US: Gay Catholics to turn their backs on Cardinal who compared Pride to Ku Klux Klan rally
An LGBT Catholic group in Belmont is set to hold a church demonstration this Sunday to campaign the ‘faith based bigotry’ of visiting Cardinal, Francis George who previously compared gay rights campaigners to the Ku Klux Klan.
The demonstration, led by the Gay Liberation Network and the Rainbow Sash movement, will be held in front of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the heart of Chicago’s gay district. Campaigners inside the church who are attending the mass, will stand and turn their backs as the Cardinal attempts to gives his sermon.
Previously, Francis George fell under controversy with organisers of Chicago’s Pride parade, forcing him to apologise for comparing the event to a Ku Klux Klan rally.
The Cardinal, in his most recent column in the Chicago Catholic New World, has now closed himself off to a conversation about same-sex marriage despite having indicated his willingness to take part in a public conversation on the matter. In following statements, he congratulated those who successfully persuaded Illinois legislators to foreclose considerations of a same-sex marriage bill in the state.
In response to the Cardinal’s inconsistency, the Rainbow Sash Movement have issued a letter expressing their plans to oppose his visit. In the same letter, the movement clarified their unwillingness to negotiate the matter.
Joe Murray, Executive Director of the Rainbow Sash Movement said that “this visit is especially poignant since it takes place during June which is the month our community celebrates Gay Pride.”
Now on Francis George’s actions, the Rainbow Sash Movement claims that the Cardinal’s trust in bigotry signals a clear detachment from the Catholic community’s modern progressive movement. States Joe Murray: “Our message to the Cardinal is simple hate is easy, love takes courage, and the kind of faith based bigotry he promotes is not welcome in Chicago’s LGBT Community.”
