Catholic Church
Dear Gay Catholic Priests, I know you’re busy, so I will try to make this brief. Many of you have been following the story in the news about a gay catholic priest from Chicago who recently came out. I know you’ve been following his story because I’ve been following his story. And, I know that the thought…
Read More
Married gay Catholics Greg Bourke and Michael DeLeon were chosen as Persons of the Year by the National Catholic Reporter for their role in the U.S. Supreme Court case which led to marriage equality’s legalization across the nation last June. Bourke and DeLeon were plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that marriage rights…
Read More
This past Sunday’s Gospel reading focused on a beautiful story of two women, one of whom is a central figure in the Advent narrative—Mary. I must confess that I have never felt close to Mary. Growing up Catholic, with yearly May processions, Marian feast days, and rosaries filled with “Hail, Mary’s” just didn’t help me…
Read More
As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) concluded its annual meeting last week, it revealed itself as grossly out of touch with both grassroots Catholicism and Pope Francis. Though some objected, the strong majority of U.S. bishops set forth an agenda that has little to do with the Gospel of Jesus. Further, the new…
Read More
A few days ago, I got a letter from my archbishop. I couldn’t even wait to get up the stairs to my apartment. The envelope was torn long before I keyed myself into the door and I even scrambled to take a picture of the fact—wind-tossed hair, lacking makeup, it didn’t matter to me. I…
Read More
The Synod on the Family is over and Catholics await the possibility that Pope Francis will write an apostolic exhortation on family life derived from the bishops’ deliberations. Many are curious whether the pope’s document will mirror the disappointing Final Report or deviate away towards a much hoped for, more merciful approach. According to Jesuit Fr. James Martin,…
Read More
Now that the Synod on the Family is concluded, much is already being written about an event The New York Times called the “most momentous, and contentious, meeting of bishops” since Vatican II. Below, Bondings 2.0 provides some early commentaries and reactions related to LGBT topics. For a good general overview of what the Synod’s final document contains, see Joshua McElwee’s article…
Read More
Below is the latest installment of Bondings 2.0’s report from the Synod on Marriage and Family in Rome. New Ways Ministry’s Executive Director Francis DeBernardo continues to send news and commentary from this meeting. Previous posts can be reached by clicking here. Cardinal Oswald Gracias is Archbishop of Bombay, the head of India’s National Conference…
Read More
Pope Francis continues to send seismic shock waves across the globe, and the rapturous reception he received from his historic six-day US visit gave us a glimpse as to why. The pontiff, like Jesus, walked among the masses, kissing babies, visiting prisoners and the homeless, speaking out on climate change, poverty, immigrations, church sex abuse,…
Read More
As the first Jesuit pope visited the United States, the first openly gay Jesuit priest went to heaven last week. As John McNeill passed through the pearly gates, Saint Peter asked, “Where’s your partner, Charlie?” “Oh,” John said, a little absent-mindedly, “He’ll be along. He just didn’t think he should leave the country while Pope Francis might…
Read More