His Holiness Francis
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City State, EUROPE
Your Holiness:
The purpose of this communication is to call on you to open a dialogue with the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) on how best to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ outside of the ancient taboos and personal biases that have been directed at the international LGBT community by your predecessor. Many in our community have been made to feel unwelcome in the Church. Its public hostility towards our social justice journey have angered and alienated many.
We are a Roman Catholic organization that supports the human rights of LGBT people within the social-justice tradition of the Church. Our vision is the formal acceptance of LGBT people into the Catholic Church.
On behalf of the board of the directors of the RSM, please accept our fraternal love, and prayers on your election as pope of the universal Church.
Some might say you occupy the Chair of St. Peter at a difficult moment in history. We would prefer to understand your election as an opportunity of healing and reconciliation. Never forget we are all frail and sinful people in need of healing and reconciliation.
There has been too much misunderstanding directed at us in the Church, and it is my hope that a dialogue process would be better than public assaults on each other. It is in that spirit that I call for communication between people of goodwill to replace the present hostility.
I have met with Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and have been in written communication with him and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, the current president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on the subject of LGBT inclusion in the Church. It is my hope that we can formalize this dialogue process. We believe your encouragement for dialogue rather than hostility would have positive consequences beyond our borders and send a message of welcome and not the opposite.
I will keep you in my prayers, and ask that you keep me in yours.
Sincerely,
Joe Murray
Executive Director
Rainbow Sash Movement