Catholic Diocese Launches 12-Step Program For Homosexuals (It's not about therapy? Riiiight!)

[WillParkinson]

COLORADO: Catholic Diocese Launches 12-Step Program For Homosexuals

The Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs has begun offering a 12-step program for homosexuals. The program is called the Twelve Steps Of Courage.

“It’s not about therapy and not about activism,” said the Rev. Larry Brennan, diocese director of priest formation. “It’s about support.” The Catholic Church views homosexual relations as a sin, but not homosexual thoughts. It expects those with same-sex attraction to be celibate. “The exercise of sexuality is reserved for marriage, and that can only happen between a man and a woman,” Brennan said. Jim Fitzgerald, executive director of Call to Action, a national progressive Catholic group headquartered in Chicago, is skeptical of Twelve Steps of Courage because he contends homosexuality isn’t sinful. “It restricts people’s freedom to be the kind of person they were created to be,” Fitzgerald said of Courage. But Brennan says the program is not for people comfortable with their gay lifestyle.

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/01/colorado-catholic-diocese-launches-12.html

(Here's those 12-Steps for anyone doubting their 'non-therapy' or 'non-activism role)

The Twelve Steps of Courage
(taken from the Courage Handbook)

We admitted that we were powerless over homosexuality and our lives had become unmanageable.*
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
We made a decision to turn our will and our lives to the care of God as we understood Him.
We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of our character.
We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make direct amends to them all.
We made the direct amends to such people whenever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.
We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of God's Will for us and the power to carry it out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

[hedgehog]

1. Most Catholic dioceses have an annual fundraiser, usually called

something like "Bishop's Annual Appeal". Many people confuse this with Catholic Charities. The BAA is explained to the people as paying for diocesan-wide programs such as outreach to the deaf, religious education, etc. I wonder if the people of Colorado Springs realize their money is going for this?

There is a real Catch-22 to the BAA - at least in the Syracuse diocese. Each parish is assigned an amount. If the parishioners don't donate that amount directly to the BAA, the parish is "taxed" for the remainder. SO, even if you have a great parish that welcomes the GLBT community (and there are some), if you donate to your parish you end up donating to the bishop's pet projects as well!

[ThomCat]

5. That is a damned good reason why it makes very little sense

to be part of a religion that is homophobic even if one small part of it has managed to carve out a relatively LGBTQI-friendly niche. By being a member you are always supporting the parent organization in a whole lot of ways big and small, no matter how much of a rebel you think you are. You can't claim that you aren't supporting their homophobia if they can still count on you when they need you most. You can't claim that you aren't supporting their homophobia while you are still contributing money to their programs and projects, and while you are still an active name+address they can cite and sell on their membership roster.

Opposing the homophobia is any organization starts with the power of walking away.

[Ilsa]

2. "restore us to sanity"? "defects of our character"? Oh brother. nt

[qb]

3. A pathetic bastardization of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps

:banghead:

[elleng]

4. Priests included???

:sarcasm:

[ccharles000]

6. lol

[Meeker Morgan]

7. Speaking as a gay man who gave up drinking with AA ...

... this just makes me sick.