Ron Belgau has been published in such diverse outlets as Oasis Magazine, Notre Dame Magazine, and the New Oxford Review (where a letter to the editor called his “approach to the difficult question of how orthodox Catholics ought to respond to persons afflicted with same-sex attraction disorders... simply the most thoughtful and thought-provoking I have yet encountered!”). He has also appeared on Catholic radio and spoken on chastity and Catholic teaching throughout the country. He has a degree in Comparative Literature with a specialization in ancient Greek language and literature.

Pro-Gay Groups Plan Action at 2004 Bishops’ Conference
Posted August 29, 2004 by Ron Belgau

At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops this November, the Bishops will face serious criticism from both Catholic dissidents and non-Catholics regarding Church teaching on homosexuality.

For the fifth year in a row, Soulforce, an interfaith gay activist organization, plans to hold protests at the USCCB Conference (November 14-17, 2004). This protest will follow prayer vigils scheduled for November 9 at Catholic Chanceries in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia.

In a related development, the Rainbow Sash Movement, a gay Catholic group, reports that Cardinal McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC has agreed to host a “Listening Session” for gay Catholics during the weekend of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting (November 13 or 14, 2004).

Soulforce and the Rainbow Sash Movement would seek to convince the media and others that they speak for all Catholics with same-sex attractions, when in fact they do not, any more than the leadership of NOW can be said to speak for all women or the producers of Friends to speak for all heterosexuals. There are many same-sex attracted men and women who have found freedom and joy in following Church teaching.

While orthodox Catholics may be upset by the widespread protest against Church teaching, we must consider that many of those protesting have not received proper formation in chastity. For a variety of reasons, fully two generations of Catholics have grown up without adequate catechesis on the Christian meaning of human sexuality. We must acknowledge that these protests are happening in part because many Catholics have failed in word and in deed to witness to the Gospel’s truth about human sexuality. We have contributed to and nurtured a culture rife with widespread pre-marital sex, cohabitation outside of marriage, contraception within marriage, divorce and remarriage, and now, pressure for same-sex marriage.

In order to engage such protesters effectively, it is important to listen, to identify points of agreement, and in dealing with disagreement, to present the orthodox view clearly, humbly, and with great charity. St. Francis de Sales pointed out that we seldom listen to correction delivered in anger, but listen to correction which is offered reasonably and peaceably. Orthodox Catholics who get angry at members of these groups will not help them to see the truth. Nor does it help to pretend that these protesters do not exist. Only the truth offered with humility and love makes genuine engagement possible.

In an Action Alert dated August 18, 2004, Soulforce had accused Catholic leaders of “Promoting a bill in the Michigan legislature that would allow health care workers the right to deny treatment to any person they perceive as homosexual.”

Had the charge been true—had the Michigan Catholic Conference in fact supported giving health care workers the right to deny treatment to GLBT’s—I would have joined Soulforce in protesting this action, since I am on record for challenging Catholic bigotry against those with same-sex attractions when I see it. But the charge turned out to be based on a serious misunderstanding of the bill in question.

In fact, the legislation does not give doctors the right to discriminate against certain groups of patients. Rather, it gives doctors the right to refuse to perform certain procedures (treatments based on stem cell research, for example) only if those procedures violate the doctor’s ethical or moral beliefs. The most relevant portion of the Act is Section 5(1): “A health care provider may object as a matter of conscience to providing or participating in a health care service on ethical, moral, or religious grounds.” (Click here for the full text of the Act.)

According to the Detroit News, the bill’s sponsors “want to protect doctors and pharmacists who refuse to offer the abortion pill RU-486. They also want to protect health care providers and insurers who may not want to deal with future treatments involving stem-cell research.” Moreover, Rep. Randy Richardville, who co-sponsored the Act, says he would be happy to amend the bill to explicitly protect treatment for gays and lesbians.

When I brought these facts to the attention of Kara Speltz (Soulforce’s Catholic Denominational Team Leader) and Laura Montgomery Rutt (Director of Communications), they thanked me for taking the time to research and clarify the misunderstanding and then acted quickly to remove the charge from the website.

I will be following Soulforce and the Rainbow Sash Movement with interest as November approaches and will provide further updates on these pages as it seems appropriate.

For those readers interested in learning more, the links below provide background information on Soulforce and past protests.

• Soulforce Intro
• Chastity and Freedom
• Soulforce and the “Long and Arduous Quest after Truth”
• Mel White and Mahatma Gandhi on Sexual Purity
• A Catholic Response to Prejudice against Homosexual Persons
• Background:  Soulforce Protesters at 2002 US Bishops Meeting

Copyright © 2003-2004 by Ron Belgau