Mirror of Justice

A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory.
Affiliated with the Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Are we complicit?

By Russell Powell

It has been deeply disturbing to read media coverage of the bullying and suicide of at least six gay youths in the past few weeks.  A colleague of mine in psychology assures me that this represents only a small percentage of the number of LGBT young people who committed suicide in the same period, not to mention those who attempted to end their lives.  In reflection, I wonder whether we are somehow complicit in creating an environment of alienation and despair.  In the Church's attempt to assert it's commitment to heterosexual marriage and to maintain that homosexuality is a moral disorder, does it help to create a cultural climate that tacitly legitimizes the stigmatization of gay young people?  At the very least, I hope that bishops and pastors will take the opportunity to offer encouragement to young people at risk and to call communities to love rather than to reject.  It has also caused me to reconsider the possile benefits of anti-bullying legislation even if it were to serve a largely symbolic function.

https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2010/10/are-we-complicit.html

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I am very much struggling with the question posed by Russell and thus would be grateful to hear people's thoughts on it. A friend of mine posted the following on FB yesterday:

"Bullying is trickle-down. If, with YOUR vote, YOUR offering-plate dollar, and/or YOUR club dues, you support institutions which tell our teens that gays aren't worthy of the army, the pulpit, the marriage bed, heaven, equal treatment under the law, or basic respect and dignity, then don't act all shocked and surprised that teens see gays as expendable."

I confess that I'm not sure what to think about the question of whether my financial contribution to my parish each week makes me complicit in creating an atmosphere "of alientation and despair" (to use Russ's phrase) or one in which teens think taunting of gays is acceptable behavior (to use my friend's wording.)