There's plenty of time for pro-equality Catholics--more obviously those close to Phoenix--to put this event in their calendars & snag tickets.
From the JAAZ email:
JESUIT ALUMNI IN ARIZONA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAAZ, Jesuit Alumni in Arizona, is an IRS-approved 501(c) 3 educational organization. Our members, graduates of some 28 Jesuit universities and 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States, meet periodically to celebrate our Jesuit backgrounds, to stimulate and encourage one another to be thinking members of our Church, our city, and our state, to have life and have it more abundantly. P.S. We have no membership dues.
SIGNING UP
To sign up for membership in JAAZ, please write or send a postcard to JAAZ, 14249 N. Third Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85023, and include your email address.
FRIDAY NIGHT, 31 MAY, at 6 p.m. Shadow Rock UCC, 12861 N. 8th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85029
Tickets will be in high demand, so, with a limited amount of seating, we advise those who do not have season tickets to purchase their tickets online. Please go here:
CLICK HERE YOU CAN PURCHASE TIX THERE WITH A CREDIT CARD.
I don't suppose I need to link to Bishop Paprocki's views on marriage equality, so I'll skip ahead to The Phoenix Declaration:
Here, on the other hand, is the famous Phoenix Declaration, signed by a great many ministers in the Phoenix area, and some Catholic priests who were disciplined or dismissed for making their views so public:
No Longer Silent Phoenix Declaration As Christian clergy we believe it is time to share our perspective concerning Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (GLBT) persons. We celebrate the end of the debate. The verdict is in. Homosexuality is not a sickness, not a choice, and not a sin. We affirm that GLBT persons are distinctive, holy, and precious gifts to all who struggle to become the family of God. We stand in solidarity as those who are committed to work and pray for full acceptance and inclusion of GLBT persons in our churches and in our world.
GLBT persons are condemned and excluded by individuals and institutions, political and religious, who claim to be speaking the truth of Christian teaching. This leads directly and indirectly to intolerance, discrimination, suffering, and even death. Political and religious rhetoric has monopolized the public perception of the stance of Christian persons on this issue. This stance continues to cripple the spirit of innocent people. The Christian faith compels us to be part of the healing for the souls wounded by this tragic, violent, and destructive hatred.
Therefore: We stand with the countless Christian ministers, scholars, and laity who, from prayerful study of the scriptures and Christian tradition, find no rational biblical or theological basis to condemn or deny the rights of any person based on sexual orientation. The essence of Christian life is not focused on sexual orientation, but how one lives in relationship with God with compassion toward humanity. We gratefully affirm our GLBT brothers and sisters, already a part of the church, who have been born, baptized, confirmed - many serving as leaders -- and apologize for their ill-treatment by many church leaders. We joyfully welcome GLBT persons, as we welcome all people, into our communities of faith. We recognize GLBT persons have painfully suffered long enough from social inequality, from religious rhetoric and political leaders.
We are tired of appalling, hurting, and violent actions toward GLBT persons. This violence must stop. Let us clear the air and move ahead to begin the healing process for the wounded souls who are victims of this tragic and violent abuse. We celebrate the courage of all people who have refused to let the voice of intolerance and violence speak for Christianity. The determination of these people, especially GLBT persons, to meet hatred with love and to answer violence with compassion is an inspiration to us all, and prophetic witness of God's activity in our world. And so we call for an end to all religious and civil discrimination against any person based on sexual orientation. All laws must protect the freedoms, rights, and equal legal standing of all persons. We will continue to work for and promote the dignity of GLBT persons and their inclusion in our socio-political, cultural and economic life.
Just a smidge more detail below the fleur d'orange.
31 May: Bishop Thomas Paprocki facing off with Sister Jeanine Gramick
Not exactly a debate, we'd like to host an intelligent conversation on a current, much-discussed issue, whether Church and society itself ought to approve marriage between partners of the same sex.
The U.S. bishops have taken a strong stand against gay marriage (and Bishop Paprocki has been one of their principal spokesmen). A Chicago priest who was ordained in 1978, Bishop Paprocki is now the bishop of Springfield, Illinois. He was elected Vice-President of the Illinois Catholic Health Association. In January 2008, Bishop Paprocki was elected Vice-Chairman of the John Paul II Foundation in Rome. Bishop Paprocki is Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance as well as the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty. In addition to English, he speaks Polish, Spanish and Italian, and he reads Latin. Bishop Paprocki's hobbies are reading, running and playing hockey. He has run nineteen marathons: Chicago (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2005), Columbus, Ohio (1998), Boston (1998), Rome (2000) Athens (2000), Washington, D.C. (2004 & 2007), Dayton, Ohio (2006), Dublin, Ireland (2008), Minneapolis-St. Paul (2009), Denver (2010), Kansas City (2011) and St. Louis (2012), in the process raising $367,762.48 for charity.
Many in the Church's liberal wing, led among others by Sister Gramick, have insisted that the U.S. bishops' position is "out of date." Just exactly how? Well, we suspect that Sister Gramick, whose courage has never been in doubt, will try to tell us.
Many groups have recognized her work in this pioneer ministry. Some of these groups include the National Coalition of American Nuns, the Loretto Community, the Paulist Community, Call to Action; Dignity USA, the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College, Pridefest America, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,[5] and the American Psychological Association. Now a member of the Sisters of Loretto, she has served on the national boards of the National Assembly of Women Religious, the Religious Network of Equality for Women, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Women's Ordination Conference. She is currently an Executive Co-Director of the National Coalition of American Nuns.[8]
As members of a thinking Church in Arizona, we will be fascinated to hear a reasoned, intelligent discussion of an issue which has, so far, been a dialogue of the deaf.
So, yeah, this is kind of a promo diary, but the event is a potentially big deal. It will not change the USCCB overnight, or overfortnight, or overyear... but it will provide the opportunity to move the debate forward. Any opportunity for the progressive view to make its case against an obsolete position, to an audience, is an important one.
Since this event is almost two months away, I'll (make my best effort to) repost this diary in another month & then once more in mid/late May.