April 5, 2004

Archbishop Raymond Burke

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

4445 Lindell Blvd.

St. Louis, MO   63108

Most Reverend Archbishop,

              I have enclosed a letter that a group of us have composed.  We have subsequently collected more than one hundred signatures from people in Catholic parishes in our archdiocese who have read the letter and agree with its message.

              We would very much like to meet personally with you to begin a dialogue concerning the Church’s position on unions between homosexual persons.  We would be open to hearing your reasons for supporting this position, and would hope that you would kindly listen to our views.  We seek to find common ground and a better understanding of the will of our Church leaders, so that, in time, we may come to a less confrontational and more loving approach to our homosexual brothers and sisters and their needs.

              I would be like to be able to meet with you at your convenience.  I would be joined by no more than three others who share my concerns and desire for dialogue.  We know that you are very busy learning about your new see, and we are hopeful that you will take this opportunity to get to know us.  Although your schedule must certainly be extremely full right now, we will assume that if we do not hear from you or your office in the next two weeks that you have declined our offer to meet. 

              We look forward to seeing you, and we pray that the Holy Spirit guide you as you assume your new position here in St. Louis.

              Yours in Christ,

              (s) Joe Moramarco

December 14, 2004

Archbishop Raymond Burke,

Bishop Robert Hermann

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

4445 Lindell Blvd.

St. Louis, MO   63108

Dear Reverend Bishops,

              I have previously written to you on behalf of our group, Holy Families, who are concerned with the Church’s relationship to its gay and lesbian members.  We would like to thank you both for your openness and willingness to dialogue.  We are grateful for our first meeting with Bishop Herman, and we hope you were able to page through the scrapbook which we presented to him then.

              We wish to continue our dialogue.  Although progress was made in our first meeting, we feel there is much more to be gained on both sides.  Bishop Hermann stressed during our discussion that our Church cares deeply for its gay and lesbian members, and that it wishes to reach out to them in love and compassion.  We had hoped to impart a sense of our pain at what we perceive as the Church’s confrontational approach and language when addressing the faithful on matters dealing with gays and lesbians, but we were disappointed that Bishop Burke’s recent pastoral letter dealing with voting matters resorted to the same pattern of hurtful language regarding gays and lesbians.

              We hope to be able to meet personally with Archbishop Burke within the next six weeks.  Of course, Bishop Hermann is welcome at that meeting.  Please let me know if there is a time that you can accommodate us. 

              We look forward to meeting with you, and we pray that the Holy Spirit guide you as you lead the faithful of St. Louis.  On behalf of the over 200 persons who signed our initial letter to you, I am,

              Yours in Christ,

              (s) Joe Moramarco

June 1, 2005

Archbishop Raymond Burke

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

4445 Lindell Blvd.

St. Louis, MO   63108

Dear Archbishop Burke;

I am writing you on behalf of the Catholic Action Network for Social justice (CAN).  CAN is comprised of both lay and religious men and women and was established in 1999 to provide a voice for peace and justice in the St. Louis community.  On behalf of the Catholic Action Network of St. Louis, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to an event this Sunday, June 5th.  Please find enclosed two tickets to the viewing of a documentary film entitled “In Good Conscience: Sr. Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith”.  Sr. Jeannine’s ministry has spanned more than 20 years, providing ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics.  She has expanded her ministry to “abolish discrimination against gay people, promote reconciliation and dialogue between them and the church hierarchy, and amend Catholicism’s hostility and neglect toward gay and lesbian Catholics”.

I am also a member of Holy Families, a working group of CAN.  We had written your office last summer and were given the opportunity to dialogue with Bishop Hermann about issues concerning gay and lesbian Catholics.  Those of us who met with Bishop Hermann in August 2004 were pleased to have had the opportunity to do so and requested that the dialogue continue with the Archdiocese.  We have since written several letters to your office but have not received a response.  We would like to extend to you, our Archbishop, the opportunity to join us in the viewing of the documentary of Sr. Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith and to set a time at a later date to meet with members of Holy Families.  I know you are very busy, Archbishop Burke.  We all are.  As members of your flock, Holy Families is devoted to the teachings of Christ and respectfully requests a meeting with our shepherd.  Our mission is simple - to recognize the richness of the diverse families that God has provided to humanity, to continue Jesus’ command to love one another as He loves us, and to extend the Catholic tradition of opposing discrimination and oppression to include the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community. We are homosexual and heterosexual Catholics who unite to support our common goals of justice and understanding for all members of our Church and for the world community.

Recently, Bishop Terry Steib, S.V.D. of Memphis wrote an eloquent letter to the Diocese of Memphis announcing the beginning of a new ministry with gay and lesbian Catholics.  In his letter, Bishop Steib recounted his meeting with gays and lesbians as well as a meeting with their parents.  I urge you to read his letter which I have enclosed. 

On behalf of CAN and Holy Families, it is our hope that you will join us this Sunday for the viewing of the documentary.  We are confident that your office will continue the dialogue process with those who have been marginalized by the Church. 

In Christ’s Peace,

(s) Jane E. Levdansky

June 20, 2005 – Memorial of Anthony Turner, English Martyr

Jane E. Levdansky

(address)

Dear Jane,

I have received your letter of June 1 last, with which you enclosed two admissions for the film screening and reception, “In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith.”  I could not accept the admissions, or use them, because the work of Sister Jeannine Gramick, with regard to persons who suffer from same-sex attraction, has been judged by the highest authority of the Church to be seriously defective.  I enclose for you a copy of the Notification published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis of May 31, 1999.

I invite you to give careful study to the Notification in order to understand why it is not possible for Catholics to promote the work of Sister Jeannine Gramick as it pertains to persons who suffer from same-sex attraction.

With regard to the ministry to persons who suffer from same-sex attraction, the Archdiocese has a strong chapter of COURAGE and ENCOURAGE, by which the Church reaches out to persons who are struggling in any way with the homosexual condition.  The ministry is under the direction of Father James Knapp, S.J., and Father Ralph Houlihan, S.J.  I am certain that both Father Knapp and Father Houlihan would be very happy to visit with you and to tell you about their ministry, carried out with the full support of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis.  I enclose for you some information about COURAGE and ENCOURAGE so that you will be able to understand the outreach in which the Archdiocese has been involved for some time.

With regard to the Catholic Action Network for Social Justice and Holy Families, I must point out to you that such work will only be productive to the degree that it is faithful to the teaching of the Church.  Our compassion for our brothers and sisters who suffer from same-sex attraction is expressed by our truthfulness and by helping them to understand the doctrine of the faith and, like all of us, to struggle with whatever challenges they may have in living in Christ.

With regard to the Catholic Action Network for Social Justice, I do not believe that it is proper for the Network to use the titled “Catholic.”  I have reviewed the materials on the website for the Catholic Action Network, and find several of them to be contrary to Church teaching and discipline.  If it is the intention of the Network to remain Catholic, then the mission of the Network must be purified of those elements of dissent from Catholic teaching and practice. 

Thank you for enclosing a copy of the letter of Bishop Terry Steib, S.V.D., of Memphis.  I will be interested to learn about the ministry which he is establishing in the Diocese of Memphis.  I am confident that it will be a ministry which respects fully the truth of the Catholic faith.

Asking God’s blessing upon you, and requesting a remembrance in your prayers, I remain

Yours sincerely in Christ,

(s) + Raymond L. Burke

(Most Rev.) Raymond L. Burke

Archbishop of Saint Louis

Enclosures

Copy:  The Most Reverend Robert J. Hermann, V.G.

       The Reverend Monsignor Vernon E. Gardin, V.G.

RLB:sml

July 19, 2005

Archbishop Raymond Burke

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

4445 Lindell Blvd.

St. Louis, MO   63108

Dear Archbishop Burke:

I am writing to you on behalf of the Holy Families Committee of the Catholic Action Network , as well as the many people who have contributed to our efforts.  Last August, my husband, Joe, and my youngest daughter, Elinor (age 8), and I were honored to be  among those who met with Bishop Hermann to discuss how we can be church to one another, love one another as Jesus has commanded, and  foster ongoing communication with our local Church leaders regarding  the Church’s attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Catholics.

One of the more specific goals of that evening was to foster a better understanding of how the rhetoric of communications from Church leaders affects homosexual people and their families.  To this end, we presented Bishop Herman with our “Holy Families Scrapbook”  and asked him to share it with you.  This scrapbook was compiled  by homosexual and heterosexual Catholics alike.  Its purpose was to illustrate who Catholic homosexuals and their families and communities are:  what they look like, what they feel, how they live, what they believe.  Most importantly, it became an expression of love, the very kind of love and acceptance that is the heart of the teachings of Jesus.

To say the least, we have been disappointed.  There was no further response from the Archdiocese to continue this dialogue about love and acceptance, the insensitive rhetoric (specifically the insistence to refer to homosexuality as a “disorder” from which one “suffers”) continues, and no further mention of (or attempt to return) our Holy Families Scrapbook has been made. 

In a recent letter to Ms. Jane Levdansky of our committee, you urge us to pursue the Church’s ministries, COURAGE and ENCOURAGE.  It is my understanding that these ministries serve to “encourage” those who “suffer” to change into  persons that the Church can accept.  We believe that God loves and accepts us for who we are.  We believe that our sexual orientation is a gift from God and that it is to be honored and celebrated, just as each person is to be honored and celebrated.  Homosexual persons do not suffer from a “disorder” any more than heterosexual persons do.  To insist that our homosexual brothers and sisters need to be cured of a “disorder” is unfounded in rigorous scientific research and in Scripture.

We welcome the opportunity to continue to dialogue and find areas of commonality.  We know that the Church and our Lord Jesus loves gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual persons, and we look forward to meeting with you to discuss ways in which this community can experience that love more deeply and move away from their feelings of alienation and disapproval.

If, however, you find it impossible to open your heart to our request for further discussion, we would ask that you kindly return our scrapbook and keep us in your prayers.  You will be in ours.

With love,

(s) Sally Master

Sally Master

Holy Families Committee

Catholic Action Network

August 25, 2005 -- Solemnity of Saint Louis, King of France

Sally Master

(address)

Dear Mrs. Master,

Thank you for you letter of July 19, 2005, in which you express some of the concerns of a group you call “Holy Families Committee of the Catholic Action Network.”

You make reference to your “Holy Families Scrapbook,” the purpose of which “was to illustrate who Catholic homosexuals and their families and communities are:  what they look like, what they feel, how they live, and what they believe.”

I looked through the scrapbook.  It represents many admirable human qualities, such as love of adults and children, no matter what their sexual orientation may be.

These virtues are commendable values.  We should all share them. The Church must always show pastoral love and care to those who suffer from the homosexual condition.

That is what Bishop Hermann tried to do when he met with some members of your group last August.  He listened very carefully to what you had to say.  He understood the heartbreak of parents who found out that one of their children had experienced same sex attraction.  He was impressed with the struggle of the parents to continue to love their child, even though the child suffered from same-sex attraction.

Bishop Hermann clearly pointed out that while we can have great compassion for those who have same-sex attraction, we can never condone homosexual or lesbian sexual activity.  We are always called to love the person, and if we really love the whole person, body, soul and spirit, then we must be concerned with behaviors that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.  We must be concerned about the individual’s eternal salvation and therefore we have an obligation to give clear witness to the teachings of Scripture and of the Catholic Church.  In 1975, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a document entitled:  “Declarations on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics.”  In it the Church states:  “In Sacred Scripture they (homosexual actions) are condemned as a serious depravity and even presented as the sad consequence of rejecting God.  This judgment of Scripture does not of course permit us to conclude that all those who suffer from this anomaly are personally responsible for it, but it does attest to the fact that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and can in no case be approved of.”

From the above it is clear that the Church has a great love and concern for the person with same-sex attraction, and it wants to help that individual live a chaste life.  The Church never condemns the person because of the attraction.

Just as the Church condemns the inordinate use of alcohol, and encourages individuals with a chemical addiction to get help, especially in AA, so the Catholic Church has a great love for people with same-sex attraction and encourages them to join COURAGE, which is made up of individuals who have same-sex attraction but who know that homosexual behavior is seriously sinful, and therefore they open themselves to God’s grace, the Sacraments and the support of the group to get the help and support they need to live chaste lives.

In addition, there is ENCOURAGE a support group for parents and siblings of persons with same-sex attraction.  Through ENCOURAGE, family members are helped to be loving toward a member who suffers from same-sex attraction.  In St. Louis, we are blessed to have a chapter of both COURAGE and ENCOURAGE.

 I commend you for the strong sense of love and support you offer those who suffer same-sex attraction, but it would be wrong not to pray for and encourage such individuals to live chaste lives.  If your group can begin to focus on the virtue of chastity and therefore support in prayer those who are struggling with this virtue, then you will truly become the loving community you are called to be.  The Church truly loves you and is calling you to open yourselves up to the love of Christ which conquers all things.

If you want to learn more about the Church’s love and compassion for people who experience same-sex attraction, Bishop Hermann would be more than happy to help you.  He could even arrange for a priest chaplain of COURAGE and ENCOURAGE to come with him and explain the wonderful support that is available for those who are trying to live a chaste life.

Finally, let me say that you are in my prayers.  I know that God loves you and is calling you to a deeper understanding of that love.

Asking a remembrance in your prayers, I remain

Yours sincerely in Christ,

(s) + Raymond L. Burke

(Most Rev.) Raymond L. Burke

Archbishop of Saint Louis