New Ways Ministry
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New Ways Ministry is an organisation providing positive ministry and support to gay and lesbian Catholics in the United States of America. The organisation is primarily based in Maryland.
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[edit] History & purpose
New Ways Ministry was founded in 1977 by Dr. Jeannine Gramick, a Roman Catholic nun, and Fr. Robert Nugent, a Roman Catholic priest, both of whom had been writing and speaking on the topic of homosexuality since 1971. The organisation intended to help allow all homosexual Catholics to find acceptance within the Catholic Church. New Ways Ministry adopted its name from a pastoral letter entitled "Sexuality: God's Gift", written by Bishop Francis Mugavero of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The letter, written in 1976 to homosexual Catholics, stated; " ...we pledge our willingness to help you ...to try to find new ways to communicate the truth of Christ because we believe it will make you free." These sentiments served as an inspiration to the pastoral ministry carried out by Gramick and Nugent [1]
[edit] Aims & objectives
New Ways aims to advocate justice for gay and lesbian Catholics, and to reconcile homosexuals and the entire Christian communion. On occasions New Ways Ministry has also taken stand on civil matters in society, defending what is considered the right of homosexuals. The organisation posits that homosexuals are not yet equal members of society and the church and wishes to change this, via the use of dialogue, research, and education. New Ways Ministry maintains that homophobia in society derives mainly from ignorance and a lack of understanding about homosexuality, thus, the organisation feels that mature and responsible communication, along with education can be the only way to resolve the current scenario.
New Ways has formed its viewpoints on the popular, and commonly accepted belief among the scientific community, that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, and that efforts should not be made to "correct" homosexual orientation (drawing, in part, on the action taken by the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders). New Ways Ministry feels that gays and lesbians should not be forced to repress their sexuality, and should be embraced within the church [2]
The organisation employs a number of different techniques to promote their cause. New Ways analyses and creates responses to Vatican Instructions, creating a compendium of statements and documents tackling Catholic issues about homosexuality. In addition, the organisation holds national conferences which are attended by prominent guest speakers, of recent, important speakers have been the Roman Catholic Bishops Dr. Thomas Gumbleton of the Archdiocese of Detroit, and Matthew Clarke of the Diocese of Rochester [3]
[edit] Controversy & criticism
New Ways Ministry has garnered controversy and criticism from numerous sources. Most notably, the organisation has been condemned by The Vatican, albeit inadvertently when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (under the leadership of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) disciplined Gramick and Nugent, ordering them, on May 23rd 2000, to cease ministry to gays and lesbians [4] because they were not strong in teaching that homosexual acts were intinsically disordered and that the homosexual inclination which often leads to the activity itself was objectively disordered. In the final analysis, however, the central issue was the fact that neither was willing to reveal their personal conscience position on the teaching that homoseuxal acts were intrinsically evil and that this teaching was virtually infallible and unchangeable. [5] Fr. Nugent was willing to give assent of intellect and will to Church teachings on homosexuality but refused to use terminology like intrinsically evil or disordered in his pastoral work. Sr. Jeannine simply refused to give any internal assent to Church teaching. Both Nugent and Gramick were forced by Rome to resign from New Ways Ministry in 1984 when the Vatican ordered them out because of pressures on the Vatican by Washington Archbishop James Cardinal Hickey. From 1984 to 1999 both continued writing, speaking, and lobbying as independents both nationally and internationally. [6] Nugent accepted both of the Vatican's decision in 1999 and 2000 and returned to parish ministry as a priest in good standing. Gramick accepted the first Vatican prohibition, but rejected the 2000 order and continues to provide support to homosexuals. In the formal document, Sr. Gramick was informed that she "may not speak or write on homosexuality, on the notification, or on any ecclesiastical processes that led to it..." further, that she "may not encourage the faithful to publicly express their dissent from the official Magisterium, nor protest decisions of the Holy See, nor criticize the Magisterium in any public forum whatsoever". After this the School Sisters of Notre Dame expected Gramick to accept both prohibitions of the Vatican. [7]. Gramick eventually transferred her religious vows voluntarily to the more sympathetic Sisters of Loretto).
[edit] Election of Pope Benedict XVI
The election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the Papacy caused an immediate response from New Ways Ministry, which was likely due to Pope Benedict XVI's history of having been particularly 'nonnegotiable' on orthodox views in regard to homosexuality. This would centre particularly on Benedict XVI's actions whilst Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After the results of the April 19th 2005 conclave, New Ways Ministry released a letter on the same day, addressing concerns about the suitability of Ratzinger to be Patriarch of a church that it believes urgently requires caring and understanding pastoral ministry to gays and lesbians. The letter stated:
"Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s record at the Vatican has been marked by decisions to end discussion on important questions and issues facing Catholics and the world. His hard-handed tactics of silencing theologians and using language that offends rather than heals have caused much alienation and anger."
Also:
"His record on lesbian/gay issues has been notoriously insensitive. Instead of listening to the voices of the laity, or even of other bishops, he has been the architect of documents and policies that reveal a tremendous lack of understanding of homosexuality and of the experiences of lesbian/gay people." [8]
[edit] Ban on gay seminarians
New Ways' criticism of Pope Benedict XVI continued due to one of Benedict's first actions, when he chose to further enforce a previous 1961 Vatican directorate highlighting the need for discernment in regard to accepting homosexuals into seminaries and the priesthood. New Ways Ministry chose to address the Vatican Document with a press release condemning it. This press release said of the document:
“The Vatican’s document on gay seminarians has a woefully narrow and ignorant understanding of homosexuality as simply a desire to engage in sexual acts. A homosexual orientation, in fact, is much richer, and is based on needs for personal intimacy, emotional maturity, and the human need for meaningful relationships." [9]
New Ways Ministry has continued to make further responses to actions taken by Pope Benedict during his time as pope so far.
