This story is a real profile in courage:
Father Geoffrey Farrow of the Saint Paul Newman Center in northeast Fresno shocked parishioners Sunday morning when he came out against Proposition 8, an initiative that would eliminate the right for same sex couples to marry in California.
After 23 years as an ordained Catholic Priest, Father Geoffrey Farrow has likely given his final mass. Sunday morning he invited us to hear his message, a message that shocked many parishioners.
As a long-recovering Catholic (to the point of recognizing the song at the start of the video story, which is about what a "good people" Catholics are and how we are a "light to the world"), I will vouch for the courage that Fr. Geoff Farrow showed yesterday by being true to his core beliefs.
Fr. Geoff says after numerous inquiries from parishioners asking for direction on Proposition 8, if passed would ban gay marriage, the Father said he must go against the Bishops recommendation and instead go with what he feels is right.
"In directing the faithful to vote yes on proposition 8, the California Bishops are not only entering the political arena, they are ignoring the advances and insights of neurology, psychology and the very statements by the church itself that homosexual is innate," says Fr. Geoff.
The priest acknowledges his controversial comments will have consequences. "I know that these words of truth will cost me dearly. But to withhold them would be far more costly and I would become an accomplice to a moral evil that strips gay and lesbian couples, not only of their civil rights but of their human dignity as well."
Fr. Geoff Farrow will probably lose his job, the one career he has ever known, because he had the courage to speak truth to power. And his decision is a profile in courage which needs to be shared with a larger audience.
Although polling shows Proposition 8 failing, this is a tough one to predict given the volatility of the issue for so many people and the millions of dollars and thousands of volunteers being poured into the "Yes on 8" campaign by the Mormon and Catholic churches. And every message that gets out that shows what a human, civil rights issue this is, rather than letting the church institutions distract from the real people this affects in their everyday lives, every one of those messages - like Fr. Geoff's - are one more chip away at the wall of discrimination that is falling away before our eyes.
I ask that you please also share your support for Fr. Geoff directly. You can email him at frgeoff@csufnewman.com.
Just to wrap up my diary, here's the email I sent to Fr. Geoff minutes ago:
Fr. Geoff,
I came across the ABC 30 news story this afternoon which showed your coming out and encouraging your congregation yesterday to vote against Proposition 8. I cannot tell you thank you enough.
Thank you for your courage.
Thank you for telling your story.
Thank you for risking everything in order to stand up for your core truth.
By your act yesterday, you have epitomized the gold that's tested in fire. You will be tested because of this, as you probably have been numerous times in the past, and I want you to know that the stone you have dropped in the water will create ripples far beyond your parish in Fresno. Those ripples will give people you will never meet the courage to soldier on, the strength to believe in themselves, and a smile when they need it most.
And, from where this one person in San Francisco stands, you have demonstrated incredible courage and given me hope.
Thank you.
Yours,