The Modern Inquisition by Paul Collins

Author:Paul Collins [COLLINS, PAUL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIO000000; BIO026000; BIO018000; REL010000
ISBN: 9781468311068
Publisher: The Overlook Press
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

A couple of years after this incident, there was another run-in with Archbishop Hickey. New Ways Ministry was planning another symposium, and this time they had a bishop who was willing to speak. He would have been happy if Hickey had simply remained neutral, but he did want some assurance that the archbishop would not send out a letter opposing it. Following their previous experience, Jeannine Gramick went to the chancery accompanied by two lay people from New Ways Ministry. She takes up the story:

I asked for and got an appointment. I took two people from the staff of New Ways Ministry with me. When we arrived at the chancery the secretary ushered me into the archbishop’s office but would not let the others accompany me. When he arrived, the archbishop said that he was very disturbed that I had brought these people with me to the meeting, and that I should be grateful that he had given me a private interview. I responded, ‘Well, the last time we met, Bob and I thought it was a private interview, but you brought your chancellor and a theologian. So if you can bring two people to a meeting, why can’t I bring two people with me?’ He was very surprised, and he drew himself up to his full height and said, ‘Well, Sister, I’m the archbishop.’ To which I said, ‘What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander!’ After a pause, he said, ‘Well, then let’s begin with a prayer.’ There was a long silence, so I began to pray, ‘God, our Mother and Father …’ and followed with a spontaneous prayer. I heard later from friends in the chancery that he was furious because I had the audacity not only to begin the prayer but also to call God ‘our Mother’. He said, ‘No one can make me angry like that woman.’

I have thought a bit about Cardinal Hickey’s motivation [he was made a cardinal in 1988]. I think that he sincerely believes that Bob and I are undermining the teaching of the Church on the question of homosexuality. He believes that his role as an archbishop is to maintain that teaching and make sure that it does not change. I think that explains why he delated us to Rome. We know that he has been writing letters and personally intervening with our community superiors and with both the CDF and CRSI since his arrival in Washington. He has continued to ask our congregations to get us out of Washington, out of gay ministry, and to ‘retrain’ us for other ministries.

Unable to obtain his objective directly through our community leaders, he then tried to achieve his objective through the Vatican. In 1982 Rome asked our community leaders to investigate us as a result of his complaints. Both groups of superiors produced a positive evaluation of the ministry. They said that we were not doing anything opposed to Church teaching, and that the ministry was good and should be strengthened.

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