ARTICLES
June 1998 ARTICLESLETTERS
Contents © 1998
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
The Outing of the Church
ARCHDIOCESAN GAY MAGAZINE APOSTOLATE
By Charles A. Coulombe
While leafing through the March 28, 1998 America magazine, I was surprised to find an article referring directly to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It was titled "Notes From a Community--Catholic and Gay."
Authored by Eric Stoltz, the article was a description of life among practicing homosexuals who attend Mass at a "welcoming" parish on the Westside: "...what do I see as I look out on the congregation at our parish? Do I see anger? Do I see resentment? Do I see the very embodiment of the 'liberal' agenda? No. I see only people faithful to their Catholic heritage, who are striving to live their lives in accordance with the Gospel, who discuss the sermon over brunch after Mass, and who write their checks at the offertory."
The article also featured a quote from an unnamed priest: "I recall the words of a priest in charge of gay and lesbian ministry in Los Angeles who encountered the protests of a deacon who complained about gay people 'flaunting' their orientation. The deacon asked why couldn't they just keep all that to themselves?...'and what about that ring on your finger and the picture of your wife on your desk?' the priest asked the startled deacon. 'Are you not flaunting your heterosexuality?'"
The author of this piece was described as "a public relations consultant...master of ceremonies at his parish in Los Angeles, Calif. He is also editor of the religion column in Edge, a gay and lesbian bi-weekly that is a project of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood's Reform Synagogue."
Lunching with an editor for another magazine, I asked if he had heard of Edge. He had not but referred me to gentlemen in the layout department. Approaching them, I repeated the question. One of them asked, "Why would you want to know about it?" I repeated the circumstances, and the group snickered. Another said, "It's filled with ads in the back for male hookers." I then asked where it might be found. "In the sleazier leather bars on Santa Monica Boulevard," was the reply.
Examination of four recent issues was revealing. The advertisements displayed young muscular men in various would-be seductive poses. In the back were the promised massage and "malecall" ads. The cover of the April 15 issue featured a model on a cross. The articles were filled with a range of things, from health tips to book reviews, in tones ranging from conventional to "gay-cutesy." In the February 4 issue, alongside endorsements of sodomy, there was a quote from noted homosexual writer Quentin Crisp explaining why gay fetuses should be aborted: "I never said being gay was wonderful. I mean, life is so miserable for the world if homosexuals exist. If there were no gay people, the world would be happy."
In three of the four issues, there was a column entitled "Out in Spirit." This was described as "a joint project of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and Congregation Kol Ami of West Hollywood, united in service to the gay community." Perhaps America had it wrong, and the column alone was really the joint project.
The April 15 issue, with its crucifixion cover, contained an ad on page 43 for St. Victor's Catholic Church in West Hollywood. The ad opened with, "We know someone who thinks YOU are just to die for!" The someone, of course, was Jesus, who was pictured in the center as a sort of "Ecce Homo" woodcut. At great length, the piece described Jesus' unconditional love for all of us, "just as you are, because you are you..." Featured was St. Victor's Holy Week schedule.
On page 54, "Out in Spirit's" featured columnist was Father Peter J. Liuzzi, director of the archdiocese's Ministry with Gays and Lesbians. Entitled "Preparing for Easter," it was an orthodox column, with some beautiful sentiments. His column for February 4, however, "Always Our Children," describing the Bishops' document of the same name, subtitled "A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children," was more problematic.
Father Liuzzi opined that the pastoral was "unprecedented in its attitude toward gay and lesbian members of the Catholic Church. It is just one more sign that traditional teaching remains unchanged; the Church continues to struggle to be sensitive and inclusive toward gay Catholics." This was a bit confusing; less so was the next passage: "To the disappointment of many, it does not break any new ground theologically. The letter quite intentionally avoids advocating any particular agenda to the left or right of this question. For this reason, some far right Catholics take exception to this document and want it revised to better serve their own agenda. The bishops appear unlikely to bend to their pressure."
Father Liuzzi mentions chastity toward the end of the column: "The document urges chastity according to one's state in life, which is consistent with Church documents." But then, "Chastity is defined as 'integrating one's thoughts, feelings, and actions in the area of human sexuality in a way that values one's own dignity and that of others.'"
Fr. Luizzi's Episcopalian colleague, the Very Reverend William McCord Thigpen, Rector of Trinity Church in Silverlake, is, we are told by the blurb accompanying his "Out in Spirit Column" in the April 1 issue, the "Episcopal Bishop's Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian Community in L.A." Entitled "Lent is Not Always a Drag!", his column was a far more assertive piece than either of Fr. Liuzzi's.
Likening the desert in which Our Lord fasted for 40 days to the one through which three transvestites traveled in the Australian film, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the Very Reverend Sir was not reluctant to describe "normal" gay angst. Among typical crises in homosexuals' lives he numbers "our lover walked out..." He insists that we must each find the wilderness within ourselves, and experience isolation. Fr. Thigpen ends with a cheery "Lent does not have to be a drag, but hey! Like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, drag is not always a bad thing."
What is the archdiocese's role in Edge or its column? Does being a "joint project" mean financial support by the cardinal? Efforts to question Father Liuzzi, archdiocesan spokesperson Father Gregory Coiro, and Edge publisher and editor Dennis Colby via telephone or e-mail were unsuccessful.