On the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the Rev. Gary
Meier addressed a congregation of sorts--people who wanted to hear what
the Roman Catholic priest had been thinking since, nearly a year ago, he
last stood before a flock.
That was last June, when Meier told
his parishioners at Saints Teresa and Bridget Church in north St. Louis
that he would take a leave of absence “to discern what ministry God was
calling me to do.”
Meier, 49, had told his archbishop that he could no longer teach the Catholic church’s stance on homosexuality.
“I
have tried over the years to reconcile my silence as a gay priest with
that of the Church’s increasingly anti-gay stance. I have been
unsuccessful,” Meier writes in his book “Hidden Voices: Reflections of a
Gay, Catholic Priest.”
“I was hopeful that I could find a way to
have integrity while remaining part of a hierarchy that is anti-gay—I
was unsuccessful.”
Meier originally published the book anonymously
in 2011.
But last week, he republished it with his own name on the
cover. He’s now studying for a master’s degree in counseling at UMSL.
Since
his public declaration of his sexual orientation, he has received much
support on his Facebook page, Meier told his UMSL audience of 80 or so
parishioners, priests, former priests and gay-rights activists. One
woman, though, scolded him for accusing the church of a “lack of love.”
“That’s not at all what I’m saying,” said Meier. “But I am accusing the church of a lack of tolerance and acceptance.”
In doing so, he is risking his priesthood, while also drawing attention to the church’s stance on homosexuality and gay priests.
Priests
in active ministry rarely state their sexual orientation, in part
because it’s supposed to be beside the point for men who have taken
lifetime vows of celibacy. The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and
editor-at-large at America magazine, says there are only two or three
priests in the U.S. who have said publicly that they are homosexual.
“There
are hundreds, if not thousands, of celibate gay priests working in the
Catholic church today who are beloved by their parishioners,” Martin
said. “And there are a number of reasons why almost all of them feel
unable to be honest. They are either uncomfortable themselves, or
they’re told specifically by their superiors not to talk about it.”
Meier’s decision to go public came, he said, after watching the church’s position harden over the last decade.
“My position is that our teaching is causing harm,” he said in an interview.
The
church does not have an official position on gay priests, but bishops
in the past have mostly argued that celibacy is celibacy and a good
priest is a good priest.
In 2005, the Vatican issued new
guidelines barring men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” from
being considered for the priesthood.
In 2009, a Vatican probe of U.S.
seminaries that was ordered after the clergy sex abuse scandal concluded
that “difficulties” related to “homosexual behavior” have been largely
“overcome.”
The catechism of the Roman Catholic Church calls
homosexual acts “acts of grave depravity” and “intrinsically disordered”
because they “close the sexual act to the gift of life.”
But the
catechism also says that homosexuals “must be accepted with respect,
compassion, and sensitivity.”
Speaking at UMSL, he said he
believed the bishops’ teaching on homosexuality had been a contributing
factor in growing suicide rates among gay teenagers.
“We ought to own some of that,” he said. “The church’s hard line against homosexuality causes that kind of damage.”
The
St. Louis Archdiocese did not respond to a request for comment about
Meier’s book, but Archbishop Robert Carlson released a statement saying
that Meier, “as a man who experiences same-sex attraction,” had “an
opportunity to be an example and mentor to Catholics in the archdiocese
who struggle with the same feelings.”
“Whether he will seize this
opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of Life, which offers the truth about
the beauty and sanctity of human sexuality, is entirely within his
control,” Carlson said.
Meier, who recently celebrated the 15th
anniversary of his ordination, said his sexuality had never been a
secret to his family and friends. He said that when he was interviewed
during the screening process at Kenrick Seminary, he answered truthfully
to the six interviewers (of nine, total) who asked about his sexual
orientation and history. When they asked him if he believed he could be
celibate, he answered, “I think so.”
The priest now says that his
only relationship is “with the people of God,” and that he’s been
faithful to his vows. “Celibacy is a rule the church imposes on its
clergy. It’s always part of the package,” he said. “This is not about
celibacy.”
The question for Meier—the question all his friends and
family have been asking since he put his name on the book’s cover—is,
“What now?”
Meier said he would like to remain a priest, but he knows that’s unlikely.
“To
be a priest and active in ministry, you can’t say what I’m saying,” he
said in answer to a question at the UMSL event. “I don’t think I’ll be
getting any more paychecks from the archdiocese.”
The Rev. John
Beal, a professor of canon law at the Catholic University of America,
said that if a priest rejected the idea that “homosexual acts are
gravely immoral, that would be a reason they can’t continue in ministry,
because they’re dissenting from the teaching of the church.”
If
Carlson finds anything in Meier’s book that contradicts church teaching,
Meier could be suspended from ministry, and his license to act as a
Catholic priest could be removed.
Meier already has, in essence,
removed himself from ministry.
In an act of solidarity with gay
Catholics against the church’s teaching, he has refrained from
administering the sacraments since taking a leave of absence.
Recently
he elected not to celebrate his aunt’s funeral Mass.
In his book, Meier said he had to go public as a matter of personal integrity.
“I see my speaking out as an act of love toward a community which was born of God’s radical inclusivity,” he wrote.