NATION - the Vatican has barred a 29-year ministry to homosexuals, and the National Conference of Catholic Bishops refuses to protest the ruling - this and other items are discussed

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 3, 1999 by Matt Kantz

NCCB head issues defense of Gramick, Nugent ban

In responding to a national plea for the U.S. bishops to intervene in the Vatican's disciplining of two leaders of ministry to homosexuals, the president of the bishops' conference issued a detailed rebuttal Nov. 17 to what he said are misconceptions about the situation.

Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston issued a four-page statement "to clarify some misconceptions ... and to reaffirm support for the decision of the Holy See" to bar Sr. Jeannine Gramick and Fr. Robert Nugent from continuing their 29-year ministry to homosexuals and their families.

Fiorenza, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the statement was issued after consultation with the full body of bishops and was prompted by concerns expressed mostly by members of religious orders.

"It is simply not true, as some have asserted, that the [Vatican's action] was an effort to diminish and discourage ministry to persons of homosexual inclination," wrote Fiorenza. "In fact, the opposite is true. However, this outreach and ministry must be in conformity with the authentic teaching of the church."

Fiorenza's response came during the bishops' fall general meeting Nov. 15-18 in Washington and two days after a news conference organized by supporters of Gramick and Nugent. The news conference was held to publicize a letter signed by more than 4,500 persons and 50 religious congregations asking the U.S. bishops to "lead by example" and petition the Vatican to reconsider the public notification issued in July by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Baptists expel churches that allowed gay leaders

Georgia's Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly Nov. 16 to expel two churches that allow homosexuals to serve as leaders.

The ouster of Oakhurst Baptist of Decatur, Ga., and Virginia Highland Baptist of Atlanta marked the first time in the 177-year history of the Georgia Baptist Convention that it has taken such action. The convention changed its constitution last year to exclude congregations that "affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior."

"It's a heartbreaking thing to be put in a situation where you have to make a decision like this," said the Rev. Gerald Harris, president of the Georgia Baptist Convention. "We just decided to draw the line."

About 20 to 30 percent of Oakhurst Baptist's congregation is gay or lesbian, said the Rev. Mary Sue Brookshire. In addition, Oakhurst's assistant pastor, the Rev. Chris Copeland, is openly gay.

The Rev. Tim Shirley of Virginia Highland Baptist said his church believes that "its ministry and mission is to serve all who come."

"We disagree about the nature of sexuality," Shirley said. "We do not believe that sexuality is a choice. It's an orientation. That's how you were born."

Award overturned in Connecticut abuse case

A federal appeals court Nov. 11 threw out the $1 million verdict against the Bridgeport, Conn., diocese that was won by a former altar boy who claimed he was sexually abused by a priest in the 1960s.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 11 the jury was improperly instructed on how to determine if the statute of limitations had passed. In a 2-1 decision, the court sent the case back for a new trial.

"We are gratified at the decision of the three-judge panel," said diocesan spokesman Tom Drohan. "We have said for a long time that we thought the jury verdict was less than correct for the obvious reason that the judge's instructions were incorrect."

The court, however, refused to overturn the jury's finding that the diocese has a fiduciary responsibility. The decision could lend support to the more than two dozen other lawsuits pending against the diocese by people who claim to have been abused by priests.

Those lawsuits, filed by 26 people in Bridgeport, were transferred Nov. 12 to Waterbury, Conn., by the state's top civil court judge after the diocese's lawyer, Joseph Sweeney, claimed that the Bridgeport judge assigned to the cases does not have the time or sufficiently good health to deal with the complex nature of the case, according to a story in the Connecticut Post.

Douglas Mahoney, a lawyer representing 24 of the plaintiffs, said the move was "nothing more than another attempt to prevent the parishioners of Fairfield County from hearing the truth that the diocese has known about the problem of priests sexually abusing children and the diocese covering it up."

Six Fairfield students, professor end hunger strike

Six Fairfield University students and a professor ended a five-day hunger strike Nov. 13 after the institution announced it would drop a contracting company that the students said was anti-union and paid janitors poorly.

Douglas Whiting, the university's associate vice president for public relations, said the school has decided to end the contract with Service Management Group of Bridgeport, Conn., and hire a new firm after a long process of considering bids. He said the students' strike had nothing to do with it. Whiting said the new contractor, Pritchard Industries of New England, was chosen partly because it would provide the university's more than 50 janitors better benefits than the old contractor did.