Politics of religion
I am writing this letter hoping for of beginning a discussion on the ethics of politics, or is there such a thing. Can ethics have any place in our political discussion, or is that just wishful thinking? Wishful thinking or not, I believe such a discussion is worthwhile because of the Chicago aldermanic elections that are on the horizon. In my opinion, we can always raise the political benchmark.
The two aldermanic races I wish to look at Feb. 24 involve two white gay men: Ald. James Cappleman of the 46th Ward, and Ald. Tom Tunney of the 44th Ward. While Tunney appears to be a shoo-in, Cappleman's race is much tighter.
Both aldermen are Roman Catholic. Both seem to be fair-weather Catholics, in my opinion. Both remained silent while Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel shepherded a city award to Cardinal Francis George. As for Tunney's actions during the whole minimum-wage debate, he acts if the there is no such thing as the working poor when it comes to the LGBT community.
During the statewide debate on same-sex marriage, both acted like the Catholic Church was a friend and ally of Chicago's LGBT community, as exmeplified by Tunney's secret meeting with the Pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to change the Pride Parade route, and the silence when it came to making public statements about George's homophobic attacks on our community.
When George compared the gay-rights movement to the behavior of the Ku Klux Klan, neither could be heard speaking up for justice for the LGBT community.
There appears to be a mindset developed by these two separate alderman that advocating for a minority community is alright as long it is not the LGBT Community, both seem to be sensitive to publicly aligning themselves with advocacy for the LGBT Community in their public comments.
Walking the talk is always difficult when it comes to justice in various minority communities. While I recognize that living out ethics and justice is at times difficult, both men claim to be people of faith, based on that call both are called to live out the Sermon on the Mount. Even Pope Francis has been proclaiming the Church of the poor, and I am sure he would also support the minimum wage bill that Tunney opposed.
I understand both aldermen have responsibilities to support all the voters of their respective wards, but such support should not come by shutting out the LGBT community, and their concerns.
I believe the question that voters in both wards have to face is if can they do better in selecting their alderman based on ethics—or if that's a concept so far removed from the political geography of the 44th and 46th wards when it comes to voting that it is useless to even attempt a course correction.
Clearly, both alderman have challenges living out our understandings of moral and ethical behavior when it comes to creating a critical political edge. That is the singular reason why I think this conversation is so germane to current political environment.
As a Roman Catholic and a voter, I think these are valid questions—and they're not unreasonable ask of both Tunney and Cappleman, because both of have been known to play the religious card when needed.
Joe Murray
Chicago
Response to Letter to the Editor of Dec. 31, 2014
DignityUSA and Dignity/Chicago are delighted to have the opportunity to respond to the letter "Grant and rave" published in the December 31, 2014 edition of Windy City Times. [See www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/LETTERS-Grants-slippery-slopes-Honoring-Goerge/50114.html . ] The Rainbow Sash Movement has raised some concerns about the efficacy of Catholic advocacy organizations receiving funding from gay-oriented foundations. I am very pleased to say that such concerns are mis-guided. Grants received from the Arcus Foundation, the Gill Foundation and others, as well as thousands of individual supporters, have been crucial to DignityUSA's ability to live out its mission to seek justice and equality in church and society for LGBTQI Catholics and our allies.
Here is some background:
- DignityUSA has been doing the work of advancing respect and inclusion for all LGBTQI Catholics since 1969.
- Throughout DignityUSA's history, the vast majority of its funds have come from individual Catholics supportive of our mission of achieving equality for LGBTQI Catholics. Even with the grant funds we have received in recent years, this remains true.
- DignityUSA is proud that some philanthropic organizations have seen the value of our work and chosen to support it. Their generosity has provided resources that strengthened work we were already doing.
- DignityUSA has openly reported this funding, with pride. More information can be found at the DignityUSA web site (www.dignityusa.org) for those who are interested in seeing the impact this funding has had on DUSA's ability to do its work.
I can personally testify to the intent and purpose of the Arcus Foundation funding. From 2009-2010, under the sponsorship of the Arcus Foundation, I facilitated a group of LGBTQI and aligned Catholic leaders, theologians and activists in the development of a five year strategic plan to advance change in the theology and structures of the Catholic Church so that it fully affirms the dignity and value of all LGBTQI people, and supports the full inclusion of all who have been marginalized by the Church's destructive and harmful teaching and practices around sexuality. An immediate result of that strategic plan was the formation of the Equally Blessed Coalition that includes DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, New Ways Ministry, and Call to Action, all long-standing and effective organizations and leaders in the progressive movement within the Catholic Church.
Recognizing the opportunity and benefit of the Arcus Foundation's commitment to advancing change in faith-based communities and leaders who are not supportive of LGBTQI equality, the newly formed Equally Blessed Coalition immediately engaged in the process of applying for, and consequently receiving, a series of grants. These funds have enabled the coalition members to, among other things, document the Knights of Columbus' investment of more than $6 million in anti-marriage equality efforts, send a group of participants to World Youth Day to witness to the role of LGBTQI Catholics in the Church, and begin networking with LGBTQI Catholic groups across the globe. Note that many of the coalition's efforts have been directed to "Catholics in the pews." We can testify to their efforts to advance dialog in their parishes and with their local bishops, as a direct result of the work of our coalition members and the funding we've received from Arcus.
Also to be clear and factual, at no time did any leader of the Dignity/Chicago Chapter or DignityUSA speak to a representative of the Rainbow Sash Movement about these specific concerns. We are happy to have a conversation with anyone who is interested in the work Dignity/Chicago, DignityUSA or Equally Blessed is doing to impact equality and justice in the Roman Catholic Church.
Funding for work at the intersection of religion and sexuality is rare and we are most grateful that foundations like Arcus and Gill see the value of our mission and are willing to contribute to this vital cause.
Chris Pett
Dignity Chicago Past President
Member of the Board of Directors, DignityUSA
Send letters to Andrew@WindyCityMediaGroup.com . Letters may be edited for brevity or clarity.
