by Elizabeth Schwab www.desertvoice.org June 7, 2006
An explosion of homosexuality is occurring in our midst. Flaunted by the mass media and promoted throughout our society, it has suddenly become a high profile issue. Yet this “coming out” is no surprise to those who have diligently worked for years to advance the cause of homosexuality, and this is especially true for the proponents of homosexuality that we find entrenched in the Catholic Church today.
The sex abuse scandal that broke out in 2002 was a loud
signal that things have gone far astray. Although only 2.7% of the total number
of priests nationwide were involved in sexual abuse cases (note that the number
of homosexuals in the general population is estimated to be about 2%), the John
Jay Study found 81% of the abuse cases to be homosexual in nature. (http://www.usccb.org/nrb/johnjaystudy/)
Yet the USCCB and the gay community insist that the problem is one of pedophilia
and not homosexuality. Since pedophilia is defined as sexual contact with
children who are prepubescent, and the vast majority of victims were
post-pubescent males between the ages of 11 and 18, it is clear that the bulk of
the crisis is directly linked to the practice of homosexuality.
When the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis publicly stated in March 2006 that he did not believe “there has ever been an active subculture of homosexual priests” in the archdiocese, LifeSite News quickly pointed out that his own brother William McDonough, an active priest in the archdiocese until 1998, has long been known for his pro-gay stance. From 1991-1997, Fr. William McDonough taught “sexual morality” at the diocesan seminary, and in 1999 he trained teachers from local Catholic high schools on “an adequate Catholic moral response to homosexuality and homosexual persons.” He also convened the “Gay and Lesbian Issues Interest Group sessions” at the Society of Christian Ethics from 1997-2005, where he presented a paper supporting same-sex life partnerships. He is now a professor at the College of St. Catherine, a local Catholic institution operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and continues to publish articles supporting homosexuality within the Church. (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032801.html)
Also in March 2006, it was discovered that a prominent Minneapolis priest, Fr. Leo Tibesar, is on the National Leadership Team for Dignity USA, a lobby group committed to the inclusion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) persons in the Catholic Church. The Dignity website states: “As GLBT Catholics, it is our right, our privilege, and our duty to live the sacramental life of the Church.” Fr. Tibesar was also one of eight candidates for Dignity’s national board of directors in 2004. Ironically, Fr. Tibesar has been heavily involved with the Engaged Couples Ministry in the archdiocese since 1987 and was chair of the Interreligious Committee on Family Life from 1980-1983 and the Advisory Committee on Families from 1981-1982. (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032009.html) He is currently pastor of the Church of St. Frances Cabrini, which is widely known as welcoming to homosexuals and featured on the websites of the Rainbow Sash Movement, Catholic Lesbians, Gays for God, and the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities. St. Frances Cabrini parish issued a formal “Statement of Reconciliation” to the GLBT community in 1994, and gay marriages are reportedly officiated by Fr. Tibesar in the adjoining churchyard. When confronted with the discovery of Fr. Tibesar’s involvement with Dignity USA, the archdiocesan spokesman refused to comment on whether that connection would be of any concern.
The Church of St. Frances Cabrini is not the only
Catholic parish in the area that caters to homosexuals. There are actually 11
other local churches and 3 college chapels that are listed as gay-friendly on
various GLBT websites, with many hosting homosexual events on a regular basis.
Eight of these are in Minneapolis: The Basilica of St. Mary, St. Joan of Arc,
Holy Name, Incarnation, St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, St. Thomas the Apostle, and
the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota.
Four are in St. Paul: St. Luke, St. Stanislaus, the College of St.
Catherine, and the University of St. Thomas. Two of the churches are located in
the suburbs: Guardian Angels in Oakdale and Pax Christi in Eden Prairie.
Besides the churches, there are several organizations in
the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis that are devoted to promoting the
homosexual lifestyle within the Catholic Church. Fr. Henry Le May founded the Dignity
TwinCities chapter at a Bloomington motel in 1974. The group later held meetings at the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis from 1976 until 1987 when they were condemned by the Church and
prohibited from meeting on Church property. In spite of this, Dignity TwinCities
continues to be active today. (http://www.dignitytwincities.org/chapterhistory.html)
The Basilica of St. Mary advertises its Boulevards club on the parish website as
a “welcoming, accepting and mutually supportive group of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender people” who meet once a month for scheduled
activities and socializing. Boulevards is sponsoring an upcoming presentation on
the inclusion of GLBT persons in the Catholic Church by Bishop Gumbleton of
Detroit, who has close ties to the Rainbow Sash movement and frequently dons a
rainbow mitre. (http://www.mary.org/life/groups/boulevards/index.html)
Then there is the College of St. Catherine which has long supported the GLBT
community in St. Paul. For years, their web page on Career Development has
posted LGBT information as a specialized career resource (being a women’s
college, lesbian is listed before gay). Links include “Gaywork.com” and the
“Queer Resource Directory.” (Please see the archived page as they are
currently redesigning their entire website: http://web.archive.org/web/20041121062336/http://minerva.stkate.edu/careers.nsf/pages/links4diversity#glbt
) The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who operate the College of St.
Catherine, formed the Justice Commission Working Group on Homophobia and
Heterosexism. (http://www.csjstpaul.org/content.asp?id=285
) Their mission is to welcome and support all GLBT people and fight any
“discrimination” against homosexuals, presumably from those who would uphold
Catholic Church teaching on human sexuality. Other “Catholic” GLBT groups
operating locally and at a national level include Family and Friends of GLBT
Persons, Rainbow Parents, Catholics for Equity, Committee for Catholic Lesbians,
and the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries.
But by far, the most active GLBT organization in the
diocese is the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM). This
group has spread its tentacles well beyond the confines of the Archdiocese of
St. Paul-Minneapolis by sponsoring pro-homosexual workshops and programs for
Catholic educators nationwide. Founded locally in 1980 after a listening session
with Archbishop John Roach, CPCSM has its roots in Dignity TwinCities. Its
co-founder, Bill Kummer, was the 1989 recipient of the archdiocese’s
Archbishop Ireland Award for his work in the gay and lesbian community. In turn,
CPCSM bestowed their Fr. Henry LeMay award for excellence in pastoral ministry
to GLBT persons on Fr. Leo Tibesar in 1988 and Fr. Michael Tegeder in 2006.
In the early years, CPCSM mainly engaged in secular
promotion of the gay agenda, but was also involved at the time with Catholic
Charities in providing a support group for family members of GLBT individuals.
Following an offer by Archbishop Roach to have access to his department heads,
CPCSM began a series of luncheons with archdiocesan officials to exchange
information on GLBT concerns. Then in 1985, CPCSM “organized and conducted a
conference for regional vocation directors of approximately 30 religious
communities and dioceses to assist them in developing admission protocols for
evaluating and selecting GLBT candidates for the priesthood and religious life.”
In 1986, Archbishop Roach initiated “a large archdiocesan study group on GLBT
ministry” and formally appointed several CPCSM members to join priests,
theologians, and health professionals in assessing the needs of the GLBT
community in the Church. In 1989, CPCSM launched its parish-based ministry
project seminar series, Sharing Silent Journeys of Faith: Embracing Our
Exiled Gay Brothers and Lesbian Sisters, at more than 25 archdiocesan
parishes. From 1991-1992, it “organized and facilitated a study group
comprised of various archdiocesan officials that met regularly to explore ways
in which each of their offices could become more inclusive of GLBT pastoral
concerns.” CPCSM proudly reported that it was under the leadership of
Archbishop Roach that “the Minnesota Catholic Conference successfully
advocated a bill that added sexual orientation as a protected class under the
Minnesota Human Rights Act in 1993.”
After making inroads with the local Church hierarchy, CPCSM
then focused its energies to infiltrate the Catholic schools, or as co-founder
Bill Kummer said, to “contaminate” them. In October 1994, Totino-Grace High
School opened its doors for a full-faculty in-service on GLBT concerns, which
has since been presented to several other archdiocesan high schools. Working
together with the Catholic Education and Formation Ministries Office (CEFM),
CPCSM invited high school faculty and staff as well as parish youth ministry
staff from across the archdiocese to attend two full-day workshops in 1995, and
cofounded the Archdiocesan Study Group on Pastoral Care and Sexual Identity
Issues, which included representatives from all the archdiocesan high schools.
In 1996, CPCSM developed “the Safe Staff Training Program, comprised of
eight present hours of training for selected high school staff.” Over the next
two years, support groups for GLBT students were started at several Catholic
high schools, workshops for school board members were offered, monthly
continuing education on GLBT issues were provided to high school staff, and
in-services were given to religion teachers, campus ministers, and youth
ministers throughout the archdiocese. The CPCSM chronology states that in 1999
it “set in motion the task of re-creating CPCSM since its original
mandate involving its work with the schools had been fulfilled.”
(Narrative of CPCSM’s first 20 years is at http://www.mtn.org/cpcsm/dignity.htm
and a chronology of CPCSM highlights is at http://www.mtn.org/cpcsm/chronology.htm)
In 1998, CPCSM launched a series of talks entitled Discovering
Our Hidden Treasures: Reshaping Pastoral Ministries with GLBT Persons and Their
Families. In the first talk, A Bishop’s Journey with Gay Ministry:
Transforming Gospel Values into Human Rights and a More Inclusive Church,
Archbishop Roach praised the “remarkable” history of CPCSM, saying,
“You’ve made a genuine contribution to the faith quality of our society. I
congratulate and thank you and am grateful for all that you do.” (http://www.cpcsm.org/Roach_RS_Spring_1998.pdf)
Thanks to the generous assistance of our local Church leaders, CPCSM co-founders
Bill Kummer and David McCaffrey could say in 2000, “We had always said that in
our lifetime we would never see the day when CPCSM would be allowed to set foot
in any Catholic school and talk to teachers about GLBT issues let alone conduct
intensive training sessions in 9 of the 11 high schools. At times, it has seemed
like this has all been a dream.”
More than a dream, the results of their pursuits can be
seen in the numerous “official parish-based GLBT ministries” at parishes
throughout the archdiocese. The seminars developed by CPCSM here in St.
Paul-Minneapolis have been distributed to Catholic entities around the United
States as well as in foreign countries. But our episcopal leaders alone cannot
take all the credit for rolling out the red carpet to the homosexual community.
Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger, OP, former Director of Personnel and Planning for
the archdiocesan educational administration office (currently known as the
Catholic Education and Formation Ministries - CEFM), was instrumental in
introducing the gay programs into the Catholic high schools so that CPCSM has
now trained approximately 750 faculty and staff members. She has encouraged
teachers “to incorporate discussions of homosexuality into the curriculum”
using such topics as “famous homosexuals and their influence in history,”
the difficulties homosexuals face compared to other groups in society, and also
“the lives of some famous homosexual athletes.” Now high school students are
invited to write about homosexual topics in the school newspaper, and school
counselors place gay and lesbian posters on the walls. This is what your
Catholic school tuition is presently funding! (http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/1902.html)
Lest you think this is limited
to the Twin Cities, in August 2005 CPCSM organized a Building Safe Schools for
GLBT Students conference, the first of its kind in the Catholic community.
The conference was open to 30 handpicked Catholic high school professionals from
around the country. Criteria used in the selection process were proven
leadership ability, a passion for diversity, a mandate (formal or private) from
their school’s leadership to participate in the GLBT conference, as well as
the ability and commitment to motivate and teach others. The 4-day conference,
held at the College of St. Catherine and featuring Sister Mary Ellen Gevelinger
as the keynote speaker, was based on over 30 rounds of intensive staff and
faculty training at Catholic schools in St. Paul-Minneapolis. Some of the
schools involved in the initial pilot programs were LaSallian schools operated
by the Christian Brothers. Interestingly, the Christian Brothers are
shareholders in National Catholic, the company that owns the
homosexually-advocated VIRTUS “safe environment” program. (http://www.mtn.org/cpcsm/ConferenceInfo3-22-05.pdf)
Also of note: CPCSM received a $100,000 gift in 1999 from the Sisters of
St. Joseph of Carondelet, who regularly host CPCSM events at Carondelet Center,
and Archbishop Harry Flynn sits on the College of St. Catherine Board of
Trustees.
It is evident that a homosexual subculture is indeed thriving in our midst. The Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis continues to make headlines as Catholics nationwide are scandalized by the gross negligence displayed when the Rainbow Sash protestors are repeatedly allowed to commit sacrilege within our own cathedral. The intention of the Rainbow Sash movement to “provoke a showdown” at Pentecost this year by attempting to receive Holy Communion while wearing their sashes was well publicized across the country. Yet no measures were taken locally to ensure that the Blessed Sacrament would be protected, and when a consecrated host was broken into pieces by a layperson and distributed to sash wearers, the archdiocese chose not to act and refused to make any arrest. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400773.html)
Prior to 2005, Archbishop Flynn readily gave Communion to
Rainbow Sash members, despite the fact on occasion they have thrown things
at the cathedral, chanted slogans, and disrupted the Mass. He then caused
widespread controversy when he publicly misrepresented the Vatican’s
directives on the matter. Only after the repeated insistence by Cardinal Francis
Arinze that “the Catholic Church has never accepted homosexuality” and it
was unacceptable to give Communion to the sashers did Archbishop Flynn finally write a
letter formally stopping the practice of giving the gay activists Communion on
Pentecost Sunday.
However, he once again gave Holy Communion to Rainbow Sash
members at the World Marriage Day Mass at the St. Paul Cathedral on February 12,
2006. When Archbishop Flynn asked married couples to stand and
repeat their marriage vows, same-sex couples wearing bright rainbow armbands did the
same. And when the Rainbow Sash members presented themselves for Communion,
although some extraordinary eucharistic ministers refused, “other ministers,
including the Archbishop, did not refuse the Eucharist to armband wearers.”
When archdiocesan spokesman Dennis McGrath was later asked about the incident,
he said, “The fact of the matter is it is true the archbishop gave them
Communion, but the archbishop didn’t see the armbands. When the archbishop
gives someone Communion, he looks into their eyes, not at their arms. He never
saw the darn things.” (See The Wanderer “Archbishop Reportedly Gives
Communion to Rainbow Sashers,” March 23, 2006.) The CPCSM website proudly
tells how protestors were given Communion on World Marriage Day. (See “175
Protesters Rally on Steps of Cathedral” halfway down the page at http://www.mtn.org/cpcsm/)
The Rainbow Sash Movement has declared that they are
protesting “homophobia” within the Catholic Church and they are in fact making a
political statement by wearing their sashes during Mass. Archbishop Flynn,
however, says he believes the Eucharist “should not be an occasion for
political scrutinizing and judgments,” and continues to post the article he
wrote in September 2004, Eucharist: A source of healing and unity, not
political judgments, on the archdiocesan website
(http://www.thecatholicspirit.com/archives.php?article=2748). As a priest, he is the primary guardian of the Eucharist and has an
obligation to deny Holy Communion to those who are making a public stand
against Church teaching. He is not being asked to judge the state of their
souls, but to judge the blatant public statement they are making by wearing
their rainbow decorations.
Archbishop Flynn repeatedly talks about his desire for unity and communion within the Church. What type of unity is he trying to promote? Is it unity with the homosexual community? Is that what it means to be a Catholic in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis? Is that what our children are being taught by his actions, by the homosexually-inclusive curriculum in the parochial schools, by the GLBT parish ministries and the numerous homosexual events permitted within the archdiocese today?