LGBT EQUALITY, LGBT INCLUSION IN CHURCH
A brief listing on the website of the Arcus Foundation notes that it has given two years of funding amounting to $200 000 to Dignity USA,
to support pro-LGBT faith advocates to influence and counter the narrative of the Catholic Church and its ultra-conservative affiliates in regard to LGBT rights and dignity within and outside of the church. The effort will build advocacy and visibility in connection with two special events, the Synod of the Family and World Youth Day.
This follows a similar grant of $200 000 in 2010, and smaller amounts in 2008 and 2009.
Also this year Arcus, which describes itself as “a leading global foundation dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony with one another and the natural world”, has given $250 000 to Catholics for Choice, to leverage LGBTQ rights as well as health and reproductive rights, and $50 000 to Catholics United Education Fund, to work with the LGBTQ movement to lift up progressive faith voices
The opponents of LGBT inclusion at Lifesite News (where I picked up the story), are incensed, but many Catholics will be delighted. This will go some small way to counter the large sums spent by some bishops and organisations like NOM to block the Church’s clear teaching on the importance of “respect, compassion and sensitivity” for gay and lesbian Catholics, and their repeated contravention of the teaching of avoiding any hint of hatred or malice, in speech or in action. It is also symbolically important, for its recognition of the growing importance of faith – based initiatives in the steady progress to full LGBT equality and inclusion, in Church and outside of it.
Related articles
- English Queer Catholics, Engaging With the Church
- Senior Bishop: We Need Frank Discussion – Without Taboos
- The disordered language of LGBT teaching
- LGBT foundation aims to counter Vatican family synod (catholicnewsagency.com)
- Catholic LGBT Advocates React to ‘Disappointing’ Synod Working Paper(newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
- Vatican Says Catholic Church Must Become More Inclusive Towards Gays and Their Families (towleroad.com)
- Gay multi-millionaire activist funds Catholics United (catholicnewsagency.com)