Catholic Bishops Shut Gay Families Out of Church Again
Catholic Bishops Shut Families Out of Church Again
PFLAG Statement on New Guidelines for Gay Americans
Washington, D.C. – Jody M. Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), issued the following statement regarding the adoption of guidelines by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops today:
“Today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops helped advance the message of isolation, shame, and rejection that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Catholics have been subjected to for many years. The newest guidelines, however, take this message several steps further than they have gone in the past, in spite of glaring evidence of how this treatment destroys spirits, tears families apart. Priests will now be encouraged to perpetuate a culture of being in the closet and of shame when they minister to their GLBT parishioners and the people who love them.
Need a GLBT friendly alcohol rehab program or GLBT drug rehab program, click on www.gay-rehab.com or www.lakeviewhealth.com.
GLBT Catholics have been subjected to negative treatment from the Church. The message to them has been clear: unless you are straight, you are not welcome to full participation in your faith. Today’s announcement strengthens this contention that GLBT people are not welcomed to live authentically within the Catholic Church.
In the past year, Americans have watched the destruction that individuals and their families suffer when they are not permitted to be honest about their God-given sexual orientation. Rather than speak to people to help them overcome shame and the closet, the Catholic bishops will encourage behaviors that will guarantee incidents like these will happen for years to come.
Faith and spirituality should be accessible to all people, regardless of sexual orientation, and the denial of this participation is contrary to the very Catholic ideal of compassion and justice. A sense of spiritual community is critical to the lives of many people, and the denial of this connection is yet another inequality and injustice that GLBT people and their families must face.
Fair-minded straight people, together with GLBT people, should call on their local bishops to express their condemnation of this latest statement. Catholic leaders need to understand that their condemnation of our families only serves to perpetuate discrimination against millions of people of faith across this country. Discrimination should not be among the values that the Catholic Church upholds for its people.”
If require assistance locating a gay friendly drug rehab program or gay friendly dual diagnosis treatment program in your area, you can call the natinal addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.
Technorati Tags: addiction, addiction treatment, alcohol rehab, alcohol rehab program, drug rehab, drug rehab program, dual diagnosis, dual diagnosis treatment, dual diagnosis treatment program, rehab, treatment
