THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 5, 1996 TAG: 9609050342
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 46 lines
A national conference for gay and lesbian Catholics begins today in Williamsburg, in the diocese where the nation's first homosexual ministry began 20 years ago.
Conference organizers expect about 150 people to attend.
The Richmond diocese organized its ministry shortly after the National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document in 1976 saying homosexuals should not suffer prejudice and that gays should have an active role in the Christian community. The diocese - which stretches across the southern portion of Virginia and includes South Hampton Roads - has about 163,000 Catholics.
``Sexual orientation didn't mean that they were evil people, didn't mean that they had to be excluded from the church or come to the church only as penitents, but they had a full right to participate and had a full right to support from the church,'' said Brother Cosmas Rubencamp, diocese director of campus and young adult ministry.
Between 20 and 30 of the 200-plus Catholic dioceses nationwide have gay ministries, according to the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries.
This will be the organization's third national conference, focusing on the needs of a group that the organization says is often overlooked by the mainstream church. It will include workshops on parents and family support, youth and young adults, starting ministries and spiritual issues specific to lesbians and gays. Speakers will include the Rev. Gerald Coleman, an author, and Paula Ripple Cornin, co-founder of the North American Conference of Separated and Divorced Catholics.
The gay ministry for the Richmond diocese began with the full support of Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, who has been outspoken in support of gay civil rights. Sullivan will celebrate Mass on Saturday evening for conference participants.
Rubencamp said the ministry is still overcoming obstacles. ``You get the angry phone calls and the angry letters saying why are we including these people, they have written themselves out of the church, why is the church trying to get them back in,'' he said. ``It's mostly misunderstanding what it's all about.''
The Richmond ministry includes retreats for homosexuals, workshops for parish staffs, talks in local churches, meetings to discuss concerns and needs.
KEYWORDS: GAY CATHOLICS CONFERENCE HOMOSEXUALS by CNB