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- Category:
- News
- Author:
- Ani Lamont
- Posted:
- Friday, 25 July 2008
Sydney-based gay Catholic group Acceptance has continued to soar in the wake of its World Youth Day snub, leading one of the largest church services to ever be seen at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Newtown.
More than 180 people from the local parish, PFLAG, pilgrims and queer Catholics congregated at St Joseph’s to celebrate World Youth Day and provide a living example of Pope Benedict XVI’s dictum that outsiders be welcomed into the Church.
In a speech last week the Pope called for all of those who felt sidelined or alienated by the Church to step forward as “no one need remain on the outside, for from the day of the Pentacost the Church has been one and universal.”
This was in stark contrast to the reception that Acceptance had been given by WYD officials who not only denied the religious group a space on the official WYD calendar of events, but went on a concerted effort to have the group’s forum on gay youth and Catholicism excluded from any church grounds.
The event went ahead regardless on July 16 at the University of Technology and was a great success with more than 100 people coming together to hear gay youths, a GLBT-friendly priest and representatives from PFLAG and Twenty10 speak of their experiences.
info: Acceptance is a gay Catholic Group which worships at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Newtown every Friday night. For more info head to www.gaycatholic.com.au
Tags: Acceptance, catholic, church, religion, World Youth Day, WYD
July 25th, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
Good on you guys!! But I am still disappointed the courageous Catholic clergy claiming to support you did not stand up to WYD organisers and argue their/your case to be included as part of WYD. WYD had no right to ban you so Acceptance had every right to defy them and go ahead with the forum. If WYD organisers are suspicious about what gay people are doing with each others’ genitals then they should be concerned about what ummarried hetero people touching each others’ private bits too!!
July 25th, 2008 @ 11:02 pm
It’s difficult to find sympathy for Acceptance Sydney when they say (lifted from their website): “Acceptance Sydney fully supports the Catholic Church, its mission and values”. The Vatican actively campaigns against the rights of gay men and lesbians around the world. The Catholic Church systematically blocks condom distribution in countries in Africa hardest hit by HIV. If individuals want to pray in private, have a faith in something important to them and let others be, that’s absolutely fine. However, when they support campaigns that infringe upon the human rights of other people, as Acceptance Sydney does by its own admission of supporting the Catholic Church, action should be taken.
July 25th, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
I fully agree with John35
July 26th, 2008 @ 9:58 am
Dear Acceptance Sydney members:
Have you ever actually thought about how your support for the Catholic Church oppresses other people?
Why support an undemocratic, anti-gay, anti- equality of the sexes and anti-contraception institution riddled with hypocrisy and based on superstition?
Would you honestly adopt Catholicism as an adult if you were born in Saudi Arabia or Japan? Think about it!
July 26th, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
Catholics tend to think they are the only Christians in the world? How sad!!!!
July 28th, 2008 @ 9:36 am
Rod, if I’d been born in Saudi Arabia, the home of Wahabi Islam, where women aren’t allowed to drive or be seen on the streets without being covered from head to toe, the country where a number of young women died because they were sent back into a burning building to retrieve their veils after the boarding school they were at caught fire, where the morals police question women found on the streets without a male chaperone, you know what … Catholicism would look pretty damned progressive in comparison.
July 28th, 2008 @ 1:57 pm
Rod: The catholic church does not block or impose its teaching on anyway. Condom distribution in Africa has nothing to do with he church. The fact that official teaching advises sexual abstinence outside of marriage doesnt mean individuals are going to decide to use a condom if they go ahead and have sex anyway. I for one disagree whith church teachings in many areas but a teaching is a teaching - it’s fallible - and you’ll find most catholics/christians would consider themselves faithful believers even when they use contraception - so why should gay people abandon their church and run away from the challenges of standing up and being part of the community.
And Rod, what action so you suppose should be taken against people who still follow instititional religion?
July 28th, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Lets build a strong bridge and a foundation between religion and sexual orientation.
July 29th, 2008 @ 3:10 am
John35: The Catholic Church has a very long and wicked history of conquest, torture, take-over etc Have you heard of the Spanish Inquisition? You might say, that was centuries ago, the Church isn’t like that anymore. Well, it might not invade indigenous communities in South America in the 21st century, but the Vatican continues to impose its teachings on millions of people world-wide and tell them that if they don’t behave in a particular way, they will go to hell. How many young gay men and lesbians have taken their lives because of this?
The action I propose should be taken is for people to do what they can to keep religion out of public policy: write to politicians, make your voice heard, challenge people who blindly support an oppressive institution, do whatever you can to stem the tide of lies, deceit and homophobia propagated by organised religion. I recommend you read ‘Letter to a Christian Nation’ by Sam Harris for a comprehensive and eloquent series of arguments against organised religion.