Quote of the Day

Doctrinal development matters. Discrimination against homosexuals is wrong. Persecution of homosexuals is real. . . . If church teaching is not part of the protection of a vulnerable population, it is part of the persecution. Civil rights for gays must be understood and incorporated into the Catholic tradition — theologically, just as opposition to slavery finally was promulgated. This inclusion of civil rights in moral teaching may or may not imply other developments of doctrine on this issue, but this first, true step must be fully taken — to the point of support for civil marriage as a human right — in a world where violence against gays, lesbians and transgender people is still the norm.

Mercy does not mean acquiescence or procrastination. We do not condemn our opponents but we do not wait for them. We pray that they will eventually come along. The long arc of Church history suggests that they will.

– Jim McGarry
Quoted in Bob Shine's article,
"San Francisco Archbishop on Caitlyn Jenner:
Trans* Identities Undermine Faith"
Bondings 2.0
June 7, 2015

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A Church of Both Roots and Branches
• A Church That Can and Cannot Change
• James Carroll on Catholic Understandings of Truth
• Comprehending the “Fullness of Truth”
• The Catholic Challenge
• The Treasure and the Dross
• What It Means to Be Catholic

Image: Kristen Solberg.