News
Jun. 10 - Soulforce Issues Statement on Pat Robertson
May. 26 - Soulforce Statement on California Supreme Court Ruling
Apr. 22 - LGBT Activists Hold Two-day Vigil Outside Archbishop's Office
Letters to the Catholic Bishops
Below are some letters that Soulforcees have written to their bishops:
October 15, 2001
Most Reverend Frederick F. Campbell
226 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Dear Bishop Campbell,
Grace and peace as you begin your preparations for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting next month. These are critical times for the world and for the Church and I want you to know that I hold you and your brother bishops in prayer as you struggle with the many issues we face as a human family.
I also will be in Washington in November because I am committed to ending religious policies that result in violence and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons. I will join with others in Soulforce as we stand in silent vigil outside your meetings as a reminder that we all need to open our hearts, minds and doors to persons that we presently exclude. I will be praying for you and the other bishops that you will come to realize that all discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is unjust and be willing to listen and to talk about it. I will be praying that you will be moved to work toward full justice and inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered person in the Roman Catholic Church.
As a person of faith and a clergyperson, I am deeply saddened that our Christian churches share responsibility for the mistreatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons because of doctrines which need to be revisited in light of new scientific knowledge and current biblical evidence. I believe that one's sexuality is a sacred gift from God, and that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, no less than non-gay persons, can practice their sexuality in a loving, life-giving, and life -affirming manner that is consistent with Christ's teachings. As William Sloan Coffin has written, "For Christians, the problem is not how to reconcile homosexuality with scriptural passages that condemn it, but how to reconcile the rejection and punishment of homosexuals with the love of Christ. If people can show the tenderness and constancy in caring that honors Christ's love, what matters their sexual orientation? Shouldn't a relationship be judged by its inner worth rather than by its outer appearance? Shouldn't a Christian sexual ethic focus on personal relationships and social justice rather than particular sexual acts...?"
Unfortunately, that is not the message that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church have conveyed to it's people, often with tragic consequences.
All too often, I have found myself being called on to minister to both men and women who have been alienated by the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church . I have performed funerals for young men who died as a result of AIDS and whose families did not feel safe about going to their own priest because of their son's sexual identity, families who were unable to even share their grief with other family members because they knew of the condemnation they would face. Very recently I met with the parents of a young man who took his own life because he did not believe that the Church's message that we are all children of the God who created us, loves us and accepts us unconditionally applied to him. He heard messages a little more sophisticated and "learned" than the "God hates fags" message preached by some, but which held the same meaning for him because they came from his priest. I truly believe God is crying along with those parents because of the spiritual violence that young man experienced.
So I will be standing vigil and, knowing what a difficult task you face, will be holding you and the Church in prayer.
Yours in Christ,
Marylee Fithian
His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua
222 N. 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1299
Your Eminence,
Our names are Mary and Laurie. We are a committed Lesbian couple living in Lansdowne, PA. We are an interfaith couple: Mary is a Catholic who attended 12 years of local Catholic schools and feels very close to/attached to her religious heritage. Laurie is of Jewish background: she has learned a great deal about the strength of Mary's faith and heritage. She also has seen the pain that being excluded, as a Lesbian, from full participation and equality in her religion, has caused Mary. We had a commitment ceremony on August 16, 1997 and regard ourselves as married in the eyes of God, although not in the eyes of church and state. We feel that our love is good, and brings us closer to God.
We wish you well as you begin your preparations for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in November in Washington, D.C. and hope that the conference goes well and that much needed work is accomplished. This conference comes at a difficult time for the Church and the country, as much has happened since last year, including some very terrible things. It is the hope of both of us that we will all learn from the brutal attacks of September 11th, and their continuing aftermath, a lesson about the senselessness of violence, and that this tragedy will open the hearts and minds of all of us to accept those who are different from us, to treat others with kindness, dignity, respect and justice, and finally, to listen to each other.
We are members of Soulforce, an interfaith organization seeking full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in America's faith communities. Laurie will be in Washington during your conference, as Soulforce conducts a series of peaceful vigils calling for the Church to take action for full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. Mary will be with her in spirit.
It is our belief that discrimination by the Church against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is not only unfair and unjust, but causes harm to the spirit and soul: thus is really a form of violence. It is our hope that during and following the conference, you and other Church leaders will be moved to accomplish this goal and welcome home gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, for God loves us all. Again, we wish you well in your participation in the conference.
Yours very truly,
The Most Reverend John C. Favalora
Archdiocese of Miami
9401 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami Shores, Florida 33138
Dear Archbishop Favalora,
Greetings and blessings. I pray this finds you in the best of health and spirits.
Once again I write you with great dismay and concern as we have yet to meet as agreed after last year's NCCB Conference in Washington, D.C. In spite of my two (2) letters and sixteen (16) telephone calls to take you up on your kind offer to meet, I find myself not only disappointed but also completely confused and frustrated as well. Frankly, my friend, I do not know what to believe at this point. Either you have not been getting my letters and messages or you have been unable or unwilling to follow through on your original offer. Regardless, I pray you can find it in your heart and schedule to finally meet with me and other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) people of faith, especially those presently in or alienated from the Roman Catholic Church. All we ask is to dialog with you about our concerns and experiences as well as share our stories of life, faith, hope and love.
Please be aware that on November 11-15, 2001 I will again stand with Soulforce at the UCCB Conference in Washington, D.C. beseeching you and your fellow bishops to follow God's call for truth, love, justice and mercy. A letter outlining our concerns and explaining our intent was sent to Bishop Fiorenza on September 19, 2001. A copy of which is enclosed.
My wish is to meet with you before our travels to Washington or immediately thereafter. Also, if possible, I would like to briefly visit and pray with you while we are both in D.C. I can be available most anywhere or anytime your schedule permits. If we are unable to arrange beforehand, I can readily be found either in front of the Hyatt Hotel in prayerful vigil, at the Holiday Inn across the street, or via my cell phone.
Assuring you my best intention and attention, I remain,
Respectfully yours and faithfully His,
Richard Murphy
October 16, 2001
Most Reverend F. Joseph Gossman
715 Nazareth Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
Dear Bishop Gossman,
I had the honor of meeting you when I worked with the North Carolina Council of Churches. Your strong unwavering leadership in calling for an end to capital punishment, in advocating for migrant farmworkers and the poor, and in support of peaceful resolutions to international conflict has been exemplary in serving the cause of Christ. I am grateful for your clear and powerful witness as Christ's disciple for and to the Church.
I am writing to ask for your leadership in bringing to an end another great injustice: the oppression and persecution of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people by the Roman Catholic Church. I am writing as a member of Soulforce, a nonviolent movement working to end the spiritual violence against lesbian, bisexual, and gay people perpetrated by religious bodies through their teachings and policies.
Roman Catholic teachings declare homosexuality to be "objectively disordered," and a loving sexual relationship between committed same-gender partners to be an "intrinsic moral evil." These teachings cause lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to feel innately perverse and rejected by God and cause them to hate themselves for who they are and for whom they love. These teachings also breed contempt against bisexual, lesbian, and gay people within society, even within their own families, that is expressed in various forms of discrimination and violence.
Based on these teachings, the Roman Catholic Church has not only denied Gay people acceptance and participation within the Body of Christ, but also has been politically active in the secular realm to deny lesbian, gay, and bisexual people the opportunity to adopt children, the possibility of having civil unions, and the protection of their full civil and human rights. It is a profound blasphemy that this violence against God's Gay children is done in the name of Christ.
Soulforce was at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops last November, and will be with you again this November. As you meet and worship, we will stand in vigil as a public witness to the spiritual violence of the Roman Catholic Church, and as a call for the spiritual violence to end.
We have written to Bishop Fiorenza to let him know we will once again be with you for your meeting in Washington, DC. We have asked him to support the creation of a national "blue ribbon" committee of clergy and laity, including self-identified Gay people in committed same-gender relationships, to reexamine the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality in light of the most current medical, scientific and biblical evidence. We are asking that the committee also examine the consequences of the policies and the language used by the Church that cause great harm to Gay people and their families. We are asking Bishop Fiorenza to publicly announce the creation of this committee as a step toward ending the Church's spiritual violence. I urge you to give your full spiritual and moral leadership in support of this proposal.
In addition, I would very much like for the two of us to meet during the time we will be in Washington, DC. I'll be arriving on November 11 and be leaving on the 14th. My only other commitment is a speaking engagement at the American University on Monday night, November 12. I'd like to talk with you at your convenience about the spiritual violence against lesbian, bisexual, and gay people and about the committee that we've proposed. If you are willing, please let me know when and where you'd like to meet, and I'll plan to see you then.
Peace,
Jimmy Creech, Chairperson
Board of Directors, Soulforce, Inc.
October 24, 2001
Most Reverend John G. Vlazny
2838 E. Burnside Street
Portland, OR 97214-1895
Dear Bishop Vlazny:
Grace and peace to you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
You may remember that I wrote to you this time last year. My name is Ken Jennison and I was a member of the Soulforce Team that stood vigil outside the NCCB meeting last November. I carried a sign with your name during that vigil in the hopes that you would stop and speak with me. Unfortunately that did not happen. However, I will be returning to Washington with Soulforce next month and will again stand vigil outside the NCCB meeting. I hope I will have the opportunity to speak with you this year.
Once again I want to express my appreciation to you for not supporting Measure 9 in Oregon's General Election last year, and also for your work in bringing recognition to women and to their accomplishments in the Church. You are to be commended for your attention to justice in these areas.
However, there is still more injustice that needs to be addressed. Nearly every week I meet a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual that has been deeply hurt by the anti-LGBT teachings of the Catholic Church. I grieve with them. In fact, an extraordinarily bright and intelligent young gay man recently confided to me that he left St. Gregory's Seminary here in Oklahoma years ago because he realized that as a gay man he could never be a Catholic priest and live his life with integrity. He also ultimately left the Church-a terrible loss for both him and for the Church.
Bishop Vlazny, I ask that you personally reconsider the Church's teaching that homosexuals are "objectively disordered" and that our acts of intimacy are "intrinsically evil." It is my hope that next month you will find time in your schedule to discuss these concerns with me-before, during or after your meeting. I will be available to meet at your convenience.
Respectfully,
Kenneth Jennison
enclosures
P.S. On September 19, 2001, Rev. Mel White, Executive Director of Soulforce, sent a letter to your President, Bishop Fiorenza, regarding our upcoming vigil. In case you have not received this document I am enclosing a copy for your review.
October 31, 2001
His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahoney
3424 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241
Dear Cardinal Mahoney:
I meant to write to you a week or two ago, but I work in the airline industry and have recently been laid off by my company after 24 1/2 years and have needed to attend to some urgent matters.
Despite the loss of my job, I have decided to follow though with earlier plans to travel to Washington, DC, to be there the week of November 11-16 while the National Bishops Conference is taking place.
I have attended an Episcopal church during the last four years and am a member of Soulforce, a national, ecumenical organization, that seeks honest and open dialogue with all churches in matters relating to church doctrine and its impact on the lives of gay men, lesbians and bisexual and transgendered persons. A small group of us, including members of the Roman Catholic Church, will be standing vigil outside the site of the conference while it is in session.
Understandably you will be very busy during that week. However, I would appreciate an opportunity to say hello to you at some point. I will be carrying a small sign with your name on it, so that you can identify me.
If you would care to, I would be very grateful to have the opportunity to meet and talk with you in Los Angeles sometime after the conference. Both my partner of 21 years and my best friend of 45 years were raised in Roman Catholic families. However, each abandoned the Church long ago.
It would be my desire to share with you a few experiences of mine that has since led me to Christ nine years ago, and perhaps learn from you what I might do to bring both my partner and my best friend back.
Yours faithfully,
Robert Anders
October 18, 2001
Most Reverend John H. Ricard, SSJ
P. O. Drawer 17329
Pensacola, FL 32522
Dear Bishop Ricard,
My name is Kristin. I wrote you two letters last year at about this same time regarding my participation in the Soulforce vigil that took place outside of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I stood with my brothers and sisters as the buses transporting the Bishops and other guests pulled into the driveway. Many emotions filled me during that time, but mostly I was prayerful. I prayed that our presence would make a difference. I prayed that our vulnerability, our voluntary redemptive suffering, our standing for what we believed in would indeed be seen by those with the power to change policies and stand for what is right.
My prayers were answered. I do not know in how many hearts, I do not know in how many ways, but people saw us and that made a difference. I prayed for you by name that day as I have done numerous times throughout this past year.
On Wednesday of the Conference, I stood outside of the hotel with several others from Soulforce. We handed out pamphlets to those who would take them, engaged in conversations with those who had questions, and offered our presence to all who would see. Many Bishops passed by - some with pleasant greetings, some with words of encouragement, some with disappointing glares. It was a very cold and windy day – not a day I would have chosen to stand outside for several hours. However, I could do no other. I stood for all of those who cannot stand. I stood for all of those who have been too hurt by the church to care anymore. I stood for all of my gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered brothers and sisters who think that they are alone. And, I stood for you. I stood for all of the Bishops who believe in God and God's power to change the hearts of humans.
On this day, my heart was indeed changed. As I stood with my friends, cold and shivering, two military chaplains approached us with piping hot cups of coffee. They held the tray for me while I added sugar, replaced my mittens, and began to drink. They asked my name, they spoke to me, they showed me the face of God. Yes, they offered their neighbor a “cup of water" and shared the Lord. I received from them and was empowered. From their generosity I received new hope. We are all neighbors. We are all children of God. We are all loved by God. With this message that I could share with those chaplains, bridges were built.
I am returning this year to vigil outside of the hotel in which your conference will be held. I will be there in shifts throughout the entirety of your meeting. I would be honored to share a cup of coffee with you and meet you face to face. But, even if that does not occur, I will be praying again this year in Washington, D.C. I will be praying for my brothers and sisters; I will be praying for the Conference of Catholic Bishops; and I will be praying for you Bishop Ricard. I have faith that my prayers were answered last year. This year I hope for more visual confirmation. I hope for changed policies, for full inclusion and acceptance of all of God's children.
In Christ's Peace,
Kristin
November 2, 2001
Dear Bishop McCarrick:
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Laurie and I am a twenty-three Jewish girl from New Jersey. I currently live in your diocese and work for a Roman Catholic member of Congress.
I don't generally write letters to bishops. In fact, this is my first. I am taking the time to write to you, because I believe God has called me to do so. I ask that you take a moment to address a matter of great urgency - the suffering of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics and their families and friends.
As a lesbian, I have experienced a bit of the pain, fear, shame, loathing, and rejection that millions of God's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children are experiencing right now. Luckily, I found my way out of that darkness and into the light of God's love, and the joy of a supportive family and community. I owe that entirely to my religious background - Reform Judaism.
My religion was a source of great comfort when I was coming out during my teenage years. The support, reassurance, and validation of rabbis was invaluable during that difficult time. I have no doubt that if my religious background had been homophobic, I would have suffered greatly.
You and the Church have the power to end the suffering of hundreds of thousands by declaring the truth - that God created everyone as they are and loves everyone as they are, and that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. We are neither sinful nor objectively disordered. That much I know, and I respectfully request that you enter into a dialogue on this important subject.
Last year, I stood with Soulforce during your convention, and it is my intention to do so again. I would very much like to meet with you, simply to get to know you - no arguments, no agendas.
I invite you to respond to this letter to enter a dialogue or to set up an opportunity to meet. If you would rather wait until the convention to get to know each other, I would be happy to take time out to visit with you. I am 5'3" with brown hair, and I will likely be the only woman wearing a yarmulke and a Star of David necklace.
God bless,
Laurie
October 31, 2001
Most Reverend Thomas G Wenski
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
Catholic Charities
9401 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami Shores, FL 33138
Dear Bishop Wenski:
Greetings in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
I hope that you are eagerly looking forward to the meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It will be a great opportunity for you to gather with your brother bishops to address issues of concern to the Church in America.
I, too, will be in Washington, DC for the meeting and I sincerely hope that we get a chance to meet in person even if only for a few moments. I will be there as part of Soulforce, a delegation of persons of faith who will be respectfully asking the Church to change its statements and teaching about homosexuals. Soulforce is coming to your meeting in a spirit of peace and reconciliation. I want to assure you that I am coming in peace with only one purpose in mind, to encourage you and your brother bishops to take actions that will create an atmosphere of welcome and full inclusion for gays and lesbians in the life of the Church.
Bishop Wenski, I come to Washington to beg you to open wide the doors of the Church for all God's beautiful diverse children, including gays and lesbians. I come as an openly and proudly gay man, created in God's image, given the gift by God of a homosexualsexual orientation. I come as a man of faith, raised by loving parents in the Roman Catholic tradition. I come as one who has grown tired of waiting for my Church to welcome me and my spiritual gifts.
In fact, I have reluctantly left the Church I love to join a church where I am welcome, just as I am. I come as a man who would have loved to serve his Church as a priest but I cannot live a lie and serve in silence. I come as your brother in Christ.
Bishop Wenski, I know you to be a man of deep faith and one who dearly loves the people of God. I must ask how many others, like me, have abandoned the Catholic Church because of outdated attitudes, bigotry, and hatred. Much of the abuse suffered by gays and lesbians begins with Church teaching that we are "intrinsically disordered." You have no idea how much that statement hurts. However, you do know in your heart that that statement is not true. It is time for the Church to have the courage to step forward and correct its error.
It is time for the Church to see, accept, and welcome the lives of faith, love, and service of its homosexual members.
Bishop Wenski, I will be waiting for you with a smile on my face and a prayer in my heart, outside your hotel. I would be grateful if you could stop and chat for a moment on your way to or from dinner one evening. You have nothing to fear from meeting me, but we both have much to gain. Either way, please know that I will be waiting and praying outside your hotel. I pray for the success of your meeting, for peace, acceptance and understanding of all peoples and for the Holy Spirit to change hearts and minds, one at a time as the Kingdom of God is revealed to our modern world.
Yours in Christ,
Robert M. Skaggs
October 17, 2001
Most Rev. John S. Cummins
2900 Lakeshore Ave.
Oakland, Ca. 94610
Dear Bishop Cummins:
It is just a little over a year ago that I first wrote you explaining that I would be in Washington, D.C. standing in vigil and being arrested at last year's Bishop's meeting. Since then, we've protested in St. Peter's Square in Rome, and been arrested at the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans and the ELCA Conference in Indianapolis. I must confess that after the September 11th attacks, I momentarily wondered if my work with SOULFORCE was relevant, but the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Lou Sheldon, made it clear that even when we are faced with such an outrageous tragedy as that was, people will use that opportunity to continue their assaults on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) children of God.
And as we said in our letter to Bishop Fiorenza, the Roman Catholic Church, itself has actively worked against basic civil rights for LGBT's in Maryland and within the United Nations. I have a friend who lives north of the Bay Area, who shared with me that the last time he went to confession, he was told that he should stop coming until he had separated from his Life Partner. He was further told that he would be refused the Sacrament of Eucharist, but could continue coming to Mass and tithing! I counseled this young man for some time over his grief of being told he was not welcome at the table. After several months of struggling with suicidal thoughts, he fortunately found an place of acceptance within the Episcopalian Church in his area. It truly broke my heart to listen to the pain this young man went through.
Once again this year, we will be standing in silent vigil outside of the Hyatt Hotel in prayer. I am hoping that, this year, perhaps you and I could find some time to discuss these issues face to face. We will be based at the Holiday Inn, directly across from your hotel. I would love the opportunity to, sit down over a cup of coffee to have the opportunity to further the dialogue. I hope you will give me a call at the Holiday Inn (202) 638-1616 to arrange for us to talk directly. I am attaching a copy of that letter that was written to Bishop Fiorenza, along with two of our SOULFORCE brochures. I look forward to talking with you.
Your sister in Christ,
Kara Ann Speltz
Dear Bishop Griffin -
My name is Sylvia Niedner. We met last year after the "Breaking the Silence" conference. Connie Donofrio and I introduced ourselves as members of Soulforce, preparing for last year's vigil and direct action during the meeting of the USCCB. As I prepare again this year to vigil with Soulforce I would like to meet with you to discuss your episcopal and pastoral stance with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered/transsexual people, and particularly your perspective on Catholic church law and teaching concerning sexual and gender orientations.
I am a pastorally trained American Baptist woman who has been a part of and ministered in the GLBT community for almost ten years. I have deep respect for the weight, power and depth of Catholic teachings. As someone who continues to witness the profound wounding various branches of the church inflict on GLBT folk, I deeply desire greater understanding of churches' positions, particularly the Catholic church in these matters. As someone with pastoral training and a healer's being, I plead with you to understand the GLBT community as persecuted, not unlike Jews were in the Holocaust. At the end of World War II gay men were not released from confinement unlike others who suffered through the concentration camps, because being gay was a crime in all the Allied countries. Social attitudes toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people are gradually changing, but much Christian rhetoric, including the Catholic phrases "objectively disordered" and "intrinsically evil" continue to foster widespread discrimination and dangerous animosity. You and your fellow bishops have tremendous power to positively influence the lives of countless GLBT people in the US and around the world. PLEASE take steps to end the church's centuries old crusade against GLBT people.
I apologize that because of my struggles writing this letter, I have left only a very short time between delivering it, and the beginning of the conference. Until very early on November 11, I can be reached at [contact information]. After about 3 pm on the 11th, I will be staying at the Holiday Inn on Jersey Avenue in D.C. [phone number]. Once I've checked in, I will leave a message for you at the Hyatt desk with my room number, unless I have heard from you previously.
Thank you for your attention,
In Jesus' peace -
Sylvia Niedner
Dear Bishop Sullivan,
Thank-you so much for the important and generous work you have done for the GLBTA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, allies). That A stands in for allies just like you! I'm writing to you today because, in my study and prayer preparations as a soulforcee, I've been learning as much as I can about your work for the GLBTA. Your Diocese is in the area that I am closest to in Virginia. I had prepared my usual kind of lengthy academic letter to you, going off in rant about special rites for straight Catholics that 'out' gender and sexual minority-statused Catholics are forbidden. But one of my Scottish soulforce pals did some leg-work research for me that shows just how great a friend you are to my people and my culture.
Still, Most Reverend Bishop, GLBTA folks are suffering from the Catholic Church's rituals of exclusion: no Eucharist, no marriage, most especially. I was raised Methodist and am now also a devoted member of MCC Charlottesville, so I am not writing as a sibling Catholic, but more as an ally to my GLBTA Catholic peers, and also as a Christian who is very concerned about the Holy Spirit remaining in the global Catholic Church. Since God is every cell of every person's being, to harm or spiritually violate any single cell, any single being, is to violate the Holy Spirit of God. I view my work as a soulforcee as a simple servant of this primary Truth.
Your pictures on the Richmond Diocese website are so dear. They make me want to offer you a big hug of thanks. And the opportunity to do so is coming right up: November 11th-13th, I'll be standing in vigil outside of Hyatt Regency where you will be in conference with your esteemed colleagues. I would dearly love to meet you, and perhaps have breakfast or lunch together. It seems that we might have a lot to offer each other. I'm an anthropologist who's been doing doctoral research in Transgender Studies. I'm a woman who looks like a man, a mom of three adults, who has lupus, and am treated for it with Testosterone Cyprionate. I don't have a transgender identity. But, nonetheless, I am oppressed as if I were a gay man. My beloved femininity shines through these medically virilized skins, and throughout my social transactions in everyday life, you might imagine what kinds of violence I endure.
Of course, you and I both have a strong conscience of the spiritual violence committed most especially in our own state of Virginia, the kind that inspires the hate crimes of Roanoke 2000, the single worst GLBTA mass assault in US history. You mention in your very recent "Remarks of Bishop Walter F. Sullivan On His Being Honored by the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries For the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Richmond Diocesan Sexual Minorities Commission Charlotte, North Carolina, September 22, 2001" your conscience about Reverend Jerry Falwell's September 13th, 2001 spiritual violence against us. I have a dream, Most Reverend Bishop, of using my doctoral work, like you use your clergy work, to change the hearts of the unloving and untruthful Christian fundamentalist 'leadership'. But, I feel that I need your help. So, I want to talk with you about how I can work with your "Sexual Minorities Commission" as a transgender advisor, who is a scholar in this field and a person who lives everyday life experiencing transgender is US society. I am most concerned about our youth, Father. We've got to stop their suffering. Love alone won't change minds. We've got to develop the visible awareness, the knowledge, and offer it in a way that circulates through to parents of gender and sexual variant kids. It's an emergency; a crisis that Catholic Church's rituals of exclusion will never ever have the power of love to cure.
What I need to know from you, Father, is how I can help. I need your help to begin circulating my gifts throughout our great state of Virginia: spiritual violence ground zero. You've obviously got a tremendous amount of influence and experience in this state and in this social justice area. I'm hoping that you and I can "do soulforce" right here in Virginia where it needs to be done most of all. Our GLBTA siblings in Christ have become so devastated, so alienated by the Revs. Falwell's and Roberston's campaigns of spiritual violence, most especially their heterosexist hate speech, that they have become isolated, closeted, and separated not only from their churches, but from God as well. It's not just the actual gender and sexual minority-statused people who are being spiritually violated by this kind of rhetorical violence, it's also their families, employers, friends, neighbors, everyone who knows and loves them.
I know this all too personally, Father. Today, because of the pervasiveness of heterosexist bigotry about transgender, my own beloved family has been torn apart. This is the hardest cross that I have to bear, personally.
I hope that you will have a few spare moments to meet with me in DC. If you do, simply send me an email with a time and place to meet you, and I will be there.
By the way, I love the picture of you and your dogs. Here is a picture of me, and my dearest love of all, Myrtle. Working for Truth in Love, nonviolence.
Your neighbor and ally,
michael deborah
PS--Is there any chance that your "Sexual Minorities Commission" would be open to adding "Gender Minorities" to it's name? After all, little gender variant children and adult ones, for that matter, are oppressed for very similar reasons, but are not 'sexual minorities'
Most Reverend George L. Thomas
Father David Jaeger
Reverend Richard D. Case
My name is Cindy. Last November I traveled from Seattle to Washington DC at the NCCB. I stood vigils and was one of many arrested along with Mary Louise Cervone, President of Dignity/USA outside of the Cathholic Bishops Conference. This was one of my many arrests these past two years while bringing truth in love to our religious leaders. Last year also prior to the Catholic Bishops Conference in DC I wrote to Rev. Case. I received no acknowledgement.
Later in January 2001, I met Father Jaeger in Seattle as our local Soulforce group stood in solidarity with a small group of Soulforcees who traveled to the vatican at Epiphany. We stood vigil outside of St. James in Seattle and met and conversed with many as they attended Mass. Those encounters enlightened and changed each of us as well as those members of St. James who we spoke with.
The antigay teachings and actions of the Protestant and Catholic churches lead directly and indirectly to discrimination, suffering, and even death," says Dr. Mel White, Executive Director, Soulforce.
This year I write to ask you again to seek truth and justice WITH me. I will be in DC for the November conference again. I would love to meet with any of you there or here in Seattle. Enclosed you will find some simple statements of why we at www.soulforce.org relentlessly move in the direction we do. Also a story I sent last year to Rev. Case regarding some of my background, my hope and the importance of open & affirming churches. As you look these over I will be praying that the Spirit of Truth will establish in you all knowledge of the significance of our historic time on the issue of homosexuality and ALL God's children.
Thank You for you time.
Peace,
Cindy
"Religious leaders are the primary source of misinformation that leads to suffering and death for sexual and gender minorities."
- Rev. Dr. Mel White / www.soulforce.org
"It is as much our moral obligation not to cooperate with evil as it is to cooperate with good."
- Gandhi
"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plan of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical (and spiritual?) force with soul force."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The tongue defiles the whole body - the tongue can no man tame; IT IS AN UNRULY EVIL, full of deadly poison. We bless God and curse mankind, and this not ought be so. Let us be wise and show by the words we speak that we are respectful of all God's created in His image children."
- James 3: 6-14
Dear Friends I DO hope to meet you. Homosexuals have been labeled "incompatible with Christian teaching" by the United Methodists, "sick" and "sinful" by the Baptists, and "objectively disordered" nd "intrinsically evil" by the Roman Catholics. Most churches refuse to ordain or marry us. The list goes on. These non-inclusive words and deeds cause fear and hate; not of the Creator, and physically and spiritually kill God's children.
King said:
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate....Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
In light of September 11th, the "believing" global community and Rev. Jerry Falwells statements relating terrorists to homosexuals, etc.....I plead you to see fully what misinformation causes and to work to be good teachers with us.
Yours In Christ,
Cindy
November 5, 2001
His Eminence Theodore E. McCarrick
5001 Eastern Avenue
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, D.C. 20017
Dear Cardinal McCarrick:
Greetings from Richmond, Virginia. My name is Diana Westbrook, and I am one of about three dozen delegates from Soulforce who will be in Washington, D.C., from Sun., Nov. 11, through Thu., Nov. 15, to conduct silent, prayerful vigils during the annual meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Our prayerful vigils are to express our concern about the Roman Catholic policy on homosexuality and in hopeful anticipation that hearts and minds will be changed by our witness.
Soulforce is an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. We teach and apply the nonviolent principles of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. We come from various faith traditions, but a number of us are devout Catholics who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
Our coming to Washington, D.C., this month marks the third time that we have publicly expressed our concern about the Roman Catholic Church's policy and teaching about homosexuality. We conducted prayerful vigils last year at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., and in January of this year we took our concerns to the Vatican. Before conducting those actions, we expressed our concerns in a series of letters, written to Bishop Fiorenza (Washington, D.C.) and to Cardinal Ratzinger (Vatican). We also have written open letters to the U.S. bishops, and all of those letters are posted on the Soulforce website at www.soulforce.org.
The nonviolent principles we follow include, as a first step, researching the position of the person or organization with whom we have a concern. Although a number of Soulforcees are Roman Catholic, I was raised Southern Baptist, so I had a bit of catching up to do in terms of understanding Catholicism. (I have a master's degree in English, so most of my acquaintance with the Roman Catholic Church came from the writings of James Joyce, Thomas Merton and Flannery O'Connor).
One of the books I used to further acquaint myself with Catholicism included a chapter titled "The Teaching Church," which cited Anselm's famous definition of theology: "faith seeking understanding." The chapter further explained that Roman Catholic theology "begins with people's experiences of faith and talks about them in terms of the meaning they have for life," adding that [emphasis mine] "church teachings are opened up to new insight" when the Church listens to the voices of the people "who are asking questions and demanding answers of their faith for the realities of their human condition."
Has the Roman Catholic Church listened to the voices of Catholics who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender? Has it heard their life-stories of suffering and alienation when they learn from the Church that their orientation is "intrinsically disordered" and that their acts of intimacy are "inherently evil"? Have Roman Catholic leaders opened their minds and hearts to new spiritual insights about homosexuality? If you and you colleagues were to do that, it is our belief that healing could begin.
Soulforce has written a letter to Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, asking him to meet with us while we're in Washington, D.C. We've also said that we'd be willing to meet (and pray) with him and the other bishops and cardinals with whom we've corresponded prior to arriving. I hope that you will be among the delegation that will be willing to meet with us. If that proposed meeting doesn't occur, perhaps you and I could meet at a time more convenient. I'll be one of the Soulforcees standing in prayerful silent vigil, wearing a Soulforce t-shirt and holding a small sign with your name on it so you can easily identify me if you pass by.
Wishing you God's blessings,
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