Archbishop of Detroit bans Catholic LGBTQ groups, offers conversion therapy instead

The Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit has banned two LGBTQ groups from assembling in churches and performing en masse, and instead recommends a form of conversion therapy that treats sex as an addiction.

Dignity Detroit, which has provided a space for LGBTQ Catholics to exercise their faith for over 45 years, and Fortunate Families Detroit, a six-year support group for LGBTQ families, have received letters from Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Battersby telling them that they wouldn’t do it again. be admitted into the archdiocese on Detroit Free Press reports.

The Archdiocese also banned all priests from celebrating Mass for groups, writing in a letter that any Mass that “rejects the Church‘s teaching on human sexuality” would not be possible “in any parish church, chapel or diocesan facility, and is indeed prohibited anywhere in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Battersby said the ban on LGBTQ groups was intended to avoid confusing “the faithful by appearing to endorse an alternate and contradictory path to holiness.”

Instead, the Archdiocese recommends that LGBTQ Catholics in the Archdiocese participate in the church-sanctioned Courage Conversion Therapy Program, and that their friends and families attend EnCourage to support them in their “attraction to the Church.” same sex ”.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist and hate groups in the United States, previously called Courage International one of the most prominent “ex-gay” groups and said it treated sexuality as if it were. was pathological, offering 12-step recovery. program like Alcoholics Anonymous.

Frank D’Amore, president of Dignity Detroit, told the Free press that the recommendation that members of his group attend Courage was “insulting”.

“Courage is like a 12 step program, which is pretty insulting,” he said. “I don’t need a 12-step program. It’s ridiculous.

He said receipt of Battersby’s letter on behalf of the Archdiocese informing him that the group could not meet on church property “hurt”, and said its members questioned why they were continued to follow the Catholic Church.

D’Amore also said Battersby’s sudden turnaround in group support made no sense, given it had been operating for more than four decades.

“The dignity is always there, and we are not going anywhere,” he said. “We just celebrated our 46th anniversary in May. We never went out of our way to embarrass the church hierarchy. We are on our fourth archbishop in 39 years, three cardinals. Now all of a sudden this is a problem? I do not understand.

Reverend Victor Clore, who heads Fortunate Families, was told by the Archdiocese to cease its services and said the group “provides a misleading and damaging message” and was “harmful to the very members that the organization seeks to serve” .

Clore told the Free press that the group offered support to LGBTQ families and did not “promote anything sinful.”

He also noted that the church’s stance on sexuality has been distorted by anti-gay views, noting that human nature extends beyond procreation.

“Sexuality is to love. It is about relationships between two people who care for each other in a loving embrace, ”he said, noting that there are“ infertile couples who do not have children, but they are still allowed to marry and have sex through sexual expression. “

Linda Karle-Nelson, co-chair of Fortunate Families and mother of LGBTQ children, said the decision was “surprising, shocking, hurtful.”

She added: “We are no longer a group with a parish house. We are not allowed in any Catholic parish…. It’s pretty hard.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese told the Free press that the Archdiocese is “committed to renewing and strengthening its ministry for members of the faithful who experience same-sex attraction and their families”.

The spokesperson confirmed that the archdiocese recommended LGBTQ Catholics and their families to join Courage and EnCourage.

“Our desire is to provide pastoral care and ensure the salvation of all the faithful, including those who are attracted to the same sex and their families,” they said.

Conversion therapy is a widely debunked and potentially harmful practice that claims to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity through methods such as talk therapy or more extreme measures including aversion and therapy. of choc.

The United Nations recently said conversion therapy should be banned worldwide and that some forms of the practice could constitute torture.

Instagram has banned all content promoting conversion therapy, noting that the social network does not allow “attacks against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” and a number of countries have also banned this practice, including more recently Germany.

Studies have shown that conversion therapy increases the risk of suicide and suicidal ideation in LGBTQ people, and medical experts have noted that other side effects of therapy can include depression and post-stress disorder. traumatic.

While many lay Catholics support LGBTQ rights, including same-sex marriage and inclusive non-discrimination legislation, the church has maintained its hardline stance against supporting LGBTQ people.

Read more: ‘Catholics for Trump’ touts an anti-LGBTQ political agenda. This is not what most Catholics believe.

The current teaching of the Church is that engaging in homosexual acts, even if committed in the context of a civil marriage, is a sin, although Pope Francis has taken a milder tone in not condemning not categorically homosexuals or lesbians as hopelessly irremediable.

This position has led a right-wing Catholic archbishop to recently accuse Pope Francis of heresy for allegedly promoting homosexuality.

The Church has repeatedly clashed with LGBTQ people and activists in the United States, including refusing medically necessary surgery for a transgender man, firing gay teachers from Catholic schools, adoption agencies Catholics refusing to place children with same-sex parents and a Catholic bishop has even declared Pride Month “harmful to children.”

Read more:

University Democrats accused of setting up gay mayor Alex Morse to ‘sink’ campaign

Anti-LGBTQ pastor to succeed Jerry Falwell Jr. as acting president of Liberty University

Trump advisers urge him to use trans rights as election issue