[Catholic Caucus] Atlanta’s Archbishop Hartmayer Launches LGBTQ+ Commission to Improve Understanding

Skip to comments.

Posted on 11/19/2024 2:48:53 PM PST by ebb tide

The Archdiocese of Atlanta has formed pastoral commission intended to “better listen to members” of the LGBTQ+ community, according to archdiocesan newspaper The Georgia Bulletin.

The archdiocese’s Restorative Justice Ministry will coordinate the LGBTQ+ Pastoral Affairs Commission, saying the advisory commission will be “dedicated to better understanding the realities and pastoral needs of LGBTQ+ Catholics in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.”

The Georgia Bulletin published articles about the initiative at the same time as the announcement, including an interview with the founder of a Catholic support group for the families of LGBTQ+ people.

Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., launched the LGBTQ+ pastoral commission with an announcement at the priests’ convocation earlier this fall. Hartmayer explained that he started the commission to “allow a broader and an ongoing dialogue” with members of the LGBTQ+ community, and to “better minister to those with same-sex attraction, as well as their families and friends, often referred to as allies.”

Hartmayer said that church documents consistently affirm the dignity of every individual, including LGBTQ+ people. He referenced the 1997 document “Always Our Children” from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explaining the church’s mission to convey “words of faith, hope, and love.”

“I pray that through the creation of this commission we will all come to a better understanding of and respect for each other,” said the archbishop. “After all, we are all children of God, brothers and sisters on this journey.”

The group will concentrate on “synodal listening and restorative approaches” to cultivate a welcoming ministry. Its aim, according to the archdiocesan office, is to create “a stronger, more resilient community of faith where everyone feels they belong.”

Kathy Farrell, a co-founder of Fortunate & Faithful, a local network of parents with LGBTQ+ people, is one of the people interviewed by the archdiocesan newspaper. Farrell, who now serves as the group’s spiritual director, said she co-founded the ministry when her son came out as gay:

“‘Our agenda is to love our children, help them to know that they are loved by God and to keep families together and hopefully in the church.'”

Fortunate & Faithful is a lay-led ministry supporting families and the LGBTQ+ community by offering retreats, workshops, and guidance for parents who may feel uncertain after their children come out.

Farrell is “thrilled” about the recent formation of Hartmayer’s pastoral commission. She stated:

“‘[It is] a wise and compassionate response to the voices of LGBTQ persons and families during the synod listening process. Many have felt excluded and misunderstood, and restorative justice is such a positive position from which to rebuild bridges of respect, compassion and sensitivity.'”

Farrell sees no conflict between the sexual orientation of her children and her identity as a Catholic:

“‘I’ve said it to Archbishop Hartmayer, if I were given a choice of you’ve got to either love your church or love your child, but you can only love one, I would have to choose my child. If I don’t love my own child, am I following Jesus Christ?'”

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.

What more do they need to understand about a sin that cries to Heaven?

1 posted on 11/19/2024 2:48:53 PM PST by ebb tide

To: Al Hitan; Fedora; irishjuggler; Jaded; kalee; markomalley; miele man; Mrs. Don-o; ...

Barf Alert

2 posted on 11/19/2024 2:49:43 PM PST by ebb tide ("The Spirit of Vatican II" is nothing more than a wicked "ideology" of the modernists.)

To: ebb tide

3 posted on 11/19/2024 2:57:18 PM PST by Restless

To: ebb tide

4 posted on 11/19/2024 2:57:30 PM PST by irishjuggler

To: ebb tide

5 posted on 11/19/2024 2:59:22 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson