Gays, Lesbians Asking How They Fit In At University

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Martin Trevino is openly gay. He knows that is unacceptable to many of his fellow students at Our Lady of the Lake University, a private Catholic school on the West Side.
In spite of that — or perhaps because of it — Trevino wants to create a university-sanctioned gay/straight alliance to educate students and faculty about gay issues and to give gays and lesbians a voice on campus. The issue has sparked discussion about whether universities with Catholic moorings should support gay groups, given that the church teaches homosexual sex is wrong.
"It's part of our education to be able to work with a diverse population," said Trevino, a 42-year-old social work student. "If it is acceptable to take our money, it should be acceptable to be who we are."
Howard Benoist, executive vice president for OLLU, said he would work with Trevino on the approval process, which includes drawing up a charter that must conform to the university's Catholic mission.
"The campus policy is no discrimination and support for everybody," Benoist said. "We make a distinction between the lifestyle and the student. We want to be supportive of the students no matter what their views."
The request comes at a time when Catholic universities around the nation are struggling with the clash between modern culture and religious values. About 50 Catholic institutions have student organizations for some combination of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning or intersex (having both sexual organs) students. Locally, St. Mary's University and the University of the Incarnate Word are not among those.
Other colleges have drawn fire for hosting "The Vagina Monologues," a play that includes a depiction of a sexual encounter between a young girl and a woman.
"This is a real issue and our church is grappling with it," said Michael Galligan-Stierle, vice president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. "There are 100 opinions today about what it means to be Catholic. Young adults should be talking these things through and figuring out where their values are."
Quietly out
In Professor Cynthia Medina's office at the Worden School of Social Service, an OLLU handbook sits on her shelf, a bright yellow Post-it Note stuck to the section outlining goals for general education. Learn to respect others, quash discrimination, it says. She whips it out when colleagues criticize her efforts to raise awareness of gay issues.
"I really take that seriously," she said of the handbook's goals.
Medina has helped organize on-campus events to discuss gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and intersex issues, and in August she put on a training session for student mentors. In her classes, she tackles minority relations and has compiled a resource manual on those issues.
It's awkward for students to confront their feelings about homosexuality, Medina said, but they leave her class and training sessions with more compassion for gays and lesbians.
She thinks the campus is ripe for a gay/straight alliance.
"I think the students are interested and the university is ready," Medina said.
Jane Grovijahn, chairwoman of the religious studies department, agreed.
"People here are quietly out," Grovijahn said. "There is no great visibility. We are at exactly the right place to begin looking at these issues."
Both professors expect some resistance from faculty and students.
Aaron Miller, a 26-year-old English major, opposes the idea of a gay/straight alliance.
"Students may express individual views in contrast to Church teaching," Miller said. "But they may not formally organize against (the Church's) instruction."
If other universities' experience holds true, administrators also will hear from alumni, donors and outside groups complaining that Catholicism has gone soft.
The Cardinal Newman Society, a Manassas, Va.-based nonprofit that pushes for what it deems a stronger Catholic identity at colleges, published a report in 2003 claiming Catholic universities were leading students astray.
The report cites a survey done by the Higher Education Research Institute at 38 Catholic colleges showing graduating seniors predominantly favor abortion rights and homosexual marriage and only occasionally pray or attend religious services.
The report quoted David House, president of St. Joseph's College of Maine, as saying: "To present Church teaching at a Catholic college as neutral or as one of many offerings in the cafeteria of belief systems is more than just weak. It's wrong."
The society also has successfully fought productions of "The Vagina Monologues" on numerous Catholic campuses. This year, University of Notre Dame's president required the campus' Queer Film Festival to change its name and banned fundraising for a performance of "The Vagina Monologues."
"There are organizations that launch campaigns against universities they think are not Catholic enough," said Denise Mattson, a spokeswoman for DePaul University in Chicago.
In January, DePaul became the first Catholic school in the country to offer a minor in queer studies.
"It is a bold move; you are going to put yourself up for criticism," Mattson said of DePaul's decision. "But we have to be true to our mission and beliefs, and we believe in social justice and equality. Gay people deserve to be treated like other people."
from Express-News

Homosexuality: Love the Sinner But Hate The Sin

In their semi-annual meeting held in Baltimore in November of this year, the American bishops will be voting on a new document meant to help clarify the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality and "those with the homosexual inclination." The document is entitled "Ministry to Persons With a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care"
Catholic News Service reports that the document condemns homosexual activity of any sort but is careful to reinforce the necessity of treating those individuals with a homosexual inclination with "respect, compassion and sensitivity." A similar document was released by the Vatican in 1986.
The current document was authored by the Committee on Doctrine, a sub-committee within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bill Ryan in the Communications Department of the USCCB told LifeSiteNews.com that the document will be debated and possibly revised at the November meeting before it is voted on. 2/3 of the bishops in the USCCB must vote in favor for the document to be accepted and made public.
The document condemns homosexual acts of any kind. It says, "Homosexual acts also violate the true purpose of sexuality. They are sexual acts that cannot be open to life. Nor do they reflect the complementarity of man and woman that is an integral part of God's design for human sexuality."
The document goes on to clearly state that homosexual unions cannot be recognized under any form - either as 'same-sex marriage' or civil unions. Marriage is clearly defined as the union of one man and one woman, "a bond that is directed toward two inseparable ends: the expression of marital love and the procreation and education of children." The document reiterates the Church's teaching that any sexual activity, homosexual or heterosexual, outside of marriage is morally wrong.
The document also reaffirms the Church's forbiddance of homosexual couples adopting children. However, it does say that the baptism of such children is a matter of pastoral concern and can only happen if there is a "well-founded hope" that the children will be raised Catholic.
The document forcibly distinguishes between homosexual acts and those who have homosexual inclinations. "While the former is always sinful, the latter is not. To the extent that a homosexual tendency or inclination is not subject to one's free will, one is not morally culpable for that tendency," it says.
The document does explain that homosexual tendencies are, of themselves, objectively disordered but says that having a disordered tendency does not make the homosexual himself objectively disordered. It clarifies Catholic teaching by saying, "the inclination to homosexual acts, like every inclination to sin, is disordered, [but a person with homosexual inclinations] retains his or her intrinsic human dignity and value".
The document gives careful guidelines for persons in authority in pastoral situations. Homosexuals striving to live a chaste life are to be encouraged in their healthy relationships with those around them but most importantly in holiness which is, "fostering the greatest possible friendship with God". Regular reception of the sacraments and spiritual direction is especially encouraged.
The document stresses that homosexuals are not to be given positions of authority or opportunity as a catechetic in the Church if their "behavior violates her teaching."
The document addresses the fact that America is suffering from "moral relativism in our society" and a "widespread tendency toward hedonism" which makes the Church's teaching on homosexuality difficult for some to hear. Harry Knox of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, said in regards to the new document, "It's dangerous and immoral for the church to make the kinds of statements that they are thinking about making."
The timing of this pastoral letter is especially poignant as the Church in America is still recovering from the homosexual clergy scandal. An investigation into homosexual activity in American seminaries has just been completed and a recent document from the Vatican forbad homosexuals from being rectors or professors at Catholic seminaries.
from LifeSite