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Reflections From St. Patrick’s (by Matthew Beams)

by Guest Blogger

Dec 15, 2008 12:27 PM

December 10, 2008 was the 60th anniversary of the U.N.‘s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In conjunction with this I stood in a rally, along with members from Dignity/NewYork and DignityUSA outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral to protest the Vatican’s opposition to a European Union resolution being introduced to the UN that would urge all nations to abolish laws that make it illegal to be gay. There are currently 70 nations in the world in which it is illegal simply to be LGBT. In 12 of those countries a person can be executed for being gay. Why would the Vatican oppose this? Oppose! Not even step out of the argument, but to actually speak out in opposition to the rights and lives of human beings is the opposite of the teachings of Jesus Christ.  I grew up Roman Catholic in a town in New Jersey where I actually had a relatively good experience. When I was in 9th grade I went on a retreat with my church youth group during which the pastor came to hear confession. You know how retreats are—they break down barriers—and I somehow felt safe enough to confess my sin of homosexuality to my pastor. Shockingly, he told me that, while he knew the church’s teaching stated that it was a sin to act on homosexuality, he believed that God created us each of as we are and that I should not be afraid or ashamed of being gay. Then we moved on to my more mundane sins. It was liberating and freeing, but of course, The Church told otherwise, so I didn’t feel completely absolved.  Over the course of my life I drifted away from church and didn’t really come back to the fold until a couple of years ago. Now I attend a big Protestant church in NYC that is not just accepting but affirming of LGBT people (http://www.marblechurch.org) and my journey as a follower of Christ has amazed me, strengthened me, confused me, empowered me, and wrecked me. As I feel called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, I find myself looking at my actions in a whole new light. This is difficult stuff.