No time for silence
McNeill, John J.
of homosexuality which contradict the clear and definitive his responsibility to protect authentic church teaching in his teachings of the Catholic church." A week later, the bishop ...
...and between bishop and priest...
...Victor Balke, ordered him to take an indefinite leave of abBut others saw the primary issue to be the church's attitude sence from the priesthood...
...author of The Church and a Catholic's Conscience...
...Its self-imposed silence on the Dom case has ren- homosexuals...
...troversial issues...
...Above all else, I urge community and the church and to an open reexamination my gay brothers and sisters to continue to work fearlessly of traditional attitudes in the church toward homosexual- within the church fur true justice and understanding...
...that even if Dom had to be removed, the act not be done in Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch columnist suggested, of having response to a public statement solicited by the bishop's own "sandbagged" a priest...
...that lin- reputation as one of the world's great Commonweal: 648...
...At had Father Dorn suffered an undeserved personal tragedy, but the rally, Prunty aimed a remark directly at Speltz: "By Bishop Speltz's reputation as a cautious and compassionate naming our God-given orientation as a 'disordered' or prelate had been diminished, and the ability of the St...
...Cloud, ogy of sexuality that sees sexuality as blessing and understands newspaper columns and letters-to-the-editors, and a statement homosexuality to be part of the gift...
...supporters resolved the question by supporters of the bishop and those who disagree with him appealing to episcopal authority...
...His decision...
...Dorn been gravely impaired by the Visitor's misguided decision...
...Private speculations now abound: What were Bishop and courage had been ranked higher...
...When they A DECADE AGO, after the publication of The Church assert that homosexual orientation is an 'objective disorand the Homo exual by John J. McNeill, S.J., the der' without taking into account all the scientific evidence Vatican withdrew the irnprimi potest (permission to pub- that calls that .judgment into question, when they accuse lish) and ordered McNeill to remain silent on the issue of all of us who have sought civil justice for gay people as homosexuality and ethics...
...When David Prunty, a speaker at the As private speculations led to rumors and rumors to suspipublic rally, criticized the bishop, he was promptly fired from cions, Father Dorn in late October revealed his own homosexhis part-time job as a parish music director by the pastor, who ual orientation...
...A RESPONSE TO THE VATICAN Further...
...Ten years later, I see the church refusing all dialogue JOHN 1. McNEILL...
...We that many people were upset by theibishop's decision, includ- have a responsibilty," Dorn had written, "to develop a theoling a public rally held at St...
...Cloud Visitor has regularly invited local stood as natural and inevitable...
...Dorn belongs to the Dorn claimed that his own opinions as well as his activities as a Crookston, Minnesota, diocese...
...Before this spirit that is in conflict with both the spirit and letter of the issue could be resolved - the Jesuit Father General had Gospels...
...been able satisfactorily to answer that question either...
...The ELA is a way of compelling, or at least forcefully encouraging, 0 N ELECTION Day Californians Proponents of ELA, led by S.I...
...overwhelmingly passed an "Eng- Hayakawa, former Republican U.S...
...Two interpreted as a victory for those who hold . . . homophobic causes, in my view, can be discerned - imprudence and lack views...
...McNeill complied...
...Cloud diocese...
...ROBERT L. SPAETH Speltz's real reasons for his decision...
...The Visitor's decision abstatements that I have ever gathered...
...John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and the Can the local church have a credible Catholic newspaper...
...Is this affair a (Robert L. Spaeth is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences local version of a wider crackdown on dissidents in the church...
...The Visitor is the only summarized as a massive failure of public dialogue in the local Catholic newspaper in the diocese, the only outlet for Catholic church - failure of dialogue in the Catholic press, with opinion...
...The Dorn bishop had implied, "contradict the clear and definitive teachaffair quickly became a prominent topic of conversation ings of the Catholic church...
...A week later, the bishop diocese and a legitimate use of his authority over priests...
...It wasn't at all obvious...
...The charge of imprudence must be laid at the door A third issue vying for prominence arose because the dioce- of Bishop Speltz, who saw a problem and tried to solve it with san newspaper had invited Dorn to write the article that, the power...
...a guest priest in the St...
...the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its "In my heart and soul I will always be a Jesuit priest...
...But Dorn did not agree...
...The Visitor responded to the controversy with - of all Once the decision had been made to fire Dorn, the St...
...Cloud Catholic homosexual community turn next...
...Cloud things - silence...
...McNeill was informed by his superiors that Cardi- tions" of homophobes on the victims of that violence nal Ratzinger forbade him to pursue any ministry what- because they have had the effrontery to seek for justice soever...
...he fired Father Dorn from his the bishop said, had been disagreeing with the church's views ministry at the Newman Center and rescinded Dorn's status as on homosexuality for over a year...
...Cloud 'pathological constitution,' you, bishop, invite gay and les- Catholic community to resolve disputes through dialogue had bian people . to despise ourselves and be despised...
...Print ruptly to turn off the spigot of public opinion must, in my view, none of it...
...His October 16 editorial,, entitled gay and lesbian community needed to have its say, as did the with unintended irony "A Concluding Word," said: "Before many Catholics who wished to express their views on the me is the largest stack of letters, newspaper clippings, and proper use of episcopal authority...
...Fred Hughes, a prominent could choose among three contentious areas: a bishop's re- Catholic layman, noting that the "exercise of authority is sponsibilty and authority, homosexuality and the church, and seldom an easy responsibility," publicly congratulated the the role of the Catholic press...
...Mary's Cathedral in St...
...Dorn, turned the ratchet another notch...
...that the replacement of Dorn, if Catholics to express themselves on its editorial pages on con- necessary, be achieved through negotiations, not discipline...
...Could the paper now be accused, as a St...
...5 December 1986: 647 personal conduct...
...of courage...
...The and theircivil rights, the Vatican betrays a mean and cruel alternative was dismissal from the Jesuits...
...Cloud Catholics...
...has seriously damaged the credibility of the St...
...to gays...
...that certain groups of immigrants (in California, Mexican-Americans especially) are not learning English fast enough...
...bishop for his "firm and courageous stand" in a "social and Bishop Speltz evidently believed that the case exemplified cultural climate where freedom will suffer few constraints on and making its homophobic attitude the basis of its public NO TIME FOR SILENCE policy...
...Cloud can be but its effects have extended further...
...of homosexuality which contradict the clear and definitive his responsibility to protect authentic church teaching in his teachings of the Catholic church...
...and that OUTLAWING TONGUES such groups resisting linguistic assimilaCALIFORNIA'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMENDMENT tion constitute a threat to American social solidarity...
...Hayakawa, in the days belish Language Amendment" Senator from California, argue that lin- fore he had the misfortune to fall into (ELA) that makes English the official guistic uniformity in the United States politics, was a scholar who had won a language of their state...
...Certainly, the Catholic called a halt to the debate...
...No one in the controversy had among Catholics in the St...
...Cloud Visitor, The case of the bishop versus the priest in St...
...publicly or as a psychotherapist...
...The following are excerpts from McNcill's community I love and respect, which has been my family, November 2 statement in response to the Vatican docu- my security, and my life for the past forty years .. . ment: "I shall remain a loyal member of the Catholic church "Ten years ago I agreed to the directive from the and continue to play out my role of critical lover and Vatican, partially silencing me, because l thought that my loving critic...
...helps to hold society together...
...But what were the issues...
...the vital process of assimilation...
...I had hoped that my Spirit in matters concerning homosexual persons in parsilence would lead to a dialogue between the gay Catholic ticular and sexuality in general...
...If I do nothing, people will think the The bishop and the priest were also at odds over one senchurch's teaching has changed...
...counselor to homosexuals and their families, are not equivaA small flurry of protest followed upon Bishop Speltz's lent to claiming that "the church should approve of action, which he justified by saying, "The time had come [homosexual] genital sex...
...Both The bishop and his...
...I see the Congregation's recent statement as going far beyond any legitimate affirmation of religious or moral concern about homosexual activity...
...The St...
...at St...
...Where will the St...
...seeking dialogue, a rebirth of compassion, obedience was the best way to show my love for both my and a fearless search for the truth with the help of the Holy church and the gay community...
...I cannot continue to be silent in the face of this approved of McNeill's continuing his therapeutic work -- evil...
...It statement on ''The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Per- is painful to me at my age to risk separation from a sons...
...Of several minds: David R. Carlin, Jr...
...guistic heterogeneity might well rend the social fabric of the nation...
...newspaper...
...Evidence soon accumulated tence in Dorn's article that particularly irritated Speltz...
...The failure in all dered any public clarification of the issues virtually impossi- three of its manifestations was preventable, if only prudence ble...
...being :'callous" to the risk to the Lives of our gay brothers following an address he gave on freedom and conscience and sisters because of the AIDS crisis, and finally, when to the national convention of Dignity, a Catholic gay they lay the blame for the "irrational and violent reacgroup...
...Before the public reaction had a chance to Visitor acquired some responsibility to stem the tide of disilluget rolling, the Visitor editor, Father Ralph Zimmerman, sionment among St...
...In early November Dorn's ordinary, Bishop said the criticism was a "slap in the face" to Bishop Speltz...
...Last year...
...Did this statement, as the of objections by the Newman Centerparish council...
...himself told his parishioners, "My dismissal will only be Why had the whole sorry train of events occurred...
...be judged a departure from courage - the courage to print This unilateral closing down of a growing dialogue on opinions opposed to the bishop's decision and the courage to authority, treatment of homosexuals, and the Catholic press trust the Catholic community...
...Prudence would have suggested that Father Dorn's editor later admitted, "became the catalyst for the dismissal of sympathy with the homosexual people in his care be underthe author...
...Cloud area...
...By then, in my judgment, not only toward homosexuals, which they perceived as ambiguous...
...Now, S.I...
...when I felt I had to act...
Vol. 113 • December 1986 • No. 21
