Gay Catholics Urge Clergy to Denounce Letter

Condemning a recent Vatican statement defending discrimination against homosexuals and lesbians, several gay Catholics called on church members and clergy Friday to speak against the document.

“It’s offensive and saddening to us,” said Steve Schulte, a former mayor of West Hollywood and one of five gay Catholics who called a news conference in front of a West Hollywood Catholic church to criticize the Vatican statement.

The letter, sent in June to U.S. Catholic bishops, says it is legitimate to discriminate against gays and lesbians in such areas as housing, adoption, teaching and military recruitment. Intended to counter gay rights initiatives, the document compares homosexuality to mental illness and rejects arguments that gays deserve the same anti-discrimination protections as members of racial or ethnic minorities.

“My church is telling me I should be discriminated against because I’m gay,” said Arturo Olivas, a Latino and gay activist. “I will no longer keep silent to people who want to keep me down and discriminate against me.”

Saying that California clergy have privately expressed their displeasure over the document, the group called on Catholic leaders to openly denounce it.

At the same time, they acknowledged the support of Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and other leaders of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who have been generally sympathetic on gay issues. An archdiocese spokesman Friday reiterated its position--that the Vatican statement will not change local policies opposing discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Schulte charged that the Vatican letter was more political than theological, inspired by church conservatives. “We do not intend to be scapegoated by conservative members of the church,” he said.

Teresa DeCrescenzo, a psychotherapist, said she felt abandoned by the church. “My church would deny me equal opportunity. . . . This makes me angry.”