Gays note barriers in Rome
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
To mark the final four days of the Jubilee year, gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered Christians staged protests at the Vatican and in
nine U.S. cities to dramatize what they call the refusal of the
Catholic church to bless homosexuals.
In Rome, a delegation of 24 activists announced plans at a Jan. 3
news conference to assemble each day through Jan. 6 at a barrier that separates
St. Peters Square from Italian territory, holding gifts such as teddy
bears and toys. They had previously asked for a Vatican official to meet with
them and to bless their gifts.
On the first two days, after no Vatican official appeared, the
group delivered the gifts to an orphanage and an AIDS hospice. Protesters wore
shirts that read: Gods gay children bring gifts
bless
them.
As NCR went to press, the group was planning to enter the
square after the papal Mass Saturday, Jan. 6, and to remain there until a
Vatican official conferred a blessing or police forced them out. If neither
happened, a representative said, they would remain at their post for an
undetermined time, until we feel we have made our point.
In San Francisco, three groups -- Dignity, Metropolitan Community
Church and Soulforce -- planned a march for Jan. 5, to begin at Castro and
Market streets and end with a vigil in front of the Catholic Chancery at 445
Church Street. Soulforce is headed by Mel White, an Anglican priest.
Similar activities were planned for Washington; New York;
Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia; Seattle; Hartford, Conn.; and Richmond and
Lynchburg, Va.
In Rome, protesters served as more of a curiosity than a
provocation during the first two days. St. Peters Square has been packed
with pilgrims seeking a final chance to walk through the basilicas Holy
Door, and several have talked with the protesters. A few have applauded, or
asked to have their picture taken with the group.
Thus far, the Roman police did little more than ask for
information. One wanted to know if the protest was against
Catholicism, and was told it was not. A plainclothes officer sparred
briefly with a reporter from the Associated Press over where journalists could
stand, then relented, noting that the reporter seemed particularly
spicy.
Mary Louise Cervone, president of Dignity-USA, an activist group
for gay Catholics, told NCR that she plans to follow Saturdays
protest with delivery of three demands to the office of Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, the Vaticans powerful doctrinal czar. The group will ask for
apology for centuries of oppression, halt to the policy prohibiting
Masses for the organization from being celebrated in Catholic churches and
creation of a commission of clergy and laity, including gay persons, to
begin a dialogue.
National Catholic Reporter, January 12,
2001
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