There is currently a report, carried at the Ekklesia website, entitled London Catholics celebrate 10 years of gay-affirming Masses. In that report, which announces the 10th Anniversary Mass, the Chair of the Soho Masses Pastoral Council is quoted as follows:
"This is no holy-huddle or gay ghetto! We aim to be the kind of community pictured in the Church's earliest history, truly Catholic and universal, in welcoming a great richness of God's rainbow people where people of all sorts of background are welcomed. The difference is that our LGBT reality is recognised and named" the SMPC's Chairperson, Joe Stanley said.
The celebrant and preacher at that Mass, celebrated on 3rd May 2009, was Canon Pat Browne. the full text of his homily can be found at the Independent Catholic News website. In the light of the above quotation, I found the following paragraph of his homily most interesting:
If we describe each other as humans in this very limited way doesn’t it in some way diminish us? To describe me as a white person, a black person, a straight person, a gay person does not get to the essence of who I really am. In fact it divides the human family into ghettos. I may take great pride in that I belong to a particular group, and there is nothing wrong in that but to lock myself or allow others to confine and define me in terms of one particular group completely misses the mystery and richness of any one human person. It speaks of invisible walls – walls that lock some people in and lock others out. There is much more to the human person than that they are black or white, straight or gay, Christian or non-Christian.
It is ever, ever so subtle .... but is Canon Browne trying to suggest that "gay" (or other similar terms of the LGBT quartet) does not provide an appropriate language to define an essential human identity? This seems to be completely coherent with the statement of Westminster Diocese in December 2007:
Recently there has been a review of the provision that has been provided and, as a result, Mgr. Seamus O’Boyle has been appointed Parish Priest. He will be responsible for ensuringthat all pastoral provision is given with due catechesis and formation according to the mind of the Church. The parish will continue to be sensitive to the pastoral needs of homosexual Catholics.
Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory parish provides a welcome to all and every Mass celebrated at the Church has always, and will continue to be open to all.
Canon Browne goes on to suggest that "Relationship" is what defines our identity, and, in particular, our relationship with God. Slightly more carefully, I would want to suggest that is is our being created for relationship with God that defines our identity; we then fulfil that identity if we live a full relationship with God in the life of the Church. Or we can also fail to fulfil that identity.
But the fundamental question raised here, and with the earlier statement from Soho Masses Pastoral Council, is this:
Do those authorising the pastoral provision at Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory's, and the Soho Masses Pastoral Council, have the same understanding of what they are doing or do they have different understandings?
1 comment:
Relationship begins with our RIGHT relationship with God. His love for each of us makes clear the nature of that relationship: it is explicit from the moment of Creation.
Yes, the subtle overtones of Catholics who want to affirm "love" in whatever form it may take, can cloud the story, here. What we are confronting is a Situation Ethics/Utilitarian idea, which, in my experience, serves no-one whole-heartedly. Imagine that you are a leader of a bunch of people who feel marginalised, rejected, outcast - you might, in today's culture "do the right thing" and condone their sin. Wouldn't Jesus ? Wrong. He never did. Read the account of the Woman At The Well.
When special minorities start manipulating the Teaching Authority to which they claim allegiance, I think we can start to be sceptial and ask some serious questions.
How about a special Utilitarian Monthly Diocesan Mass for Catholics who think we are facing a very Real and Present Danger of Schism ? I'd be there like a shot.
No, I didn't think so.
What makes this situation very tough to discern is our own experiences: Most of our gay Catholic friends are really decent, kind, genuine, virtuous people, unlike most of my "Catholic"-Professional-Priesthood-of the-Laity, smug friends. I'll spare the nightmare stories. I know which group I'd rather spend an evening with.
But yes, there really IS a line in the sand. And THAT, I would suggest, is the Cross. Might as well face it.
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