that all may recognize that where Love is, there is God." (76)
 
 

Endnotes

1 Michael Higgins and Douglas Letson, Power and Peril - The Catholic Church at the Crossroads. Toronto: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002, Page 246-247.

2 Ibid. Page 240.

3 Robert Doran, "AIDS Ministry as a Praxis of Hope." In: Jesus Crucified and Risen - Essays in Spirituality and Theology, edited by William Lowe and Vernon Gregson. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press. 1998. Pages 182-183.

4 AveryDulles, Models of the Church, Garden City, New York: Doubleday. 1974. Page 32.

5 Mary Hines, "Community for Liberation." In: Catharine Mowry LaCugna (editor), Freeing Theology: The Essentials for Theology in Feminist Perspective. New York: Harper Collins. 1993. Page 162.

6 Ibid. Dulles, Page 34.

7 John Fortunato, Embracing the Exile - Healing Journeys of Gay Christians, New York: Seabury Press. 1982. Page 2.

8 Neil Ormerod, "Church, Anti-Types and Ordained Ministry: Systematic Perspectives." Pacifica. 10. (October 1997). Page 332.

9 Bernard Lonergan, Method in Theology. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1971. Page 361.

10 Ibid. Neil Ormerod. Page 335.

11 Joseph Komonchak, "The Church." In: Desires of the Human Heart: An Introduction to the Theology of Bernard Lonergan. Ed. By Vernon Gregson, Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1988. Page 234-235.

12 Neil Ormerod, "Church, Anti-Types and Ordained Ministry: Systematic Perspectives." Pacifica. 10. (October 1997). Page 333.

13 Ibid.Neil Ormerod. Page 337.

14 Ibid. Page 337.

15 Ibid. Page 340.

16 Michael Fahey, "Church: The Contemporary Context of Ecclesiology." In: Francis Fiorenza and John Galvin (eds.), Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives, Volume 2. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991; Dublin, Ireland: Gill and Macmillan. 1992. Page 337.

17 Gerald O'Collins and Edward Farrugia, A Concise Dictionary of Theology. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press. 2000. Page 71.

18 Walter Abbott (editor), The Documents of Vatican II, Lumen Gentium,New York: America Press. 1966. Page 22.

19 Eugene Kennedy delivered the keynote address to the Fifth New Ways Ministry Symposium, in Louisville Kentucky, on March 8-2002.

20 Walter Abbott (editor), The Documents of Vatican II,Lumen Gentium, New York: America Press. 1966. Page 25.

21 Eugene Kennedy delivered the keynote address to the Fifth New Ways Ministry Symposium, in Louisville Kentucky, on March 8 2002.

22 Ibid. Lumen Gentium, Chapter II, Articles 10-13,Page 27.

23 Ibid. Page 29.

24 Anne Clifford, Introducing Feminist Theology, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2001. Page 136.

25 Henri de Lubac, Catholicism. London: Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, 1950. Page 29.

26 Ibid. Dulles, Page 69.

27 Ibid. Abbott. Lumen Gentium. Page 29.

28 John Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuria (editors), Systematic Theology - Perspectives from Liberation Theology,Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. 1993. Page 38.

29 Anne Clifford, Introducing Feminist Theology, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. 2001. Page 136.

30 Ibid. Dulles. Page 54.

31 Ibid. O'Collins and Farrugia. Page 132.

32 Ibid. Sobrino and Ellacuria. Page 69.

33 Ibid. Abbott. Gaudium et Spes, Preface. Pages 199-200.

34 Ibid. John Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuria Page 69.

35 John O'Malley, "Developments, Reforms, and Two Great Reformations: Towards a Historical Assessment of Vatican II," Theological Studies, 44 (1983), Page 397.

36 Ibid. Abbott. Donald Campion commenting on Gaudium et Spes. Page 194.

37 Catherine Mowry LaCugna (editor), Freeing Theology - The Essentials of Theology In Feminist Perspective. New York: Harper Collins. 1993. Page 165.

38 Gerald O'Collins and Edward Farrugia, A Concise Dictionary of Theology. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press. 2000. Page 98.

39 Gordon Rixon, Power-point presentation of Notes on Grace. Regis College, Toronto. February 2000.

40 Ronald Rolheiser, Statement in Lecture given at Regis College: Toronto, 14 March 2001.

41 Cynthia Crysdale, Embracing Travail: Retrieving the Cross Today. New York: Continuum. 1999. Page 132.

42 Ibid. Crysdale. Page 121.

43 Ibid. Page 122.

44 Ibid. Page 144.

45 Ibid. Page 144.

46 Saint Augustine, Confessions, X: xxVii: 38. Translated by Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1991. Page 201.

47 Ibid. I. I. I. Page 3.

48 Ibid. VIII. Vii.17. Page 145.

49 Stephen J. Duffy, The Dynamics of Grace: Perspectives in Theological Anthropology, Collegeville: Liturgical Press. 1993. Page 100.

50 Jean Marc Laporte, Patience and Power - Grace for the First World. New York: Paulist Press. 1988. Page 182.

51 Ibid. Laporte. Page 182.

52 Richard McBrien. Catholicism. San Francisco: Harpers. 1994. Pages 1195-1196.

53 Richard M. Gula, Reason Informed By Faith - Foundations of Catholic Morality. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1989. Page 224.

54 James B. Nelson, Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Augsburg. 1978. Page 126.

55 John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, No 11.

56 Lisa Sowle Cahill. Sex, Gender and Christian Ethics, New York: Cambridge University Press. 1996. Page 12.

57 Bernard Lonergan, Collection - Papers by Bernard Lonergan, Montreal: Palm Publishers. 1967. Page 16.

58 Ibid. Page 27.

59 Jeannine Gramick, and Pat Furey (editors), The Vatican and Homosexuality - Reactions to the 'Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons'. New York: Crossroad. 1988. Page 18.

60 Ibid. Page 61.

61 Ibid. Page 61.

62 Ibid. Pages 139-140.

63 Editorial. Catholic New Times. 9 May 1999. Page 5.

64 Professor R. Mercier. Notes he provided to me in response to the seminar I led on Homosexuality on 27 March 2000 at Regis College.

65 Bishop Leroy Matthiesen, retired Catholic bishop of Amarillo Texas, gave a workshop with Bishop Daniel Gumbleton of Detroit, on 9 March 2002, at the New Ways Ministry Symposium in Louisville Kentucky.

66 Michael Fahey, "Commentary on The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church-Lumen Gentium," In: George P. Schner (editor), The Church Renewed: The Documents of Vatican II Reconsidered., Lanham, Maryland: Univesity Press of America. 1986. Page 14.

67 Gregory Baum, New Horizon. New York: Paulist Press, 1972, Pages 141-142.

68 Ibid. Higgins and Letson. Page 244.

69 Gregory Baum, "Ratzinger explains how condemnation was right then, wrong now." National Catholic Reporter. January 25, 2002. Page 18.

70 Ibid. Abbott. Commentary by Donald Campion on Gaudium et Spes. Page 190.

71 Ibid. Abbott. Gaudium et Spes. Pages 305-306.

72 Michael Fahey. "Church: The Contemporary Context of Ecclesiology". In Francis Fiorenza and John Galvin (eds.), Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives, Volume.2. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991;Dublin, Ireland: Gill and Macmillan. 1992. Page 335.

73 Neil Ormerod. Page 345-346.

74 Eugene Kennedy delivered the keynote address to the Fifth New Ways Ministry Symposium, in Louisville Kentucky, on 8 March 2002.

75 Joseph Komonchak, "Lonergan and the Tasks of Ecclesiology." In Creativity and Method: Essays in Honour of Bernard Lonergan, S.J. Edited: Mathew Lamb. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1981. Page 266.

76 Jeanine Gramick and Pat Furey (editors), The Vatican and Homosexuality - Reactions to the 'Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons'. New York: Crossroad, 1988. Unspecified page used as a dedication of the book, after the copyright page.
 
 

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