Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Dignity: Madison Bishop's Ban on Funerals for Gay People 'Outrageous'
2017-10-23

This article shared 1326 times since Mon Oct 23, 2017
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


Bishop Robert Morlino of the diocese of Madison, Wisconsin has notified the priests of his diocese that they must avoid "scandal and confusion to others" when considering whether and how to provide Catholic funerals for members of same-sex couples. The bishop says that when asked to offer a funeral for a person in a same-sex civil union or "otherwise notorious homosexual relationship," the priest must contact the bishop, "and his judgment is to be followed."

A set of "considerations" offered in the communication directs the priests to consider whether a "short scripture service" or "merely a graveside service" be offered instead of a funeral Mass. The surviving partner is not allowed any role within the service. The considerations also state, "There should be no mention of the 'partner' either by name or by other reference ( nor reference to the unnatural union ) in any liturgical booklet, prayer card, homily, sermon, talk by the priest, deacon, etc…"

Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA, called the directives "outrageous and shameful." DignityUSA is the organization of Catholics committed to equality for LGBTQI people in the Church and society.

"This document is the very antithesis of pastoral care," said Duddy-Burke. "It shows that this bishop believes that lesbian and gay people who have lived a deep commitment to a spouse or partner should be demeaned even in death. Our families could be refused the sacraments of our faith at the moment of their greatest grief. This is heartless. It is cruel. It is unchristian in the extreme."

Duddy-Burke noted that in June 2017 Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois banned Catholics in same-sex marriages from Communion and from receiving Catholic funerals. Bishop Paprocki was later forced to state that these bans applied to others in relationships not affirmed by the Church, such as those divorced and remarried without an annulment.

"It seems there are a number of bishops in the U.S. who are intent on penalizing the LGBTQI community as harshly as possible," said Duddy-Burke. "Some tried this shameful tactic during the height of the AIDS crisis, denying Catholic funerals to those who died of the disease. It only served to devastate families in need of comfort. Now, Church officials see they have lost in the civic arena, on the issues of marriage equality, military service, and adoption, so they are lashing out again. But we and the vast majority of Catholics now know there is no conflict between loving someone of the same gender and loving our faith. Masking attempts to separate LGBTQI Catholics form the rest of the Church under the guise of pastoral instructions breaks the Body of Christ. It shows that these bishops are unwilling to do the real work of pastoral leadership, which is to engage their flocks in honest dialogue."

Duddy-Burke said, "DignityUSA calls on Catholics in general and on other Church leaders to demand an immediate end to these unjust and mean-spirited pronouncements, which only serve to distance LGBTQI people, our families, and many young people from our Church."


This article shared 1326 times since Mon Oct 23, 2017
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

The Rev. Paul Rausenbush talks LGBTQ+ rights, 'Christian nationalism' and more 2023-08-10
- The Parliament of the World Religions—a dialogue between key members of various faiths—will take place Aug. 14-18 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Keynote speakers and panelists will include Chicago Mayor ...


Gay News

Study: More than 70% of U.S. adults oppose using religion to discriminate against LGBTQ people 2023-06-15
--From a press release - Large majorities of U.S. adults oppose denying medical care, employment, and business services to LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs, according to a new report from the Williams Institute ...


Gay News

Lambda Legal applauds re-introduction of Federal Do No Harm Act 2023-04-19
--From a press release - "As the Supreme Court gets ready possibly to expand even further the ability of businesses to use religion to discriminate, the federal RFRA law absolutely needs this fix."—Lambda Legal Chief Legal Officer Jennifer C. Pizer (Washington, ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2023 Mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson discusses religion, LGBTQ+ issues, holistic approach 2023-03-22
- Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas seem to have little in common. Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, has embraced a more progressive platform that employs everything from a more holistic approach to crime to ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT Patriarch Kirill: Darth Putin's Altar Boy 2023-03-01
- Christianity—based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who preached love as the most important expression of religion—has often been co-opted and distorted to support wars, persecutions and ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Religion movie, Laverne Cox, 'Will & Grace,' Jeopardy!, Elton John 2022-09-11
- The LGBTQ+ film Wonderfully Made—LGBTQ+R(eligion) will have its New York premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 29, following its world premiere at Out in Film in Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 24, per a ...


Gay News

LETTERS The Church should practice love and constructive dialogue, not hate 2022-07-25
- Another U.S. diocese has issued new restrictive policies regarding LGBTQ issues in Catholic schools, and its new directives compare being openly transgender with sexual abuse. The Roman Catholic Church is having an internal dialogue on how ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT: LETTERS Pride: Remembering who we are 2022-05-30
- The LGBTQAI community echoes the mantra of secular society: Happiness comes from sex, money and power. Life is too busy with work and leisure to have time for religion and/or values. During this period of Pride ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT On A Scale of 1 to 10: Sex, Religion, Power, Politics--A Public Meditation 2022-04-03
- QUESTION: "On a scale of one to 10, how faithful would you say you are, in terms of religion?"—U.S Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), South Carolina RESPONSE: "… there's no religious test in the Constitution under Article ...


Gay News

New Supreme Court session: Religion dominates 2021-10-04
- First in the spotlight as the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new session Monday (October 4) is the seemingly precarious state of the right to abortion, an issue LGBT groups have long considered to be of ...


Gay News

Groundbreaking drag-queen ministry candidate speaks at Illinois UMC 2021-04-16
- Hope United Methodist Church (in Bloomington, Illinois) celebrated Drag Sunday on April 11 with a message from Ms. Penny Cost, Religion News Service reported. The Illinois Great Rivers Conference's Vermillion ...


Gay News

WORLD Gender-identity studies, religion items, Hungary's ban 2020-12-21
- Romania's Constitutional Court overturned a ban on gender-identity studies voted through by lawmakers but which rights groups and universities said would infringe on human rights and fuel discrimination, Openly News ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT The common thread of LGBTQ+ stigma and mental health 2020-09-02
- The relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and mental health has always varied from country to country. But when religion enters the conversation, a whole new aspect escalates the stigma. Countries all over the world have high ...


Gay News

Supreme Court on religious employers, contraceptive coverage under ACA, NCLR responds 2020-07-08
--From a NCLR press release - WASHINGTON, DC — The Supreme Court issued two important decisions today that significantly change the relationship between freedom of religion and anti-discrimination protections. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. ...


Gay News

NUNN ON ONE MUSIC Rufus Wainwright on new album, Pride, future 2020-07-08
- Out and proud performer Rufus Wainwright has always been and continues to be the thinking man's musician. His songs run deep with sometimes heavy lyrics covering topics such as family relationships, politics and religion. For those ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.