Opponents want probe
of signature gatherer who testified
Mass Equality, a group that
favors same-sex marriage, said yesterday that more than 1,000 people whose names
are on a petition opposing such unions never intended to sign the petition.
Meanwhile, VoteOnMarriage, which wants to end same-sex marriage in
Massachusetts, called for an investigation of Angela McElroy, the Florida
college student who testified before the state Legislature on how paid signature
gatherers allegedly tricked people into signing the petitions.
Marc Solomon, director of Mass Equality, said he expects the number of
fraudulent names to increase as people come forward to say they never intended
to sign the petition but they found their names on the list anyway. The
organization has complaints from “well over 1,000 people” whose names appeared
on the petition they never intended to sign.
The names of those who signed are available on Mass Equality’s Web site,
massequality.org, and Web site KnowThyNeighbor.org. Tom Lang, co-director of
KnowThyNeighbor, said the names came directly from a computer disk from the
office of Secretary of State William F. Galvin.
Kris Mineau, spokesman for VoteOnMarriage and president of the Massachusetts
Family Institute, said the groups do not object to efforts by Mass Equality and
KnowThyNeighbor to uncover alleged fraud, but they “do object to the manner in
which they are carrying out their anti-vote campaign.” He said he has gotten
reports from people that they received calls they considered to be harassing.
VoteOnMarriage believes that the online complaint process being used by the
pro-gay-marriage groups “invites fraud, in that it fails to authenticate the
identity of the citizens filing complaints.”
While people are saying their names were on the list but they never intended to
sign, Bishop Robert J. McManus and Monsignor Thomas Sullivan said they signed
the petition but their names never appeared on the lists posted on the two Web
sites.
Raymond L. Delisle, spokesman for the Worcester Diocese, said the bishop had to
find out what voting precinct he was in, so he mailed his petition. Monsignor
Sullivan remembered signing and handing his over to a parish coordinator at St.
Paul’s Cathedral, Worcester.
“Both were on separate forms, but turned in in different ways,” he said. The
signings happened about the time signatures were being collected in churches in
the diocese, Mr. Delisle said.
Suzanne Reynolds of Leominster said in an interview yesterday that she was
shocked to find her name on the petition that she
never intended to sign.
“The government should not get involved in this issue at all. It’s up to gay
people to decide,” she said. Ms. Reynolds said she believes the real issue for
government right now is to end war and establish peace. Ms. Reynolds said she
opposes not only the war in Iraq “but all wars.”
Ms. Reynolds said she has no objection to supermarkets selling beer and wine,
and said that may be how the problem started.
She recalled going to the Registry of Motor Vehicles office on Erdman Way,
Leominster, in October to renew her driver’s license. A man standing outside the
registry asked if she would sign a petition to allow beer and wine sales in
grocery stores.
She signed and then was asked to sign twice. She said the man gave a reason for
the double signature but she could not remember what he said.
“I don’t think I’ll ever sign a petition again,” she said.
The man never told her the second signature went on a petition against same-sex
marriage.
“I should have asked to see his card but he was standing outside the registry so
I assume he had permission,” she said.
Ms. McElroy has said the double-signature practice was one method used by some
paid signature gatherers. VoteOnMarriage, which wants to end same-sex marriage
in Massachusetts, called for investigation and possible prosecution of Ms.
McElroy.
VoteOnMarriage said it sought to comply with the law during the gathering
process and was found in compliance by the attorney general’s office.
“However, the only case of fraud of which VoteOnMarriage.org is aware — the
admission before a legislative committee and to the media by paid circulator
Angela McElroy that she misrepresented the marriage petition in potentially 269
cases — has yet to be investigated by authorities,” VoteOnMarriage said in a
statement.
The organization said it is calling on “the proper authorities to prosecute this
and any other circulator who intentionally misrepresented the petitions,” and
has sent letters outlining the organization’s concerns to Mr. Galvin and
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly.
Ms. McElroy said she worked in Massachusetts only two weeks before quitting and
returning to Florida, but VoteOnMarriage said the woman was fired by her
employer.
“VoteOnMariage.org pledges to cooperate fully in any investigation and welcomes
the opportunity to bring to justice anyone who has violated the law,” the
organization said.
“Talk about going after a whistleblower,” said Mr. Solomon of Mass Equality. He
said authorities need to start investigating the companies that VoteOnMarriage
hired to come into the state to collect signatures.
At a Statehouse hearing on the issue of fraudulent signature-gathering,
VoteOnMarriage declined to say how much money it paid the out-of-state
companies, but during the legislative hearing, it was learned that the signature
gatherers used by these companies were paid an average of $1 per signature.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Catholic Free Press
Distortion of truth
To the editor,
When will the Telegram & Gazette cease its insidious attacks on Bishop Robert
J. McManus? Its repeated distortion of the truth, orchestrated to discredit our
chief shepherd and ultimately intended to drive a wedge between the Catholic
community and himself, is reprehensible.
The latest example of untruth reporting is the Christmas Eve (!) issue, in an
article written by Kathleen Shaw, and given the headline, "Bishop didn't sign
list
on gay marriage." Shaw asserted that the bishop, after having encouraged
Catholics in the diocese to sign the petition granting citizens the right to
vote on a
definition of marriage, did not himself sign it. Her obvious intention was to
show that the
bishop is not true to his word, and thus create another divide within the
Catholic community of Worcester County.
Well, Bishop McManus did sign the petition. I also signed it. Neither of our
names, however, appear on the Web site of KnowThyNeighbor.org which Shaw used as
her
only source. Others have found the Web site flawed.
The disclaimer on the Web site reads, "KnowThyNeighor.org, its creator, its
volunteers, its Web site designers are not responsible or liable for the
correctness of the list's content including correct spelling, correct or current
corresponding
addressed, or authenticity." How can Shaw write an article with any certitude
claiming the bishop did not sign this petition? and, how can the Telegram &
Gazette permit such a headline?
Moreover, Shaw claimed to have called the dicoesan offices for comment. The
bishop was present in the offices for more than half the day and received no
such call.
I worked in the Bishop's office all day and received no such call.
By signing the petition, Bishop McManus joined a record-breaking number of
citizens of Masschusetts, representing scores of religious groups and others. It
is time
for the Telegram & Gazette to start telling the truth!
Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan
Diocesan Chancellor
Friday December 30, 2005
Worcester Magazine
Worcesteria
By Noah
Schaffer
• KNOW OUR NEIGHBORS: The full list of
signatories of the anti-gay marriage initiative has been posted on the Web site
knowthyneighbor.org. On the roster are some familiar local names,
including: Worcester Regional Research Bureau Executive Director Roberta
Schaefer, Channel 13 manager Mauro DePasqaule and his wife and
station employee Tracy Foley DePasqaule, publicist Lori Schafer,
Centrum Marketing Director John LaHair (well known as a Madonna fan),
former state Sen. William Glodis, labor activist and WPD Sgt. Anthony
Petrone and erstwhile state Rep. candidate Joseph Spillane. As
reported in the Telegram and Gazette, one name that does not appear on
the list is that of Worcester Bishop Robert McManus. One possibility
raised was that McManus’s name did not appear on the registry of Worcester
voters, as is required for their signature to be valid. However, Worcester
Elections Commissioner Craig Manseau tells us that Bishop McManus is in
fact registered to vote. He voted in the 2004 presidential election, but didn’t
bother making it to the polls for the recent city election.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Bishop says he signed gay
petition
No explanation why name not on
list
By Richard Nangle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— Despite the fact that his name did not
appear on an official list, Bishop Robert J. McManus says he signed a petition
backing a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
A story in yesterday’s editions of the Telegram & Gazette noted the absence of
Bishop McManus’s signature, along with that of Boston Archbishop Sean P.
O’Malley, from the petition. Both have been vocal in their support for the
effort to overturn the state’s gay marriage law.
Diocesan spokesman Raymond Delisle said in a statement that the bishop “recalls
signing the petition and is frustrated that his signature is not on the list. …
The only thing that can be accurately reported is that Bishop McManus’s
signature is missing from the list. There is no factual basis to claiming that
‘he did not sign it.’ Logic dictates that he would have signed it given his
consistent public position of support for the amendment.”
A pro-gay marriage Web site, Knowthyneighbor.org, posted more than 123,000 names
of people who signed the petition, along with their home addresses. The
signatures were certified last week by Secretary of State William F. Galvin.
Petition backers were successful in gathering close to twice the necessary
number of signatures in order to put the matter before the Legislature. The
petition must have the support of at least 25 percent of state lawmakers in two
consecutive sessions in order to appear on the November 2008 ballot.
Mr. Delisle said Bishop McManus believes the absence of his signature from the
official record “indicates that more signatures of support probably never made
it to the Attorney General’s office.”
Bishop McManus went so far as to take the altar at St. Luke the Evangelist
Church in Westboro in September to offer his own view after the Rev. George
Lange and the Rev. Steven LaBaire put an item in the parish bulletin there
stating that the petition drive was an attack on homosexuals.
The Sept. 11 bulletin said, “the priests of the parish do not feel that they can
support this amendment. They do not see any value to it and they see it as an
attack upon certain people in our parish, namely those who are gay.”
“Our list is directly from the database. Names don’t magically disappear when we
put them on the Web site,” said Tom Lang, co-founder of the organization.
“Someone somewhere probably lost it,” he said, adding that the signatures of
people who are not registered voters or who include an incorrect address are
automatically excluded.
WORCESTER— As expected, a group that favors same-sex marriage this week
posted on its Web site names and addresses of more than 120,000 Massachusetts
voters who signed petitions against same-sex marriage.
A check of the names in Central Massachusetts shows the most notable elected
official to sign the petition to be District Attorney John J. Conte. He did not
return a telephone call yesterday seeking comment on why he supports a
constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one
woman.
No area state legislators signed, including state Rep. Emile J. Goguen,
D-Fitchburg, who has championed the cause of ending same-sex marriage in this
state.
Gov. Mitt Romney, who is expected to make a presidential bid, signed the
petition. Former U.S. Rep. Peter I. Blute, R-Shrewsbury also signed.
Bishop Robert J. McManus, who endorsed the petition drive and allowed signature
gathering in the churches of the Diocese of Worcester, did not sign the
petition. The names of several area priests are there, along with people
involved in other local Christian churches including the Rev. Johnnie Yelverton
of the Belmont Street A.M.E. Zion Church. Bishop McManus was not immediately
available for comment yesterday because the diocesan offices had closed until
Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.
Boston Archbishop Sean P. O’Malley of Boston also did not sign, but the names of
the other two Massachusetts bishops, Bishop George V. Coleman of Fall River and
Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell of Springfield, appear on the list.
KnowThyNeighbor.org, the group that backs same-sex marriage, said it posted the
names and addresses of all who signed so that the public will know who had
signed. It also allows those who believe their names were fraudulently collected
to make a complaint. Tom Lang of Manchester-by-the-Sea, who co-founded the
organization several months ago with Aaron Toleos of Boxford, said he was
surprised by who did not sign. He knows of several people who oppose same-sex
marriage who did not sign the petition.
Mr. Lang, who has a same-sex marriage, said he was surprised that Bishop
McManus, after urging Catholics throughout Central Massachusetts to get behind
the petition drive, did not sign.
Raymond L. Flynn, former Vatican ambassador, did sign the petition.
“This kind of unprecedented support should be a loud wake-up call to Beacon Hill
politicians that the citizens of this state deserve to be heard on this issue at
the ballot box,” he said in a statement.
His organization, Catholic Citizenship, brought in more than 70,000 signatures
collected at Catholic churches throughout the state. Mary Beth Burke of
Worcester, who coordinated the drive in this area for Catholic Citizenship,
signed the petition as expected.
Mr. Lang said the intent of posting the names was to open discussion on the
issue of same-sex marriage and not to lead to harassment of those who signed. He
got one complaint yesterday that someone posted signs on doors in what appeared
to be an apartment building claiming that a “hatemonger” lived there, apparently
referring to someone whose name was on the petition.
“That’s not what we are about,” he said. KnowThyNeighbor had nothing to do with
the incident.
The signature gathering, which began in late September and continued through
most of November, was marred by numerous complaints that paid signature
gatherers were fraudulently inducing voters to sign the petitions. Mr. Lang said
the organization will continue to look at the fraud issue.
VoteOnMarriage.org, a coalition of groups who oppose same-sex marriage,
collected 123,356 signatures across the state. The signatures were certified
this week by Secretary of State William F. Galvin.
The coalition needed 65,825 certified signatures to move the proposed amendment
to ban same-sex marriage to the state Legislature. The movement needs the
support of at least 50 legislators, voting in a Constitutional Convention, in
2006 and 2007 before it can appear on the 2008 ballot. Same-sex marriage has
been legal in Massachusetts since May 2004, because of a decision by the state
Supreme Judicial Court.
December 22, 2005
Petition vs. gay marriage
advances
Number of signers breaks
state record
By Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff |
Backers of a constitutional ban on gay marriage in
Massachusetts have shattered a 20-year-old record for the most
certified signatures ever gathered in support of a proposed
ballot question.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin this week certified the
signatures of 123,356 registered voters, nearly twice as many as
the number required to get on the ballot.
Supporters of the ban said their effort shows that gay
marriage is still a burning issue among thousands of voters, and
legislators should pay heed.
''The people have not just spoken, they have shouted to let
the people vote on the definition of marriage," said Kristian
Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which
spearheaded the signature drive.
The petition drew the signatures of Governor Mitt Romney and
his wife, Ann; former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran, now the
president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council; and former
Boston mayor Raymond L. Flynn. If the petition receives the
support of at least 25 percent of the Legislature in two
successive sessions, it would appear on the ballot in November
2008.
Opponents of the ballot question say the eye-popping number
of signatories does not reflect a tidal wave of support for
overturning the Supreme Judicial Court's landmark 2003 ruling
that declared same-sex matrimony legal. Rather, they said, it
shows that paid signature-gatherers were particularly effective
at tricking unsuspecting voters into signing a petition they
didn't support.
''This is a groundswell of fraud and deceit, not of voter
insistence," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the
Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.
Hundreds of Bay State residents complained to gay
organizations and state officials this fall that they were duped
into signing the antigay marriage measure when they thought they
were backing a proposal to allow supermarkets to sell wine. The
state Senate this year passed a bill outlawing paid
signature-gathering, but the measure sits in the House with
little prospect of success.
Marc Solomon, political director of MassEquality, a coalition
of local and national gay rights groups, said he has no question
that the amendment will survive challenges, given the sheer
number of names gathered.
''But we want people to know if their name was posted
illegitimately," he said.
In order to qualify for the ballot, questions needed to
attract at least 65,825 signatures, or 3 percent of the number
of those who voted for governor in 2002. Prior to the gay
marriage question, the most signatures ever gathered were in
support of a 1985 question calling for the end of a surtax on
the state personal income tax. That question got 110,645
certified signatures, Galvin's office said.
Late yesterday, the pro-gay marriage website,
Knowthyneighbor.org, posted all 123,356 names of those who
signed the petition, as well as their home addresses. The
database is searchable by first name, last name, home town, and
ZIP code, and offers visitors a ''fraud affidavit" to use ''if
your name is listed and you believe you were a victim of
petition fraud."
''Judging by the history-making number of signatures
collected, it's obvious the people are demanding to be heard,"
said Romney's communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom.
Tom Lang, a spokesman for
Knowthyneighbor.org, said his organization also plans to
post the signers' political party affiliation by weeks' end, and
later, other data such as home sale prices.
Mineau, of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said the
Internet tool will mostly be used to harass those who backed the
ballot question. His name and address has been posted on the
website for months as an original sponsor of the question.
Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey's name does not appear in
the database, though Healey has denounced gay marriage.
Tim O'Brien, a campaign spokesman for Healey -- who is
running to succeed Romney when he leaves office next year --
said voters should not confuse the absence of her signature on
the petition with any lack of zeal about the issue.
The name of Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley, who called on
all pastors and communicants in the church to back the ballot
question, was not on the list. Nor was that of Worcester Bishop
Robert J. McManus, who temporarily pulled a Westborough pastor
from the altar after the priest wrote in the parish bulletin
that the amendment was an attack on homosexuals.
Fall River Bishop George V. Coleman and Springfield Bishop
Timothy A. McDonnell did sign, however.
Terry Donilon, O'Malley's spokesman, said that O'Malley's
endorsement of the ballot question has not wavered.
December 30, 2005
Blessed bigotry: Pope Benedict XVI is Anti-Gay
Person of the Year ‘God’s rottweiler’ actively pursues political
agenda against gay marriage, priests
NATIONAL NEWS | www.houstonvoice.com
By DYANA BAGBY
Pope Benedict XVI
on homosexuality:
“Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is
not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward
an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be
seen as an objective disorder.”
“Letter to the
Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of
Homosexual Persons” (October 1986)
“Homosexual activity is not a complementary
union, able to transmit life; and so it thwarts the call to a
life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the
essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual
persons are not often generous and giving of themselves; but
when they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within
themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially
self-indulgent.”
“Letter to the
Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of
Homosexual Persons” (October 1986)
“The Church teaches
that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to
approval of homosexual behavior or to legal recognition of
homosexual unions. Legal recognition of homosexual unions or
placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only
the approval of deviant behavior.”
“Considerations
Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between
Homosexual Persons” (July 2003)
'Allowing children to be adopted by persons
living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to
these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency
would be used to place them in an environment that is not
conducive to their full human development."
“Considerations
Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognitions to Unions Between
Homosexual Persons” (July 2003)
“There are absolutely no grounds for
considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even
remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.
Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural
moral law.”
“Considerations
Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between
Homosexual Persons” (July 2003)
“The various forms of the dissolution of
matrimony today, like free unions, trial marriages and going up
to pseudo-matrimonies by people of the same sex, are rather
expressions of an anarchic freedom that wrongly passes for true
freedom of man.”
Speech by Pope Benedict XVI at the Basilica of St. John Lateran
in Rome (June 6, 2005)
“[T]he church, while deeply respecting the
people in question, cannot admit to the seminary and the sacred
orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted
homosexual tendencies or support so-called gay culture. Those
people find themselves, in fact, in a situation that presents a
grave obstacle to a correct relationship with men and women. One
cannot ignore the negative consequences that can stem from the
ordination of people with deeply-rooted homosexual tendencies.”
“Instruction
concerning the criteria for the discernment of vocations with
regard to persons with homosexual tendencies in view of their
admission to the seminary and to Holy Orders” (Nov. 4, 2005,
approved by Pope Benedict XVI on Aug. 31, 2005.)
“If instead it is a case of homosexual
tendencies that are merely the expression of a transitory
problem, for example as in the case of an unfinished
adolescence, they must however have been clearly overcome for at
least three years before ordination as a deacon.”
“Instruction
concerning the criteria for the discernment of vocations with
regard to persons with homosexual tendencies in view of their
admission to the seminary and to Holy Orders” (Nov. 4, 2005)
EDITORS’ NOTE: As 2005 draws to a close,
many media outlets will announce their selections for person of the year. In
past years, Houston Voice editors have selected a Story of the Year instead.
This year, the Story of the Year was, in our view, the
extraordinary efforts of one individual to not only put a halt to the acceptance
of gay people legally and within the mainstream culture, but to roll back such
acceptance to an earlier, less tolerant and more discriminatory time.
Presiding over what some describe as the “strongest bully
pulpit in the world,” Pope Benedict XVI, just eight months into his tenure, has
unilaterally targeted gay men and lesbians as moral threats to society.
From banning gay priests to publicly lobbying against
same-sex marriage rights in Spain and Italy, Pope Benedict XVI appears to be
taking a swift approach to excluding gay people from equal rights across the
globe.
“His rhetoric is obscene. He wants gays clearly taken care
of — it’s almost like the Final Solution,” said Kara Speltz, a Catholic lesbian
activist for Soulforce, an organization dedicated to ending anti-gay
discrimination within all religions.
For 20 years, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger served under Pope
John Paul II before being elected the 265th pope on April 19.
During that tenure, Ratzinger authored some of the
Vatican’s most anti-gay rhetoric, including a 1986 Vatican letter calling
homosexuality “an intrinsic moral evil” and a 2003 battle plan instructing
Catholic politicians to oppose gay marriage and gay adoptions.
Pope has ‘ear of the world’
Dubbed “God’s rottweiler” and “the enforcer” long before
taking the helm of the church that boasts a billion members worldwide,
Benedict’s fervent approach to gay and other social issues is an intentional one
meant to influence public policy, according to Chester Gillis, chair of the
theology department at Georgetown University.
“He knows very well the kind of claims he makes have
political implications — he intends for them to have political implications,”
Gillis said. “He wants to influence public policy in numerous places in the
world and hopefully sway the powers that be to his side, especially on so-called
social issues.”
Under John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger served as prefect of
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office once known as the
Holy Inquisition. In that role, his writings were mostly circumscribed to
Catholics and internal discourse within the church, Gillis said.
But now as pope, his words aren’t just read by bishops but
are heard throughout the world, giving Benedict enormous credibility when it
comes to political influence, Gillis said.
“It’s the strongest bully pulpit in the world,” Gillis
said. “What he says is noted by everyone. Everyone may not agree or follow what
he says, but clearly he has the ear of the world — and that’s a very privileged
position.”
‘Scapegoating’ gay priests
Benedict’s most recent anti-gay action to gain worldwide
attention was the Vatican’s “Instruction concerning the criteria for the
discernment of vocations with regard to persons with homosexual tendencies in
view of their admission to the seminary and to Holy Orders,” released Nov. 29.
The document essentially bans gay priests.
The official “Instruction,” from the Congregation for
Catholic Education, stated, “One cannot ignore the negative consequences that
can stem from the ordination of people with deeply-rooted homosexual
tendencies.”
The "Instruction" also said men "who practice
homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the
so-called 'gay culture' cannot be admitted to seminaries.” The only exception
would be for those with a "transitory problem" that had been overcome for at
least three years.”
In the United States, gay rights groups including the Human
Rights Campaign and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force publicly challenged
the ban and urged gay Catholics and their allies to speak out against it to
local priests and bishops.
On Dec. 14, a group of gay Italian clergy posted an open
letter to the Vatican on the website of the Italian news agency Adista, stating
they felt like the Catholic Church’s “unloved and unwanted children,” the
Associated Press reported.
Adista, which leaked the document on the gay priest ban
last month, said 39 priests, 26 diocesans and 13 more members of various
religious orders had signed the letter. But the text reproduced on the website
did not include the signatures or list their names, the AP reported.
We don't have more problems living chastely than
heterosexuals do, because homosexuality is not a synonym of incontinence, nor of
uncontrollable urges," the letter states.
"We are not sick with sex and our homosexual tendency has
not damaged our psychic health … we are Catholic priests ... with homosexual
tendencies, and that fact has not stopped us from being good priests."
In November 2002, in the midst of the church sex abuse
crisis, the Vatican press office announced that the Congregation for Catholic
Education was drafting guidelines for accepting candidates for the priesthood
that would address the question of whether gays should be barred. However, the
document reportedly had been in the works well before then.
Gay Catholics and others have criticized the Vatican for
blaming gay priests for the child sex abuse scandal, which they argued had
nothing to do with homosexuality.
“This is a scapegoat scheme masquerading as Vatican
decree,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. “What is being
released today is a decree serving as a diversion that neither keeps children
safe nor holds criminals responsible.”
Soulforce’s Speltz said Benedict is simply seeking to
dissuade independent thought among Catholics and church leadership.
“He’s trying to create ‘Stepford Priests,’” she said. “And
if any heterosexual Catholic thinks this is a good thing, they’re living in an
illusion.”
Fighting gay marriage
The Vatican’s losing fight against legalizing gay marriage
in Spain came just weeks after Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.
The Spanish Parliament legalized same-sex marriage June 30.
Same-sex marriage also is legal in Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.
After the vote, the Catholic Church denounced the move as
“unjust” and a threat to families.
Sam Sinnett, president of the gay Catholic organization
Dignity USA, said it was not the people supporting Spain’s public policy who had
it wrong when the measure was approved, but rather the church’s hierarchy, which
is out of step with the times.
“Their consciences are misinformed,” Sinnett said in May.
“They need to learn about social and medical sciences [about homosexuality] and
incorporate them into theology.”
The Catholic Church’s global influence, meanwhile,
shouldn’t be underestimated, Sinnett said.
The United Nations grants the Vatican status as a
Non-member State Permanent Observer, rather than treating it as a
nongovernmental organization.
“That means it has greater influence on all countries,”
Sinnett said. “When they use that power to interfere in the politics of another
sovereign country, that is incredible.”
Mel White, founder of Soulforce, said this summer that
Benedict and the Vatican’s response to Spain’s politics is indicative of the
“Dark Ages mentality” of the Roman Catholic Church’s leadership.
“They have gone from cardinals sitting in Vatican City
having bad ideas to spreading these bad ideas to the world. The Vatican is now
superimposing its theology on everybody,” White said. “It has too much power to
be considered anything but an enemy.”
EDITORS’ NOTE: As 2005
draws to a close, many media outlets will announce their selections for person
of the year. This year, Blade editors decided to take a different approach to
that tradition.
Certainly, there have been victories in the fight for
gay rights in 2005.
But we decided against naming a single person of the
year, as this year’s highlights consist mostly of individuals choosing to stand
up to anti-gay discrimination in their own communities — whether it’s gay teens
fighting to form school clubs, gay couples speaking out for their rights to be
recognized as families, or AIDS activists who continue fighting for funding and
frank prevention methods in an increasingly conservative climate.
Unfortunately, the fight against gay rights is being
waged on a much larger scale. And while anti-gay groups like the American Family
Association and Focus on the Family tried to build their influence throughout
the year, we decided the single greatest threat to gay people in the United
States and globally came from the man who wields “the strongest bully pulpit in
the world.“
