Loving the 'Other,'
Loving Oneself

Moral Maxim
By Fr. Richard R. Mickley, OSAe., Ph.D.

DEVELOPMENTS

Other organizations grew from or because of the Metropolitan Community Churches. In 1969, gay and lesbian Roman Catholics founded Dignity. Later, gay and lesbian Episcopalians founded Integrity. Gay and lesbian Methodists founded Affirmation-Methodist. Gay and lesbian members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints founded Affirmation-Mormon. Gay and lesbian Adventists founded Kinship. Gay and lesbian Evangelicals founded Evangelicals Together and Evangelicals Concerned. Gay and lesbian Jews in LA founded Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim. Gay and lesbian Jews in NYC founded Congregation Beth Shimchat Torah. Father Robert Clement founded the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Beloved Disciple in NYC.

The Christ Chapel group of churches grew out of MCC. The Alliance of Christian Churches also came out of MCC. And open and affirming movements began among Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, and many other religious groups.
Most mainstream Protestant denominations found organizations of their gay and lesbian members. Among some, reconciling movements such as Reconciling in Christ and More Light Movement provided a studied and organized effort toward full enfranchisement of the gay and lesbian in their denominations.

For Roman Catholics, Sister Jeannine Grammick, Father Robert Nugent and Brother Rick Garcia started New Ways Ministry as an option offering traditional magisterial teaching enriched with sociological and psychological studies.

OPEN AND AFFIRMING

Some clergy, congregations, dioceses, synods or denominations offer open and affirming ministry for the homosexual. Open and affirming means welcoming the gay man or lesbian woman as they are and being fully in support of their total humanity.  Some denominations which offer open and affirming ministry include but are not limited to: the Metropolitan Community Churches, various dioceses and parishes of the Episcopal Church; many Reformed and Reconstructionist Jewish congregations; a growing number of independent Catholic, [including the Order of St. Aelred and the Catholic Diocese of One Spirit with whom it is affiliated]; a number of non-affiliated Lutheran congregations; and the list continues to expand.
Some ministries are “welcoming.” They invite gay men and lesbian women to be part of their communities, but it is usually on a “Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell” (DADT) basis. Many Roman Catholic parishes in the LA, San Diego, San Francisco offer “welcoming” ministries. Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino offers a ministry of support for the families and friends of lesbians and gays and, ancillary to that, a welcoming ministry for the homosexual.

REPARATIVE

Some ministries are in the “reparative” category. They presume that homosexuality is a condition which can be changed, reversed, redefined, etc. Several different methods have been and continue to be tried to achieve this — without success.
Father John Harvey, founder of the Roman Catholic organization “Courage,” believes that homosexuality is in the category of an obsessive/compulsive behavior and so can be “treated” with a 12-step program. I think he is sincere and in essence seeks to find a way for gay men and lesbian women to live sexually-abstinent lives. However, since sexual orientation does not meet the criteria for obsessive-compulsive (OC) behavior, ultimately there is little “success” and often damage to the person.

Another reparative program combines medical and religious techniques. A Dr. Nicolosi presumes to be highly successful in changing gay men and lesbian women. Most of these “ex-gay” ministries refuse to look at the person and the reality of sexual orientation. The presumption is that sexual orientation is determined by what people do and not who people are. So, “success” is determined by the gender of the persons who engage in erotic activity. Sadly, a number of open and affirming ministries have had to develop ministries with those damaged by the “ex-gay” movement.

GOD HATES FAGS

The last group of people are the “God Hates Fags” group. The most notorious is Fred Phelps and his family, who constitute Westboro Baptist Church. They harangue people at funerals with ugly signs. But they are not alone. The Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and other similar organizations are also hate groups.
Sadly, oftentimes clergy who are otherwise good people and engaged in salutary activity find themselves behaving in hateful manner when it comes to the homosexual. In that category belongs Pope Benedict XVI (Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) who has identified homosexuals as objectively disordered persons and opposes the protection of their human rights and the pursuit of their civil rights.

ON MATTHEW SHEPARD

Matthew Shepard has become an icon of the hatred people demonstrate not only to the homosexual but to the “other,” whoever the other happens to be. Matthew was assaulted for being gay by some young people who “crucified” him on a fence. He died shortly after he was found. His parents have been waging a campaign ever since then to include the “hate crime” factor in violent assaults. Matthew, of course, was not the first, nor has he been the last.  Gwen Araujo is another example of hatred and inhumanity. The teenage boy who was murdered in Ojai, California more recently is also another example of hatred and inhumanity. [Dozens of transgender people are murdered each year. Cf. The Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP).]

ON PROPOSITION 8

A voter’s initiative is on the ballot for the November elections in California. It proposes to undo the decision of the conservative California Supreme Court, and to make constitutional marriage exclusively for a man and woman. There is no doubt of the fact that the proposal for this initiative is not rooted in theology or in reason. Rather it is rooted in hatred exclusively. The proof of this hatred is the plethora of outright lies promulgated in the advertising of these groups to promote Proposition (Prop) 8.

If Prop 8 becomes law and is made constitutional, that will then become a constitutional requirement to exercise legal and social discrimination against various religious bodies, against clergy, and against gay men and lesbian women.
The valiant efforts of Rev. Perry were to reach the day when all people could be granted social and economic justice along with due respect for the dignity of their personhoods and the integrity of their relationships.

Various groups in support of Prop 8 include, but are not limited to, the Roman Catholic Knights of Columbus, the Roman Catholic bishops of California, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a large number of Fundamentalist and Pentecostal Evangelical churches across the country, and a wide assortment of “Christian” TV evangelistic ministries. (The ugly truth is that justice is unlikely when you allow the majority to vote on the rights of the minority. RRM)

I started out with some observations on the ex-gay movement as I have experienced it over the years. Then I broadened the perspective to the Internet, and, as usual, wise comments, this time historical, from my friend, Fr. Paul Breton.

*An excellent source of information regarding information pertaining to the gay and lesbian religious movement is gaychurch.org.

Fr. Richard R. Mickley, OSAe., Ph.D. is the founder and abbot of the Order of St. Alread, active in the LGBTI advocacy movement in the Philippines. He is a Korean war veteran, and enjoys the war against sex-negative theology, and promotes the peace and joy of sex-positive theology.  With a doctorate in psychology, he combines psychology and religion to bring insights into human nature as God brought it into being.   
He has been guest speaker on these subjects in many conventions, universities, and organizations. His hobby is writing. His special interest, aside from the study of St. Aelred, is studying the life and ideals and principles of his idol, Jose Rizal.
For more information, contact The Order of St. Aelred at the St. Aelred Friendship Society in 82-D Masikap Street, Barangay Central, Quezon City; call (+632) 9218273, or 9209034909; email saintaelred@gmail.com; join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saeffriends; or visit geocities.com/staelredmonasterymanila, http://richardrmickley.blogspot.com, or the Catholic Diocese of One Spirit (CDOS) Web site onespiritcatholic.org.