Grace, grief, and green ribbons for gay priests

I apologize for my long absence. Here's that blog on the gay priests document I've been promising.

Readers Jocelyn and Tatiana sent me this poignant reflection by a gay priest on Beliefnet.com. Thanks, ladies. The doc calls Father Gerard Thomas (a pseudonym) a "celibate gay priest," which sounds pejorative to me--you don't normally say a "celibate priest." Let's give the man credit for keeping the vows he took. Anyway, Fr. Thomas calls the document "to use some official church terminology, a cause for "scandal," something that will cause people to lose heart in the church." Scandal comes from "stumbling block"; when St. Paul told the early Christians that to do this or that would cause scandal to the Gentiles, he didn't want any aspect of the Christians' behavior to keep those without faith from knowing God. For how many lapsed Catholics or curious others will this document strike the final blow against Catholicism?

Like any tough time in the Church, this has brought with it its share of unexpected and strengthening grace. (This is easier to say if you're not a gay priest, but such I have never claimed to be.) Laypeople and priests are reacting with strength and fortitude. Priests across America are acting in a variety of brave ways as conscience dictates:

Rev. Leonard Walker of Mesa, AZ has resigned his parish role and is taking a leave of absence from his order, the Salvatorians. Without disclosing his sexual orientation, he said he could no longer in good conscience support the Church's "anti-gay positions."

Rev. Fred Daley of Rochester, NY has come out as a gay priest and retains his ministry and the trust of his parish. Same for Rev. Thomas J. O'Brien, a gay Jesuit ministering in Detroit. Fr. Karl Clemens of Toronto is a retired gay priest who ministers to Toronto's "gay village." It's brave and integritous, if that's a word, of these priests to come out, especially now, when they're walking into a storm. I don't agree with some (warning: language and sanctimony) who hold that for any gay priest to stay in the closet is hypocrisy. In Christ we are without difference, remember? Celibacy means choosing to live your sexuality as an engine of love for all the people you serve, not as a gift of love to one other person. A priest's sexuality, like his race or any other facet of personal identity, should only matter if he chooses to use it to say something about who God is and how the Church needs to be.

I was happily surprised to see many bishops saying they'll still ordain men who understand themselves as gay. Then you have homophobes like Bishop John M. D'Arcy, quoted in the Washington Post, who obviously wants to have no priests to his name in 20 years. Seriously, keep an eye on the diocese of Fort Wayne. In contrast, Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester, practical and pastoral, is still welcoming gay men's vocations.

Lay people are standing up for the Church Jesus wants and the priests they love. Voice of the Faithful is asking us to wear green ribbons to Mass throughout the season to show support for all priests who minister holily regardless of their sexual orientation.

Sure seems to be working for this girl.

Put one on. It'll look great with your yuletide attire.

(Liturgy nerds that we are, my roommate and I immediately wondered why green ribbons were being used. It hardly seems right to evoke Ordinary Time when good gay priests are being told they would not be ordained today. My complicated theory was this: purple in Catholic symbology stands for waiting, and as such it's the color of church reform and women's ordination and it's associated in the Church and the secular world with gay and lesbian rights. So purple would have been the obvious choice, but since in Advent we're surrounded by purple anyway, perhaps green was chosen to provide a contrast? I found with Google that VOTF has used green ribbons to show membership for a few years now, but no explanation of the color. Green ribbons also represent awareness for organ donation, which I found when I did my image search is the pet cause of, um, Ms. World Leather 2004. Anyone have better insights?