letter to the editor from our friend Anthony M. Brown

Pittsburgh tribune

Gays & the church

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

On Dec. 29, 2007, the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Greensburg introduced its support for an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to limit marriage to different-gender couples only.
My husband was attending services with his parents, as we were visiting from our home in New York. The angry homily made it sound like gay people were literally attacking Catholics.

As a gay man who has been partnered for 19 years, married in Canada in 2005 and parent of a 2-year-old, I can tell you that we are not attacking Catholics or marriage.

We don't want anything more than what all other committed couples have: the tax, health, pension, visitation and death protections that are a part of marriage. These are not special rights. They are protections offered by the government, not the Catholic Church.

What's worse, however, is that the Catholic Church does not understand the effect that its message has on younger people. Gay teens are three times more likely to attempt and commit suicide than non-gay teens.
Spiritual intolerance is an oxymoron. It's time for the Catholic Church to reach out to its gay and lesbian members, not marginalize them.

Anthony M. Brown
New York