DignityUSA Convention 2003

Pat McArronÕs Friday Luncheon Speech

August 9, 2003

We have been provided an opportunity as never before to tap into the anger, the pain and frustration felt by so many right now. When I say opportunity I do so in a carefully chosen manner. This is not a time to take advantage of others but rather it is a time for us as Dignity to show the world and our Church that we will not sit idly by while those in positions of authority abuse it.

Our time on this planet is finite I truly believe that we have an obligation to each other to spend that time as wisely as possible. We have an obligation to love one another and love ourselves in the process.

When you have a document from a powerful and influential institution such as the Roman Catholic Church that states that we are unfit to be parents; When you have a document that states we are unfit to enter into to a union that recognizes the sanctity of our commitment to each other; when you have a document that is so vicious and filled with lies; you have a challenge to do something about it.

We all know by know that the media latched on to this latest attack from the Vatican with a vengeance. The media saw an opportunity for news and news they got. The TV, radio, newspapers have been carrying letters to editors, viewer and listener comments following all of the op-ed pieces.

Clearly following the most recent attack on our sensibilities, the work of Dignity is far from over. Our Voice is empowered and only you can help us, who serve you and your needs, only you can help us to Amplify that Voice as Sam & Peggy have said in their campaign to get your attention. If you truly believe in our mission, as glbt and straight Catholics to bring love and light to the lives of every single glbt Catholic in particular who has been harmed by so-called Church leadership, then you need to support the Voice of Dignity to keep our message loud and clear. If that sounds like I am making a pitch for your money Ð I am and I do so unabashedly. When you have served on a board of directors of virtually any non-profit organization such as Dignity you learn very quickly that it is not only your passion and talents that the organization is interested in. It is also your money. What you may not already know and need to know is that every single director serving on your board is expected to give financially to the organization to the best of their ability and every director does. In the past 12 months alone your directors have contributed tens of thousands of dollars of their own hard earned money to Dignity.

We ask you to do know less to keep our Voice in the Desert heard all across the land.

One very powerful program that Dignity sponsors on an annual basis is Solidarity Sunday, a program to end violence in particular to glbt persons. This will be our eighth year in sponsoring this program that seeks to put a stop to verbal, physical, emotional, and spiritual violence because of persons real or perceived sexual or gender orientation.

Let me take you back a few years in time to illustrate my point that the work of Dignity is far from over. When Dignity was founded in 1969 there were very few places a glbt person could turn to for a place of security and support and most of those places were bars and bath houses. Today bars and bath houses are still the norm for many a glbt person seeking love and relationship. Dignity, as we all know, grew like wildfire in those early days and for good reason. Glbt Catholics were starving for a place they could feel secure and out of harms way, a place of support Ð not condemnation, a place where we could be ourselves and feel like we are being treated as persons and not objects.

Dignity had so much to offer in those days Ð a place of worship in a Catholic Church, opportunities to meet the loves of our lives, establish life long friendships. The along came 1986 and the infamous document from the Vatican that called for a ban on Dignity in Catholic facilities across the country. The bottom dropped out of our world. The comfort zone was no longer there. The temptation then was to walk away from it all and just say to hell with you. Instead we fought back with our Voice. We said then as we say now Ð You are wrong and we wonÕt let you get away with it.

Sadly we did lose a lot of people who just could not stand to be associated with a Church that condemns and punishes. Dignity survived that initial shock of banishment. Unfortunately many people did not. Some committed suicide, and some do still as a way out of the pain and degradation. Others sought love in other places.

It was a tough time for Dignity and we rose to the challenge and we not only survived but we grew from that experience. Nearly twenty years later Dignity is alive and well and our Voice is louder than ever and yet not quite loud enough.

The Vatican, sadly, did not stop there with that document in 1986. Dignity brought attention to a growing trend in the Church that Vatican II had set into motion. The Church must change in a changing world or it will be become not only irrelevant Ð it will become an instrument of hate and discontent.

Fast forward to 2003 Ð the Thursday Document Ð clearly our work is far from over.

I have had the pleasure of serving in Dignity for 31 years with no intentions of stopping. Dignity has become for me an integral part of my life. I have a passion for the work of Dignity. I am driven by the harm that is perpetrated by an institution that is supposed to be about love and support, rather than hate and silence.

There are others among us others who have a passion for the work of justice and equality and we traditionally take time in our busy convention schedule to recognize the dedication and devotion of some of you among us. In my mind you all deserve Certificates of Recognition for what you do to bring the message of hope and healing in our troubled world.

Thank you for listening and thank you for not giving up and giving in. Our cause is just and we have many allies who share our passion for love and laughter over pain and tears.

You are the best. Thank you.