Apr

28

Introducing the Queer Catholic Guerilla Movement

Filed Under Gossip, Religion 

Queer Catholic Guerilla Movement NewsThe Pope has come and gone from his American tour and on the surface, judging by the big media accounts, it was a roaring success. However, as usual some groups felt a little out in the cold; Women who would like a bigger role in the church and Catholic Queers for instance.

These long-suffering black sheep however are getting inspired and coming up with creative solutions to address some of the inequities they’ve been facing.

For instance, in Boston, a movement is starting to stir — It’s a Guerilla Queer Church movement.

The idea is similar to Soulforce’s ‘American Family Outing’ and of course the increasingly popular ‘Guerilla Queer Bar’ movement that’s been spreading throughout North America.

Scott D. Pomfret, author of “Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir”, explains how this taking back of catholic churches in Boston, (and other cities too when the idea spreads) would work:

“What would happen if we selected a particular parish church, one per month? All the gay Catholics would descend on it at, say, the 10AM Mass. We would sing, we would worship; we would be indistinguishable from our straight friends in the pews, except perhaps for the ferocity of our love, our kiss of peace, and the fact that we would leave petitions in the collection basket in lieu of dollars to avoid contributing to a corrupt hierarchy. We could invite members of Dignity to join us. We could invite women priests. We could bring our families, however constituted.”

“The genius of it is that this would not be an act of mere civil disobedience or profanation like ACT-UP’s spilling the Holy Eucharist at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. This would be a celebration, an exercise in ordinary worship with all its glorious earnestness, awkwardness, false starts, distractions, simplicity, ritual, incense, adoration, amazement, and radical transformation.”

Scott also says that this Guerilla Queer Church movement idea is generating a lot of interest in Boston. He’s hoping that by the end of the summer they’ll have a real movement on their hands in Boston. And he’s hoping to spread it nationwide, of course, beginning with GLBT student groups at Catholic colleges.

Related Links:

- Scott D. Pomfret: Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir
- Since My Last Confession on MySpace
- Boston Gay Catholics
- Dignity Boston
- Roman Catholic Women Priests

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