The Persistence of Grooming in the Catholic Church
“It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky In the year 2000, I went on a pilgrimage to France. One of my
“It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky In the year 2000, I went on a pilgrimage to France. One of my
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Above: Edvard Munch, "Hospital Ward" (1897—1899). “Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery?” – Mary Shelley, “Frankenstein” (1818) Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours in hospitals. At times, due
In honor of the Advent season, the Paulist Fathers offered LGBTQ “Advent Reflections” for the year 2020. Each reflection, was written by a member of the Paulist LGBTQ outreach ministry – Out at St. Paul
Give me the strength to seek you; Oh, you who allowed me to find you, and who gave me the hope of finding you more and more. – Saint Augustine For much of my life,
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On October 27, November 18, and December 15, 2020, the Dominican Sisters of Peace are hosting ongoing Zoom sessions to educate Catholic priests on “how to better serve their trans parishioners.” More than 30 priests
Much of my life was chaotic. But it wasn’t always so. At home, as a child, before I became exposed to the wider world, I often felt safe and loved. Yet, almost immediately, in school,
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Above: Massingale speaking at New Ways Ministry’s 8th National Symposium in 2017. On October 23, 2020, Fr. Bryan Massingale was interviewed by NPR about Pope Francis' statements concerning same-sex civil unions. When asked about the
Above: Eugène Burnand, "The Prodigal Son" (1908) My dad was a good father. I didn’t always think so. When I was a kid, I thought he ignored me; he paid more attention to his work,
When I was a child, at best, I would describe Catholicism as an occasionally pleasant distraction. After Mass on Sunday, my father usually took us to get donuts; at school, “religion class” was a welcome
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Above: Marooned, Howard Pyle (1909) During Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, she innocently referred to those with a “sexual preference;” according to the Human Rights Campaign, the correct term is
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At mid-life, with the possibility of another corrective surgery looming before me, I often get angry. During my early-30s, I spent a lot of time in recovery. I underwent a series of medical procedures meant
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From October 9 – 10, 2020, at their Jesuit Retreat Center located in Parma, Ohio, (Diocese of Cleveland) the Society of Jesus will host an LGBTQ retreat called “Emmaus 2020: A Time for Healing: Ourselves
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The P.E. teacher told everyone to form a line and face forward. Oh my god, I thought to myself. Not again. How these two alpha-preadolescent-boys were chosen to stand before me, I had no idea;
It seems to be a fact that you have to suffer as much from the Church as for it… ― Flannery O'Connor, "The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor" At mid-life, I have absolutely
I was sick; I was dying; I needed help. After a night of rough sex inside a San Francisco bondage club, I collapsed onto the cold pavement somewhere near the Castro District. I had nowhere
No one can push me out of the way – not a lie, not a fire, and not the evil men in the Church. I am staying. And I will fight.
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Jesuit priest Donal Godfrey, during his August 23, 2020 homily at St. Agnes Catholic Church in San Francisco, stated that he celebrated mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School (SHC) on the previous Friday -
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In a recent essay, “Brought to Life by Christ,” primarily about his struggles with homosexuality as a Dominican priest, James Alison wrote: All this time I was still wrestling with being gay. Not that this
Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. – Isaiah 53:3 Since childhood,
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“…we wish to make it clear that departure from the Church's teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral. Only what is true can ultimately be
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