Blair bans gay-ministry talks
Bishop urges Tiffin nuns to cancel 3-day workshop By DAVID YONKE BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
Bishop Leonard Blair, recently picked by the Vatican to investigate the doctrines of a major U.S. nuns' organization, has banned a workshop on gay and lesbian ministry scheduled to start today at the Sisters of St. Francis campus in Tiffin.
The three-day workshop was offered by New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based organization that describes itself as "a gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian and gay Catholics."
Sally Oberski, director of communications for the Toledo diocese, said Bishop Blair sent a letter to Sister Jacquelyn Doepker, head of the religious order, asking her to cancel the workshop.
In his letter, the bishop said "the positions of New Ways Ministry are not at all in accord with the guidelines for pastoral care which the bishops of the United States issued in 2006 regarding 'Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination.' Nor does New Ways Ministry present the full, authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality."
Francis DeBernardo, New Ways' executive director, said he was "very disappointed" by the bishop's decision and believes there is a "misconception" about both points cited in the letter.
"We've been around for 32 years," he said. "Our programs, especially like the one we were going to have in Tiffin, are designed to help people who are working in Catholic institutions. We are not trying to subvert the church but to build on a positive tradition of welcoming lesbian and gay people that is in the church's teaching and pastoral practice."
He said the Catholic Church "makes a big distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual behavior," and asserted that New Ways abides by church doctrine.
Bishop Blair recently was named by the Vatican to assess the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization representing 95 percent of the nation's 67,000 Catholic nuns, including the Tiffin Franciscans. He said the main purpose of the doctrinal assessment was to "review the work of the LCWR in supporting its membership as communities of faith and witness to Christ in today's church, and to offer any useful assistance."
According to the independent National Catholic Reporter newspaper, Vatican concerns over "the problem of homosexuality" was one reason for the investigation.
New Ways Ministry, which holds workshops across the country, has not been in the Toledo area for about a dozen years, Mr. DeBernardo said. The last local workshop was held in a non-Catholic setting because of scheduling conflicts and not because of any controversy, he said.
Mr. DeBernardo said he spoke with Bishop Blair by phone after learning of the cancellation.
"He was upset and said one of the things he didn't like about New Ways Ministry is that we have from time to time challenged the bishops or the Vatican to be more understanding of lesbian/gay people," he said. "But that doesn't mean we're out to destroy the church or to be in opposition of church leaders."
Mr. DeBernardo said he hopes to reschedule a workshop in the Toledo area.
"We might not be able to use a Catholic facility, but we'll reach Catholic people, and the work we do's in line with the best of the Catholic tradition," he said.
Contact David Yonke at: dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154.
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