Undo the damage to Catholic gays
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, August 30, 2003
Gay Catholics understand all too well that it takes a great deal of courage to say publicly that the church's policies against them are nothing more than bigotry. In his Aug. 20 letter, "All err on marriage," Raymond MacAndrew, M.D., says, "Good Catholics have no issue."
From our perspective, good Catholics have the brains to think for themselves, and have the backbone to stand up and say so. Based on those criteria, Patrick Kennedy is by far the most courageous member of the Rhode Island congressional delegation.
Dr. MacAndrew says, "Kennedy is a badly educated Catholic from a badly educated family." Perhaps Dr. MacAndrew is unaware that church scholars have known for some time that a rite for blessing same-sex unions once existed in the early Christian church. It had disappeared by the early Middle Ages. As the church consolidated its political power and amassed great wealth, the pope introduced policies that sadly encouraged our modern-day homophobia.
It will take a courageous future pope to undo the damage done to "good" gay Catholics going back hundreds of years.
ROGER M. BEAUDREAULT
North Providence
