Grace under fire

When Mari Moreno moved to the West Coast from the South more than 12 years ago she hoped to find a place where she could continue to nourish her religious development. Magnetically, she was pulled to its door steps as she drove through St. Matthew’s Parish in Long Beach.
“I said, ‘That’s the church I need to go to,’” said Moreno, a local middle school teacher. “I don’t even know how I found the church. I think the church found me.”
Rev. Gerald Meisel, who advised her to join Comunidad (Community in Spanish), confirmed her notion. Comunidad is a Catholic outreach that ministers to gays and lesbians.
“(Comunidad) seemed to go with my spiritual growth,” Moreno said.
St. Matthew’s is one of seven of the 283 parishes in the Los Angeles diocese that have agreed to host similar ministries. About 30 to 50 people show up the first Tuesday of every month to share their experiences, announcements, receive guidance from guest speakers and participate in church-related activities such as the reenactment of the apparitions of the Lady of Guadalupe celebrated Dec. 12, a Mexican icon believed to be the Virgin Mary.
Comunidad co-chair Ray Ramirez says the ministry reflects his heritage.
“It is the faith of my parents, grandparents and sisters,” Ramirez, 57, said. “I feel at home with my Roman Catholic faith tradition.”
Comunidad was born in 1986, when the archdiocese decided not to allow the use church property and exclusive mass for DignityUSA, an organization of LGBT Catholics that publicly condoned sexual relations of homosexuals. The then Archbishop Roger Mahony (now cardinal) asked parishes if they would host an outreach ministry for the gay and lesbian community. St. Matthew’s was one of the first to accept the invitation.
“The good news is for all human beings regardless of color, sex or race,” said Rev. Guillermo Rodriguez, the parish pastor. “No church can refuse a homosexual for being a homosexual.”
Admittedly, controversy also looms on the parish, which is about 70 percent Hispanic. The some congregants oppose the presence of Comunidad. Rodriguez attributes that rejection to the clash of male chauvinism prevalent in Hispanic cultures and church tradition.
As the pastor of the parish, his role on the issue can be complicated, he said. On one hand, he understands that the gays and lesbians need acceptance and compassion, and on the other, he is charged with upholding Catholic tradition, which views homosexual sex as premarital sex and recognizes only marriage between opposite sex couples.
“You can have the feelings but you can’t practice it,” Rodriguez said. “Mi responsibility is to make clear the principles and values in which we believe. Individuals, in their conscience, have the last word.”
Recently, gay and lesbian parishioners expressed their discontent toward the pastor for printing statements from the Catholic Bishops of California on St. Matthew’s newsletter. The statements were titled, “Traditional Marriage is the Foundation of Society,” “Marriage Pre-exists Church and Government,” and “Marriage and the Well Being of Children.” Some threatened to stop participating in church activities and request that others follow in economically boycotting the parish.
But you don’t change minds and hearts by being separate, said Steven Nadolny, former co-chairman of Comunidad and former Dignity member. Yet, he admits that although his faith has never wavered, Roman Catholic policies are challenging
“My relationship with God was never an issue,” said Naldony, 47. “(But) it is difficult to want to remain in a church that is basically spending megabucks to say that my love isn’t as good as theirs.”
Why do many of Catholics maintain their religion? Historically the Catholic Church tends to change from the ground up versus from the pope down, Naldony said.
Ramirez likens his participation to his American citizenship.
“I have every right to participate because of my baptismal right,” Ramirez said. “I may not agree with everything that happens in Washington (D.C.) but I’m not going to give up my American citizenship.”
Moreover, there is more to being a Catholic than what happens behind the closed doors, Moreno said.
“My sexuality is not something I can choose,” she said. “It is a gift; a very small gift of the great gifts we are given as human beings. If we limit ourselves in focusing on the one gift of a person then we forget to see all their beauty.”

Comunidad meets the first Tuesday of each month at St. Matthew’s Parish, 672 Temple Ave. in Long Beach.
Details: visit www.comunidadlb.org

For information about Dignity visit: www.dignityusa.org