Coming Out @BYU
Brigham Young University is not known for their religious tolerance or LGBT liberal policies when it comes to sending out freshman acceptance letters each year. If by some chance, a gay student gets into BYU, the university is well known for being perhaps the most unfriendly toward the LGBT community. Even going so far to say gay students are not allowed to kiss, cuddle, or otherwise show affection to their same sex partner. Granted, all students are under a strict no sex policy, but only the LGBTers risk excommunication from the church and college for just a kiss.
With all the pressure on students to fit the BYU/Mormon mold, it’s amazing to see 22 students post a video on youtube to come out to the school and world as part of Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” campaign. Congratualtions on coming out. I hope you all are not targeted for expulsion because of “unrelated offenses”.
Charity Board Member Resigns
Joseph Amodeo just scored a few points in my book for getting his eyes opened and taking a stand. Joseph was a member of the executive committee of the junior board of the New York branch of Catholic Charities until the day before Easter. He is also a a gay Catholic man.
All of this started when Carl Siciliano, the founder of the nonprofit Ali Forney Center that offers emergency services to the LGBT community, tried to get help and found Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was not receptive to the idea of helping non-heterosexual people. Carl wrote in a letter, saying: “As youths find the courage and integrity to be honest about who they are at younger ages, hundreds of thousands are being turned out of their homes and forced to survive alone on the streets by parents who cannot accept having a gay child”. Carl talks about a study that shows as much as 40% of the homeless are from the LGBT community. And, the more religious the parent is, the more likely the LGBT child will be kicked out of their home.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, shot back saying he he doesn’t make the rules… they are written in his book so he has to follow them:
For you to make the allegations and insinuations you do in your letter based on my adherence to the clear teachings of the Church is not only unfair and unjust, but inflammatory. Neither I nor anyone in the Church would ever tolerate hatred of or prejudice towards any of the Lord’s children.
I suppose Dolan takes the “love them from a distance” approach. This exchange between Carl and Dolan hurt Joseph. Why it took Joesph so long to see this side of his church is amazing to me. I end this with a quote from Joseph and a hope that he will use the momentum he started to bring awareness to other Catholics of their leaders bigotry.
Every Sunday, I teach second-graders to ‘love thy neighbor,’ but then, when we as a church have a teachable moment, we fail. [Cardinal Timothy Dolan] failed to respond to a call for pastoral assistance, to answer the question, What can we do together as a church and as a people for youths who are homeless?
That Settles It
Rick Warren says Mormons are not Christian. That’s good enough for me. Just love it when people argue over whos fairy tail is more true / less false. Thoughts?
~Wesley
Permalink
Good for the LGBT Mormon kids, although I do find the “spirit confirmation” at the 5:59 mark quite interesting… If enough of them stick with the Mormon church or identity, it’ll be interesting to see what impact, if any, it would have over the next 20 years.
As far as Rick Warren, it’s the “No true Scotsman fallacy.” Catholics or Orthodox Christians could just as easily say that he’s not a Christian since his church doesn’t have the apostolic succession, and he could also just as easily say that Catholics aren’t Christian because of the veneration of the saints.
Since Mormons worship Jesus as their lord and savior, I would consider them Christian. They’re certainly not very mainstream or what most Christians would consider orthodox, but they at least meet the most rudimentary definition of “Christian.”
Permalink
It just hurts me to see these people square a circle. I wish them the best. But, don’t they see? It’s their religion that is the source of all their turmoil. This quote says it all to me: “I decided to come out to some of my friends and they were supportive – even here at BYU.” The dude knows what can happen. It takes only one person to make his life hell. It just hasn’t happened yet.
There are so many other places that would be more accepting. I generally take the path of least resistance. I don’t understand wanting to live in the belly of the beast.
~~~~~
Of course Mormons are just as Christian as the next. I just couldn’t resist letting Warren show his colors – yet again. It felt like a Ray Comfort explaining the banana moment.