Tuesday, October 23, 2007
THAT'S ONE FOR THE BLOGOSPHERE
Robert and Carol Curoe were scheduled to give a talk about their book, "Are There Closets in Heaven? A Catholic Father and Lesbian Daughter Share Their Story," about a Catholic family coming to terms with their daughter's coming out. The announcement of the talk several weeks ago spawned discussion on Catholic blogs, and according to the archdiocese statement to the church, "the number and intensity" of phone calls and emails opposing the event led the archdiocese to ban the event.
The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) and Catholic Rainbow Parents had sponsored the talk at St. Frances Cabrini Church. "Obviously, we're disappointed, and we are still trying to understand it," said Carol Curoe in a statement Sunday. "Our book, Are There Closets in Heaven? talks about an 82 year-old, life-long Catholic father trying to understand and practice his faith within his church while also loving his daughter as he does her siblings. Neither our journey, nor writing the book, was an easy task."
Dennis McGrath, spokester for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, said that because of Curoe's active lesbian lifestyle and the related content in the book, "the parish was asked not to hold the event." McGrath said, "We welcome gay and lesbian members into the church, but they have the same rules of the road as heterosexuals." Those rules dictate that there will be no sexual activity outside the bonds of marriage, he said.
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