<p> From Echo Magazine: <a href=http://www.echomag.com/news10.cfm>http://www.echomag.com/news10.cfm</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p> <strong>Local LGBT Catholic group finds hope in national <nobr><a class=FAAdLink href=# id=FALINK_1_0_0>survey</a></nobr></strong><br /> By Glenn Gullickson</p> <p> Members of a local LGBT Catholic organization say that the results of a national survey show that the <nobr><a class=FAAdLink href=# id=FALINK_3_0_2>leadership</a></nobr> of the church is out of touch with its members on gay issues.</p> <p> &ldquo;The average person in the pews is far ahead of the hierarchy of the church&rdquo; said the Rev. Mark Elliott Newman president of Dignity/Arizona. &ldquo;Gay marriage is being accepted.&rdquo;</p> <p> He called the survey &ldquo;an encouraging indication of change in the church.&rdquo; It shows that a majority of Catholics support same-sex marriage workplace non-discrimination and adoption by same-sex parents.</p> <p> Dignity/Arizona the local chapter of a national group has no relationship with the Diocese of Phoenix led by Bishop Thomas Olmsted who has been hostile to the LGBT community.</p> <p> The group offers a weekly mass which is regularly attended by 10 to 20 people said Newman who is affiliated with the independent Catholic Church of Antioch.</p> <p> The Dignity/Arizona service is a traditional mass but informal with those attending sitting in a semi-circle around the altar according to Elinor Crocker who serves as the group&rsquo;s treasurer. She said those attending observe the traditional &ldquo;kiss of peace&rdquo; by hugging one another.</p> <p> Four pastors take turns leading the services including the Rev. Elaine Groppenbacher who was ordained last year in the Guardian Angles Catholic Community a group independent of the Roman Catholic Church.</p> <p> Groppenbacher said she&rsquo;s informed about how to pastor by the &ldquo;sense of the faithful&rdquo; the doctrinal truth recognized by the congregation. &ldquo;Many people in the pew are pretty practical&rdquo; she said.</p> <p> <nobr><a class=FAAdLink href=# id=FALINK_2_0_1>Birth control</a></nobr> is an example of where the faithful have decided an issue in opposition to their leadership Crocker noted.</p> <p> Crocker who has a gay child said she&rsquo;s been involved with Dignity groups since 1978 elsewhere in the United States before she moved to Phoenix. &ldquo;I opted to try to change the church&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I do think the church will change.&rdquo;</p> <p> She said she is not surprised by the findings of the survey of Catholics. &ldquo;More and more people are realizing that gay is not a monster&rdquo; Crocker said.</p> <p> But the Roman Catholic hierarchy can have a vested interest in preserving the status quo fearing loss of power and prestige that could come with admitting they&rsquo;ve been wrong Newman said.</p> <p> &ldquo;Doctrine should never be static&rdquo; Newman said. &ldquo;Our understanding should always be evolving.&rdquo;</p> <p> Outreach by the Roman Catholic Church to the LGBT community varies depending on the diocese but Groppenbacher said there&rsquo;s been little support locally while Olmstead has been in charge and he seems unlikely to change.</p> <p> &ldquo;He stands by his convictions&rdquo; Groppenbacher said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not wishy-washy.&rdquo;<br /> Newman said that for their own protection some gay priests have disassociated themselves from the local Dignity group.</p> <p> Dignity/Arizona would perform commitment ceremonies but no one has asked for one Newman said. Some couple attending local services have been married in jurisdictions where&rsquo;s it&rsquo;s legal he said.</p> <p> Organized in 1977 Dignity/Arizona has a role in the independent Catholic movement by offering &ldquo;a new way of being Catholic&rdquo; Groppenbacher said.</p> <p> &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a huge role for a worship community like Dignity&rdquo; Groppenbacher said. &ldquo;There are a lot of people in the margins.&rdquo;</p> <p> But she acknowledged that it can be a defining moment for someone to step away from the established church. Some people attend Dignity services as well as services at the traditional church.</p> <p> &ldquo;There is diversity within the Catholic Church&rdquo; Newman said. For those faithful to the Catholic tradition he said Dignity offers support and fellowship. &ldquo;We would join them in their journey&rdquo; Newman said.</p> <p> Dignity/Arizona conducts mass at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Church of the Beatitudes 555 W. Glendale Ave. Phoenix.</p> <p> Crocker said those attending go to dinner after mass. They also have other social activities including potlucks and movie gatherings.</p> <p> For more information visit <a href=http://www.dignityusa.org/chapter/dignityarizona target=_blank>www.dignityusa.org/chapter/dignityarizona</a>. -E</p> <p> <strong>Survey of Catholics on gay issues</strong></p> <p> 74 percent of American Catholics believe gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry or form civil unions.</p> <p> 73 percent favor laws that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gays.</p> <p> 63 percent support allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.</p> <p> 60 percent support allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children.</p> <p> &mdash; Survey done by the Public Religion Research Institute</p>