Action Alert: The Pilot in Boston article by Michael Pakaluk

June 10, 2010

by

DignityUSA

<p> The June 4 2010 issue of &quot;The Pilot&quot; *the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston* contains an article on the &ldquo;danger&rdquo; of allowing children of same-sex couples to attend Catholic schools. The offensive and irresponsible language of this article have no place in a Catholic paper. We urge you to <a href=mailto:letters!@thebostonpilot.com>write or call the Pilot&rsquo;s leadership</a> (phone: (617) 746-5889 ext. 5) and demand an apology for this article request that they run a piece supportive of enrolling gay and lesbian couples&rsquo; children and also to let them know that Michael Pakaluk should no longer be provided a platform for his consistently hateful writings.<a href=mailto:executivedirector@dignityusa.org> Marianne Duddy-Burke</a> would appreciate getting copies of any letters. You can send them to her at <a href=mailto:executivedirector@dignityusa.org>executivedirector@dignityusa.org</a>.</p> <p> In the <a href=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/10/firestorm_over_piece_on_gays_in_catholic_paper/>Boston Globe</a> Marianne Duddy-Burke was quoted as saying&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I think this is an absolutely appalling piece. I think it&rsquo;s incredibly irresponsible for a Catholic newspaper to allow such hateful and insupportable claims to be made in their paper.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p> <p> Sue O&#39;Connell co-Publisher of <a href=http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=opinion&amp;sc=editorial&amp;sc2=news&amp;sc3=&amp;id=106728>Bay Windows</a> New England&#39;s largest LGBT newspaper stated &quot;What he wrote is vile. That it was published by <em>The Pilot</em> is hurtful to all children.&quot;</p> <p> Since the article appeared controversy has been building and the story is breaking in Boston-area TV stations. On June 9th the Pilot&#39;s editor Antonio M. Enrique issued <a href=http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=11958>this statement</a> in response to building criticism saying &quot;The tone of the piece was strong and we apologize if anyone felt offended by it....Mr. Pakaluk&rsquo;s column as is the case with other opinion pieces does not necessarily represent a specific position or endorsement of The Pilot or the Archdiocese.&quot; &nbsp;</p> <p> WBZ Talk Radio in Boston has <a href=http://www.wbz.com/topnews/Church-newspaper-apologizes-over-gay-parent-articl/7438634>these</a> audio clips with Marianne Duddy-Burke and Michael Pakaluk discussing the column&#39;s implications and WCVB (The Boston Channel) featured Marianne Duddy-Burke and her partner Becky discussing the column&#39;s reception in <a href=http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/23862988/index.html>this</a> clip from 9 June news.</p> <!--break-->