[Vision2020] Catholic educators discuss gay issues

[Scott Dredge]

Posted on Sun, Oct. 30, 2005

Catholic educators discuss gay issues

By Lisa Leff
Associated Press

More than 40 Catholic colleges were represented on
Saturday at a conference that was billed as the
nation's first on how gays fit in at universities
guided by a faith that says their sexual orientation
is wrong.

But rather than lamenting the Roman Catholic Church's
stand on homosexuality, the two-day ``Out There''
conference at Santa Clara University showed that
plenty of gay-related scholarship and student affairs
planning is going on in Catholic higher education,
said co-organizer Linda Garber.

``It's important and interesting to know there are
Catholic universities that have offices and staff
people specifically geared toward'' lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender concerns, said Garber,
director of the women's and gender studies program at
Santa Clara. ``There are a lot of people out there who
are teaching'' lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
``studies without a national professional
organization, a newsletter or anything.''

The conference drew about 150 people, most of them
faculty and administrators who deal with gay subject
matter or students. Topics included ``Curriculum and
Same-Sex Marriage in a Jesuit University'' and ``Can I
Be Gay and Catholic?''

The continuing tension was demonstrated in the
oft-repeated anecdote that Notre Dame University has
had an active gay and lesbian student group for years,
but the college does not recognize or provide
financial support to the organization.

One sign of how far the universities have come in
openly addressing gay issues is that the dean's office
and campus ministry at Jesuit-run Santa Clara provided
money for the event, while the school's president sent
a welcome letter to participants, said Lisa Millora,
assistant dean for student life.

``There are a lot of people who subscribe to Catholic
values as they relate to academic work, but don't
necessarily agree with how the Catholic Church carries
out its work,'' Millora said.

Among the universities represented at the conference
were Georgetown, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, Fordham,
DePaul, Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, La
Salle and Marquette.