You (the members of Dignity/Boston) have so much to be proud of and members of Dignity everywhere have so much to be grateful for in a city that has produced so many fine leaders in Dignity. It was here in Boston that courageous pioneers like Paul Diederich & Tom Oddo, stood their ground, spoke the truth of our lives and challenged us then to dare to be ourselves. I am here tonight not only to celebrate with you 30 years of Dignity in Boston. I am here to tell you that those who have gone before us to prepare the way of Dignity for future generations can be proud of the legacy they have left. They and you can be proud of what Dignity has become in a third of a century. And it is you who have helped to make that all possible with your convictions and your financial support. Financing the Voice of Dignity is so critical to our ability to speak in your behalf, to be present at decision making meetings and significant events around the country. Organizations like ours always needs money to make things happen. I want to thank you who so generously give of your time and money to support what Dignity has to stand for. Dignity is so much more than just a word, an idea. It is flesh and blood that will not be silenced. These past months have been some of the most difficult and challenging in recent memory for Catholics everywhere. The news of sexual abuse, cover ups, collusion, dereliction of duty, scapegoating of gay priests & abuse of authority has heightened the awareness of everyone to the human condition of Catholicism. These are the times that test ones own faith, ones allegiance to a creed, ones trust in character. Huge buildings continue to be built in the name of God while ministries are shut down for lack of money. Bishops refuse to hold themselves accountable and hold on to their positions of authority which they have abused. Gay priests are victims of guilt by association. Victims of sexual abuse are thwarted in their attempts to be healed and reconciled. Confusion abounds. This is a bleak picture indeed and yet there is always hope, and there is always love. Hope is eternal and Love is boundless. As we all know, the Church is so much more than stone & mortar. In fact the Church is NOT stone & mortar. It is people - attempting to bring light where there is darkness, joy where there is sadness, hope where there is despair, love where there is hatred. Dignity is but one of many organizations that have developed over the years to provide support for those who have been turned away, ignored, abused, misunderstood. Dignity is but one of many organizations that have formed over the years to help bring about change - a new reformation from within. We Shall not be Silent ! Thirty=three years later, since its founding, Dignity is still here and still providing support in faith communities all over North America in Dignity/Canada/Dignite & DignityUSA. Dignity is still pushing for reform. Dignity continues to be a voice of the faithful who refuse to give up or give in. Dignity was called into being for a reason and that reason still exists today. For without Dignity there would only be despair for glbt Catholics who have been shunned & ridiculed. Dignity was no accident. It was an inspiration, an idea, a place, a thought, a reason to be glad and rejoice. Dignity affirms the beauty of God's creation and delights in its talents. Dignity is community. We are a diverse people. We are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, & straight. We are women and men. We are young and old. We are people of every color. We come from every nation, and a variety of creeds. We are wealthy and we are poor. Above all else we are accepting of each other's diversity and we rejoice in it. Dignity as a community of believers has been challenged to compromise our beliefs. Doors that were once open to us have been shut and we have been turned away. Our doors will never be shut and we will not turn away those who need most. I think it is safe to say that Jesus would be very pleased with us if he were here in our midst today. Actually he never left us and he IS in our midst this very moment. "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with you." Dignity has much to celebrate. Over these many years an entire generation has been born and given birth to more persons who have and will come walking through our doors, doors that will never be shut. We have learned much these past 30 years. We have changed, you and I. We are not the same people we were when we first walked through the doors of Dignity. Some of us were confused and searching. Some of us were angry and hurt. Some of us were lonely. Dignity has baptized, married & buried members and friends of our communities throughout North America these past 30 years, including most recently Rich Rasi, someone I feel privileged to have known. Dignity has been witness to the pain and sorrow and joy of countless thousands these past 30 years. Dignity has been there for us when we needed a shoulder to lean on, a place for quiet reflection, and a hand to wipe away a tear or a voice to encourage us. Dignity has been there for us when we needed to be challenged to speak up for ourselves. Dignity continues to be the Voice that the rest of the church needs to hear. A speech Robert Francis Kennedy made to the young people of South Africa on their Day of Affirmation in I966: "There is discrimination in this world and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; and millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich; and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. "These are differing evils, but they are common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility toward the sufferings of our fellows. "But we can perhaps remember--even if only for a time--that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek--as we do--nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. "Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again. "Our answer is to rely on youth--not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. They cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger that come with even the most peaceful progress. It is a revolutionary world we live in; and this generation at home and around the world, has had thrust upon it a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived. "Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the thirty-two-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "These men moved the world, and so can we all. Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. "Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. And I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe. "For the fortunate among us, there is the temptation to follow the easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who enjoy the privilege of education. But that is not the road history has marked out for us. Like it or not, we live in times of danger and uncertainty. But they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history. All of us will ultimately be judged and as the years pass we will surely judge ourselves, on the effort we have contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which our ideals and goals have shaped that effort. "The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of American Society. "Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live." |