Chicago Cardinal Compares Pride Parade to Ku Klux Klan

[doggie]

ardinal Francis George expressed opposition to a planned route that will take the Chicago Gay Pride Parade in front of one of the city’s oldest Catholic churches, warning that marchers could “morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan.â€

Cardinal George spoke Wednesday in an interview with Fox News. He expressed support for Father Thomas Strenn, pastor of Our Lady Mount Carmel church on West Belmont, who said that the presence of the parade, held the last Sunday in June, would be a “sad thing†that could interfere with the mass schedule.

"You don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism,†said Cardinal George.

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News ... Klux_Klan/

Earlier this year, the 2012 parade route was changed and the start time backed to 10 a.m. to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people and concerns about public drinking. On Thursday, however, parade organizers agreed to push the start time back to noon, its original time.

LGBT advocates took offense at the Cardinal’s remarks, according to ChicagoPride.com. Greg Harris, an openly gay state representative whose district includes the parade route, said, “I think the Cardinal's remarks were inappropriate and disrespectful. We should always treat each other with respect, even when we disagree."

The Gay Liberation Network, issued a statement that said, "In comparing LGBT rights advocates to the KKK, the Cardinal shows he is not honest man of faith trying to better the world, but rather, a mendacious one trying to deflect criticism of church policies that promote discrimination. It is ironic that George chooses to mention the KKK, as they are but one of the most extreme examples of organizations which have used religion to shield themselves from criticism of their hateful policies. While an overwhelming majority of lay Catholics support equality for women and LGBTs, the Catholic leadership has a history and present practice of discrimination which they apparently will go to quite extreme lengths to defend."

[debrand]

The Cardinal's ignorance makes my head hurt.

[Nothing2CHere]

While an overwhelming majority of lay Catholics support equality for women and LGBTs, the Catholic leadership has a history and present practice of discrimination which they apparently will go to quite extreme lengths to defend.

[valsa]

He's right, of course. As a lesbian I often think back on those dark days when we gays lynched Catholics if they so much as looked at a gay person across the street.

[NurseNell]

If every LGBT individual left the Catholic Church the Church couldn't function.

[lizzy]

The KKK statement is a bit much. But, I imagine the LGBT community would see a Corpus Christi procession through Boystown as deliberately provocative as the Catholic Church sees a gay pride parade in front of their chuches on Sunday morning.

[valsa]

But, I imagine the LGBT community would see a Corpus Christi procession through Boystown as deliberately provocative as the Catholic Church sees a gay pride parade in front of their chuches on Sunday morning.

Apples and oranges. Boystown is a gay community. The pride parade happens to be going past a church. If a gay group compared a Catholic parade to the KKK just because they happened to march past a gay bar, that would be an applicable comparison.

[pomology]

I went to Chicago Pride this past year. Believe me, people are too people being fabulous to give a shit about Catholic homophobia and start, uh, what, rioting? I don't even get how this comparison could possibly make sense.

[bea]

ANd the thing was, the parade organizers were working to change the start time or the route so that the parishioners of Mt. Carmel wouldn't bee too inconvenienced. But the real issue is that the parade is going on AT ALL, for the Cardinal, so let's call those nasty gays names, that'll show them.

Mt. Carmel is IN BOYSTOWN. They cannot avoid the gays. And even with the old parade route, getting to and parking for Mass would have been hellish. This business of "oooooh, you're oppressing us by your Pride Parade" is bullshit anyway.

I'm going to be so glad when George retires, but considering our current Pope, whoever gets appointed as Cardinal Archbishop will be just as bad.

I miss Bernadin.

[PennySycamore]

If every LGBT individual left the Catholic Church the Church couldn't function.

You got that right! The priest who baptized my oldest daughter is gay. At one time, he was the associated with a chapter of DignityUSA in Washington State. One of our campus ministers at the Catholic Center in Athens, Georgia in the 70s was a lesbian. She was a layperson, but it's been estimated that one third of nuns are lesbian. I can't recall what the estimated percentage of gay priests is. The numbers don't include all the choir directors, organists, lectors, eucharistic ministers, nursery workers and just ordinary people in the pews who are LGBT.