Gay and lesbian Catholics should be welcomed in church, says bishop

Published: 2005-06-02

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CNS) -- Memphis Bishop J. Terry Steib, writing in a column for his diocesan newspaper, urged Catholics in his diocese to welcome gay and lesbian Catholics into the church. The bishop said he recently met with gay and lesbian Catholics who describe their Catholicism as "at the core of who they are," but who also said they are unsure of their place in church. He also met with parents of gay and lesbian Catholics who expressed concern that their children were unwelcome at church and said they see their children's loneliness "as no one else sees it." The bishop wrote in the May 19 issue of The West Tennessee Catholic, "As I listened, I could not help wondering: How deep is our river of faith if we are not actively working to be sure that all are welcome in their own home -- the home given to each of us when we became members of God's family through baptism?" The bishop urged Catholics to realize they are "called to be church to one another, to be God's family to one another," and in that role they need to "help each other grow into the home we will share in heaven."

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