Posted on 07/27/2002 8:06:59 AM PDT by sinkspur
In all his years as a Catholic priest, he has never experienced anything so threatening to him and his ministry: being questioned and doubted, not for what he has done or what he believes, but for who he is.
He is a seasoned priest with a record of faithfulness and commitment to the Dallas-area parishes he has served.
He's also gay, although not many people know it: some friends and fellow priests, a number of whom also are gay.
With the scandal exploding in unexpected directions, no one hears the continued ticking louder or clearer than priests who are gay.
And rightly or wrongly, he is afraid these days as Roman Catholic leaders and laity continue to reel from the church's cover-up of sexual abuse and try to figure out which way to go from here.
"I'm terrified now," said the priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "People are trying to make oversimplified connections between sexual abuse and being gay, and they're saying, 'Let's get rid of all of them.'
"Any priest who is gay feels at risk. We're not used to living under suspicion. We're used to being trusted."
With the scandal exploding in unexpected directions, no one hears the continued ticking louder or clearer than priests who are gay. Their numbers, like those nationally, are significant in the Dallas Diocese, church officials said.
They hear the voices in the church that equate them with sexual abusers, and that want them out as part of a move to bring the priesthood in line with church teaching that homosexual acts are immoral.
More liberal Catholics say the church should embrace gay priests and end the secrecy before devoted priests are forced out or quit.
The waves of distrust already have broken at the steps of two parishes in the Dallas diocese, offering a look at how the church's next chapter may unfold.
Two priests – including the one who didn't want his name published – came under suspicion after a conservative group resurrected 2-year-old accusations that the men participated in a defunct Internet support group for gay priests.
The unidentified priest wasn't disciplined because he said nothing untoward; the other pastor stepped down because of sexually suggestive remarks about Hispanic men in an old e-mail.
To some, the priests' sin was – and is – being gay.
The call from American bishops for openness about past abuse has not extended to homosexuality itself and what many consider the ecclesiastical don't-ask-don't-tell policy for priests.
Instead, the rising tide of scandal has floated a fundamental question that could chart the church's course in years to come: What place does the Catholic Church want for gay priests?
"There's always been a good deal of sexual activity in the church from the top down, and not just homosexual activity," said psychotherapist and author A.W. Richard Sipe, a former priest who has studied clerical celibacy for 42 years. "What's changed is the revelation of that activity, including sexual abuse of minors. The secret system has been blasted open.
"The church is in a very funny position because its teaching says that homosexuality is so immoral, and the church has so many gay priests. The church could not function without gay priests."
Polarizing viewpoints
Homosexuality in the priesthood, shoved into the glare of public debate, is polarizing viewpoints inside the church and out. Many moderates and liberals contend that gays are being made scapegoats for a corrupt system in which bishops and priests abetted abusers by failing to expose them.
Many conservatives believe that gay priests are the root cause of the church's problems and all its layers of secrecy.
Last spring, Pope John Paul II's press secretary said that besides not ordaining gays, the church should consider removing gay priests.
A cardinal in Detroit recently said the church faced "not truly a pedophilia-type problem but a homosexual-type problem." The cardinal in Philadelphia prohibits gays from entering seminary.
Bishops, who determine which candidates get ordained in each diocese, are split over acceptance vs. a crackdown on gays. The Dallas Diocese does not weed out candidates because they are gay, although scrutiny is heavy, officials said.
A few bishops and at least one cardinal have said gays aren't suitable to become priests.
Vatican officials, after American cardinals met with the pope this spring, vowed to launch the first intensive seminary inspections in 20 years, concentrating on applicants' "suitability" and the schools' "fidelity" to church teachings.
Although some Catholics fear a sexually-oriented witch hunt to bar gays from ordination, orthodox groups consider such hurdles just what the priesthood needs.
"I think that has to happen, keeping homosexuals out of the seminaries and priesthood," said the Rev. Charles Dahlby, a priest in rural Illinois. "The church is desperately trying to avoid looking at that.
"The bishops haven't shown they have that courage."
Others worry that despite a new one-strike-and-out-of-public-ministry policy for abusive priests – adopted last month at the bishops conference in Dallas – unwarranted suspicion of gays threatens to drive them deeper into their closets.
"It's a very threatening climate right now," said Mark Jordan, an author and religion professor at Emory University in Atlanta. "These are priests who have never broken their vows of celibacy, and they're afraid of being taken out of ministry.
"Rather than focus on the institutional problem, people want to go after easy targets."
The focus on homosexuality, Mr. Jordan said, pre-empts the church from discussing more complex issues. He listed the climate of secrecy and clerical power, the discipline of celibacy and its frequent failures, church teachings on sexuality and a growing gay priesthood.
There's no definitive figure for the percentage of gay priests in America. The most rigorous studies estimate 30 percent to more than 50 percent. The latter figure comes from veteran researcher, professor and former seminary rector, Father Donald Cozzens.
Can't be ignored
In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, which openly discusses homosexuality, he said that although questions about gays in the priesthood may seem homophobic, "the proverbial elephant in the living room" can't be ignored. "The longer the delay, the greater the harm to the priesthood and to the church," he said.
Catholic officials must distinguish between priests, gay or straight, who struggle and sometimes fail to remain celibate and those who exploit the priesthood for the cover it provides or its gay network, he said.
To lay activist Stephen Brady, there must be no such distinction.
"Gays should not be ordained," said Mr. Brady, a restaurateur from Illinois who heads a group called Roman Catholic Faithful. "There is justifiable discrimination against a homosexual. The church teaches that."
Parts of the church's stance on gays seem colored in gray.
Opponents of gay ordination often cite a 1961 Vatican document that said gays should not be ordained. The document, "Careful Selection and Training of Candidates for the States of Perfection and Sacred Orders," isn't widely known among Catholics.
Mr. Brady says bishops have virtually ignored that document. Bishops say canon law never specifically prohibited gays from being priests.
Homosexual acts, on the other hand, have always been immoral in the eyes of the church since they can't create life.
In 1975, a Vatican document, "Declaration on Certain Problems of Sexual Ethics," indicated that simply being gay – without sexual activity – isn't sinful. That was followed by another document that said homosexuality is "intrinsically disordered," which gets conflicting interpretations.
The church needs to clarify all this, Mr. Brady said, "so we know where the hell we stand."
Last month, he used the bishops conference to recirculate charges that Catholic officials have overly protected gay priests, including 10 that his group identified by monitoring e-mails at an Internet site.
Confession wasn't enough for the Rev. Cliff Garner, who apologized to parishioners at St. Pius X Catholic Church in East Dallas for a 1999 message about Hispanic men. It said, in part, "I do have a very special place in my heart for those Latin blooded ones!"
Among more than 300 people who attended, some were forgiving; others wanted him removed.
Father Garner asked to leave the East Dallas parish after an anonymous threat to hurt him.
This month, the pastor at St. Pius criticized parishioners for "the hate and vengeance exhibited by some people."
'What a tragedy'
"When Father Cliff begged for forgiveness, some yelled, 'How many times are we supposed to forgive?' " Monsignor Larry Pichard wrote. "What a tragedy for our parish! What a tragedy for Father Cliff!" Those close to Father Garner said the priest was traumatized and wouldn't comment.
"We just need to let him rest and let him heal," Father Pichard said.
Mr. Brady said he got no satisfaction from the victory. He blamed both Father Garner, whom he said "brought this on himself" with his comments, and higher-ups who allowed him to become and remain a priest.
"I'm not saying he's evil. I'm saying he doesn't belong as a Catholic priest," Mr. Brady said. "I feel sorry for him because he was lied to all along.
"The fact that the bishops are unwilling to discuss the homosexual issue is an indictment against them."
Like many of his peers, Dallas Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Galante concludes that the sexual orientation of a priest or seminarian is irrelevant; they should have "psycho-sexual maturity" and be spiritually and socially healthy.
This moderate view emphasizes that whether homosexual or heterosexual, a priest must fulfill his call to a celibate, chaste life.
Sexual orientation "becomes a moot point," Bishop Galante said, adding that a priest shouldn't think of or identify himself as "a gay priest," as though that were his defining quality.
"I don't like hyphenated priests," the bishop said.
He played down the fears of some priests that being gay has made them targets.
"If they're not acting out, if they're living a devout good life, they have no reason to be fearful," he said. "There are no grounds to remove anybody. They can't be punished."
Some Catholics, however, see an inherent risk in affording gays the respect of the cloth.
Although he acknowledged that many fine, celibate priests are gay, Father Dahlby said he would close the priesthood to gays if he could.
"We don't know they'll have the spirituality to live a celibate life, and we're surrounding them with incredible temptations," he said. "It's unfair to them."
Those who blame gays for the crisis often assert that most of the victims were teenage boys, not children.
Others say that there are no statistics on the victims, which include many females – girls as well as women – and that the crisis is about abuse, not homosexuality.
Many of the worst abusers came through the old seminary system as teenagers in the 1960s and '70s.
'Bing Crosby priests'
"These were Bing Crosby priests," Mr. Jordan said, "products of the supposedly ideal period of American Catholicism." Yet they seem to have had sexual problems as teens that went unresolved and arrested their development, said Monsignor Francis Maniscalco, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"This may be a question of late adolescent behavior and accessibility to victims as much as fixed gender orientation," he said.
Mr. Jordan said the church's mishandling of the crisis is ominous.
"The abuse is not coming from out priests," he said. "It's coming from tightly closeted priests who won't be targeted.
"Five years from now, when the seminaries have been investigated and troublesome priests have been ousted, we'll have another rash of abuse cases."
Transcending his own apprehension, the Dallas-area priest who didn't want to be identified expressed hope.
"As scandalous and unsettling as this is, it's not new in the church's history. The church survives," he said. "A period of renewal ultimately will follow from all this ugliness, a period of grace.
"I can not believe otherwise. God's grace pervades all."
I agree
He would NEVER turn His back on one looking to leave the homosexual life.
Right.
There is nothing that cannot be cured with God's help. True. But a lot of people aren't cured. This is called the problem of evil. People remain with the bodily and psychological weaknesses even after seeking God, and even being born again.
When God cures, it's a miracle. But sometimes he leaves a "thorn in the flesh" to keep people humble. That is where God's mercy comes into play. You assume when one is saved, one never sins or is tempted to sin. Alas, this is not so. You assume God cures, but alas he often does not cure physical or psychological illnesses. Paul calls such things a "thorn in the flesh". Catholics call them "crosses". Temptations that are resisted are not sins, but weapons of the devil to make one sin, which can be resisted with grace.
Indeed, the paradox is that many who are "saved", instead of praising God for his mercy and preaching his mercy to other sinners, instead too often are willing to condemn the sins of others who are not "saved". You can quote scripture out of context all day but anyone reading Isaiah or Micah knows that there are lots of sins beside homosexual behavior out there. And anyone reading Matthew knows that God's approach is not to blast the sinner as hopeless, but to seek the lost sheep in the brambles to take him home.
True, it doesn't make any sense to create a situation that we know will lead to temptation.
Unless of course we want trouble.
And I would say that Christ does require us to clean up our thoughts - as in when he says that anyone who looks at a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery with her (and thus sinned). Temptations are not sin, I agree. But allowing bad thoughts to prevail in our minds is.
Yes, I agree. When we dwell on a temptation and play with it in our mind, we are in effect giving our approval to and embracing something we know is wrong.
This goes beyond simply being temptation and becomes sin, which is of course what Christ was saying in the verse you cite.
Good point.
"This is different than, say an alcholic being put in charge of a liquor store."
One difference also is the alcoholic is not asking that the Church bless his drinking habit with a rite. Let's say that he demands that he bring is booze into church and have a blessing and the congregation glories with him in his addiction/habit.
Gays have been very successful in the protestant world gaining "same-sex blessings" where the couples get a cermony known as gay marriage.
A short internet search on "open and affirming" congregations yields me 100 or more churches in my area that accept the gay life-style and AFFIRM it. Open and affirming is the next step -- heads up guys -- let's not fall for this one.
There is the key, motivation. I think it is a disorder, like alcoholism. You have to want to beat it. It makes my heart so glad that these good men were helped through therapy, or whatever means, to rediscover what deeper joy it is to experience their sexuality in the way God intended for them. I pray that many more will follow.
You remeind me, YB, that I *must* pick up "Goodbye, Good Men" very soon. I've been wanting to read it since it came out.
Have a wonderful and Blessed Sunday ;o)
I assume no such thing. Even after being saved we will still still. All mere mortals are fallible and sin. God does cure and that is not an assumption. That is Biblically sound. YOu will have to give me the verse that Paul states so I can check the context. I don't want to assume anything on your behalf. Temptation resisted or not ARE sins. THIS is what God says.
[28] But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
That verse explains how God views temptation. It is not in agreement with your view. The Judeo CHristian God is so Holy and Perfect that even thinking it is a sin. As the verse states, thinking it or lusting is the same as commiting adultry and that is a sin.
I suppose you didn't go throught the website Exodus. There is ample evidence of God's infinite love and mercy to those who want to leave the tormented homosexual life. Look at the testimonies. Look at who they credit. It is true through God all things are possible and certainly a homosexual life is NOT something God, would want anyone to experience, let alone live.
I believe Jesus when He states this:
Mark.9:23
[23] Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark.10:27
[27] And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Mark.14:36
[36] And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
I also can't help but notice that you don't use Scripture to back up your beliefs and that is because it is not in agreement with God's Word. Instead you try to split hairs and redefine to support a more humanitic view of God's Word.
My focus is not on an opinion of mere mortals. It is what God says that is important. We are under grace for our punishment. AS you know also Christ died on the cross for our puishment. The wages of sin is death and that includes temptation acted upon or not is sin.
You: "Indeed, the paradox is that many who are "saved", instead of praising God for his mercy and preaching his mercy to other sinners, instead too often are willing to condemn the sins of others who are not "saved". You can quote scripture out of context all day but anyone reading Isaiah or Micah knows that there are lots of sins beside homosexual behavior out there.
Me: Just a reminder ... we are having a discussion on homosexuality and how God IS merciful to them if they put their faith/trust in Him they won;t have to be tormented with this emotional problem. I don't quote Scripture out of context and you know it. Anyone who reads the Bible knows that homosexuality isn't the only sin out there. Good grief! That is obvious and tends to cause topic drift. We are discssing homosexuality and how this sin in particular was singled out by God, not me, as particulary offensive. We could easily veer off out discussion and discuss other sins, such as divorce outside of what God permits etc. but I'm not interested in getting off topic. The topic here is homoseuxality as a sin, "tempted or acted on". When one is tempted the person has the affliction of being a homosexual which is a sin. I don't kniow why this is so confusing to you.
You: "And anyone reading Matthew knows that God's approach is not to blast the sinner as hopeless, but to seek the lost sheep in the brambles to take him home."
Again, anyone that reads the Bible, not just Isaiah, Micah or Matthew KNOW that there is ALL kinds of sin out there! God's approach is not to minimize sin and make up excuses for it. If anything is it God who DOES blast the sinner in no uncertain terms about sin. It is Jesus who speaks the most about hell. Hell is so awful that He talks about it to make an impression. It's sweet to give the lost sheep story but the fact is that too many "lost sheep" don't get "blasted" or rebuked enough to turn away from sin. Too many are compromising sin down so as to not hurt feelings and to be more at ease with worldy views. This is wrong and a mistake. I'd rather see people go to heaven than hell. I hope you reconsider your beliefs.
I don't subnscribe to the NYT and surprised they would publish truth for a change. Thanks for posting it.
You: No, I am asking YOU to site it for me. I have the Cathechism of The Catholic Church sitting on my lap, and if you had read SmedleyButler's comment in post #43 to you, there are sites that directly contradict what you claim to "believe" about The Church. You obviously have "what is taught" in the Church confused with what actually goes on. Hypocracy? Hell yes! And we are sick of it!
Me: I don't have the time to look it up nor am I interested in citing for you what you are supposed to believe.
Me: I have no doubt that when priests have molested children and moved to another parish etc. - these priests were instructed to stop this and remain celibate. Since they don't have God in their life they couldn't and repeated the beahvior. I can't imagine the Catholic church inentionally allowing priests to molest innocent children.
You: Neither can we, and there are no more angry/hurt people out there than those who have been through it, and their fellow parishoners who are incensed at the heirarchy who allowed these atricities to happen. THAT, my friend, is who "allowed" these crimes to happen, NOT the Church, nor it's doctorine/teachings.
Me:The "church" is the body of believers. It is not an organization or an institution. It's teachings are what has permitted this.
Me: I also know this to be true from a fellow Catholic who is a homosexual. He claims it's in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church. I strongly suggest that if you are a Catholic to review this and other statements in there.
You: I am Catholic, and had reviewed it long prior to your comments, and after your ridiculous assumptions. Your buddy is one of those misguided Catholics who is dead wrong about it being okay for priests being gay. That fact has been pointed out and sited above in the Cathechism to you already and I won't go into it again. Is it okay for him to be gay? Of course not, he's a sinner like the rest of us. Does it hurt God? You better believe it. However, God shows love and compassion to everyone. God will deal with your friend, and those who are like him. It's up to us to keep our own noses clean. And reach out to him and those like your friend, as if God would. It's best that we follow that rule. We don't usually agree or approve of the sin(ner), but that's our human state. It's up to Him as to what will happen to those like your friend. God will reach out, only if your buddy will reach back in his heart. That's why God is in charge, but some people tend forget that (including the "overly righteous", the pervert priests, and those who hide them).
Me: I make no assumptions. I go by what Catholic say. Most of my church is ex-Catholic. It's up to thte individual to reach out to God. If the individual doesn't he/she will be forever tormented. This is the last thing God wants for any of His loved ones. He loves us all wishes that "noen should perish".
Me: I could ask ex_catholics at my church but frankly I see the ulness on you to know what you are supposed to believe; not me.
You: No, I suggest you stop relying on second hand fables and stories to get your so called "facts". Look up the Catechism yourself, and you will see for yourself what is doctorine. What happens, unfortunately, is another matter with a select few of the heirarchy. And we as Catholics are beyond angry.
Me: They are not fables or stories but what is taught by the Catholic church. I have no interest in Catholic Catechism since the Bible supercedes the word of man. I stay close to God'w Word. I hope you are angry enough to stop this. It's not right to hurt these tender young ones in this way.
Me: It is funny when the Catholic church selectively applies this truth.
You: Personally I don't think it's funny, neither to hundreds of thousands of Catholics in this country. Listen, I am not alone when I say we as Catholics are sickened as to what has been happening with the Church. It has been infected with such vile evil, but it will survive. It has survived scandal and screw ups for two millenia, and will continue to do so, by The Grace of God.
Then by golly - HOLD THEIR FEET TO THE FIRE and make them stop this. YOU can make more of a difference than me. You are a Catholic.
Me: I'm sorry you find this webiste "ridiculous". I also don't base my opinion on "feelings".
You: No, you base it on heresay, and you've proved your own igonrance as trying to state your opinions as "facts", based on what you hear. I base my opinion on what is taught on the Church by reading The Catechism, and The Bible.
I repeat, I base my opinons on facts. Of course you won't read the website I referred you to because you don't want to see Catholicism state what you don't like. Your best bet is to take what the Bible says to heart. Because of our inherent imperfection man's words are not reliable. It is God's Word that is reliable.
Again, here is a website that would help you with homosexuality and on there is what Catholic teach:
http://www.exodusnorthamerica.org/
I'm amazed at your ignorance.
You: You shouldn't be. If you read carefully, I prefaced my comment to you with a disclaimer as me being "a newbie". I did not grow up in The Church. You, however, come off touting yourself as "a pro" on Catholic Doctorine. I find that "funny" being that you don't follow Catholic teachings, nor are you such. (please correct my "ignorance" again if I made a mistake here).
Me: Your impression of me is extreme and so is your commentary. Your sarcasm is also disturbing. I'm not amused by you. Instead I feel sorry for you.
Me: I bet you haven't even looked at the website. I'd bet you'd find Scripture that contradicts your beliefs ridiculous as well.
You: We all know the Bible is full of contradictions. I follow God's rules, or try to at best. Thank Him that he allows for screw ups from all of us.
No, we "don't all know the Bible is full of contradictions". This is not true nor do Christians believe this. Perfection, God is not illogical or a liar. Your statement just called Him a liar. God gives us free will. If we screw-up it is because our will was endorsed over His will. God allows us to accept Him or reject Him. Don't blame our screw-ups on God. It is the person that screwed up not God.
Me: As I state earlier, read LayDoc's reply and you'll see what you're supposed to believe. She can more easily point out the exact page in your Cathechism that you are supposed to abide by. When you have that information so as you see fit. If being gay wan't okay, then why is there tolerance for child molestors? Why are they turned over to law enforcement as other citizens are? Why also did Catholic leaders pay off the victims and just put the priest in another parish if being gay wasn't okay? I'll stop here.
You:Thank you! Because the Cathachism doesn't say it! It is NOT okay for a priest to be gay! Where are you getting this ridiculous idea that it is okay for a priest to be gay? Just because some slimy bishops are covering for these perverts so "they won't look bad" you consider this doctorine and "teachings" of the Church?? Try again. You are very confused on the issue....No teaching in the Catachism/Catholic Doctorine says that it 's okay for a priest to be gay. Nor, is it "okay" to sin via homosexuality, whether you are a priest or not. We have SICK people in our Church (as you most likely do in yours....it's not in the eye of the media at the moment), and they need to be purged out. And it WILL happen.
Honestly, I'm not interested in what Cathachism says about anything and nor should you be concerned. You should be focused on the Bible. If it weren't okay for a Priest to be gay, then WHY pray tell did the leaders not only cover up the crime, pay off hte family but move the priest to another parish to commit the same offense? You can only hope they asked the priest to stop but when you have MULTIPLE instances and MULTIPLE payoffs, and MULITPLE cover-up, it leads me to believe that the church may not necessarily believe that being gay is so wrong. When you are gay, you act on it. If you don't act on it you are not gay. It's really that simple. Yes, they, homoseuxals can be turned around to a heterosexual life. I'm curious as to WHY these priest, in a Catholic church, surrounded by other Catholic and higher ups who KNEW what was going on ... didn't take this burden to Jesus and help the priest turn his life around. Could it be that God is not in them? Hence, WHY the priest wasn't tunred around? Maybe it's just nice to say to turn to Jesus and lay your burden on Him but when it comes to REALLY doing that, they don't really beleive it? I suspect so since Jesus doesn' t turn His back on anyone. Read that website and you will see how Jesus helped these folks have a happy normal life as He intended.
You: My mistake, I did check out exodusnorthamerica.org, I was confusing it with another website, that is a Catholic apologetic for homosexuality, so don't hit. Those people seeking to change, show a lot of courage, but will do just fine, because like I said, "God's in charge."
These folks who turn away from homosexuality are indeed COURAGEOUS! It is such a horrible affliction. It takes time, patience and digging into their growing up to see how the problem manifested inself and then with love help undo that damage. God is in charge and it is us mere mortals to reach out to Him. He's done all He can. Jesus died for us so we wouldn't have to be dammed - the wages of sin is death but something is xpected from us - belief and putting your faith/trust in Him. He will not fail you whether it be for homoseuxality or another problem. He loves you.
So save the bandwith, and stop arguing about something you obviously know nothing about. You and I have a lot we agree with, but arrogant shouting gets us no where. We as a Church ARE doing something about this scandal, and are "holding the feet to the fire" as we speak. If you took interest in it, you'd know it.
Now, go have a nice Sunday, and go educate yourself, before you continue to make a fool out of yourself by telling me what exactly I should believe as a Catholic. Been there, done that. And do yourself a favor and learn html ;o)
yawn.
As far as I know gays have had very limited success gaining approval for same sex relations, let alone marriage in protestant churches.
There are actually only a handful of fringe denominations that accept such things.
The vast majority of protestants reject the idea of gay marriage.
As far as I know gays have had very limited success gaining approval for same sex relations, let alone marriage in protestant churches.
I guess this is what the definition of approval is. It appears to me the protestants are giving their approval to gay relationships.
The Anglican Church in Canada has just had a diocese approve a rite for gay blessings. This will no doubt split the whole Anglican Communion because the African and Asians are very conservative.
A search of "Open and Affirming" churches in my area yields nearly 100 churches who adhere to this doctrine of accepting gays as they are. My own visits to some of these churches has shown me they very, very accepting. I've seen that gays have their anniversaries announced along with birthdays and marriage anniversaries. In the San Francisco area where I live there are many openly gay minsters in all churches.
Evangelicals and traditionalists in the Church of England and across the Anglican Communion are to urgently seek talks with the new Archbishop of Canterbury warning that if he does not change his mind on homosexuality he could split the Communion.
The first reaction to Dr Williams' appointment came from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, which enthusiastically welcomed it as a change in the policy of the Church.
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