OVER 150 PARTICIPANTS CONDUCT PEACEFUL PROTEST OF ANTI-GAY COMMENTS AT ST.PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK

New York, NY, April 28, 2002 - --- Over 150 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied communities gathered in front of St. Patrick¹s Cathedral this morning to respond to Roman Catholic Church leadershipOEs recent attacks on homosexuality. Following the 10:15 mass, organizers of the event, an ad hoc committee of leaders from the represented constituencies, held a press conference to discuss and answer questions about the protest.

In recent weeks, several leaders in the Catholic Church have publicly blamed homosexuality within the ranks of the priesthood for the current problems confronting the Church. Just a week ago, Monsignor Eugene Clark, substituting in the pulpit for Cardinal Edward Egan at St. Patrick¹s, said of homosexuality that "it is a disorder and, as a disorder, should prevent a person from being ordained a priest.²

During a press conference following the demonstration, speakers denounced the Catholic Church leadership and expressed outrage that is has scapegoated gay priests.

"Threatening to purge the priesthood of gay men is a way for church leaders to deflect attention from the real moral crisis in the church. That is, a culture of secrecy, conspiracy and lies by priests, bishops and cardinals that has disgraced the very institution of Catholicism," said Mary Louise Cervone, President of Dignity/USA, the largest national gay and lesbian Catholic organization. " We demand that Cardinal Egan, Cardinal Bevilaqua and all of their brother Bishops stop, once and for all, the spiritual violence against GLBT people," concluded Cervone.

Several civic leaders made personal comments at the press conference following the mass. ³As a gay Catholic, I could not sit by and watch my community vilified while witch hunts begin to weed out good, caring members of the church,² said gay activist Matt Foreman, former Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. ³As a Catholic I was taught to spread love and acceptance, not hate, and today is about expressing that acceptance even when some members of the church would rather condemn.²

Other speakers included: Jay Pinkerton, Franciscan friar and therapist; Thomas Grant, board of directors, Empire State Pride Agenda; Jack Drescher, American Psychiatric Association; Reverend Michael Ciane, Regional Conference Minister, Metropolitan Association, UCC; Rev. Pat Bumgardner, pastor of MCC/NY; Dennis de Leon, Latino Commission on AIDS, and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Beth Simchat Torah.

The ad hoc committee came together at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan, at which participants agreed that the protest and subsequent press conference should include several features and stress several points:

... Because the offense was committed from the pulpit of St. Patrick¹s, the protest should occur there as well. (The decision followed discussion of bad publicity occasioned by earlier protests at St. Patrick¹s.) ... The demonstration should be entirely peaceful and in no way disrupt the mass or dishonor the Church itself. Organizers urged participants to observe these rules and avoid any independent actions that might be construed as inconsistent with those precepts. ... The fault in the inappropriate scapegoating rests with certain members of the Church hierarchy and not with the Church itself. Many participants acknowledged that they are observant Catholics. ... The events should stress deeply felt sympathy for all victims of child abuse, sexual and otherwise, at the hands of clergy, family members, any adult.
... The Church should be called upon to take ³significant² action to retract false statements made by its representatives, to censure the individuals who have made them, to cease the propagation of such disinformation in the future and to focus on addressing the real issues, including both child sexual abuse and the Church¹s institutional cover-up.
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CONTACT:

Matt Foreman
Cellular (917) 297-8792

Cathy Renna
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Cellular (646) 391-0031
renna@glaad.org

OVER 150 PARTICIPANTS CONDUCT PEACEFUL PROTEST OF ANTI-GAY COMMENTS AT ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK
April 27, 2002

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	Demonstrators gather in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral to protest anti-gay comments by Catholic officials.
	Mary Louise Cervone, President of Dignity/USA, addresses the media during a press conference following the St. Patrick's Catheral demonstration.
	One of over 150 protesters in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
	Protesters gather at demonstration at St. Patrick's cathedral on Sunday, April 28, 2002
	Protesters gather at demonstration at St. Patrick's cathedral on Sunday, April 28, 2002
	Protesters gather at demonstration at St. Patrick's cathedral on Sunday, April 28, 2002
	Matt Foreman, one of the key organizers of the demonstration, speaks to media on Sunday, April 28, 2002