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News Archive (2009)

DignityUSA Adopts More Inclusive Mission Statement

Submitted by matsonm on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 19:56

By Mark Matson, President of DignityUSA

At the October 2009 DignityUSA Board Meeting held in Minneapolis, the DignityUSA Board of Directors unanimously adopted a reworded Mission Statement that is more inclusive, more reflective of reality, and more forward-thinking than the former Mission Statement.

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DignityUSA: Roman Catholic? LGBT-focused?

Submitted by dignityusa on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 13:30

By Daniel Helminiak

DignityUSA is probably stronger than ever. The superb work of a paid staff and talented Board has given Dignity the stability, efficiency, and competence to be a powerful voice for change. Yet one uncertainty continues to becloud the organization: there is no consensus on what its work should be. Thus, Dignity’s impact is scattered, fragmented, and diluted.

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DignityUSA Statement on World AIDS Day 2009

Submitted by dignityusa on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 14:04

DignityUSA once again joins with individuals and organizations across the globe to mark World AIDS Day. Today, we recall the 24 million individuals throughout the world whose lives have been cut short by this disease, and we reflect on the people left behind--orphaned children, beloved partners, bereft parents, siblings, family and friends. Read more »

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What qualifies priests to preach about marriage?

External Link: 
Read more of Norma's letter to the editor

Editor's Note:  This is an letter to the editor written by a member of Dignity/Columbus:

All the Catholic priests in Ohio called to a two-day convocation on marriage. Wow! According to two Dispatch articles of Nov. 6, "Help for modern marriages" and "Priests seek ideas to help newlyweds," this conference, part of a national effort to strengthen marriage, offered "speeches from clergy, theologians and academics with advice."

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NCROnline Blog: Study: No link between gay priests and sex abuse scandal

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Click Here to read the entire blog by Thomas C. Fox

It has been so unfair. Elements in our Catholic community have repeatedly placed the blame of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked our church at the feet of a gay clergy.

It has been a case of guilty until proven innocent. 

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Catholic Reform Leaders Call for an Inclusive Pastoral on Marriage

Submitted by dignityusa on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 18:20

At its annual fall meeting from November 16 19, 2009, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is expected to review a new pastoral letter pertaining to marriage. In a statement to the bishops, Catholic reform leaders call upon them to create a pastoral that addresses the real needs of Catholics in the United States: Read more »

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Gay Catholic group urges D.C. to defy church

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Read more at DC Agenda

The gay Catholic group Dignity USA is urging the D.C. City Council to reject a demand by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington that it amend a pending same-sex marriage bill to allow its charitable arm to discriminate against gay employees.

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Our auction date is fast approaching!

Submitted by dignityusa on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 19:25

Just in time for your fabulous Holiday shopping The Fall Fling opens for bidding on November 21, 2009 at 8:00 AM EST Time. Read more »

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DignityUSA’s Transgender Day of Remembrance

Submitted by dignityusa on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:09

By Fredrikka Joy Maxwell, a DignityUSA member from Nashville, Tennessee

Do you know that more than 434 tramsgender people have been killed around the world so far this year, and those are just the ones we know about? That's according to the website www.Transgenderdor.org which keeps track of such statistics. All those people will be memorialized at the Tramsgender Day of Remembrance as celebrated in local communities on or about November 20, 2009. Read more »

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A Boomer’s Thanksgiving Prayer

Submitted by matsonm on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:04

Creator God,

It took me far too long to get it, but my eyes and ears are wide open now. I get it now. My difference is not a curse, it is my richest blessing. You must delight in ironies — the last shall be first; the meek shall inherit the earth, and so forth. In my early years, all I wanted was to fit in. But I was made different from most around me. Only You really know how often I wondered what I had done to deserve this intrinsic difference. My Church called it “evil”. My friends called it “queer”. My parents called it nothing at all. They didn’t even want to think about it. See? See how I used to think about my sexuality as an “it”? I think it is called “disassociation”. “It” was the source of so much pain growing up. How could I have known then what a gift my sexuality would be? A different gift? An unusual gift? A rare gift? A priceless gift? Your gift? Read more »

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