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A Catholic Defense of Same Sex Marriage

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The Call to Wed: Why Catholics Should Celebrate Same Sex Marriage

Submitted by dignityusa on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 17:25

by Patricia Beattie Jung

The contemporary debate about same sex marriage has created a wonderful opportunity for all Christians – whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or straight – to think about why we celebrate marriage. Only when we are clear about what it is that Christian couples do when they marry can we address the question of whether the church should continue to bless only heterosexual partnerships. Ultimately all decisions about the form(s) marriage should take hinge decisively on foundational judgments about the purpose(s) of marriage. For Christians, such normative claims about the purpose(s) of marriage are deeply embedded in our faith convictions about God’s designs for and work in the world. So at bottom our question is really quite clear: from a Christian theological perspective, what is marriage for?

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Same-Sex Marriage

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Searching their souls: Can church include transgendered?

Submitted by dignityusa on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 17:19

It began innocuously enough when the incoming priest at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Student Center at Drake University noticed a piece of paper on a copy machine in the parish office.

On it was a counselor's authorization of hormone therapy for a transgendered person about to undergo a sex change. On a letterhead that included the center's name and address.

What came quickly after is changing a community:

Rest of the story can be found in the Des Moines Register

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Transgendered

Sponsor a Board Member!

Submitted by dignityusa on Fri, 01/01/2010 - 10:59

At its last meeting this fall, DignityUSA’s National Board decided to begin raising funds to help defray the cost of traveling for our Board members. As many of you might know, due to the financial stress DignityUSA has experienced in the past few years, we have been asking our National Board members to pay for their own expenses when we meet in person, three times a year. Depending on where the Board member lives and where the meeting is taking place, the cost of airfare, hotel, meals, and incidentals can easily run over $1,000 per trip. Read more »

Two New Committees Forming

Submitted by dignityusa on Fri, 01/01/2010 - 10:53

DignityUSA is forming two new volunteer committees: Transgendered Committee and Technology Committee.

Transgendered Committee

A volunteer Transgender Committee within DignityUSA is in the formation stage as we close out 2009. It is the fruition of the Transgender programming during DignityUSA’s 40th Anniversary Convention in July 2009 in San Francisco. Read more »

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FEBRUARY 7, 2010: FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Readings:

Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8

I Corinthians 15:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

Few biblical passages are more important than “call narratives.” From Yahweh’s call to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12 to Jesus’ gospel calls of his disciples. When the original readers of Scripture heard the word “call” in any writing, their ears perked up and they listened intently. Long before Jesus’ followers separated themselves into clergy and laity, all who followed Yahweh and/or Jesus were convinced they, like their biblical counterparts, had also been called.
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February 2010 Dateline

On this Valentine’s Day, DignityUSA recommits itself to our part in the struggle to achieve full equality for same-sex couples and couples with at least one transgender member. We will continue to educate Catholics about the need for marriage equality, and we continue our spiritual celebrations of the love and commitment these couples share. We are absolutely committed to full equality for us as individuals and for those in loving relationships, both in civil society and in our Church. And on Valentine’s Day, we honor and celebrate all of our members and friends, gay and straight, who strive to live in love every day.

Marianne Duddy-Burke

Execitove Director, DignityUSA

Dateline File:

February 2010 Dateline

4th Quarter 2009 QV - Quarterly Voice

The great Italian poet Dante said, “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of moral crisis remain neutral.” Dignity cannot remain true to its Statement of Position and Purpose and remain silent on issues of great concern to the women of our Church: full inclusion in all the sacraments of the Church. Today, this is increasingly being realized through the “valid but illicit” ordination of women as priests. As I write this, communities of women religious are under investigation by Rome. They largely perceive this as hostile.

The repression of the feminine (misogyny) is a key source of this theological dysfunction. It is at the core of the shaming of homosexuality and the exclusion of women from ordination. Women have been our allies in the last 40 years as we have fought for our full inclusion. They need our support and welcome now. DignityUSA suffers from what the Church does—under-representation of the feminine perspective. We are 80% male. We all recognize the problem. We all lament the lack of women, but we keep doing the same things. It is past time to do something different.

DignityUSA President Mark Matson in
"DignityUSA Adopts More Inclusie Mission Statement"

Quarterly Voice File:

4th Quarter 2009 QV - Quarterly Voice

Vision Statement

DignityUSA envisions and works for a time when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality, and as beloved persons of God participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society.