NEWS NOTES: Gay Priest’s Coming Out Makes International Headlines, Survey Shows Catholics’ Support for Conscience, and More!

Here are some items that you may find of interest:

1)   The story of a Wisconsin priest who came out as gay last month made international headlines, including coverage in The New York Times and in publications from Nigeria and England. To read more about Fr. Greg Greiten’s story, click here.

2) A survey of  U.S. Catholics following the 2016 presidential elections found 66% of Clinton voters and 55% of Trump voters believe it is up to an individual to decide the morality of same-gender sexual acts. Just 9% of Clinton voters and 22% of Trump voters believe church leaders should determine that ethical issue. Under one-third of each group of voters saying it should be some combination of individual conscience and episcopal authority.

3) Cristina Traina, a lesbian Catholic and board member of New Ways Ministry, advocated for ecumenical intercommunion in an essay in Commonweal. She described her own practice of not receiving the Eucharist during Advent and Lent to express solidarity with other Christians not welcomed to receive during Mass. You can find Traina’s other writing for Bondings 2.0 here.

4) Stephen Dawson and Dennis Liddelow are now able to marry again after Australia legalized marriage equality in December. The couple were briefly married in 2013 when the Australian Capital Territory passed a similar law, but a court quickly struck down the law, ending their five-day marriage. Celebrating this new victory as a Catholic, Dawson said, “I still class myself as a Catholic, well and truly. The God that I believe in is one who cares about people.”

5) New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan has endorsed Courage and EnCourage’s Truth and Love website, which promotes mandatory celibacy for lesbian and gay people, saying the website was a “valuable tool.” Dolan, who heads the organization’s board of bishops, has a generally negative record on LGBT issues.

—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, January 6, 2018