Chicago is about to be afflicted with the “Gay Games Sports & Cultural Festival” starting this week and among other events will include the Faith and Fairness Panel Discussion to “discuss how to counter religious attacks on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.” In other words, to talk about those whose faith tells them that homosexual activity is immoral, like the Catholic Church.
Ironically, among those co-hosting the event is AGLO Chicago, the Archdiocesan Gay & Lesbian Outreach of Chicago, an official entity of the Chicago archdiocese, as well as Dignity/Chicago. It is organized by the Human Rights Campaign, a radical pro-gay activist group. Gay activists are portraying this sponsorship by an archdiocesan organization as a sign of “toleration” by Cardinal Francis George and a tacit admission that the Church is divided on the morality of homosexual acts.
If this is approved by Cardinal George, then this is scandalous. However, I firmly believe that it was not and if so, the cardinal should be made aware of it.
AGLO Chicago was created by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in 1988 as a counterpoint to Dignity and one of the first diocesan gay ministry offices. In 1989, Bernardin declared AGLO to be “supra-parochial” and directed it to “extend ... the Church’s and specifically the Archdiocese’s pastoral outreach to gay and lesbian Catholics throughout the Archdiocese.” It is based at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in the city’s Lake View East neighborhood, which is the residence of one of the auxiliary bishops.
Like other diocesan ministries to gays, it looks like this one is out of control, using the cloak of respectability and official sanction to undermine the Church’s teachings from within.
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Dioceses should just stick with supporting Courage.
Dan, does Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish have meetings for Courage and EnCourage? Or does the parish only cooperate in having the AGLO Mass and meetings at which the actions of those who promote and practice same-sex sex acts are affirmed?
I’m willing to bet that parishioners who support AGLO ridicule and denigrate Courage and EnCourage,then turn around and label supporters of Courage and EnCourage as “discriminating bigots”. That’s how things work in the Boston area and I suspect that’s the way things work in Chicago.
Dan: I apologize if I have mischaracterized the parish. I wrote that based on information I was given. Based on your reliable firsthand account, I will change it. It’s ancillary to the main point of the post anyway.
AGLO has been a problem for some time. Frankly, it may as well be a Dignity chapter.
The Archdiocese of Chicago has a large festering liberal element that is much more suitable to the church of Bishop Robinson than to Pope Benedict XVI. Having had Joseph Cardinal Bernadin (RIP) here (1982-96) along with being the home of 8th Day Center for Justice were not conducive to creating a generally strong orthodox and faithful environment not to mention the general leftist tenor of the Priests’ Senate.
So I am not surprised that still after ten years, we have loose cannons in the chancery office.
Are not the State Department, CIA, and Pentagon also sources of frequent seditionists?
Who has contacted Cardinal George about this?
I am not looking forward to the pernicious days ahead with the so-called “Gay Games.”
One hears that the Chicago archdiocese has been home to ‘gay games’ for quite some time. And that one of its more famous natives Andrew Greeley, (or infamous as some would say,) has stashed away in a bank vault ‘the goods’ on those in high places to be revealed upon his sudden and unseemly demise.
Regarding the Fr. Andrew Greeley matter alluded to in an above post:
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/060224
Dan: Just because someone posts comments here doesn’t mean I agree with everything they say. I don’t ban everyone I disagree with. I hope you won’t characterize my blog in this way, especially since I so readily changed my entry upon your notifying me of the error.
Carrie: Another explanation is that AGLO is a homonym for “aglow” which may relate to “alight with the Holy Spirit.” I will criticize them for obvious problems, but we don’t necessarily have to dig into obscure occultic references to find problems.
Tony: Are you sure Cardinal George is fully aware of AGLO and what’s happening there? Or are you assuming that he is? Because if he’s said something about it in public, I haven’t found it yet.
Let’s be clear on one thing: The problem isn’t with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. Getting hung up on whether the parish is or is not involved leads us astray from the central point which is that AGLOChicago is an official archdiocesan ministry, which runs independent of any parish and has a mandate that gives it supra-territorial charge of ministering to gays and lesbians and is using it to undermine the Church’s teachings.
Again, this isn’t about Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish.
Cardinal George has preached at the AGLO Mass at least once.
That time, he gave an orthodox homily on sexuality that made a good many members furious. I read this in print, but I don’t think the article is online anywhere.
It seems to me that Cardinal George is not considering the scandal to other believers and to those outside the church considering its claims, such as Nick, above.
I wonder, too, if he has considered that by NOT making the church’s position clear to the “AGLO” members, he is enabling them in believing that their behavior can continue and yet that they are good Catholics and in a state of grace. His preaching his orthodox homily he did well, but when he doesn’t follow through and allows this organization to continue, he is saying that he doesn’t really mean it, this is something the church has to say but not what it shows by its actions that it believes.
Susan Peterson