Catholic Conference on Gay Ministries Set

A national Catholic conference on gay ministries set for September is already attracting opposition.

Rochester Bishop Matthew Clark will deliver the welcoming address at the Sept. 17-20 gathering of the National Assn. of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries. The teaching conference is expected to draw several hundred participants from more than 30 diocese nationwide.

Some Catholics oppose the conference; others oppose Clark’s support of the conference and the local diocesan ministry to gays.

“The conference defies the Catholic Church teaching,” said Michael Macaluso. He heads the predominantly Catholic organization Citizens for a Decent Community and works with the local chapter of Catholics United for the Faith.

But Clark called opponents “a small voice” and endorsed his ministry as “thoroughly and totally Gospel-based and within the teachings of the church.” He and other ministers, he said, are trying to reach out in love to “a people who so easily can be reviled.”

“I do not look for controversy, and I hope I do not cause it,” he added. “But this ministry is truly and honestly the right thing to do.”

The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges homosexuality as an orientation but has declared homosexual sex a sin.

Clark said he supports the teaching. He and others say the ministry to homosexuals is intended to help reconcile, not preach at or create obstacles for, gays and lesbians.