Ministry to gays expanding

Days of reflection and support groups are some facets of the Albany Diocese's ministry to gay and lesbian people, as well as their families and friends.

Recently, a conference of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries (NACDLGM) provided more ideas for the future.

Meg Bergh, head of the diocesan Family Life Office, attended the Brooklyn conference, which had the theme of "Good News Stories: Promise of Hope." Rev. Bernard Turner, pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Lake George, led the gathering as NACDLGM's acting president.

Welcome in Church

"It's an exciting organization," Father Turner told The Evangelist, recalling NACDLGM's first conference in 1994, when the group addressed the problem of gays and lesbians leaving the Catholic Church.

NACDLGM, he said, strives to counteract the message many gay Catholics have received that they are not welcome in the Church.

The message NACDLGM promotes, he continued, is that God loves all people, and that parishes must "deal more positively with the gay and lesbian community in their midst."

Parenting

Father Turner recalled visiting a parish in the Albany Diocese where the pastor said, in a homily, that gays were going to hell and needed prayers to turn their lives around.

"How many parents were sitting there who had gay or lesbian children?" Father Turner.

When Catholic parents find out their son or daughter is gay, he added, many of them "go 'into the closet.' They have a secret they now can't tell anyone."

Support groups

Ms. Bergh often meets such parents through her work in the Family Life Office. She and several priests, deacons and laypeople in the Diocese counsel family members and help them connect with support groups.

The Diocese currently offers a support group for parents and friends of gay and lesbian persons. Father Turner also started a small group at Sacred Heart. After attending the conference, Ms. Bergh and Father Turner hope to see groups started in more parishes.

The conference "made me realize people judge other people without knowing, really, who they are -- and I have no right to judge anyone else," Ms. Bergh stated. "We are all made in the image and likeness of God."

Telling stories

Father Turner hopes that, as a result of participating in NACDLGM, the Diocese listens to more people's stories of their experiences as Catholics who are also homosexual or bisexual.

"People get very upset, very threatened. It's hard to break through stereotyped images," he noted. But "our stories are unique and critical. It's the story that makes the difference."

"What can I, as a member of the Catholic Church, do to make people's lives better? That's where it's at for me," Ms. Bergh added.

(NACDLGM -- www.nacdlgm.org -- is "a network and resources for individuals, parishes, schools, religious orders, hospitals, retreat centers, social justice ministries, family life ministries and dioceses." Its focus is "to make people feel welcome in the Church and help families to understand that their lesbian and gay members are, as the U.S. bishops have stated, 'always our children.'" "Always Our Children" is a 1997 document by the U.S. bishops that encourages parents to support their children who are homosexually oriented. It reaffirms Church teaching that all persons are called to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage, and advocates "understanding and pastoral care" for homosexual people. The document is available at www.usccb.org.)

(10/12/06)