Donna Gentile O'Donnell: Time to bring the Catholic Church into the modern era

An open letter to Bishop Wilton Gregory:

In a recent interview with The New York Times editorial board, Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that he doubted that there would be any reopening of the issue of celibacy and marriage for Catholic priests. This comment was in response to the recent actions taken by a group of Milwaukee priests, who wrote a petition for a reopening of the issue following the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church. Bishop Gregory was quoted as saying, "I don't see this fostering another review of a topic that has been fairly well discussed."

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Dear Bishop Gregory,

As an American Catholic who watches in amazement as my spiritual home self-destructs, I ponder how spiritual men of supposed intellect, good intention and goodwill can continue to discuss the color of the drapes, while the very foundation of our Church is landsliding away in the torrential rains of self-delusion and deceit.

While it is true that the topic has been considered in various forums within and outside of the Church, it has not been viewed sufficiently though the prism of the current crisis. That is, sexual repression, as it is practiced currently by the Catholic Church, has been fertile ground to grow the bitter crops we now reap: sexually battered children, devastated and broken families, demoralized religious and parishioners, suicided and murdered pedophile priests.

It should be readily apparent that:

•So far, the Church has refused to use its interpretive power to recognize the obvious: Unless and until we grapple successfully with human sexuality as a Church, we will continue to be a breeding ground for repressed aberration and lawlessness. This cannot and must not continue to be the basis upon which we build the priesthood of the Catholic Church.

•Successful grappling with sexuality means that: 1. Celibacy is an option, not a requirement for priesthood; 2. Women are permitted to assume their rightful place as full participants in the Church's spiritual leadership; 3. The nature of committed gay relationships is acknowledged as a procreative force of love and respect.

•The Church reserves unto itself the power to "interpret" conflicting scriptural meaning. But this interpretive power is not being used to grow and nourish the body of the Church. It is being used to subvert the congregants into a supplicative role. This does not heed the greatest commandment: Love one another.

•You, Bishop Gregory, as a black man, should have a special sensitivity for the inequities being perpetrated on American Catholics. These repressive, limiting laws of the Church are the functional equivalent of the Jim Crow laws of the South. Here, the cry among the Curia and the church hierarchy is obedience to "the law of God" (as interpreted by they, who are men in power). Then, in the South, it was the call of obedience to the law predicated on "state's rights" (as interpreted by white men in power).

Your heritage as a black man, born to a generation that this year celebrates the 40th year of Martin Luther King's historic "I Have A Dream" speech, cannot permit you, in the depths of your soul, to believe that these conditions for American Catholics are right and just. And your experience in attempting to put a lid on the pedophilia crisis must confirm what you already know: this is unjust.

Your choice, Bishop Gregory, is to decide if you will be one of the hierarchy, who was regarded by Jesus in his day as dishonest to their own souls, and to the conscience of God. Or whether you will be the courageous prophet that you can be, who inspires the stirrings of real faith in the hearts and minds of the faithful, as did the apostle Paul and Dr. King.

We, who stand in disobedience within the Church, and in solidarity with justice, await your decision. We pray you will have the strength to meet this decision with the courage of Daniel. For surely, you are in the lion's den.

Donna Gentile O'Donnell is a Nursing Ph.D. candidate from Philadelphia.

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