A "Catholic Moment" in Brisbane

Fr. Peter Kennedy on the steps of St. Mary’s Catholic Church
in South Brisbane.

The following story from Clerical Whispers about St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Brisbane, Australia, reminds me somewhat of the journey of my own faith community back in Minneapolis, the Spirit of St. Stephen’s Catholic Community, as well as the various so-called “underground churches” and Intentional Eucharist Communities that are springing up throughout Catholicism - from the Netherlands to Rochester, New York.

My one concern (and the significant difference between the situation in Brisbane and that in Minneapolis) is that the events at St. Mary’s seem to be driven by one individual - Fr. Peter Kennedy. Perhaps it’s the media coverage, but it does seem almost like a cult of personality exists around this one individual. Clearly, the community is behind him, but I wonder how much of an input community members have in decision-making and in charting future possibilities and plans for the parish? Is it only ever Fr. Kennedy who publicly speaks for the community (and who alone is photographed on the steps of the church)?

All of which begs the question: what is the theology of priesthood at St. Mary’s? Does the priest remain “head-honcho” (in the words of former Archbishop Harry Flynn of the St. Paul/Minneapolis Archdiocese)? Is Fr. Kennedy the final decision-maker despite the progressive developments in other areas of community life at St. Mary’s, e.g., lay preaching, blessing of same-sex unions, etc.? Is there an understanding and embodiment of the “priesthood of the people,” which is a major feature of the Spirit of St. Stephen’s Catholic Community in Minneapolis?

Since I’m currently in Australia, perhaps I’ll attempt to contact some folks at St. Mary’s for answers to these questions!

One final point: the development within Catholicism that is being embodied by communities like St. Mary’s, reminds me of part of the homily I shared with the Spirit of St. Stephen’s Catholic Community last October:

[We at the Spirit of St. Stephen’s are Catholics who are] repelled by the idea of living in any type of ghetto. Instead, we are drawn to an authentically catholic Church open to the Spirit; a Church unafraid of journeying, of engagement, of growth and of change. My sense is that the birthing and rising of such a Church is happening right here in this place and in places all across the globe. We’re not “drifting away,” but very intentionally creating Eucharistic communities in the spirit of Jesus and at the growing edge of our tradition.

Ultimately, I don’t think we should concern ourselves too much with questions of who’s in and who’s out of “the Church,” but rather with seeking to discover where “church” is happening; where, in other words, are people being affirmed in their lives of integrity and love; where are people being challenged to be agents of positive transformation in our world; where are they being nourished and renewed by the presence of Christ within and among them. I believe this community is one such place where church is happening.

And I cannot help but think of Rosemary Radford Ruether’s observation that the more the hierarchy stagnates and retreats, the more numerous and freewheeling are the creative initiatives that are springing up at the grassroots.

It’s good to see that “the grassroots” are growing strong in Australia too! And along with fellow blogger Colleen Kochivar-Bakeris, I consider the unfolding events at St. Mary’s in Brisbane and St. Stephen’s in Minneapolis to be “the vanguard of a coming change for Catholicism,” and that collectively these developments represent a significant “Catholic moment.”

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St. Mary’s Priest Will Take His Flock With Him
Clerical Whispers
January 10, 2009

Maverick priest Father Peter Kennedy says he will lead a breakaway congregation if Brisbane’s [Roman] Catholic Archbishop forces him to leave St Mary's Church.

There are fears that exclusion from the historic South Brisbane property will be the final act in a long-running dispute that has reached the Vatican.

The dispute has attracted national and international attention because it represents the battle between conservative and less traditional forces within the [Roman] Catholic Church.

There are more Roman Catholics in Australia than any other religious group. Each week, St. Mary’s attracts large congregations while many more orthodox Catholic parishes struggle to fill pews.

In a rare and exclusive interview, Father Kennedy said he was determined to carry on.

“The reality is that, if we are excluded from this church, the Trades and Labor Council have already offered us their place just down the road,” he said.

“I will continue. Our community will continue down there. We get 800 to 900 people coming every week. It’s a vibrant, alive mass with people from all over the city.”

St Mary’s is known for its unconventional Catholic practices - allowing women to preach, blessing homosexual couples and recognising with ritual the traditional sovereignty of the indigenous people of the area.

The latest round in the battle was sparked by a complaint direct to the Vatican in August from an aggrieved church-goer.

Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby [pictured at right] accused the parish of operating outside the accepted practices of the Roman Catholic Church and encouraged Father Kennedy to fall in line or face closure.

The parishioners responded to the accusations but – in a follow-up letter to Father Kennedy, dated December 22 – Archbishop Bathersby said: “St Mary’s has not yet adequately given proof of its communion with the Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Roman Catholic Church.”

The Archbishop is expected to make a definitive statement on the fate of the parish later this month. With D-day fast approaching, Father Kennedy [pictured at left] is preparing for the worst.

“We don’t know what the Archbishop will do,” he said.

“But he’s not very hopeful. He did say he would set in train a formal process. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he will throw us out of here.

“Most of the people who come here are what we call ‘recovering Catholics’.

“They've left their traditional parishes. If St Mary’s closes down, they won’t go back.”

Father Kennedy said that at the end of the World War II, 50 per cent of Catholics went to Mass every Sunday, but “now, in this particular diocese, 13 per cent go to Mass every Sunday.”

“If the church doesn't come to terms with the fact that the church has to operate within a liberal democracy, while it continues to act like a monarchy where all power is invested in the leadership of the Pope, then there’s no hope, we’ll be down to 3 per cent.”

Asked what Jesus Christ would make of the controversy, Father Kennedy replied: “Well, Jesus always stood with the poor, the broken and the oppressed. Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew. And he certainly wasn’t a Catholic and he didn’t start the Catholic Church. He didn’t start any church.

“Jesus railed against the religious authority of his day, the people who liked to be in the important places, with status and power and all that.”

Father Kennedy described the Catholic church as being “caught in doctrine and dogma still.”

”I understand where the Archbishop is coming from,” he said. “We have a different concept of ‘church.’ Nevertheless, because he does what Rome says should be done, he expects me to do what he says should be done. I can’t do that because I would be doing violence to my conscience; to my understanding of what the church is about.”

Father Kennedy said leadership selection in the Catholic Church was “a very incestuous process and it starts from Rome,” adding it would never change “until the people regain the right to elect their bishops.”

Brisbane’s indigenous community has rallied behind St Mary’s.

For almost 30 years the church has been a refuge for South Brisbane’s homeless, excluded and underprivileged, particularly through the work of Micah, a social justice group that works in collaboration with the St Mary’s Catholic Community.

“This community has been a place where indigenous people could come and feel safe,” Father Kennedy said.


Recommended Off-site Links:
St. Mary’s Community South Brisbane
Church’s Progression at Crossroads - Courier Mail (January 11, 2009).
Parish Rejects Church Practices are “Improper” - ABC News (August 25, 2008).
The Progressive Catholic Voice’s video documentary, The Spirit of St. Stephen’s: Celebrating the Past and Envisioning the Future of a Catholic Community in Transition: Introduction and Part 1: The Early Years.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
The Shrinking Catholic Tent
Dispatches from the Periphery
The “Underground Church”
A New Expression of Catholicism
The Old Catholic Church: Catholicism Beyond Rome
The Declaration of Utrecht

Image 1: Photographer unknown.
Image 2: St. Mary’s Community South Brisbane.
Image 3: David Hunt.
Image 4: Steve Pohlner.
Image 5: Bandido of Oz.

Strathfield

Recently I returned to Port Macquarie from a brief visit to Strathfield – an inner western suburb of Sydney (not far from Newtown, where as you might recall, I visited in December).

I traveled south to Sydney by train with my parents, as Dad, still recovering from a heart attack and (minor) stroke from last October, was scheduled to undergo an angiogram at a hospital in Strathfield. He subsequently also underwent a procedure to replace a stent that had become blocked by scar tissue.

Understandably, Dad spent most of his time while in Strathfield in the hospital, while Mum and I stayed at nearby Cooper’s Lodge (pictured at right and below), conveniently situated within walking distance of both the hospital and Strathfield railway station.

In fact, Cooper’s was originally the station master’s residence – one equipped with a number of extra rooms due to the fact that with Strathfield always being an important rail center, train drivers back in the early days would often lodge at the station master’s house between journeys.

Today, Cooper’s Lodge operates as a guest house - one that is managed by a very hospitable couple, Phil and Josephine.




Given the purpose of our visit, I guess you could say that it was somewhat of a stressful time for my parents and I in Strathfield. Yet I’m glad that I’m currently back in Australia from the U.S. and am able to be of support to both my parents at this time.

Thankfully, Dad’s medical procedures were successfully completed early in our visit. Accordingly, there was time to later relax and, for me at least, to explore Strathfield and its surrounds.



I was accompanied in these little forays by Brian (pictured above), another lodger at Cooper’s. For instance, last Friday, Brian and I took the train to nearby Burwood where I finally saw Baz Luhrmann’s much talked about film, Australia.

To be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect of this film, given the mixed reviews it’s received. As it turned out I actually enjoyed it – as one does those cartoonish-types of films that Luhrmann is famous for making, i.e. films with one-dimensional characters, far-fetched plots, and colourful and larger-than-life visuals. Once you realize that’s what it’s all about, you just sit back and enjoy the ride . . . and, oh yeah, Hugh Jackman!

Later we had some excellent food at a Burmese restaurant back in Strathfield, a suburb which, like the surrounding urban area, is heavily populated by Asian immigrants of various ethnic and national backgrounds – though, from what I could gather, mainly Korean. I greatly enjoyed being immersed in what seemed, at times, like a foreign city.

Late on Saturday night, Brian and I walked for hours through the streets of Strathfield, Burwood, and Homebush, admiring the many Federation- style buildings that these suburbs are renowned for. The next morning I revisited some of these buildings and photographed them (see the opening image and those below).






Above: A Strathfield cat! He (or she!) was very friendly and affectionate.



Above: I took this photo at the Strathfield railway station on Sunday morning, as my parents and I waited for the train that would return us to Port Macquarie.

Black crow, black crow,
tell me what you really know.
Will we flourish in this hurricane
or will we fall and die?

. . . I wonder where that black crow sleeps
as day beckons the night, or if he even sleeps at all.
I wonder what he thinks of all the human traffic far below
that’s struggled on the road so, so long

Tell me, black crow, black crow, silently you pass above,
understanding everything but you know nothing at all.
Black crow, black crow, tell me what you really know.
Do you understand the pain that we feel down here at all?

- Excerpted from “Black Crow”
by Jamiroquai.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Newtown
“Harbour City” Sights
Exeter

An Enlightened Exploration of Integrity and Obedience

In her thoughtful reflection on the theological legacy of the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Colleen Kochivar-Bakeris (of Enlightened Catholicism) compares and contrasts obedience and integrity.

Colleen’s post can be read here in its entirety, while an excerpt can be read below.

I’ve always found it fascinating that the word integrity is rarely used by those who appeal to tradition. Obedience is their favorite word. Where I would say Jesus operated in total integrity in His understanding about His Father and His Father’s will, Fr. Neuhaus and others would say Jesus was totally obedient.

I find that notion arid. In one sense it’s saying that Jesus was following a script he was aware of before hand, that he was nothing more than an actor, given very little room to ad lib. There are portions in the New Testament which do seem to indicate that Jesus was following a script. Especially in Matthew, where there is an overt attempt to show that Jesus was enacting Old Testament prophecy. The problem with the notion of prophecy is that it tends to take any meaningful choice out of the equation. If one is the prophecy, then it isn’t a matter of obedience or integrity. It's a matter of prophecy fulfilling itself.

I don’t think that’s true of Jesus, as the Gospels do give indications that Jesus matured in His understanding of His mission and His Father’s will. Jesus spoke about maturation in His followers as well, and if leaving us the Holy Spirit doesn’t indicate an evolving notion of the truth of God, I don’t know why else He would leave mankind in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

An evolving notion of truth is far more in line with how humanity actually lives out it’s life and how we as individuals live our spirituality. If we don’t evolve we kill our spirituality. Jesus wasn’t crucified just because the prophets made some prophecies, He was also crucified because he questioned authority and His ministry led Him to disobey parts of the Leviticus code. He lived His life with total integrity to the two laws of love.

In my book He died for His integrity to His own conscience, not for his obedience. For all I know, His conscience may have contained the entire will of His Father, but it wasn’t obedience which led him to the Cross. It was integrity to His personal conscience in the face of hostile authority.

- Excerpted from Integrity or Obedience?
by Colleen Kochivar-Bakeris
(Enlightened Catholicism, January 10, 2009)

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Revisting a Groovy Jesus (and a Dysfunctional Theology)
Pan’s Labyrinth: Critiquing the Cult of Unquestioning Obedience
Thoughts on Authority and Fidelity
Genuine Authority
Beyond Papalism
A Church That Can and Cannot Change
A Catholic Understanding of Faithful Dissent (Part 1)
A Catholic Understanding of Faithful Dissent (Part 2)
Tips for Thinking Catholics

Recommended Off-site Link:
“Falling Away” - Mary Lynn Murphy (Progressive Catholic Voice, January 4, 2009).

Image: “Enlightenment” by Gregory Williams.

Dialoguing with the Archbishop on Natural Law

Good news, friends! After a two month hiatus, The Progressive Catholic Voice is back!

I won’t bore you with why the PCV has been off-air, so to speak, apart from saying that the editorial team is still attempting to establish a Wordpress site for it. Until this is accomplished, we’ve taken the initiative of setting up a Blogger site for the PCV that can be found here.

There’s already a number of great articles published on the new PCV site: Charles Pilon, for instance, writes about civil discourse in the church; Mary Lynn Murphy shares her thoughts on “falling away”; while Brian McNeil explores the “gay Catholic insurgency.”

Also, the editorial team of the PCV has a brand new installment of its “Dialoguing with the Bishop” series. In this latest one (reprinted below), we attempt to dialogue with Archbishop Nienstedt about his views on marriage and natural law.

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Archbishop John C. Nienstedt writes a column in The Catholic Spirit entitled “In God’s Good Time.” As the editorial team of The Progressive Catholic Voice, we take his public statements as an opportunity to discuss his views with him.


Dear Archbishop Nienstedt:

Your column in The Catholic Spirit, December 17, 2008, entitled “Natural Law, Marriage, and the Holy Family” has left us wondering if we have any commonality in reason or language. We seem to think and speak in two different worlds.

You divide moral law into five categories: eternal, natural, revealed, ecclesiastical and civil, designating the last two as emanating from human reason. We take that to mean that church laws and civil laws are made by human beings who decide, based on their current knowledge, what rules and procedures best serve people’s interests. We are with you so far. We know that church laws and civil laws change with the times and cultures of people who make them. You say the ends to be served are “human happiness and fulfillment.” We agree with that too.

You then write four paragraphs about “natural” law. It is “written on our hearts.” “This law of our hearts guides the consciences of men and women in knowing right from wrong . . .” It is “perceived by reason.” But then you say that, although natural law is written on our hearts, not all of us can access it because of sin. How do we know who has accessed it correctly? How is accessing the law written on our hearts different from questioning conventional ideas of right and wrong in the light of Gospel principles and making reasoned judgments? How are eternal law, revealed law, and natural law related to civil law? We need a lot more light on these points.

From those confusing observations, you plunge directly into universal conclusions about marriage based on all the categories of law you mentioned above. Despite the lack of reason in presenting it, your central conclusion is about civil law and it is crystal clear. You believe that civil law should not recognize any form of marriage other than the union of one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation of children, and, therefore, civil law should not recognize same-gender marriage.

If your conclusions are, as you say, based on natural law, shouldn’t they be explainable by reasoning? Don’t you have to give reasons why the form of marriage the Catholic magisterium recognizes as sacramental should be the only one that civil law recognizes? Why should physical complementarity be the only factor in a society’s decision to recognize civil marriage?

The civil society is comprised of many groups of people who hold different theologies of marriage. Why should they agree to be governed by the theology of the Roman Catholic magisterium?

What are the “misguided notions of inclusiveness” that you mention as the basis of people’s desire to change civil marriage laws to include same-gender partners? Are they notions of equal protection under the law established in our Constitution? Are they Gospel notions of love of neighbor, including people whose sexual orientation is different from the mainstream? Those are the two bases for inclusiveness that we are aware of and that we value. In what way are they “misguided”?

You argue that the one man/one woman form of marriage should be maintained because in the past “society in its collective wisdom has established” that form in civil law. Are you then willing to defer to the collective wisdom of society to fashion future civil marriage laws?

Were the priests and deacons who attended the two “marriage study days” satisfied with the reasoning presented to them? Did you give them an opportunity to question you? You may have convinced them, on your authority, that they should preach against same-gender civil rights, but you have further alienated many Catholics who are asking you not just for reasonable moral guidance, not just for good citizenship in a pluralistic society, but also for sensitivity to the Gospel message.

Our disagreement leaves open the question of whose sinfulness prevents them from reasoning clearly about the natural law or discerning the Christian revelation in the matter of same-gender sex and partnering. Is it ours or yours? We are open to your telling us it is ours, but, since it is a matter of natural law, we can’t take it on your authority. The questions have to be answered reasonably.

Sincerely,

The Editorial Team of The Progressive Catholic Voice:

Michael Bayly
Mary Beckfeld
David McCaffrey
Rick Notch
Paula Ruddy


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 1 - Herbert McCabe, OP
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 2 - Judith Web Kay
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 3 - Daniel Helminiak
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 4 - Garry Wills
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 5 - Gregory Baum

Happy Birthday, Layne

My niece Layne celebrates her 16th birthday today.

Happy Birthday, Layne!

Following are some photos from the great party that Layne had last night with family and friends to celebrate her birthday.

Above: Layne with her friends Mikey (left) and Jai.

Above: Layne and her grandparents - including, at center,
my Mum and Dad.

Above: With my niece Sami (Layne’s younger sister), her
best friend Danika (far right), and Danika’s sister, Paris.

Above: Layne with her friend Jamilla.

Above: Sami and Danika.

Above (center): With my parents.

Above: Layne’s Dad (my brother), at right, and two BBQ helpers!

Above: Layne and her friends enjoying karaoke
(with the exception of that bloke on the left!).

See also the previous Wild Reed post:
Happy Birthday, Layne (2008)

An Evening Stroll (and Theological Musings)

Last night at about 7:00 I went for an “evening stroll” along the coastline near my parents’ apartment complex.

It was a beautiful evening with the heat of the day gone but the air still fragrant and warm, and the light just right for taking photos.

And so with camera in hand, off I strolled . . .

After a while, however, I found myself focusing more on taking the “perfect” shot than on appreciating and enjoying the beauty around me. And so I put my camera away and simply sat upon a rock high above the tumbling waves, aglow in the descending twilight – content to just observe and take it all in without trying to capture and, in some way, control it.


This experience reminded me somewhat of theology, of our human and thus limited attempts to talk about, make sense of, and, at times, to judge our and others’ experience of God against our own fallible criteria instead of the criteria of liberation and flourishing established by our brother Jesus.

It’s so true, isn’t it, that we can allow our obsession with words, doctrines, and “rules” to make us fearful and distrustful of the clear signs of liberation and flourishment within a myriad of human lives and relationships around us.

It seems so typically human of us to fall into the trap of confusing those often rigid, controlling, and thus “safe” constructs we call doctrines with the great mystery, the boundless and awe-inspiring love that these doctrines are actually attempting (in their limited ways) to direct us toward; a mystery and love that is often so much more readily discernable within the sensual realm, that complex and often messy arena of real holiness.

I’ll let you in on something: the older I get the more I realize (and appreciate) that the true language of theology is actually closer to poetry, to the realm of metaphor and symbol, than it is to doctrine and the quagmires of legalism and literalism within which it can so readily take root.




As I’ve noted previously, I’ve come to recognize (believe, I guess you could say) that our rich, diverse, and evolving Catholic tradition tells us that the Catholic endeavour is not about fearful and unquestioning obedience to a monolithic and rigid hierarchy of institutional power – one mired in the “diseased system” of clericalism, the excesses of papalism, and the institutional church’s “unhealed wound” around issues of human sexuality.

Rather, our tradition tells us that the Catholic endeavour is all about trustful openness to God’s transforming presence within and throughout the vast arena of human life and relationships; it’s about looking at the word with “sacramental” eyes, with an awareness that the world is more than we know, and with the knowledge that that’s okay for being the pilgrim church that we are. Yes, we’re a community of spiritual seekers still very much on the journey.

I’ll be the first to admit that such awareness and knowledge of the Catholic endeavour has been facilitated by the experiences and insights of myself and others (past and present), open to God’s transforming and liberating presence in situations and experiences that some may well dismiss and/or malign. Regardless, such openness has led to a level of spiritual maturity within and throughout the church that does not fear questions or ambiguity.

It’s also a maturity that can say with calm and trusting certitude that our responses of integrity and love to God’s presence in the lives and relationships of those that others may demean and dismiss, trumps unquestioning obedience to the institutional church – the function of which seems, sadly, to be more about continuing itself in its current crystallized form than about being open to the spirit of God which blows where it wills.






See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
What It Means to Be Catholic
Thoughts on Authority and Fidelity
Chris McGillion Responds to the “Exacerbating” Actions of Cardinal Pell
Real Holiness
Genuine Authority
Beyond Papalism
Authentic Catholicism: The Antidote to Clericalism
What is it That Ails You?
“Uncle Vince” is at it Again
Time to Go? (Or Time to Acknowledge a Maturing Catholic Faith?)

For more images of the coastal beauty of Port Macquarie, see the previous Wild Reed posts:
Advent: Renewing Our Connection to the Sacred
The Empty Beach
Starfish

. . . and the 2006 posts:
A Summer Afternoon
Rocky Beach
Flynns Beach
Coastal Views
Pacific Skies
A Solitary Ramble

Homosexuality in the Middle Ages

Yesterday I found an old copy of the Gay and Lesbian Review from 2006 amongst a box of my things in my parents’ garage.

I remember bringing this particular issue of the magazine with me from the U.S. when I was last in Australia. Evidently I left it here, which actually works out fine as now I can share from its pages an insightful review by George Klawitter of Ruth Mazo Karras’ book Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. I must have planned to do just that back in 2006, as I’d bracketed in pen parts of Klawitter’s review.

So here, finally, are those excerpts from this review.

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There are two schools of thought about same-sex sexuality in the Middle Ages: one says that people did it but didn’t like to label it, so we can’t call it “gay” sex; while the other says that it doesn’t matter what you call it, if in fact they did it. Ruth Mazo Karras is in the first group, and sets out in her new book, Sexuality in Medieval Europe, to show that gay sex as such did not exist because what men did to each other in those days was indifferent to gender and focused solely on active” versus “passive” roles.

This contrasts with the view of John Boswell – the original gay medievalist and author of the monumental book Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality – who had no qualms about referring to some medieval men as “gay.” It was actually Foucault who really started the debate in the 1970’s when he asserted that the concept of a “homosexual” person didn’t enter the Western vocabulary until the 19th century and thus cannot be applied to the 14th century. For Boswell, this is like saying that Hamlet can’t be called “Oedipal” because he lived before Freud had invented the concept.

. . . Karras’ most elaborate handling of same-sex relations comes in a chapter titled “Men Outside of Marriage.” After explaining medieval attitudes on masculine privilege and dominance, she turns her attention to “sodomy,” a term, she notes, that was often used by Christians to stigmatize Muslims and heretics, and often used to label any non-procreative sex, which was ipso facto sinful. Church polemics against sodomy began in the 11th century and were codified in the 12th by the Third Lateran Council. But despite this condemnation, sodomy was never considered the practice of a specific subgroup or sexual minority; anyone could be a sodomite. Consequently, its threat to procreative sex was general: it was feared as a pervasive temptation. Karras singles out one exception. Late medieval Florence had a thriving homosexual subculture that anticipated the social and sexual scene of today’s gay ghettos. Karras’ explanation for the “Office of the Night,” an attempt by Florentine city fathers to expose sodomites, is especially clear and concise.

For Karras, sex between men before that 19th-century sociological turning point was not “gay” in any modern sense. Such a usage presupposes the existence of a “gay lifestyle” to provide a legitimizing context for same-sex activities. And yet, it seems to me this view plays into the hands of the Vatican and fanatics of the religious Right who dreamed up the concept of a “gay lifestyle” in the first place only so they’d have something to demonize.

Karras’ position implies that by fulfilling the religious Right’s dream of wiping out this “lifestyle,” it would be possible to eliminate “gay” sexuality itself. What we call “gay” would presumably return to the realm of “sodomy,” that vague, catch-all term used to entrap and humiliate and criminalize anyone whose sexual behavior you don’t happen to like or approve of. So while the behavior in question might be objectively the same, what some people see as a latter-day “lifestyle” was once punishable by death.

George Klawitter teaches literature at St. Edward’s University, Austin TX.

- Excerpted from “De-Sexing the Middle Ages” - a review by George Klawitter of Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others by Ruth Mazo Karras (The Gay and Lesbian Review, May-June 2006).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• What is a “Lifestyle”?
• The Blood-Soaked Thread

Perspectives on Natural Law

Part 5: Gregory Baum

Following is a fifth perspective on the concept of natural law from the compilation of perspectives that the leadership of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) recently sent to Archbishop John Nienstedt and the priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. (For why we shared these perspectives, click here.)

This particular perspective is from Catholic theologian Gregory Baum. It focuses on homosexuality and is excerpted from Baum’s article, “Homosexuality and the Natural Law” (The Ecumenist, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1994, pages 33-36).

__________________________

Traditional Catholic teaching has consistently condemned homosexual love as a sin against nature. But, as John Coleman* has pointed out, for the first time in history we have personal witnesses and an extended literature in which homosexual men and women make known the hidden aspects of their personal lives, offer critical reflections of their own experiences and reveal the ethical orientation that guides them in their attitudes and actions. An ethical evaluation of homosexuality, Coleman argues, is valid and credible only if it has taken seriously these witnesses and this literature.

Some of these testimonies are offered by Christians deeply attached to their faith. These believing men and women have learned to embrace their sexual orientation as God’s will for them, as a gift of God’s creation, and they try to lead sexual lives in keeping with the Gospel’s call for truth, love, and justice.

Some Christian churches have already learned from this testimony. Can the Catholic Church learn from it? To say that this would contradict the Church’s past teaching is not a strong argument since such a change in theory and practice has taken place in regard to slavery, human rights, and the equality of women and men. There seems to be no a priori reason why one should reject the thesis that God who creates the majority of humanity as heterosexual, creates a minority as a natural variant defined by a homosexual orientation. If that were true, homosexual love would be in perfect keeping with the natural law.

* John Coleman, “The Homosexual Revolution and Hermeneutics,” The Sexual Revolution: Concilium, No. 173, 1984, pages 55-64.

Gregory Baum
- Excerpted from “Homosexuality and the Natural Law,” in The Ecumenist, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1994, pages 33-36.


NEXT: Part 6: William C. McDonough

Recommended Off-site Link:
Homosexuality and Natural Law: Beyond a Medieval Construct - Fr. James Roberts (Catholic New Times, January 4, 2004).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 1 - Herbert McCabe, OP
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 2 - Judith Web Kay
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 3 - Daniel Helminiak
• Perspectives on Natural Law: Part 4 - Garry Wills

. . . and the related posts:
• Celebrating Our Sanctifying Truth
• The Many Manifestations of God’s Loving Embrace
• Making Love, Giving Life
• Compassion, Christian Community, and Homosexuality
• The Pope’s “Scandalous” Stance on Homosexuality

(Australian) Summer Round-Up

Last summer, back in the States, I meant to do a summer round-up of some of the insightful and interesting online articles that I’d come across. For one reason or another, however, I never got around to it.

Yet since I’m currently in Australia experiencing summer, I’ve decided to take the opportunity to finally do that “summer round-up”!

____________________

So let’s get this round-up underway with a shout-out to two new blogsites by “Terence,” a partnered gay Catholic man from London. Terence’s two blogs are Queering the Church and The Gay Disciple.

The former features a welcoming statement that includes the following succinct summation of the dilemma facing many gay Catholics:

As gay Catholics, we have often found ourselves double outsiders. As a sexual minority in a world where heterosexuality is routinely taken for granted, and even suffered ridicule, discrimination, violence or worse, we have often felt excluded, left out - or even invisible. Typically, we have felt even more rejected in the churches than in the secular world, with widespread condemnation of the 'sin' of homosexuality. This hostility from the religious establishment has led to a counter-reaction from many in the LGBT community, who see religion as the architect and driving force behind our 'oppression', and consequently refuse to have any truck with organised religion. The result for gay Catholics is too often, exclusion by both camps. I have often heard the observation from my gay Catholic friends, that it can be as difficult to be out as Catholic in the gay community, as it is to be out as gay in the world at large.

Terence envisions his blogs helping people find a support network for both virtual and face to face contact and discussion. I wish him all the best in such a worthy endeavour.

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Another new blog that’s well worth investigating is that of Fr. Marty Kurylowicz’s, the focus of which is early childhood psychological development and the experience of growing up gay.

Notes Kurylowicz:

By exploring the early childhood psychological development of human sexuality, we come to a more accurate understanding about adult human sexuality. In this way, we can begin to understand how and why social and religious norms regarding human sexuality have been formed more out ignorance and fear. We are then able with knowledge to begin disabling this dangerous combination that is self-perpetuating, generation after generation, seriously limiting human beings from reaching their fullest potential.”

Over at the great Nihil Obstat blogsite, “Censor Librorum” offers an insightful overview of Kurylowicz’s personal journey as a gay Catholic priest who is advocating in a courageous and informed way for a renewed sexual theology within the Church:

Fr. Kurylowicz’ ministry for children growing up gay began during Holy Week of 1997, when he told his parishioners, the people of Holy Family Catholic Church in Sparta, Michigan, that he was a celibate homosexual. At that time, Fr. Kurylowicz had served as pastor for 12 years. He had struggled for years with his homosexuality.

The announcement came shortly before he took an educational leave to study psychology at the University of Michigan and Madonna University. Then-Bishop Robert Rose took no action against Kurylowicz, saying his views were in line with Catholic teaching.

Because he grew up gay himself, Fr. Kurylowicz understood the kind of harm done to children when they come under the influence of social and religious norms that convey to be “gay” is socially unacceptable and evil.

Since then Kurylowicz has spoken out to raise awareness of violence against gays and teach others homosexuality is not a choice but inboard trait. Church leaders still don’t understand that and contribute to gays’ poor self-esteem, he said.

“Kids as young as 4 or 5 know they’re different,” said Kurylowicz, “they grow up with this pervasive guilt which sabotages their growth and motivation.”

The church needs to discuss sexuality more candidly and heed Jesus’ teachings more closely, he said. “Jesus never said one word about homosexuality,” Kurylowicz said. “He said, ‘Be careful not to hurt one of these little ones of mine.’”

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Nihil Obstat also offers an update on Fr. Roy Bourgeois, the Maryknoll priest and internationally known peace activist, who was excommunicated for participating at an ordination rite for women.

Vatican spokesman Fr. Frederico Lombardi said Bourgeois’ excommunication would be automatic, in other words, a latae sententiae excommunication, effective when the offense is committed. In other words, the person excommunicates himself or herself.

Excommunication is the most severe penalty under church law, cutting off a Catholic from receiving or administering the sacraments.

Fr. Bourgeois said he was following his conscience in his participation at the ordination rite, though it was clearly against the church’s teaching on women’s ordination.

“Conscience is very sacred,” Bourgeois said in his November 7, 2008 letter to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. “Conscience gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing …Conscience is what compels women in our Church to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood. And after much prayer, reflection and discernment, it is my conscience that compels me to do the right thing. I cannot recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church.”

The author of Nihil Obstat, “Censor Librorum,” also poses some important questions in light of Fr. Bourgeouis’ excommunication:

Fr. Bourgeois was impelled to follow his conscience. He must have known by participating in the ceremony–particularly in the laying on of hands, one of the main symbols of ordination in the Catholic church – his actions would have some serious consequences.

But why did the Vatican feel compelled to enforce canon law and excommunicate him within three months of the event?

In comparison, I do not know of s single instance where a Catholic priest, bishop or other religious has been publicly excommunicated for the sexual abuse or rape of a minor.

Does that mean it’s more of a scandal for a man in good conscience to participate in the laying on of hands in a women’s ordination ceremony; than a man to lay hands on a child for his sexual gratification?

Is something off here?

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Meanwhile, Joseph S. O’Leary offers extensive coverage on his blogsite of the Vatican’s objections to the UN’s efforts to universally decriminalize homosexuality.

This well-researched coverage is organized under three headings: “Vatican Objections to Human Rights Proposal” (which includes the full transcript of the UN’s proposed declaration of decriminalization of homosexuality); “The Criticisms and the Vatican Response;” “Defenders of the Vatican;” and “Press Releases and Internet Comments.” O’Leary has done an excellent job in compiling a vast range of information and opinion, and although the end result is lengthy, it’s well worth reading.

O’Leary’s November 18, 2008, commentary, Catholic Nervousness About Gay Marriage is also highly recommended – especially his response to and critique of the perspective of blogger “Pertinacious Papist.”

Also noteworthy is O’Leary’s excellent overview of the German reception of Pope Benedict XVI’s book, Jesus of Nazareth.

At one point O’Leary observes the following:

Emeritus Catholic theologian Hermann Häring said: “One thing is clear. In [Jesus’] lifetime he was not venerated as God. But the Pope does not want to know anything about this in his book. He projects representations that were invented later on back onto the Gospels... The Pope uses historical research when it fits his dogma. He ignores it when it contradicts him. What is all-important for him is to vindicate the Roman Church and the papal office. Even though his book is distinguished by great clarity and deep religiosity, his image of Jesus is a unified one: smoothed out, harmonious and very inward. It shows neither breaks nor rejections. In the eyes of the Pope, Jesus is very far from being a rebel, who protests against a maddeningly unjust world”

(See also the previous Wild Reed post: The Vatican’s Actions at the UN: “Sickening, Depraved, and Shameless”).

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Commondreams.org has recently published some insightful articles on the situation in Gaza. Particularly recommended are The Gaza War is Completely Stoppable by Robert Naiman, Israel Can’t Bomb Its Way to Peace by Rosa Brooks, and Gaza Attacks: Murder with Impunity by Mustafa Qadri.

Also recommended is Joann Hari’s December 28 piece on The Huffington Post, The True Story Behind This War is Not the One Israel is Telling.

Meanwhile on the website of Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now! program, the perspectives of an Israeli lawmaker and an Israeli conscientious objector to the current crisis in the Middle East are shared and discussed.

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I was last in Australia about two years ago. Since then while living in Minnesota (my other home since 1994) I haven’t kept as up-to-date with the gay scene here as much as I would’ve liked to. All the more reason to appreciate Australian gay advocate Rodney Croome’s overview of 2008.

Part of Croome’s summary includes the following:

Personal landmarks in 2008 included the inaugural speech of newly-elected openly-lesbian WA Senator Louise Pratt, the announcement of Justice Michael Kirby’s retirement, and Matthew Mitcham’s perfect dive at the Beijing Olympics.

Each of these achievers has been received respectfully in mainstream Australia, showing how far the nation has come.

But it was still considered risky for them to be out and to call, as each did, for their right to marry, reminding us how far we have yet to go until we have a truly fair and inclusive society.

(See also the previous Wild Reed posts: Making a Splash and Openly Gay Diver Wins Olympic Gold.)

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For weeks now the blogosphere has been awash with talk about U.S. President-Elect Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to offer the invocation at his inauguration. Two commentaries on this controversy that I particularly appreciate and recommend are Timothy Kincaid’s The Newer, Gay Friendlier Rick Warren (Same as the Old Rick Warren with New Packaging) and Christopher Evans’ My Last Word on Rev. Warren: Better Words, More Loving Words.

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And finally, the December 28, 2008, issue of the Boston Globe contains an interesting interview by Michael Paulson with Catholic priest, theologian, author – and “lightening rod” Richard McBrien.

Asked at one point why he was such a “lightening rod” for some Catholics, McBrien replies:

It might be because I have such a public image. I regard myself as a broad centrist. But to an extreme right-wing person, especially in religion, and within the Catholic Church, a centrist or a center/left person is automatically perceived as an extreme left-wing person, bordering on, if not actually in, heresy. But for every e-mail or blog that you would see that would condemn me . . . I can tell you I got a lot of e-mails and letters from Catholics who said that I had given them hope and that their teenage kids who had been alienated from the church said that, “If there were more priests like the guy we were watching on television, I'd still be a Catholic.”

Asked why he doesn’t leave the Church, McBrien responds:

Because it’s my church. It’s my home. And I was born in it. I’ve been a Catholic all my life. And I have affirmation from so many good people. I feel that I have a responsibility to them to continue working at it and doing the best I can.

Hmm, now that’s a response I can relate to!


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Fall Round-Up (2007)
Spring Round-Up (2007)

Opening Image: Hugh Jackman in Australia.

Happy Birthday, Brendan

The youngest of my nieces and nephews, Brendan, turns eleven today.

Happy Birthday, Brendan!

The photos that accompany this post were taken when Brendan and his family visited me in the Twin Cities last July/August.

Above: Brendan, his mum, and two of his brothers
with me and my friends Brigid and Molly - July 31, 2008.

We had a great time, didn't we Brendan?
And I'm so looking forward to seeing you and your family
here in Australia later this month!

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
An Afternoon at the Science Museum
Pool Party
Climbing Barn Bluff
Good Times, Happy Memories
Happy Birthday, Brendan (2008)
The Bayly Family - July 2006