Calling out Chaput

Mark Segal

From Philadelphia Gay News - July 19, 2015- Archbishop Chaput in his actions this week proves to be exactly what our friends in Denver, whose archdiocese he previously led, warned Philadelphia about: a man with little respect for humanity.

In Denver, he was the strongest voice against statute-of-limitation laws that could have allowed the prosecution of priests who were accused of sexually harming children, and he commended a Catholic school in Boulder for refusing admission to the children of a lesbian couple.

Now, he supports the firing of a renowned teacher from her position at Waldron Mercy Academy due to her same-sex marriage - which school officials knew about when they hired her eight years ago. Chaput said he was "grateful" for the teacher's termination, a decision he said shows "character and common sense."

So let's put all this together.

Chaput stands in the door of allowing pedophile priests from being charged, which continues the pain and suffering of families, but then he stands for discrimination against a lesbian teacher, which inflicts harm on her family. And all of this at the same time that his city is about to host the World Meeting of Families. Oh, and let us not forget that it's also a time when his holiness, Pope Francis, is seeking to move his church to dialogue and tolerance rather than hate speech.

The point is that the families at Waldron Mercy Academy are not powerless, and neither is the LGBT community, which should not tolerate discrimination.

Here are some of the ideas that have been floated. Deny funds to any future campaign run by the school. Refuse to give your weekly donation when you go to church on Sundays. And, since it seems that the archbishop is moved more by money than people, strike at his heart - government funds - and reach out to those elected officials who sponsor funds that are used for this form of hate and discrimination.

Then there is the issue of the pope's visit. The actions of Archbishop Chaput are not the actions of Pope Francis. Pope Francis should not be a symbol for Chaput; if you feel a need to protest, Chaput is who should be protested.

Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation's most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/PhilaGayNews.