Bishop Nicola De Angelis, Diocese of Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough Bishop Nicola De Angelis and 12 parishioners at St. Michael’s parish in Cobourg, Ont., face an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal(not the 'Commission', as previously reported) complaint that could cost the parishioners $20,000 each and the diocese of Peterborough $25,000 plus legal fees.
Jim Corcoran brought the complaint after he was asked to give up his position as an altar server at Sunday Masses. Corcoran was dismissed from all duties on the altar after 12 parishioners wrote a letter to De Angelis questioning the presence of a gay man serving at the altar of St. Michael’s.
“There are laws in Ontario,” Corcoran told The Catholic Register. “Those laws say that it is unlawful to discriminate against people for a number of reasons, one of which is sexual orientation.”
“There’s no evidence at all to suggest that we were trying to be discriminatory or that we have some sort of distaste for people of same-sex orientation, or any of this,” said Gerry Lawless, one of the 12 who complained to De Angelis about Corcoran’s presence on the altar.
De Angelis has forwarded a copy of the complaint and the parishioners’ letter to his lawyer.
De Angelis and the 12 parishioners have until July 28 to respond to Corcoran’s complaint. Both sides have opted for mediation. Sixty-five to 70 per cent of Ontario Human Rights Tribunal complaints are resolved through mediation, avoiding the tribunal process. Only if mediation is unsuccessful will the complaint go on to a tribunal hearing.
Corcoran claims the 12 parishioners have misinterpreted entries on his blog (http://steannes.blogspot.com/) to draw false conclusions about him.
“I’m a chaste homosexual and practise my faith,” he said.
While Corcoran does live with another gay man, they are devout Catholics who refrain from sexual activity in accordance with church teaching, he said.
“Unless I’m actively flaunting my sexual preference in the Catholic Church to recruit other homosexuals or to promote homosexuality — I can see how people might take offence to that and how that might fly in the face of what the Pope is trying to do in terms of the priesthood — but just serving on the altar as a man?” said Corcoran.
By complaining to De Angelis about Corcoran the 12 parishioners had intended to express their unhappiness with St. Michael’s pastor Fr. Allan Hood, said Reg Ward, one of the authors of the letter to De Angelis. They blamed Hood for inviting Corcoran and his roommate to become altar servers.
“It was just one more way of Fr. Hood saying he’s boss and to hell with everybody else, like what the church is saying and everybody else,” said Ward.
Hood refused to speak with The Catholic Register on the record, citing diocesan policy against priests speaking to the media.
Ward and Lawless have written a series of letters to De Angelis complaining about Hood since he was appointed to St. Michael’s in July 2008. Ward claims the dissatisfaction with Hood runs deeper than just 12 parishioners in one of the Peterborough diocese’s larger parishes.
“Dorothy (Ward’s wife) and I know personally 25 or 30 who have left the church, are going to church elsewhere,” Ward said. “We know some of them who aren’t going to church at all.”
For Corcoran, his time as head altar server prior to Easter was spiritually enriching.
“For me spiritually, in terms of my spiritual development, I was just full of joy come Easter Sunday. Holy Thursday, I’ve never been so moved,” he said.
While Corcoran did have a brief conversation with De Angelis about the decision to remove him from the altar, he has not spoken to any of the 12 who complained about his presence.
The 12 parishioners did not consider speaking directly with Corcoran before complaining to De Angelis, said Lawless.
“We were simply responding to the situation. We didn’t know exactly what was the policy, or anything. We weren’t in a position to talk to him,” he said.
Corcoran said De Angelis urged him to take his dismissal from the altar in the spirit of Paul’s advice to the Romans on the issue of meat sacrificed to idols (Romans 14:13-23) — refraining from scandal. Instead the bishop should have confronted the 12 parishioners and their prejudice, as well as their attempts to get rid of their pastor, Corcoran said.
“This is a man (De Angelis) who needs some help in understanding how to deal with confrontation in his diocese. The Human Rights Commission helps people do that,” he said.
The monetary penalties aren’t the major issue, according to Corcoran, who employs 150 people as owner of St. Anne’s Spa in Grafton, Ont.
“I’m not in it for the money, but I think that if there weren’t some penalties then these people wouldn’t take it seriously,” he said. “I just think that the bishop has to make things right in this diocese. He has to stand up for his priests, and he has to stand up for all his parishioners.”
“We have not discriminated. We have simply asked the bishop to act on a situation which we had been informed on very good authority was in violation of church policy,” said Lawless.
The 12 will seek a dismissal of the complaint, he said.
Michael Swan is Associate Editor of The Catholic Register. He is an award-winning writer and photographer and holds a Master of Arts degree from New York University.
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1.
16-07-2009 23:36
Time for the Church to rethink
There is a whole new body of research on homosexuality that the church has to digest. Gays have been forced to live a shadow life for long enough, repenting physical affection that is sanctioned in marriage for the rest of us. They have been reviled for just existing. Their parents and loved ones have suffered and been conflicted along with them. Personal repugnance is not justification for publicly humiliating a good man and belittling the totality of his life, which exceeds that one area by a huge margin. Maybe it will do the Church good, to try to publicly justify its position re: gays
I've always held the belief that in the state of unrepented grievous sin, I'm 'excommunicated ' from my Catholic faith until such time as I have sincerely confessed my wrong doing, received absolution and reinstatement. While under this self imposed exile from my Catholic faith, I am unable to receive the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, or participant in any liturgical function performed by the laity or otherwise enjoy the gifts of my faith by virtue of my grievous and unrepentant sin. Simply put. Unconfessed serious sin separates me completely from God and Church. I am unrecognized. I'
Michael: I want to thank you for writing such a factual and even handed account of this story. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of the other web sites & bloggers who have picked up parts of your story and used them out of context. It never ceases to amaze me how some Christians can take words, be they the word of God, or the word of fellow Christians and turn them to the work of the devil. Based on some of the assumptions being made about me, my character and my motives, I thought it might help your readers if I were to provide more background to this case, on my blog.
The government has no place in this matter. Allowing government to insert itself into the church in such a matter threatens religious freedom beyond the scope of this matter. This is a matter that needs to be resolved within the church in accordance with the church's values.
Actually, the bishop IS in charge of the parish. The parish priest is an extension of the bishop. The parish priest derives his priestly powers from the bishop. The priest has sworn an oath of obedience to his bishop. One wonders if the parish priest influenced Mr. Corcoran's decision to sue the bishop.
One also wonders why the twelve (and Bishop De Angelis) thought the continued appearance of Mr. Corcoran and his housemate on the altar a scandal.
It seems unlikely that this HRC lawsuit will do much to heal the rift in this parish or to promote religious freedom for Catholics.
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