BRISTOL (UNITED KINGDOM)
The Tablet [Market Harborough, England]
March 30, 2021
By Liz Dodd and Sarah Mac Donald
Priests and senior clergy in England and Ireland, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, have sent messages of support to LGBT+ Catholics hurt by the wording of a recent Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) statement about blessing civil partnerships, with some expressing sorrow and anger at the congregation’s “outdated” theology.
Representatives of St Nicholas of Tolentino Roman Catholic Church in Bristol, which ministers to the LGBTQ+ community, expressed their sorrow and pain at the statement and its “poor and outdated theology”.
Signatories including the parish priest Fr Richard McKay said the CDF’s remarks “deny LGBTQ+ people’s identity and their God-given right to grow in love, to give and receive love. We rejoice in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the genuine Christ-given love and generosity that are clearly present in our same-sex couples. Their love for one another, flowing from them into the wider community in service and care is truly the work of the Holy Spirit. Why are so many in the Church blind to the work of God among us? Is it the ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ that Jesus speaks of?
“Furthermore, the CDF statement fuels the harsh and too-often vitriolic attitudes and words coming from too many bishops and people – and in some parts of the world serves only to justify discrimination and violent persecution of the LGBTQ+ community.
“The CDF have caused not only pain and sorrow, but also much justifiable anger – the kind of anger Jesus expressed in the Temple when the true face of God was hidden behind ritual, law and abuse of religious power. We share that anger but like Jesus seek ways to channel it into prophetic and sacrificial love, with on-going support of our beloved and loving LBGTQ+ community.”
The Parish of St Agnes and St Aidan in Liverpool released a strongly-worded message, co-signed by nine parish leaders including two priests and four sisters, that also expressed sadness at the CDF’s language. “We stand with you in this time of distress. We want to assure you that the negative Vatican statement does not at all reflect the pastoral reality of our parish community here.”
Noting that priests and bishops had expressed their embarrassment at the wording of the document, the signatories hoped that this signalled the Church is on a journey of re-thinking sexual ethics. “We hope and pray that this negative statement from the Vatican, which does not reflect the pastoral care which we have so far seen from Pope Francis, will not push you away from us,” they wrote.
Cardinal Nichols sent a message to the LGBT+ Westminster community that meets for Mass at Farm Street church in London that was read out on Palm Sunday. The Cardinal said he hoped to visit the community for Mass when Covid restrictions were lifted.
Mgr Keith Barltrop, whom Cardinal Nichols tasked with expanding outreach to the LGBT+ Catholic community, told The Tablet that the question of whether or not the Church could bless gay partnerships, which has been posed by the Synodal process in Germany, was unhelpful.
Asking instead how the Church can accompany couples on their journey would, instead, “make due allowance both for human frailty and for the grace of God, would have opened up all sorts of possibilities, including no doubt various kinds of prayers and blessings, and would have encouraged LGBT people to seek God’s help through a Church which is herself on a journey of discovery.”
Fr Dominic Robinson, parish priest at Farm Street, said: “Our role is not to get involved in debate on the issues but to walk alongside our flock and especially those who are hurt and in need of special care. My hope is that we can listen carefully to those among LGBTs who have found these past weeks difficult and continue to walk together as a community which recognises our common frailty and our common dignity.”
In Ireland Bishop Paul Dempsey of Achonry has said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s response to the question of blessing unions of people in same sex relationships has been “experienced as another hurtful response from the Church to people with same sex orientation”.
He said many people had expressed anger, disappointment and disillusionment with the Church over the document.
The statement that the Church “cannot bless sin” was seen, he said, as targeting or treating same sex couples in a way that others are not targeted or treated in the Church.
“Many have found this deeply offensive. As a result, some feel they are not welcome and have no place in the Catholic Church. There is a great sadness in this as no one should feel that they are not welcome in the Church, which is the Body of Christ.”
The Bishop of Achonry also underlined that many people in same sex relationships have “enriched the life of the Church and continue to do so in parishes across the world”.
He said the Church needs to hear what is being said in relation to language and that it must reflect upon how its language is heard and interpreted by people in today’s complex world.
Separately, Fr Paddy Byrne, a popular parish priest in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin tweeted in response to the CDF document that over the 20 years of his priestly ministry, “I have been involved in blessing ceremonies of every description, including blessings of pets, cows, crops, rings, cars, tractors… yet a same sex couple who request a simple blessing on their union must be turned away. This is not Christianity.”
The response of the LBGTQ+ Ministry in the Diocese of Clifton.
The “signature” hymns of the Parish of St Nicholas of Tolentino here in Bristol are All are welcome in this place and the Taizé Chant Ubi Caritas (Where there is Charity and Love, there is God). Three years ago the Holy Spirit challenged our Parish Pastoral Council – who are we are not welcoming? After a year of prayer and discernment Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton Diocese missioned our parish to establish a monthly Mass and develop a ministry among our LGBTQ+ community in the diocese.
So it is with sorrow and pain that we learnt of the CDF statement not only prohibiting the blessing of same sex unions but going further: continuing to deny LGBTQ+ people’s identity and their God-given right to grow in love, to give and receive love. We rejoice in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the genuine Christ-given love and generosity that are clearly present in our same-sex couples. Their love for one another, flowing from them into the wider community in service and care is truly the work of the Holy Spirit. Why are so many in the Church blind to the work of God among us? Is it the ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ that Jesus speaks of?
Others more competent than we can present the theological case for rejecting the poor and outdated theology expressed by the CDF. We welcome the statements of bishops and theologians who have challenged the CDF responsio, and hope for more voices to be raised in protest. Furthermore it is clear that those faithful Christians and Catholics most affected by this harsh condemnation reject this as in any way authentic Christ-centred teaching, as we also reject. Sadly that rejection is inevitably accompanied by many deciding to leave the Church. We pray that, despite the hurt and pain, they will stay and fulfil their prophetic calling in the Body of Christ and bring healing to their wounded Church.
Furthermore, the CDF statement fuels the harsh and too-often vitriolic attitudes and words coming from too many bishops and people – and in some parts of the world serves only to justify discrimination and violent persecution of the LGBTQ+ community. Pope Francis is clearly a shepherd on the side of the marginalised and excluded.
He must speak unequivocally and soon to heal the wounds of his LGBTQ+ flock by correcting this statement of the CDF conspicuously not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The CDF have caused not only pain and sorrow, but also much justifiable anger – the kind of anger Jesus expressed in the Temple when the true face of God was hidden behind ritual, law and abuse of religious power. We share that anger but like Jesus seek ways to channel it into prophetic and sacrificial love, with on-going support of our beloved and loving LBGTQ+ community.
We, the Clifton Diocesan Ministry among the LBGTQ+ community, pledge to continue singing All are welcome here and Where there is Charity and love there is God, sharing sacraments and blessings with this community as with all the “scattered People of God”.
Signed: Rev Richard McKay, Margaret Ulloa, Mary Hopper, Dr John Flannery.
From the parish of St Agnes and St Aidan, Liverpool
To all our LGBTQ+ children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, parents, grandparents, cousins, friends… We are deeply saddened and share the pain of all LGBTQ+ persons in our parish community and in the whole Church following the negative response issued by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to the question about blessing same sex relationships.
We stand with you in this time of distress. We want to assure you that the negative Vatican statement does not at all reflect the pastoral reality of our parish community here at St. Agnes and St. Aidan, Huyton, Liverpool. We welcome, respect and honour who you are and those you love.
We are grateful for all that you share with us and among us. We want to assure you that we, as an all-embracing community, will always stand with you. Bishop Johan Bonny of Belgium said he was “embarrassed” by the response of the Vatican office and said it “lacks the pastoral care, the scholarly grounding, the theological nuance, and the ethical rigour that were present amongst the Synod Fathers.” (Synod on the Family). That he and a growing number of bishops are speaking out against the CDF statement is also an encouraging sign that Pope Francis’s process for re-thinking the teaching on sexual ethics is gaining momentum, even if it is slower than many would like.
We hope and pray that this negative statement from the Vatican, which does not reflect the pastoral care which we have so far seen from Pope Francis, will not push you away from us but rather unite us all in ever stronger bonds of love and action, never to lose heart and to go on creating a Church where everyone will feel welcomed. Thank you for holding on to your faith, knowing that you are blessed and loved beyond measure.
Fr. Anton Fernandopulle Fr. Richard Sloan Sr. Elizabeth Kelly HHS Sr. MaryRose Fitzsimmons HHS Sr. Moira Meeghan SSMN Sr. Louise Swanston SSMN Deacon Joe Morgan Deacon Michael Whelan Mrs. Christine Ball (Pastoral Assistant)