First Catholic diocese rejects openly gay Boy Scout leader
LOUISVILLE,
KY, -- The Archdiocese of Louisville
has rejected a homosexual man’s application to be a Boy Scout leader, the first
reported diocese to do so after the national organization opted to allow gay
leaders, resulting in threats of public protests.
Greg
Bourke reapplied to lead Boy Scout Troop 325 in his home parish of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in
Louisville where he’d been required to resign in 2012 after announcing his
sexual orientation, according to
Religion News Service, but was informed early this month his application was
denied.
“My
heart is broken that my church would now present the barrier to my returning to
my Boy Scout unit,” Bourke said.
Bourke,
who along with his partner were
among the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing homosexual
“marriage” across the U.S., said he doesn’t have any legal recourse to contest
the archdiocese’s denial of his application,according to
Insider Louisville, but implied he would publicly hold Archbishop
Joseph Kurtz responsible.
“The
thing I can do is take them to the court of public opinion, and I think
he’s going to lose that battle,” Bourke said. “Clearly we have to draw
attention to the Archdiocese, and specifically Archbishop Joseph Kurtz for
making this decision, which was really unnecessary and I think quite
mean-spirited.”
The
Boy Scouts of America announced July
27 the organization was removing the national restriction on openly gay adult
leaders and employees effective immediately.
In
the announcement the Scouts said individual troops could still pick their own
leaders and that religiously-affiliated troops can use their beliefs as criteria
for leader selection.
The
Boy Scouts decided in
2013 to end its
ban on homosexual members after years of pressure from
homosexual advocates and corporate sponsors, with that policy going into effect
in the following year.
The
National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS), which works with the Boy Scouts and fosters the
relationship between the Scouts and the Catholic Church in the U.S., including
working with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB),
expressed “strong concern about the practical implications” of lifting the ban
on homosexual leaders, but still called on Catholic chartered groups not to
leave the Boy Scouts.
“We’re
willing to see how this policy can work and how we can remain consistent with
our Catholic teaching and continue to charter troops with the Boy Scouts of
America,” said Charleston Bishop Robert Guglielmone, who sits on the NCCS
executive board. “We think we can do that.”
While
most Catholic leaders have remained hopeful that Catholic-chartered Boy Scout
troops will be able to continue operating with Catholic principles, the Boy
Scouts did not mention protection
for religious groups from being forced to accept a homosexual leader in its
announcing acceptance of gay leaders at the national level.
The absence of protection was enough for Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck, North Dakota to
cut ties with the scouts.
Bishop
Kagan removed all diocesan organizations from the Boy Scouts August 3, and said
in a statement that
the Scouts’ decision to allow openly gay adults into leadership positions had
been foreseen, and that the religious exemption in the Scouts’
resolution fell short in providing the needed protection for Catholic entities
that sponsor troops.
He
regretted having to make the decision, the bishop said, yet, “in conscience as
the Chief Shepherd of the Diocese of Bismarck, I cannot permit our Catholic
institutions to accept and participate directly or indirectly in any
organization, which has policies and methods, which contradict the
authoritative moral teachings of the Catholic Church.”
The
Archdiocese of Louisville said in regard to Greg Bourke that it does not
discuss the pastoral situations of individual parishioners with the media, but
sent a statement to pastors the week before:
[The Catholic Church has] both the right and the
responsibility to choose leaders whose character and conduct are consistent
with Church teaching. All pastoral leaders in these ministries should be able
to provide a credible and integrated witness in their lives to the teachings of
the Catholic Church, including its teachings on marriage, sexuality and
chastity.
Archdiocesan
spokesperson Cecilia Price also told Insider
Louisville, “It is important to note that the fact that individuals identify
themselves as a person with same-sex orientation does not necessarily exclude
them from volunteering for the Church,” but the concern lies with such a
person’s “ability to provide a credible witness to Church teaching.”
Price
cited Church teaching about marriage, sexuality and chastity which
are “based upon both Scripture and the 2000-plus year tradition of the
Church,” and provided links to relevant sections of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church.
Homosexual
advocacy groups Fairness Campaign and Catholics for Fairness plan to
protest the archdiocese for denying Bourke’s application as a Boy Scout leader.
