My letter is in agreement with one written by Cullin Schooley of Des Moines and published in the April 23 issue of The Catholic Messenger.
As a mother of a gay son, I consider his partner another son. They have been in a loving, committed relationship for more than 15 years. If they were allowed to be married (they don’t live in Iowa), how could that possibly affect anyone else’s marriage? How could it harm families and children?
What a preposterous notion! Are people grasping at straws in order to justify feelings of hate toward someone different than they? Or, heaven forbid, might they fear they, too, or one in their family might be gay?
I agree with Cullin that the Iowa bishops’ statement is “unjust and un-Christian,” not only to all gay members of the body of Christ, but also to their parents and families. Are some of our clergy reverting to pre-Vatican II mentality?
We are all God’s children. He bestows his mercy on all of us, showering his mercy not only on those who are persecuted for having been born differently than others, but also on those who fear and hate people they do not understand.
Carol Tweedy
Keokuk
