No New Hope From Pope

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Irish Voice News

No New Hope From Pope

April 16, 2008

By Cahir O’Doherty

POPE Benedict XVI’s visit to the U.S. encountered strong protests before it had even begun this week.

On Saturday, April 12, Irish gay rights activist Brendan Fay and his partner Tom Moulton participated in a large-scale public demonstration against the papal visit organized by Dignity USA, the gay Catholic group, outside the United Nations headquarters.

Dignity members gathered to protest what they called the Pope’s blatantly anti-gay policies, as well as his continued opposition to condom use.

“Surely God’s grace and church blessings are not reserved solely for heterosexuals? Fay told the Irish Voice. “As a Catholic gay couple it was important to us to gather here with other Catholics and to call on our Pope to have a change of heart. We ask for a welcome from our church instead of closed doors, closed minds and closed hearts.”

Fay, 49, is planning the only New York protest scheduled during Benedict’s stay. When the Pope visits Ground Zero on Sunday morning, April 20, Fay will lead a peaceful protest at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets, which he calls “a vigil of hope.”

The vigil will honor Father Mychal Judge, the beloved Irish American fire chaplain who died in the 9/11 attacks.

Fay alluded to a list of statements made by Pope Benedict that he called nakedly hostile to gays and lesbians. These include forceful denunciations of gay marriage and of adoption rights for same-sex couples.

“We are asking for an end to the misguided condemnation of our lives, and we are asking for an end to the violent words from the pulpit that breaks hearts and diminishes the lives of the community,” said Co. Louth native Fay.

Executive director of Dignity USA Marianne Duddy-Burke added, “The Vatican is against any authentic dialogue with our community. And that’s very sad, because Benedict should be our pastor and our shepherd as he is to the rest of the church.”

A longstanding opponent of legislation that extends civil rights to gays, Pope Benedict has been the primary architect of the current teachings and policy concerning gay people in the church in the last two decades.

“It was Benedict who first introduced the terms ‘objective disordered’ and ‘intrinsic evil’ to menace and mark our lives and loves,” said Fay.

“If our church can extend blessing to our dogs and cats and farm animals, surely they can find a blessing for the committed love and union of two human persons such as Tom and I.”

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