The following article in yesterday’s Star Tribune reports that supporters of artist Lucinda Naylor will be collecting unwanted copies of the MN bishops’ anti-gay marriage DVD outside five Twin Cities area churches tomorrow morning. For a list of other places that are collecting the DVDs, click here._________________________
Artist to Collect Catholic Bishops’ DVD
Outside Five Churches
By Jim Spencer
Star Tribune
October 1, 2010
She plans to create a sculpture out of discs sent out
by the [clerical leadership of the] Catholic Church
that call for a ban on gay marriage.
Outside Five Churches
By Jim Spencer
Star Tribune
October 1, 2010
She plans to create a sculpture out of discs sent out
by the [clerical leadership of the] Catholic Church
that call for a ban on gay marriage.
Supporters of an artist hoping to construct a sculpture out of anti-gay marriage DVDs distributed by the [clerical leadership of the Roman] Catholic Church will collect the discs outside five Twin Cities area churches Sunday, according to the artist, Lucinda Naylor.
Volunteers will accept the DVDs, which call for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, outside the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis from 7:15 a.m. until noon, Naylor said. Her project caused the pastor at the basilica to suspend her indefinitely from her part-time job there. Naylor said DVD collection efforts will also take place at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and the Church of St. Cecilia, both in St. Paul, and Pax Christi in Eden Prairie. The collections will take place on public property in front of the churches, which haven't sanctioned the efforts.
“I need to get these DVDs as soon as possible to create a sculpture before the election,” Naylor said.
Naylor said she wants her sculpture to focus on Catholic values of inclusion, social justice and “hope, not fear.” She believes the DVD, which began arriving at the homes of more than 400,000 Minnesota Catholics this week, is designed to pressure people to vote only for candidates who support a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Naylor and others believe this amounts to a church endorsement of Republican Tom Emmer, the only gubernatorial candidate to support the ban.
“It is understandable that people might make that connection,” said Dennis McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “But we don’t endorse any candidate, nor any political party. We talk about issues. Our position on fair wages and immigration would make some people say we’re endorsing Democrats.”
McGrath called Sunday’s DVD collection effort “unfortunate, because it's a publicity stunt” near worship services. But he said Naylor and those who support her effort have a right of free speech that allows them to collect the DVDs so long as they stay off church property.
Naylor promises to use every DVD she collects in a sculpture that likely has a “water or flame motif” that can be expanded, symbolizing the inclusion of people in the church.
Return the DVD, a group that set up a Burnsville post office box to collect DVDs from disaffected Catholics, has agreed to supply Naylor with as many DVDs as she wants. By Friday morning, Return the DVD had received well over 100 DVDs, according to spokesman Paul Lipetzky.
“That’s great,” he said, “considering that the DVDs didn't start arriving in homes until Wednesday.”
Recommended Off-site Links:
Local Catholic Priest Speaks Out on MN Bishops' Anti-Gay DVD Controversy - Star Tribune via The Progressive Catholic Voice (October 2, 2010).
DVDs Arrive to Divided Catholics – Maria Elena Baca (Star Tribune, September 30, 2010).
Knights of Columbus and Minnesota Archbishop Endanger Church Neutrality – Nicole Sotelo (National Catholic Reporter, September 30, 2010).
DVD to ART
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Basilica Artist-in-Residence Suspended Over “DVD to ART” Project
Quote of the Day – September 25, 2010
Local Catholics Seek to “Create Some Good Out of an Unfortunate Situation”
The Minnesota Bishops' Last Ditch Effort
It’s a Scandal
Misplaced Priorities
Exposing NOM's "Shameful" Behavior in Minnesota
A Message for NOM (and the Catholic Hierarchy)
At UST, a Rousing and Very Catholic Show of Support for Same-Sex Marriage
A Catholic Voice for Marriage Equality at the State Capitol
Bravo! A Creative and Generous response to the petty-mindedness of the bishops. We need much more of this pushing back against our reactionary church leadership. I see some reaction in the Philippines against the arrogant fanaticism of the bishops there, who threaten to excommunicate the President for distributing condoms to the poor. This is in country whose undernourished population has shot up from 74 to 92 million in 10 years and where mothers living on rubbish dumps give birth to huge families.
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