admin @ Wed, 2005-10-12 11:09
NU’s Rainbow Alliance wanted all students to “come out” in some way, said Weinberg sophomore Kelsey Pacha, the Rainbow Alliance outreach and education chairwoman.
By handing out “coming out as…” nametags, Rainbow Alliance encouraged students to “come out” on issues from being gay to being “Star Wars” fans.
Currently the Vatican holds that no gay men should be ordained. But a document expected to be released soon might allow gay priests who have lived chastely for three years to enter seminaries, the Chicago Tribune reported this week.
“They’re making a statement about how the different identities within Catholicism can intersect, which is I guess the same thing that we’re trying to do,” Pacha said.
Although Pacha said she didn’t see an explicit connection between National Coming Out Day and the Vatican’s latest stance, she said the Catholic Church seems to be embracing the universal themes of this year’s National Coming Out Day.
Weinberg senior Corey Robinson said that although priesthood requires celibacy anyway, the Vatican’s impending document marks progress and greater acceptance. Homosexuality and Catholicism are no longer completely separate identities, he said.
Robinson, who is gay, said he was raised Catholic but stopped attending church because of the politics involved. He said he is usually pessimistic about Vatican statements because of their tendency to scapegoat homosexuality. But he thought the impending Vatican document “makes sense” within the guidelines of the church.
Weinberg senior Chris Paolelli , a member of NU Catholic Undergrads, said the Vatican’s latest stance deals with extramarital sex more than with homosexuality.
Extramarital sex is not allowed in the Catholic Church, and only allowing celibate gay priests to enter seminaries is a way of preserving morality, he said.
Mary Deeley, pastoral associate at the Sheil Catholic Center, said she didn’t want to comment on the possible change to the Vatican’s policy because the document hasn’t been released yet.
NU’s National Coming Out Day activities highlighted the need for gay rights, which priests and others deserve, said Communication freshman Zachary Fishman, a Syllabus staffer. Fishman decorated himself in 13 “coming out as...” stickers. Two adorned his hat.
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