Canisius College to Host Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Conference

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Sick and tragic. Protest required. I was hoping to have a somewhat relaxing day today but it’s all I can do to keep my breakfast down after seeing this.

canisius.edu/images/userImages/stfgrad/Page_7722/Brochure.pdf

Contact the Diocese:

buffalodiocese.org/

Most Reverend Edward U. Kmiec
Diocese of Buffalo
795 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203

716-847-8700

dob@buffalodiocese.org

**JOIN CATHOLICS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE POPE TO PROTEST THE JESUIT CANISIUS
COLLEGE HOSTING OF THE SECOND ANNUAL NATIONAL GAY,LESBIAN, BISEXUAL,TRANSGENDER
CONFERENCE. KEYNOTE SPEAKER WILL BE GAY ACTIVIST FR. JAMES SCHEXNAYDER. **

DATE SUNDAY JUNE 12
TIME 8;15 AM
PLACE; IN FRONT OF MONTANTE CULTURAL CENTER MAIN AND EASTWOOD STS. ON THE
CANISIUS CAMPUS.
Where’s the Dignity?
OAKLAND PRIEST ADVANCES HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA IN THE CHURCH
By Judith Martel

“We cannot allow the Religious Right to confine our sexuality to the bedroom,” Father James Schexnayder told the congregation at a Dignity Mass at Dolores Street Baptist Church immediately following the 1992 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. “Our sexuality must burst forth from the bedroom and leaven all of
society.”

As director of the Diocese of Oakland’s Task Force for Outreach to Gay and Lesbian Communities and Their Families (operated out of Catholic Charities), Fr. Schexnayder has been putting his words into action in parishes and schools throughout the diocese. For the past few years, as founder and executive director of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay
Ministries (NACDLGM), Fr. Schexnayder has been spreading his vision of Church-sanctioned homosexuality to other dioceses and other countries.

“Father Schexnayder is up to his ears in Dignity,” says one local activist who has followed Fr. Schexnayder for many years, referring to the pro-gay group Dignity, censured by the Vatican and banned from Church property because of its rejection of Church teaching on homosexuality.

As reported in the November, 1997 issue of the Faith, Alameda County real estate records reveal that Schexnayder owns an Oakland home with Mario Torrigino, Co-Chair of Dignity San Francisco until April of this year, when the group held elections. The two purchased the duplex in 1994.

Other documents connecting Schexnayder and Dignity include an October Dignity San Francisco events calendar, advertising that on October 19, 1996 Schexnayder conducted a retreat titled “Engaging Our Gifts: A Journey Toward Action.” He
also wrote an article in the December 1992/January 1993 edition of the Dignity SF newsletter, Bridges, discussing the “pastoral plan for our chapter.” (In a phone conversation with Fr. Schexnayder on November 26, he stated that the 1996
retreat was an Oakland diocesan event, and he is not responsible for Dignity announcing it in their newsletter. When asked about his article in the 1992 Dignity San Francisco newsletter, Schexnayder abruptly ended the call.)

The September, 1997 Long Beach NACDLGM conference illustrated unity of goals and beliefs between Dignity and Schexnayder’s group. The Dignity philosophy was
promoted by conference speakers. Dignity pamphlets and rainbow pins were distributed. Approximately a quarter of the attendees at the conference Mass wore their Dignity t-shirts as a sign of protest, but were nonetheless given Communion by Los Angeles’s Cardinal Roger Mahony. Father Ken Waibel of Richmond, Kentucky presented a workshop on “Gay and Lesbian Spirituality,” saying that “the only authentic spirituality is gay spirituality…Heterosexual men cannot fall in love with Jesus Christ because of their own homophobia. Jesus wants us
to be erotically in love with him.”
 
Waibel stated that the rituals he performs to marry heterosexual couples emphasize disunity, in contrast to the same-sex “union blessings” he has performed. (Father Waibel resigned his pastorship in Kentucky after members of his parish learned of his statements at the conference.)

Father Schexnayder is also on record calling for same-sex “marriages” at a talk he gave at the March 7-9, 1997 New Ways Ministry Symposium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the talk, Schexnayder gave suggestions for promoting the gay
message in parish, diocesan and school-based “ministries.” Important aims, he stated, include getting gay-friendly books into school libraries, providing “in-services” for teachers, counselors and other school employees, and setting up gay support groups in the schools (he noted that two Catholic high schools in
Oakland have such groups currently). He stressed that much of his success is due to the support he receives from Bishop John Cummins and from the superintendent of Catholic schools, but worried about what would happen in a few years when
Bishop Cummins retires. “We want to make sure they are institutionalized in the parishes so we can’t be marginalized by a new bishop,” he said.

Fr. Schexnayder’s Diocese of Oakland task force does not even pretend to respect Church teaching on sexuality, as evidenced by its events and associations. A January, 1996 flyer sent to participants describes an upcoming series of talks, titled “Making Love for the Whole World to See,” for the group by Joseph Kramer, described in the flyer as a “body-based theologian and massage therapist… Director of EroSpirit Research Institute–a network of lesbian and gay ecstatics exploring erotic spiritualities.” The two workshops included talks
by Kramer and “body meditations.” (Promotional materials from EroSpirit, downloaded from the Internet, reveal that Kramer is a former Jesuit whose new “ministry” involves selling instructional pornographic videos.)

A flyer describing Oakland’s Task Force, distributed in parishes and schools, refers readers to the Pacific Center for Human Growth. An Internet search reveals that the group’s web page includes links to radical gay groups. A list of the center’s counseling groups is included on the web site. People referred
to the Pacific Center by Fr. Schexnayder can attend such groups as the Married Bisexual group on Wednesdays or the Ethical Nonmonogamy support group the second Saturday of each month. On the third Sunday of each month, they can visit the
group for “children of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people.” On Sundays, they can attend the Pagan Recovery Support Group. Says the description on the web site: “We are a group of pagans looking to support each other’s
recovery through various issues (i.e., additions…the effects of
patriarchy)…Topics often include: energies, psychic realities, magic, feelings about culturally-enforced Christianity…”

The same flyer recommends such books as Coming Out to Your Parents published by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and A Challenge to Love by Fr. Robert Nugent. Citing long-discarded Kinsey statistics, the flyer claims “ten
percent of the human population is lesbian and gay.” No mention is made of the immorality of homosexual activity or of the possibility of psychological treatment.
 
Local Catholic activists who attended the conference of the Bay Area Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators held at Holy Names College in 1995 report that Father Schexnayder was involved in organizing that event. A workshop at the conference about how to make Catholic schools gay-friendly held up the program
at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland as a model.

In honor of the event, the Holy Names College library set up a display of gay and lesbian erotic books, located in a glass case next to a statue of the Virgin Mary. In his workshop at the conference, Schexnayder joked, “There are six or
seven scripture passages referring to same-sex sexual activity and there’s over 600 referring to heterosexual activity. And this doesn’t mean that God does not love heterosexuals; it’s just that they need more supervision.”

The December, 1996 issue of the National Monitor of Education covered the October 26, 1996 second annual BANGLE conference and described the award given
by the group to the Diocese of Oakland, represented by Father Schexnayder. Said the award presenter, “I think the Diocese of Oakland exemplifies how people should carry out the work of the Gospel…In the Diocesan schools you might be aware there are two of them that have already established Gay-Straight alliances
to support their students. All teachers in the secondary school level have been trained in the needs of gay/lesbian, bisexual, transgendered (g/l/b/t) youth, and the system has appointed Rev. Jim Schexnayder who has the responsibility to
see that those schools are welcoming to their youth. This is true leadership and true ministry.”

The pamphlet for the Diocese of Oakland’s High School Youth Project, titled “High Schools as Welcoming Communities for Gay and Lesbian Youth and Their Families,” claims: “Many gay men and lesbians sensed something ‘different’ about themselves as early as age four or five. The age at which most acknowledge their
homosexuality is between 14 and 16 years for males and between 16 and 19 years for females.” According to the pamphlet, the project is funded by a grant from
Horizons Foundation (another Lambda Youth Project affiliate) and the PG&E Fund for Lesbian and Gay Youth and Education, “in collaboration with the Diocese of Oakland Schools Department,” and provides faculty and staff inservice education,
education for students and families, resources for classrooms and libraries, policy making, community services, as well as individual and group counseling for gay students.

A January 15, 1996 article in the Catholic Voice, the newspaper for the Diocese of Oakland, touted the Catholic schools’ gay support groups. The article accepts the premise that homosexuality is a God-given orientation which must be
accepted and affirmed by society. The life of Nellie Taillac, a former Carondelet High School student who returned to the school to talk about lesbian issues at a teachers’ in-service, is chronicled as an example. The article attributes Taillac’s difficulties growing up to a lack of acceptance of her lesbianism and the fact that the parents of a girl with whom Taillac had a two-year relationship separated the girls when they discovered the nature of the
girls’ relationship, “nearly breaking Taillac’s heart,” the article says.

The article mentions the gay support groups at Moreau High School in Hayward and Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, started in 1994 and 1995, respectively. The O’Dowd group, known as Gay and Lesbian Education and Affirmation (GLEA), is moderated by Father John Malo, a religion teacher, who
also teaches the “Living and Dying” and “Christian Sexuality” classes at the
school.
 
The article also notes: “Moreau High’s Lifestyles Support Group…is the result of an invitation by Project Eden in Hayward to offer counseling services to high schools in Hayward. A Project Eden counselor and a member of Patterson’s [Jim Patterson, the school’s Director of Guidance] department co-lead the
group.” Project Eden, part of the Lambda Youth Project, is a radical gay organization aimed at encouraging homosexual youth, providing counseling, “social and recreational activities,” and other services. Each year, they hold a “gay prom,” inviting students from Bay Area high schools, but open to all gays
under age 23.

In a November 21 phone conversation, Patterson noted that Project Eden operates in all Hayward high schools, public and private, thanks to a grant from the City of Hayward, with additional funding from United Way.

What is Father Schexnayder’s defense of his far-flung attempts to legitimize the homosexual agenda? In a December 1 interview, he offered a vague denial and invoked Church Canon 220, claiming that it protected his “right to privacy.” (The canon reads: “No one is permitted to damage unlawfully the good reputation
which another person enjoys nor to violate the right of another person to protect his or her own privacy.”) But orthodox Catholics aren’t the only ones who have noticed the direction of his work. Pat McArron, head of Dignity San Diego, writes in the September 1997 edition of Dignity Dimensions, "As a member
of both Dignity and the NACDLGM I observed an emerging relationship between the two groups that is encouraging
 
Anyone protesting or just gonna let the Satan train role right through the Church?
 
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Brad:
“We cannot allow the Religious Right to confine our sexuality to the bedroom,” Father James Schexnayder told the congregation at a Dignity Mass at Dolores Street Baptist Church immediately following the 1992 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. “Our sexuality must burst forth from the bedroom and leaven all of
society.”

Father Ken Waibel of Richmond, Kentucky presented a workshop on “Gay and Lesbian Spirituality,” saying that “the only authentic spirituality is gay spirituality…Heterosexual men cannot fall in love with Jesus Christ because of their own homophobia. Jesus wants us to be erotically in love with him.”
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How does it come to pass that these two priests can make statements such as this and remain priests of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church? I will be sending an email to the bishop where the college is located, as well as one to the Bishop of Oakland. We can also actually email the Holy Father as well. It’s time for the smaller, leaner Church as described by PBXVI and Archbishop Chaput.
 
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JKirkLVNV:
How does it come to pass that these two priests can make statements such as this and remain priests of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church? I will be sending an email to the bishop where the college is located, as well as one to the Bishop of Oakland. We can also actually email the Holy Father as well. It’s time for the smaller, leaner Church as described by PBXVI and Archbishop Chaput.
Click to expand...
I don’t understand it either. I am hoping he’s been excommunicated and just “using” the name Father but I doubt it. I do know Dignity is not allowed on Church property but my guess is the Catholic college is not officially Church property. In either case, the name Catholic should be struck from the school and all Catholic members of the diocese should not be allowed to teach or work there OR they should disallow the conference.
 
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fix:
How is your new bishop?
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I don’t have a good feel yet. He has been “upset” at dissenters speaking at the seminary and pro-choice politicians speaking at the college but he hasn’t openly banned such and even gave an excuse for the Clinton episode. We had the “gay” chorus at a Catholic church and now this. He has not responed to letters I’ve sent and I haven’t heard if he’s responded to others. I know he was coming into a lion’s den so I’m trying to give him time but this here is a big test. My feeling is the diocese is much more infected that I even thought and for him to take a big stand would mean revolt. But it has to be done.
 
Another Jesuit college off the list of potential schools for Catholic kids.
 
I am outraged. Canisius - three strikes.

I will contact the Diocese.
 
Sad. I at first thought that the College was one of those that had given up its Catholic identity, but retained its historic name, but, in fact, its website declares that it is a Jesuit school.
 
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Brad:
Need more letters.
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As a former Buffalo resident - 14 tyears, I’m adding my letter to the stack!

You have your hands full Brad - as do I with my Bishop!
 
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jrabs:
As a former Buffalo resident - 14 tyears, I’m adding my letter to the stack!

You have your hands full Brad - as do I with my Bishop!
Click to expand...
It’s a mess. I have a friend who is in a mom’s group and was talking about this issue, only to have a nun overhear her and say that this should just be accepted because people are born that way. Never in my life did I anticipate a nun lecturing a group of Catholic mothers that a conference promoting deviant sexual activities should be tolerated on a Catholic campus. Is Christ going to wait much longer?
 
"Father Ken Waibel of Richmond, Kentucky presented a workshop on “Gay and Lesbian Spirituality,” saying that "the only authentic spirituality is gay spirituality…Heterosexual men cannot fall in love with Jesus Christ because of their own homophobia. Jesus wants us
to be erotically in love with him."The temptation to tar and feather this guy is overwhelming:mad: :mad: :mad: How much more is the Lord going to take?How much more are we going to tolerate?:bigyikes: :mad: Erotically?!?!:eek: :mad:
 
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