I couldn’t be prouder to post this important video today. It features Fr. Bob Pierson, a gay Catholic priest, telling a roomful of Minnesota Catholics that they can listen to their consciences and vote to oppose a constitutional marriage discrimination amendment in November in defiance of the state’s bishops, who are currently engaged in a full-throttle lobbying campaign to pass the measure.
According to Andy Towle over at Towleroad, Fr. Bob delivered the speech last Sunday to a Catholic gathering in Edina, an affluent suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Significantly, Pierson cited a 1967 quote from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — as justification for his opposition to the anti-gay amendment:
“Our holy father taught in 1967 that we must obey our own conscience, even if it puts us at odds with the Pope. I doubt that he knew that he was going to be Pope when he said that.”
If you recognize Fr. Bob’s name, it’s because he made headlines in 2005 when he resigned his position as Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota after the Vatican issued a statement saying that openly gay men should be barred from the priesthood. Pierson outed himself as a celibate gay man in an email to students and faculty at St. John’s and its partner university, the College of St. Benedict, and wrote: “Because I can no longer honestly represent, explain and defend the church’s teaching on homosexuality, I feel I must resign. . . I am not an infallible person, but I cannot remain silent about my disagreement in conscience with this document, or the church’s teaching on homosexuality.”
The reason I’m so proud of Fr. Bob is because I happen to know him personally: I attended St. John’s University during the first year of my undergraduate music studies from 2003-2004 and volunteered with CSB/SJU Campus Ministry as a cantor for student Masses in St. John’s Abbey and a member of the Campus Ministry Choir. I was also an openly gay student who faced harassment from some of my peers because of my sexual orientation, just like the students he describes meeting in the video above. I know firsthand what a wonderful ally Fr. Bob Pierson is for the LGBT community at CSB/SJU because he played an important part in my acceptance and embrace of my own sexuality. I couldn’t be prouder of the way he courageously speaks out for justice, equality, and the human dignity of LGBT people — even in the face of bullying bishops — and I know that his example will embolden many everyday Catholics to follow their consciences and vote against Minnesota’s marriage discrimination amendment.
Right on Fr. Bob!!
Any Catholic should vote the dictates of his/her conscience whether in agreement with the official church or not. Allowing religious authorities of whatever faith to dictate the votes of believers is a step towards blurring the separation of church and state, which is especially needed when said authorities try to use the law to enforce their beliefs, but run from the law when avoiding responsibility. Somehow, they always find money for lawyers.
Seperation of church and state is ONLY that the the govt cannot mandate one religion for for the land,period. To vote your conscience is in opposition to God and His word.
nancy–was that supposed to mean something?
Yeah, Daniel, that was my question as well.
@Daniel and Merlyn: Yes, it means Nancy has an opinion.
As an aside, I was always led to understand that the dictates of ones conscience WAS the voice of god.
Where are the ‘Like’ flags for these comments? Yes, Nancy, the RCC does hold that one must live by the dictates of conscience. It is by this very precept that an overwhelming majority of American catholics make use of various ‘unnatural’ forms of birth control and fertility procedures while still hold to be in full faith with their church.
Father Geoff Farrow, who reads this site at least on occasion, also has this clip posted on his own website.
Gew–she has an opinion and is unable to express it in an intelligable way.
Yes, the catechism speaks of the importance of following one’s conscience, but it is a conscience well-formed. The Catholic catechism also states: A well-formed conscience will never contradict the objective moral law, as taught by Christ a…nd his Church. (Catechism, 1783-5, 1792, 2039) As Catholics, as Christians, we MUST love and accept all people, but disagreeing with a lifestyle or actions does not mean rejecting the person. God bless.
Yes, the catechism speaks of the importance of following one’s conscience, but it is a conscience well-formed. The Catholic catechism also states: A well-formed conscience will never contradict the objective moral law, as taught by Christ a…nd his Church. (Catechism, 1783-5, 1792, 2039) As Catholics, as Christians, we MUST love and accept all people, but disagreeing with a lifestyle or actions does not mean rejecting the person.
@Anne: being undeniably attracted to same-sex partners and not opposite-sex partners is not a lifestyle nor an action, it is an inherent and unchangeable quality of a person. rejecting a person’s right to be themself is, in and of itself, “rejecting the person.” As a christian, your conscience should guide you, not your misinformed opinion of an area of life you do not understand. loving and accepting all people, including homosexual, bisexual, and transgender people, means not rejecting their dignity to be who they inherently are or stifling their attempt at the same happiness which is available to you. if you disagree with a lifestyle, such as that of a performing musician, then by all means try to avoid displeasing yourself by focusing on that aspect of that person’s lifestyle, but do not “reject the person,” who is just being themself.
The majority of Americans are not catholic. The church should be kept out of politics, period , or lose its tax exemption, period.
We dont care about catholic teaching, which eg in the past was responsible for the hatred of Jews which ultimately led to the holocaust
And re the conscience of the pope – where was it when the pope UNexcommunicated a holocaust denier Biship williamson in 2009.
Indications are he needed the money of that mad bishop’s 600,000 followers.
And where was the popes Conscience when he did his part to hide the endless molestation of children by his sex starved, even forbidden to masturbate priests
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/erbe/2009/02/05/pope-should-excommunicate-holocaust-denying-bishop-williamson
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23369148-pope-led-cover-up-of-child-abuse-by-priests.do