Gay and Lesbian Catholics Support President Obama against Bigoted Religious Leadership On Gay Marriage

The Rainbow Sash Movement a National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Roman Catholics responds to the public statement of Cardinal Dolan current president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, head of the New York Archdiocese and Rev. Bryant Wright, president of the Southern Baptist Convention

Both of these men claim to speak for Christians in the matter of Gay Marriage, something President Obama has not done. On the contrary President Obama spoke of his personal religious belief in his understanding of the Golden Rule of do unto others as you would do unto yourself.

The Rainbow Sash Movement commends President Obama on his integrity, and recognizing that it was time for Presidential leadership on the issue of Gay Marriage.

We can no longer allow religious leaders to promote second class citizenship to any group of US Citizens which is based on their narrowly defined dogma. Such dogmatic fundamentalism only promotes bigotry in the name of religious authority as was done in North Carolina. Constitutional violence is just as wrong as any other form of mindless violence.

We are glad that we have a president who believes in the separation of Church and State.

God bless President Obama, you make us proud to be Americans once again.

Board of Directors
Rainbow Sash Movement

Catholic Bishops AKA the Emperors with No Clothes

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops appears to lack unity in dealing with the birth control issue with the Obama administration. The basis for this lack of unity appear to be found in their end goal.  Initially the Bishops wanted a broader exemption from the contraception mandate for religious institutes, now the leadership appears to be moving into a political mode by seeking roll back the entire regulation. They are hoping to position themselves for the fall election in which they hope to be able to help the GOP defeat the Obama Administration. This is not a wise course of action for the Church.

In our opinion, the Bishops should stay out of politics, the last time they got involved was the French Revolution and we all know how badly that turned out for the Church. It is time for the leadership of the USCCB to turn their vision to the future, what happens if Obama gets reelected? What type of a relationship will the bishops have with the government than. We are suggesting that the leadership of the USCCB use Catholic Social Justice as their standard, and put the poor ahead of organizational ego in this matter.

The Bishops started this journey out by initially seeking broad conscience protections, but they are losing this debate solely based on the fact that most Catholics are dismissing what they have to say in the political arena because of their insignificance when it comes to political leadership of Catholics.

Their support of the “Taco Bell rule,” this rule allows for individual business owners to be exempt because “If I quit this job and opened a Taco Bell, I’d be covered by the mandate.”

The major problem is that neither of these ideas will fly with either the White House or Congress.

One of the major issues facing the USCCB is that their organizational operating style only allows for two meetings a year, they also work on the consensus model, and during the rest of the year they supposedly have a Administrative Committee that can run things in between meetings, except the bishops are so suspicious of each other that they have not given this committee the power and authority to work on the bishops behalf. One only has to remember the fiasco of getting the document “Always Our Children” approved. This signaled the end of any real power for the Administrative committee, now it is more about bloated egos than real management authority.

Clearly the bishop’s allies are fragmented in their support. Catholic Social Organizations such as Catholic Hospitals and Universities are not behind the Bishops. The Rev Joe Jenkins president of the University of Notre Dame, described the Obama compromise as a welcome step and his view was echoed by other Catholic Universities. Sister Carol Keehan, head of the Catholic Health Association that represents a sprawling network of Catholic hospitals, also hailed the accommodation.

Lacking the Church’s institutional muscle behind the Bishops position the Bishops negotiating position has become much weaker.

Even conservatives in the Church are quickly realizing the Bishops may be losing the debate. “If the bishops reject this deal, they don’t have a lot of options,” Shaw wrote in Crisis Magazine, a conservative Catholic outlet. “Closing down thousands of Catholic institutions and programs isn’t likely. Remedial legislation pending in Congress has little chance of becoming law with Democrats controlling the Senate and the White House. As for simply refusing to obey the … rule, it’s a last resort.”

The 900 lb elephant in the room for the Bishops is that the 67 million Catholics do not support their position — whatever it turns out to be. Surveys show that U.S. Catholics — including the most devout — do not heed the bishops’ teachings against artificial birth control, and framing the issue as a threat to religious freedom hasn’t moved Catholics to mass opposition.

What is going to determine the election is the state of the economy, and not birth control or religious liberty no matter how much Cardinal Dolan and his clueless USCCB Administrative Committee want to change the political reality. Are the Bishops ready to jump ship?

Ann Smith
Rainbow Sash Movement

Catholic Diocese of Sacramento Promotes Hypocrisy where the Poor are Concerned

The Catholic Church has given itself another black eye when it comes to the issue of Charity. This time it involves a homeless shelter “Francis House” that gets its funding from Catholic Diocese.  The Diocese of Sacramento, California sent a letter to Rev. Faith Whitmore who is the director of Francis House, to say that her public statements clashed with Church teaching. The letter said it would be “impossible for the diocese to continue funding Francis House” in its annual Catholic Appeal specifically because of Whitmore’s involvement.

It should be pointed out that neither the director, nor Francis House are Catholic. The shelter is non-denominational. It seems that Rev. Whitmore expressed her personal views that she both supported Gay Marriage and a women’s right to choose. These views apparently did not sit well with folks over at the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento.

According to the Rainbow Sash Movement News, Francis House is one of the largest agencies serving the homeless in the Sacramento region, with upwards of 25,000 clients and an annual budget of around $500,000. The diocese has contributed between $7,5000 to $10,000 to the agency every year for at least two decades, a significant amount in a struggling economy.

This is another example of how far off the mark the Hierarchy is getting from the idea of not only Catholic Social Justice, but also the Parable of the Good Samaritan. True Charity is supposed to be without conditions.

As LGBT Roman Catholics we condemn Bishop Jaime Soto for his action against this homeless shelter and his recently released strategic plan, titled “A Hopeful and Effective Sacrament of Christ in Northern California,” on March 6. The Plan calls for service to the poor, but in this action directed at the homeless of Sacramento Bishop Soto lays out the true agenda of his plan, and that is selective charity for the poor that only support Catholic Dogma.

The Diocese and its planners should be holding their heads in shame. Is this how you, “announce the Gospel in the public square of social media, serve the poor and marginalized more effectively, and harness the resources so this can all be done?” What hypocrites.

Bob Anderson
Rainbow Sash Movement

Lesbian Refused Communion based on Personal Bias

I think this illustrates how open to spiritual bullying some priests can be under the current Teaching on the Homosexual person in the Church. I am sure the parish priest was also influenced by the current situation in the Catholic Institution lead by judgmental bishops who feel that purity of dogma must override the human condition. While the local archdiocese has apologized for the actions of Father Marcel Guarnizo in this matter, they appear not to be ready to acknowledge the part they played in allowing such a un-charitable act to happen.

While Guarnizo officiated at a funeral mass for Loetta Johnson on Saturday at Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, about 25 miles northwest of Washington. He told attendees that only church members in a “state of grace” would be allowed to receive communion, Johnson said. Such a statement ignores the part that moral conscience plays, and presumes to make judgments about one’s internal forum. Fr. Guarinizo apparently does not understand we are all sinners and have fallen short. Would he have handled any other sinner in a similar fashion, or would he have exercised a more common sense and reasonable approach?

Johnson said that when she approached, the priest covered the communion chalice with his hand, “looked me in the eye and said ‘I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman.’”

The Rainbow Sash Movement believes it would be easy for us to react in a judgmental fashion, but what would that solve? If the Archdiocese of Washington is sincere in their apology they must reach out to the woman who was victimized by this priest at her mother’s funeral, and begin the process of healing if that is now even possible.

Clearly this action reflects not only the attitude of one priest and but also of  the Archdiocese; if the priests attitude is not publicly disciplined by the Archdiocese it will be understood to have sanctioned the action.

Cardinal Wuerl understands how out of place this action is. Clearly this is just another example of why so many are leaving the Church. He claims it is the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington that “When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person,” the Archdiocesan response said. “Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.” The priest should be publicly punished for his public violation of Archdiocesan policy if indeed the Archdiocesan policy was violated.

Sadly while the Archdiocese of Washington like many other Arch/dioceses around the country have developed welcoming parishes for LGBT Catholics, those parishes will take a back seat to this incident.

Clearly I think both supporters of the priest and those who don’t support the priests action generally agree this whole matter could have been handled with more compassion and less judgementalism. If no action is taken against Fr. Guarizo, to educate him about pastoral concerns of denying anyone communion, and acquainting him with the current policy of the Archdiocese of Washington than the apology will be understood as just pious words that are bleached of any real moral meaning.

The present climate of hostility to everything LGBT in the Catholic Church I fear has only encouraged this priest to take this course of action. I fear the example set by US Catholic Bishops in their open hostility to the Gay and Lesbian Community has led this priest to believe he is just following orders.

Joe Murray
Executive Director
Rainbow Sash Movement

Religious Freedom or Women’s Healthcare

Where are the Women???

The ongoing debate around contraception and its connection to women’s health is quickly becoming the epi center of the debate that has been ragging in the Catholic Church since Humane Vitae. The Rainbow Sash Movement firmly believes is outrageous assault on women’s health. As people of faith we believe that health benefits of new technologies and drugs should not be used as a tool to impose religious belief on those who do not believe the same. Additionally, we believe the same debate is be used by prolife elements within the Catholic Church to use the government as a tool to impose the US Conference of Catholic Bishops will on the broader Catholic World in the United States.

Sadly this debate is also be used by such groups as ETWN, and the Beckett Foundation to promote patrician politics within the Catholic Church. Even George Weigel is using it as way to attack the National Health legislation referred to as “Obama Care” by Republican detractors in his latest issue of the National Review On Line.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops recent attack on Catholic Health Association and its president, Sister Carol Keehan just the latest example of the Bishops ethics lite strategy. Instead of attacking Sr. Keehan up front they use surrogates such as George Weigel and Bill Donohue of the Catholic League.

Sr. Keehan needs no protection she is quite able to defend herself against this old boys club mentality. The HHS mandate had nothing to do with religious freedom, or, later, that the “accommodation” met any legitimate religious-freedom concerns? It is about women’s health, and the benefits of contraception beyond family planning.

Cardinals Dolan president of US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)  and Cardinal Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington DC, are more comfortable attacking her from behind; shaking her hand while stabbing her in the back at the same time. Also in their sites are HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Senator Patty Murray, Representative Rose DeLauro or Nancy Pelosi just to name a few.

In his testimony at the February 16th, 2012 House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the contraceptive coverage mandate under health reform, the Most Reverend William E. Lori, the Bishop of Bridgeport and spokesman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), defended the claim of “religious freedom” by comparing the provision of essential primary health care for women to a kosher deli being forced to serve pork. So much for intellectualism, or for that matter a unbiased testimony.

The high point of this patrician political restricted old boys club mentality was a hearing on women’s health care that featured nine male members of the religious right and only two female witnesses all of whom in any case are opponents of the birth control mandate, and the majority of whom oppose the use of contraception per se; saw the constant and intentionally misleading re-definition by the religious right of modern methods of contraception as “abortifacients”; shut out not only the many religious leaders who support both the mandate and women’s moral agency, but also medical and health professionals and witnesses who’d experienced denial of contraceptive care; and also featured constant and strident chiding by the Committee Chair, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), of his Democratic Party counterparts that the hearing was “not about women’s health, contraception, or health reform,” while allowing all the anti-contraception, anti-health reform witnesses to speak about nothing but denying women health care, contraception, and health reform. The Democratic women representatives walked out of the hearing in protest.

Not a single witness provided a compelling case for granting “conscience rights” to institutions, for why providing women insurance coverage for birth control would violate religious freedom, nor for why the accommodation created by the Obama Administration to make sure women working in religiously-affiliated organizations that object to contraception can still get coverage of birth control without a co-pay created a burden for said institutions. In fact, not a single one provided any compelling reason whatsoever that any one’s “conscience rights” trump access to a proven health intervention.

The Rainbow Sash Movement believes that USCCB is viewing the First Amendment to the US Constitution “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Seem to view the First Amendment as a theological document a sort of dogmatic decree that lays down a rule of faith. The Bishops are only supporting the First Amendment on the grounds of expediency and not “in principle” on grounds of conviction.

The Catholic Bishops are trying to make the First Amendment do the very thing that Congress is forbidden by the First Amendment to do, namely, to play the theologian and promulgate articles of faith. Promoting the theology of religious liberty is not supporting buy it should not be read into the First Amendment.

Nancy Dupre
Rainbow Sash Movement

Catholics Bishops wear no authority

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has lost control over the faithful and some very significant Catholic institutions. For instance during the debate offering contraception in employee insurance plans with the Obama administration, it came to light that prestigious Catholic institutions, including Georgetown, Fordham and DePaul universities, acknowledged that they already cover contraception in employee insurance plans.

Even the Catholic Hospital Association has signed onto the Obama Administration compromise on the contraception issue.

The bishop’s moral authority continues to be dismissed primarily because of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. The Bishops are refusing to hold themselves accountable for the part they played in this broad based scandal. They have yet to hold any of their Cardinal’s or Bishops accountable even those who have come under individual states grand jury inquires that found fault on the Church’s part.

The contraceptive issue highlights what is happening with Gay Marriage among rank and file Catholics. “The bishops have lost their monopoly on speaking, and they have lost a lot of their clout,” said Father Thomas Reese, a Georgetown University theologian and church scholar.

The bishop’s effort appears to have a lack luster approach when it comes to strategy. At the fore front of this effort is Cardinal elect Archbishop Dolan who was elected President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in part because the Rainbow Sash Movement endorsed Bishop Kicanas Bishops of Tucson, AZ setting off a hysterical anti gay response from the conservative wing of the Church. It also might be added that Dolan was probably one the main reasons gay marriage passed in New York.

Second in command is Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was scheduled to testify on Thursday on Capitol Hill on the contraception issue. Some in the Church think Bishop Lori will lead a crackdown on those Catholic institutions which support the Obama Administration in this issue over the Bishops. Lori also is the lead for the anti-gay marriage forces in the Church a group that is losing the public opinion war within and outside of the Church.

Bishops have little sway over Catholic institutions. Most Catholic colleges and hospitals are legally independent.

Bishop Lori like Archbishop Dolan appears to be clueless when it comes to addressing the change in public opinion in support of Gay Marriage. The bishops seem to believe all they have to say to Catholics is we are the Teaching Authority of Church and all the laity needs to do is pay, pray, and obey. While the Church is not a democracy neither is it a dictatorship a fact of life the US Bishops are about to be confronted on.

Both men seem to dismiss the idea that the issue of contraception is about women’s health, and not freedom of religion. It should be noted these men at the same time have no problem for insurance coverage of Viagra for men. Catholic Women are rightly calling them hypocrites.

From the Rainbow Sash Movement perspective Dolan has been the best thing that could have happened for gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Catholics. Politically he is such an easy target, and does most of our work for us by shooting himself in the foot at every turn in many respects he is like Cardinal Francis George of Chicago previous president of the USCCB. The current leadership of the USCCB is one of the reasons public opinion is changing so radically in the Church in support of both contraception and gay marriage.

Jack Anderson
Rainbow Sash Movement

Speaker Boehner Attempts to use contraception as a cover

The Rainbow Sash Movement believes the GOP under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is extemporizing Catholic Dogma into political situations to mask the ethical dilemma the speaker finds himself in with the ethics investigation of Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.). Instead of dealing with this clear moral situation the speaker wishes to engage in smoke and mirrors approach as concerns the Obama administration’s proposed compromise on a controversial rule that requires most employers to fully cover contraception in their workers’ health plans.

Years ago as minority leader, Boehner called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to relinquish his Ways and Means Committee chairmanship during a high-profile ethics investigation. Rather than dealing with this issue the speaker is attempting to side track that discussion by focusing on cultural issues such as birth control, gay marriage, stem cell research and abortion.

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops under the leadership of Cardinal designate Archbishop Dolan and Cardinal Wuerl is either a willing partners in this effort, or are being duped by the GOP leadership.

We are glad to see that several Catholic organizations praised the administration compromise after it was announced, including the hospitals group the Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities USA. It is clear that the Catholic Bishops do not speak for Catholics in the pew on the matter of Birth control.

We call on speaker Boehner to deal with the ethical situation that Chairman Spencer Bacus finds himself in, rather than trying to side step the issue in the name of religious liberty.

Bob Meyers
Rainbow Sash Movement