How USCCB Leadership Candidates Have Approached LGBT Issues

UPDATE:  The election results are in:  Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Houston-Galveston was elected president and Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles was elected vice president. It looks like the bishops chose the most moderate leaders from the slate of ten described below.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) elects its new leadership for the next three years this morning, and will discuss as well its strategic plan for implementing priorities adopted last November. Each time the USCCB has met since Pope Francis’ election in 2014, observers have wondered when U.S. bishops would come around to the pope’s more pastoral vision for the church. Today’s post focuses in on the slate of ten presidential/vice-presidential candidates and their record on LGBT issues.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond

Archbishop Gregory Aymond

Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans is considered among the more pastoral candidates, including his approach to LGBT communities. In 2013, he announced a new outreach initiative in the archdiocese, and apologized to the LGBT community for the Church’s silence in 1973 when 32 people were killed and dozens wounded in an arson fire at a New Orleans gay bar. Aymond encouraged Catholic parishes to maintain affiliations with the Boy Scouts after the organization accepted openly gay leaders in 2015. That same year, the archbishop personally apologized to a gay man denied Communion at his parent’s funeral. Aymond was a candidate in the last USCCB election at which point he told the media, “I think that there are really people who believe, unfortunately, that the church is against people who are [gay and lesbian] or we don’t honor or give dignity to people who are of same sex orientation, and that is not true.”

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Archbishop Charles Chaput

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia just last month called for a “smaller, lighter” church of those he deems orthodox, and he issued pastoral guidelines this summer barring several categories of people from public ministry. One gay man has already been banned from being a lector under these guidelines, and other church workers have been sanctioned in the archdiocese in recent years. Chaput is no fan of Pope Francis and was a detractor of the Synod on the Family, along with ejecting LGBT groups from holding workshops on Catholic property during the 2015 World Meeting of Families. He is noted for ejecting children with same-gender parents access from Catholic school and voicing the antipathy of right-wing Catholics towards Pope Francis’ more welcoming style, even as a Villanova University study (in his own archdiocese) identified LGBT issues as a leading cause of declining Church attendance.

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Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston was elected by his peers in the Conference to participate in the 2015 Synod on the Family. While there, he was among thirteen cardinals who signed a letter to Pope Francis essentially criticizing the pope’s handling of the 2014 synodal assembly. The Associated Press reported that DiNardo commented on Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?” comment by saying it is really just what would be said about anyone. Last year, the cardinal opposed changes to the USCCB’s document on elections which had been criticized for its fixation on opposing marriage equality and a handful of other issues.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez

Archbishop José Gomez

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles is a leading Hispanic Catholic figure and presides over one of the US’ largest archdioceses.  Gomez opposed the teaching of LGBT history in California state education and signed onto a letter by several bishops opposing the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act because it now includes ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ as protected classes.

Archbishop William Lori

Archbishop William Lori

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore criticized President Barack Obama’s executive order in 2014 to protect LGBT employees from discrimination. Lori led the USCCB’s religious liberty efforts, including the “Fortnight for Freedom,” which claimed the Catholic Church’s freedom was being attacked in part because of expanding LGBT equality. After moving to Baltimore, he opposed marriage equality in Maryland. He initially tried to downplay Pope Francis’ gay-friendly comments, but, in a hopeful sign, he said he will now rethink statements on LGBT and other controversial matters to see if they truly bring people to the Gospel.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron

Archbishop Allen Vigneron

Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit has compared breaking up same-gender relationships to the Exodus where Moses led the Hebrews to freedom. In 2015, he attempted to ban Catholics who support marriage equality from Communion. His comments prompted outcry from Catholic parents in Michigan, and from Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (links here and here) and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. He also banned Fortunate Families from using church property because of their speaker, Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry.

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Archbishop Thomas Wenski

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami criticized Vice President Joe Biden earlier this year for officiating at a same-gender wedding, and has been quite critical of LGBT rights. This summer, Wenski even so far as to attack publicly his brother bishop, Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, for saying the church’s rhetoric had a role in the Orlando massacre. After marriage equality became legal in 2015, Wenski warned church workers in a letter that they would lose their jobs if they supported LGBT equality. Previously, Wenski wrote a letter to Catholics in which he opposed marriage equality by saying that it would open  up the path to polygamy.  Prior to being made archbishop of Miami, he was bishop of Orlando, Florida, where he closed down a well-established diocesan ministry to lesbian and gay people.

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Archbishop John Wester

Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe has a more moderate record than most other candidates when it comes to LGBT issues. Last year, he supported non-discrimination legislation in Utah (where he was formerly bishop). Wester said the law  “honored the rights of both the LGBT community as well as the religious community. It allowed us to have our beliefs in the public square and to have people in the LGBT community not being discriminated against in such basic things as housing and employment. We felt it was in line with our Catholic social teaching.”

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City criticized a court ruling that legalized marriage equality in Oklahoma in 2014. Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville has no strong record on LGBT issues.

Essentially unrepresented on the slate of presidential candidates are any true “Francis Bishops,” like Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago, who will be made a cardinal later this month, or Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego. John Gehring of Faith in Public Life commented to the National Catholic Reporter:

” ‘There are bishops who recognize the pope’s pastoral approach and priorities are exactly what’s needed to begin recalibrating the church’s voice in the public square. . .Other bishops seem more comfortable doubling down on an approach that hasn’t been successful at inspiring people.’ “

Later today, the USCCB will also consider a strategic plan for its priorities adopted last November. These priorities were criticized by observers and even some bishops for not reflecting Pope Francis’ vision for the church. Archbishop Joseph Tobin, who was recently appointed to lead the Newark Archdiocese and who will be elevated to the College of Cardinals later this month, was among the critics. He said while there are no real problems with the priorities, they did not reflect the “newness that Pope Francis is bringing to the church universal.”

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese said it was “too late and too embarrassing” to revise the priorities, but suggested that a resolution endorsing Pope Francis’ major documents — Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si, and Amoris Laetitia — as guidelines for their strategic plan would help. The bishops need to practice “more dialogue, more pastoral sensitivity, and more compassion,” said Reese who also commented in the National Catholic Reporter:

“Such a resolution would put a different spin on the meaning of ‘evangelization’ and ‘marriage and family’ in the USCCB priorities. It would mean that evangelization programs in the U.S. should reflect in content and tone Evangelii Gaudium. It would mean that programs on marriage and family should reflect the content and tone of Amoris Laetitia. All old programs and policies would have to be reexamined to see if they reflect these documents. . .How the church approaches and accompanies divorced Catholics, gays, and those who disagree with the bishops would therefore have to change.”

Failing to shift their work will only perpetuate the harm already done. Michael Sean Winters wrote in the National Catholic Reporter:

“The conference has continued to make their priority a crusade for religious freedom that has damaged the brand in ways their enemies could not do. . .They have since wedded the fight for religious liberty to efforts to discriminate against LGBT Americans, further damaging the cause by associating it with bigotry and alienating millions of young Catholics in the process.”

Winters concluded by asking whether the bishops would follow Pope Francis or “continue to let their actions and views be informed by the Catholic alt-right?”, and continued:

“No one should be sanguine about the [bishops’] antipathy towards Pope Francis. Electing culture warriors to leadership of the conference is a direct refutation of the guidance offered by Pope Francis and we all know it.”

Whatever the outcome, it is clear that many bishops in the United States are still clearly opposed to the vision of a church that is inclusive and merciful so frequently promoted by Pope Francis. For bishops like Charles Chaput and Allen Vigneron, when it comes to LGBT people this opposition to the pope’s outreach is doubly true.

–Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, November 14, 2016

15 replies
  1. John Hilgeman
    John Hilgeman says:

    Maybe they could come out with a statement urging Donald Trump to appoint judges who would dissolve the marriages of those same sex couples who have married, and prohibiting further such marriages. They might as well. They seem to not have a clue.

    They would do better to warn against totalitarian states, and white nationalism, and other things such as xenophobia, sexism, racism, Islamophobia, heterosexism, assaults on women, fraudulent dealings, greed, dismantling health care programs, oppression of the poor, etc. But I would be surprised if they were to do such things. We face a real crisis in this country, with white nationalists being appointed to positions in the White House and threats of jail to dissidents and attacks on the press and other such things. If they really want to be prophetic, and if they really want to claim they love our country, they will address the pending disaster about to be thrust on us all, and they would side with those being attacked. But if they want a “smaller and purer” church, they can continue down the road they are on.

    Reply
  2. Loretta
    Loretta says:

    Given the results of the recent election, I am not optimistic about the election in the USCCB. We have miles to go before we rest.

    Reply
  3. Wilhelm Wonka
    Wilhelm Wonka says:

    Dear Heavenly Father,

    Might I ask you for something? It’s a very special favour. And I’d really, really like you to hear me with a more indulgent ear than usual. NOT, I hasten to add, that you don’t always listen to me indulgently. Heavens, no! I am your beloved, adopted son. And your only son, Jesus, made it his life’s mission on earth to gather me, and as many others as would heed him, into your strong, protective arms.

    It’s just that, well, could you indulge me a little more this time? Please.

    (Deep breath) Here goes. I know I can’t make deals with you. That’s not the way these things work, is it? But… Okay; I’ll come to the point. Would you please not allow Archbishop Charles Chaput (or any prelate who thinks like him on LGBT affairs) to become president of the USCCB? There, I’ve said it. I promise I’ll try extra hard to be good if you do. I’ll strive to be heroically virtuous by not being so cross with people who disagree with me. Really, I will! (Sigh) There I go again, trying to make deals with you. Truth is I have nothing to offer that you don’t already possess; nothing that wasn’t yours in the first place, before you gifted it to me.

    But I know your weak spot. Hah! I know what tears at that colossal heart of yours: the plight of your suffering children, especially those made outcasts by society and, more scandalously, by the church which should be their welcoming home.

    Heavenly Father, look indulgently on your much-afflicted LGBT children, despised and rejected by so many men; denied homes, driven from their homes; denied employment, driven from their jobs; slandered, humiliated; assaulted physically and verbally; hated. Murdered. And see in their suffering the passion of your precious son Jesus.

    Heavenly Father, in the parlance of our time, would you give your LGBT children “a break” by allowing the promotion of priests and prelates whose hearts are governed by the law of love rather than enslaved by the law of rigid moral doctrine?

    Please, give us a president of the USCCB who, by courageous leadership in word and deed, will make us, too, feel welcome in the kingdom of your beloved son.

    Amen.

    Reply
    • Vernon Smith
      Vernon Smith says:

      OK, I have to say . . . Besides agreeing with this, Wilhelm, I really enjoyed it! In these days of darkness, news stories filled with foreboding of a negative future (especially in the U.S.), the beginning of this prayer brought a genuine laugh and a smile. Much needed . . . Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Ann Connolly
    Ann Connolly says:

    Overall , a dismal roster of potential leaders! The bishops seem like a wall against progress in our Church. If one of the “intolerants” is chosen, on top of the “bad news boys” elected to public office last week, don”t hold out hope for a more merciful, inclusive Church/society.

    Reply
  5. Thomas Smith
    Thomas Smith says:

    After this disheartening national Presidential election, it is a great comfort to know our bishops chose the person closest to the Holy Spirit as their president. I had the pleasure of meeting and dining with Cardinal DiNardo when the National Catholic Deaf conference was held in Houston a few years ago. Never met a more “down-to-earth”, genuine, warm-hearted man. The Deaf Catholics at our table were amazed that the cardinal was sitting, eating and joking around with us. Never happened before in all the cities we visited. We even gave him a name sign = “red-hat” (cardinal) with a “D”. Now that’s a president we can really be happy about.

    Reply
  6. amagjuka
    amagjuka says:

    I am devastated about the election. As I watch the alt right take over our beloved country, all I feel is fear and despair. And now this. Many of these men are just like those taking over America. In fact, I read accounts where bishops told congregations they would be committing a mortal sin if they voted for Hillary. God help us.

    Reply
    • Thomas Smith
      Thomas Smith says:

      The real mortal sin … The corporate mortal sin was deliberately turning away from love (God) and electing a proudly deceitful, selfish man as president, instead of a hard-working faithful woman.

      Reply
  7. Friends
    Friends says:

    And in other news: the infamous American Cardinal Raymond Burke is back on the attack against Pope Francis…and he’s brought three of his ultra-reactionary Cardinal buddies along for the ride:

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-challenge-idUSKBN1391K2

    Sometimes I wonder if Jesus Himself now feels that His entire mission to this planet has basically failed, and was just a huge waste of time — given the amount of energy and suffering that He put into it.

    Reply
    • Thomas Smith
      Thomas Smith says:

      “Waste of time”? Now stop. We must acknowledge all the healing, all the service, all the charity done in His Holy Name everyday everywhere around the world. Only remembrance of this mission – and our role in it – will save us from despair. We are compelled by the Love of Christ, especially in the face of fear and bigotry.

      Reply
    • Wilhelm Wonka
      Wilhelm Wonka says:

      I’m a Brit. Over here I know what I could say about Burke and his kind that would be published. But over there, my American brothers and sisters might not publish what I should like to say.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] sends about this divide between Rome and Baltimore. As Bondings 2.0 noted yesterday, they are more moderate choices from the given slate of candidates but they are certainly not positive voices for LGBT […]

  2. […] Earlier today, Bondings 2.0 posted a summary of the LGBT views of the ten candidates for president and vice president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). […]

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