The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting in Baltimore today. According to NPR and the Associated Press, the main focus of this meeting will not be on poverty, income inequality, or economic justice, not on racism or immigration reform, not on feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or healing the sick. Instead, the bishops’ primary focus will be on attacking loving same-sex couples and families and the freedom to marry that they deserve under our secular Constitution, and perpetuating the lie that marriage equality somehow represents a threat to religious liberty and an attack on Christianity. Not at all surprising, but nevertheless, absolutely disgusting.

UPDATE, courtesy of Igor Volsky at ThinkProgress: The bishops “unveiled a new website — MarriageUniqueForAReason.org — to compliment the [USCCB's] ongoing effort to enshrine their anti-LGBT religious bigotry into civil law ‘promote and defend marriage as the union between one man and one woman.’”

Furthermore, in a report delivered to the conference, Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the USCCB’s “Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage,” stated that the Catholic Church’s fight against civil marriage equality “affirms the inviolable dignity of every human person.”

On what planet exactly, sir?

(Weekly Column)

In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has veered hard right and become politically active in opposing abortion rights and marriage equality in America. For example, they played a key role in thwarting marriage for same-sex couples in Maine and have refused to give communion to pro-choice politicians such as Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

Beginning under Pope John Paul II and accelerating under the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church has inserted itself repeatedly into America’s “culture war.” In a doctrine called “co-belligerence,” the Catholic leadership has joined forces with the evangelical right to fight against the perceived threat of secularism. Bitter extremists who are quick to incense are overshadowing the sweet and peaceful aroma of church incense.

Unfortunately, for the Church, one of its lead cultural warriors took it a bit too far when he ventured from co-belligerence to flat out belligerence. Dan Avila was forced to resign from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he served as Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family, after penning a column for The Boston Pilot that suggested Satan might cause people to become gay. According to Avila’s column:

“…the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil. Any time natural disasters occur, we as people of faith look back to Scripture’s account of those angels who rebelled and fell from grace. In their anger against God, these malcontents prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. They continue to do all they can to mar, distort and destroy God’s handiwork. Therefore, whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.”

Avila’s (pictured) demonizing words represented a major obstacle to the church’s questionable claim that it respects all people. It’s one thing for the Catholic Church to team up with Pat Robertson and quite another for its representatives to actually become Pat Robertson. While the actions of the church have become increasingly hostile and homophobic, up until this point their slick PR team had made an effort to appear reasonable. Avila’s screed lacked nuance and it appeared that the Church had gone full-blown Satan, like they were part of a Saturday Night Live skit with the Church Lady.

It seems that the Church has finally been pushed to its limit – at least for now. Prior to his resignation from the USCCB, Avila was forced to offer a weak retraction in the Boston Pilot, writing that his column “[does] not represent the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the column was not authorized for publication as is required policy for staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

Only weeks before the brouhaha, Avila appeared at the Voter Values Summit in Washington, DC. In a video that I filmed with my telephone camera, Avila spoke of a furtive Catholic plot to undermine marriage equality in Massachusetts. While pontificating on stage he said,  “a deliberate uprising has been put in motion, a careful tilling of the political soil has created a bumper crop of many new legislators dedicated to letting the people vote [on marriage equality].”

The more the Catholic Church plays political hardball, the more polarizing screwballs it seems to attract. In recent years we’ve seen the conversion to Catholicism of verbal flamethrowers such as Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Exhibit A is the perpetually aggrieved Bill Donohue from the Catholic League, a blustery bulldog who is about the only person in the world who can make Pope Benedict XVI actually seem warm and sympathetic.

Donohue once had to be reined in after defending the Mel Gibson movie Passion of the Christ by saying, “Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It’s not a secret, OK? And I’m not afraid to say it. That’s why they hate this movie. It’s about Jesus Christ, and it’s about truth. It’s about the Messiah.”

The ironic part of the Catholic Church’s recent posturing is that it is a morally challenged institution that has yet to recover from multiple and ongoing pedophile priest scandals. Even as it scrounges up dwindling funds to fight marriage equality, it closes down Catholic schools across the nation. This shows grossly misplaced priorities and an unnatural obsession with homosexuality that has been elevated above the wellbeing of children who are losing their schools.

To underscore the Catholic Church’s falling moral authority, once staunchly Catholic Ireland announced this week that it will close its embassy to the Vatican. This once unthinkable move is a major hit to the Vatican’s reputation and worldwide standing.

The Vatican should get back to basics and forgo the self-destructive path of co-belligerence. If not, we will see more extremists, such as Avila and Donohue, who are fast becoming the unappetizing public face of the Roman Catholic Church in America.

Avila’s Demonizing Did Not Create Healthy Dialogue, Says TWO

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Truth Wins Out applauded the resignation of Dan Avila today from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he served as Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family. Avila resigned after receiving much criticism for a column he wrote for the Boston Pilot that suggested Satan might cause people to become gay.

“Daniel Avila’s column was hurtful and deeply offensive, and we are grateful that he quickly resigned,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director for Truth Wins Out. “Demonizing never creates a healthy dialogue and Avila represented a major obstacle to the church’s claim to respect all people.”

The offensive column caused such an uproar that the Pilot, America’s oldest Catholic newspaper, retracted the screed. Avila was forced to offer a weak apology that said his column “[does] not represent the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the column was not authorized for publication as is required policy for staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

“The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops were correct to accept Avila’s resignation,” said John Becker, Director of Communications and Development for Truth Wins Out. “There is no place for such extremism and Avila’s poisonous remarks served to further alienate LGBT Americans from the Catholic Church.”

In his column Avila wrote:

“…the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil. Any time natural disasters occur, we as people of faith look back to Scripture’s account of those angels who rebelled and fell from grace. In their anger against God, these malcontents prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. They continue to do all they can to mar, distort and destroy God’s handiwork. Therefore, whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.”

At the time, TWO sent out a press release criticizing Avila’s remarks and commented further in a Washington Post blog. Earlier today, the LGBT advocacy group called for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to fire Avila. Last month, TWO filmed Avila’s anti-gay speech at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC.

Earlier in the week, Truth Wins Out slammed Catholic extremist Daniel Avila for a radical article he wrote in the Boston Pilot that suggested that the devil may be responsible for making people gay.

Avila’s opinion was so “out there” that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops distanced themselves and forced him to make a weak apology of sorts.

Quite frankly, the sluggish apology was not enough. Avila is an extremist with outrageously backward views and should have nothing to do with the official Roman Catholic Church in any capacity. In TWO’s opinion, Avila should be immediately fired and all formal and informal ties should be severed.

At the very least, we’d like to see a large angry nun emerge from a convent and slap his knuckles with a splintered ruler. (I probably have to specify that this last line was a joke because Mr. Avila appears to have been born without a funny bone)

Becky Garrison, who is the author of  Ancient Future Disciples: Meeting Jesus in Mission-shaped Ministries and writes the On Faith column for the Washington Post blog, wrote:

In Avila’s apology, he admitted “his column does not represent the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the column was not authorized for publication as is required policy for staff of the USCCB.” Furthermore, he professes, “The church opposes, as I do too, all unjust discrimination and the violence against persons that unjust discrimination inspires. I deeply apologize for the hurt and confusion that this column has caused.”

Even though Avila regrets penning this column, there is little evidence that this is not part of a pattern of belief and behavior. Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out describes Avila’s “very aggressive and ambitions plans to use the Catholic Church to turn back the clock on LGBT equal rights.” For example, when Besen attended the 2011 Values Voters Summit, he filmed a speech by Avila on his iPhone that he believes reveals a substantial campaign being organized on his part and seemingly on behalf of the Catholic Church.

The brouhaha was also covered by journalist Chuck Colbert in the Rainbow Times (I love the name):

Sure enough, Avila drew vigorous responses from LGBT advocacy organizations, a mainstream Catholic worshipping community, a local priest, and gay men among the faithful in the pews.

“Avila’s bizarre theories are unscientific and defamatory,” said Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, an advocacy group based in Burlington, Vt. “Telling Catholic mothers with LGBT children that Satan entered their womb and caused their child’s homosexuality is spiritual abuse of the highest order.”

“It is outrageous for an official advisor to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to make such an appalling statement at all, much less in the approved newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston,” added John Becker, the organization’s director of communications and development.

Avila is the Marriage and Family policy advisor, a position created to support the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. The USCCB is the official lobbying arm of the hierarchy in the country.

From 1997 until earlier this year, Avila served as Policy and Research associate director for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the official lobbying arm of the local Church.

Avila holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis University, Fort Wayne, Ind., and a law degree from Valparaiso School of Law. Also located in Northern Indiana, Valparaiso University, a private, independent institution, has historic ties to the Lutheran Church.

Watch Avila’s extremism at the recent Values Voter Summit in DC, which was attended by Truth Wins Out:

Remember Daniel Avila, the Massachusetts attorney who advises the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on marriage policy (AKA how to exclude same-sex couples from marriage using any means necessary)? The one who wrote an opinion piece in the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston calling homosexuality a “natural disaster” and saying that homosexuality is caused by Satan entering the wombs of unsuspecting pregnant women and wreaking havoc with their hormones?

Well, after Truth Wins Out and others got wind of his vile comments, the story generated a bit of a firestorm. Being a former member of the Catholic Church, I knew that Avila’s words went too far even for the flagrantly homophobic American bishops. Consequently, TWO made sure our press release condemning Avila was sent directly to both the newspaper that published his remarks (the Boston Pilot) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops themselves.

Today, both the Boston Pilot and Daniel Avila issued statements apologizing for the publication of the piece, which was also removed from the newspaper’s website. Judging by the tenor of Mr. Avila’s remarks, it looks like the paper and/or the American bishops gave him quite the dressing-down. Both apologies, which can also be found here, are reprinted in full below.

From the Boston Pilot:

Editor’s Note: Daniel Avila issued the following “Retraction/Apology” Nov. 2 in regard to his opinion piece “Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction” which was published in our Oct. 28 edition. In addition to echoing Mr. Avila’s statement of regret, The Pilot also wishes to apologize for having failed to recognize the theological error in the column before publication. The Pilot has removed the column ‘Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction’ from its Website.

And the “retraction/apology” from Daniel Avila:

“Statements made in my column, ‘Some fundamental questions on same-sex attraction’ of October 28, do not represent the position of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the column was not authorized for publication as is required policy for staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The teaching of Sacred Scripture and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church make it clear that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God and have inviolable dignity. Likewise, the Church proclaims the sanctity of marriage as the permanent, faithful, fruitful union of one man and one woman. The Church opposes, as I do too, all unjust discrimination and the violence against persons that unjust discrimination inspires. I deeply apologize for the hurt and confusion that this column has caused.”

Truth Wins Out is proud to have played a part in stemming the tide of even greater anti-LGBT hostility from the leaders of the American Catholic Church.

Avila at the Values Voter Summit a few weeks ago:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Phone: 917-691-5118
Email: wbesen@truthwinsout.org

BURLINGTON, Vt – Truth Wins Out condemned Massachusetts attorney Daniel Avila today for calling homosexuality a “natural disaster” caused by Satan invading the wombs of mothers of LGBT children. Avila, who serves as Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, made the inflammatory remarks in an article for the Boston Pilot, the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. In the article, he discussed a theory that homosexuality is caused by “random imbalances in maternal hormone levels,” which he falsely labeled as “the most widely accepted scientific hypothesis.” Avila went on to say:

“…the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil. Any time natural disasters occur, we as people of faith look back to Scripture’s account of those angels who rebelled and fell from grace. In their anger against God, these malcontents prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. They continue to do all they can to mar, distort and destroy God’s handiwork.

Therefore, whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.”

“Avila’s bizarre theories are unscientific and defamatory,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Telling Catholic mothers with LGBT children that Satan entered their womb and caused their child’s homosexuality is spiritual abuse of the highest order.”

“It is outrageous for an official advisor to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to make such an appalling statement at all, much less in the approved newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston,” added John Becker, Truth Wins Out’s Director of Communications and Development. “The USCCB and the Boston Archdiocese must unequivocally condemn Avila’s bigoted remarks, or explain to LGBT Catholics and their parents why they refuse to do so.”

While the Catholic Church has increased its public anti-gay efforts in recent years, Avila’s words directly contradict those of the American Catholic Bishops in their 1997 pastoral letter entitled Always Our Children, which gave a far more nuanced view of the topic of homosexuality:

“…it seems appropriate to understand sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) as a deep-seated dimension of one’s personality and to recognize its relative stability in a person. A homosexual orientation produces a stronger emotional and sexual attraction toward individuals of the same sex, rather than toward those of the opposite sex… There seems to be no single cause of a homosexual orientation. A common opinion of experts is that there are multiple factors—genetic, hormonal, psychological—that may give rise to it. Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose.”

The bishops’ letter also told parents of gay children not to reject them in a society full of violence and discrimination, that “God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual,” and that “the Christian community should offer its homosexual sisters and brothers understanding and pastoral care.”

“There is nothing remotely understanding or caring about Avila’s anti-gay smears,” said Becker. “His statements are in direct conflict with those of the bishops he counsels, and contribute to the continued marginalization of LGBT Catholics and their families within their church communities.”

Added Besen: “If America’s Catholic bishops are looking to Daniel Avila for advice about the LGBT community, it’s no wonder that so many fair-minded people are leaving the Catholic Church for other, more reasonable and rational denominations.”

Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to create a world where LGBT individuals can live openly, honestly and true to themselves. TWO fights anti-LGBT religious extremism, monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their lies and exposes their leaders. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.

– 30 –

Daniel Avila (whom you may remember from one of Wayne’s reports from the Values Voter Summit) is the “Policy Advisor for Marriage and Family” to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage — he describes himself as “the bishops’ marriage guy.” In a recent article for the Boston Pilot, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, he discussed a theory (which he falsely labeled as “the most widely accepted scientific hypothesis”) that homosexuality is caused by “random imbalances in maternal hormone levels.” And so Mr. Avila concludes:

…the scientific evidence of how same-sex attraction most likely may be created provides a credible basis for a spiritual explanation that indicts the devil. Any time natural disasters occur, we as people of faith look back to Scripture’s account of those angels who rebelled and fell from grace. In their anger against God, these malcontents prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. They continue to do all they can to mar, distort and destroy God’s handiwork.

Therefore, whenever natural causes disturb otherwise typical biological development, leading to the personally unchosen beginnings of same-sex attraction, the ultimate responsibility, on a theological level, is and should be imputed to the evil one, not God.

Their marriage policy advisor says that homosexuality comes from Satan, but don’t you dare call them bigots!

What a disgusting slap in the face to LGBT Catholics and Catholic parents — in particular, mothers — of LGBT children. No wonder so many are leaving that church.

h/t: Bilerico’s Michael Hamar and Right Wing Watch’s Peter Montgomery.

Avila at Value Voters Summit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Becker, Director of Communications and Development
Phone: 920-265-6023
Email: john@truthwinsout.org

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Truth Wins Out, the national nonprofit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism and the “ex-gay” myth, announced today that it is sending activist John Becker to the Call to Action National Conference at Milwaukee’s Frontier Airlines Center from November 4-6. Becker conducted a recent hidden-camera sting operation that proved that the clinic run by presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, practices so-called “ex-gay” therapy.

“I’m thrilled to travel to the Call to Action conference and meet with progressive Catholics from around the country who are fed up with the aggressive anti-LGBT agenda of their religious leaders,” said Becker, Director of Communications and Development for Truth Wins Out. “In the face of unrelenting bigotry from the Catholic hierarchy, right-wing Catholic laypeople, and the Knights of Columbus, it’s critical for equality-minded Catholics to stand up for inclusive values and speak out against religious extremism.”

The Catholic Church and its affiliates vociferously push an insidious anti-gay agenda. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan was the most outspoken opponent of that state’s marriage equality law. Minnesota’s Catholic bishops are currently leading the charge to add an anti-gay amendment to the state constitution, calling the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples a “top priority” in 2012 and using tax-exempt church resources for political purposes. The Knights of Columbus bankrolls the National Organization for Marriage, a group that fights against the civil rights of LGBT people across the country. And the Catholic Church even has its own “apostolate” for gay people, called Courage, that counsels members to abandon their natural sexuality for a lifetime of celibacy and endorses the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, a leading proponent of “ex-gay” conversion therapy.

“This extremism is totally out of step with the values of the vast majority of American Catholics,” said Becker. “I look forward to introducing attendees at the Call to Action conference to the important work of Truth Wins Out and encouraging them to continue standing up for LGBT equality in their churches and dioceses.”

Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to create a world where LGBT individuals can live openly, honestly and true to themselves. TWO monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their lies and exposes their leaders. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.

– 30 –

In a harsh rebuke of the increasingly extreme United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a major Catholic health group backed the Senate’s health-care compromise on abortion. The Catholic Health Association said that the most important thing that Congress could do was pass a bill that would cover the nation’s uninsured.

Needless to say, the uncompromising, obstinate Bishops proclaimed the compromise “morally unacceptable.

I suppose the Bishops believe that leaving people uninsured to die in the cold in order to use health reform as a platform for abortion politics is the moral and ethical route.

The current crop of conservative Bishops appear hardhearted and clueless to the concerns of real people who desperately need help. They seem to believe that priestly polemics will solve the health care problem in this country.

“The Catholic Health Association does not represent the teaching of the Catholic Church on the non-negotiable defense of innocent life,” the conservative Catholic activist Deal Hudson said in a statement, calling the association’ move “utterly offensive.”

The difference between The Catholic Health Association and ideologues like Hudson, is that the hospitals actually deal with uninsured sick people. Well, Hudson and his ilk also deal with sick people – but in their case, a good shrink and medication is all that is needed.

Good for the Catholic Health Association for standing up to the extremists in the Catholic Church and the Republican Party.

In other Catholic News:

The Associated Press reports that two more Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland have resigned in the wake of a damning investigation into decades of church cover-up of child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.

The bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, offered an apology to child-abuse victims as they announced their resignations during Christmas Mass on Friday. Priests read the statement to worshipers throughout the archdiocese, home to a quarter of Ireland’ 4 million Catholics.

In his Christmas sermon, Archbishop Martin said the church for too long had placed its self-interest above the rights of its parishioners, particularly innocent children. “It has been a painful year,” he told worshipers. “But the church today may well be a better and safer place than was the church of 25 years ago ‚Äî when all looked well, but where deep shadows were kept buried.”

Of course, we know this is nonsense. Until the Catholic Church does the following, there will be abuse:

1) Allow openly gay, sexually active priests. Doing so will attract psycho-sexually healthy gay men who will not use the priesthood to hide their sexuality – and in many cases use their power to take advantage of the young and vulnerable. Out gay priests will look for age-appropriate partners.

2) Allow women into the priesthood. This would immediately break up the good old closet boys network.

3) Allow married heterosexual priests. Just as it is imperative to attract sexually mature gay people, it is just as key to attract sexually healthy heterosexuals. Having a team of immature, pent-up priests is a recipe for disaster.

Until these rule changes are made, the Vatican is just spinning us.