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In the most recent edition of the Dignity/USA Journal, the second article consists of an Internet exchange about what Dignity chapter will look like in the future: Will chapters continue to offer their own liturgies? How will they relate to diocesan programs? and so forth. In addition Marianne, in her letter, raises some of the same questions, and asks us to think about them. Both Marianne and David Floss, editor of the Journal, suggest that those who are interested in these issues and have something to say about them should write letters to the editor. Here is a letter that I wrote to David in response:

Dear David:

This letter is a reflection about the future of Dignity, in response to the articles in the latest Dignity/USA Journal.

One question that is being asked these days is: "Will Dignity chapters in the future function as faith communities as well? Will they arrange their own Masses?" Of course, the answer to this will vary depending on local conditions, such as the size of the chapter, the availability of priests, and relationships with the diocese. Each Dignity chapter can, I believe, be trusted to arrange its group in the appropriate way, and to make changes as conditions change.

Certainly some Dignity chapters (such as my own in San Diego) will continue to be faith communities for years to come. One way of looking at this phenomenon is to place it in the larger context of the whole Catholic reform movement. The fact is that there are thousands of non-parish Catholic faith communities in America today, and some hundreds of thousands worldwide. And these faith communities are characteristically made up of reform-minded Catholics. When I attend the Call to Action conference in Chicago, I am more and more likely today to hear that attendees are members of faith communities rather than parishes. "I am in one, too," I tell them. There is a reason for this: faith communities are places where certain necessary reforms can be not only discussed, but actualized. Here people can participate fully in the community according to their gifts, and here decisions can be made with a consensus/discernment model that fully engages those whom the decision will affect. Thus faith communities serve as models for what a reformed Church will look like. 

But of course, it remains vital that Dignity chapters (regardless of how they are arranged) not be in isolation from the rest of the Church. Dignity's tasks -- ministry to the Catholic GLBT community, reform of the Catholic theology of sexuality, and the countering of homophobia in the Church -- can only be done by remaining in relationship with the Church. Modern trends in the Church have made the situation more complex than it was in the past. As the years go by, we will see in the Church many more gay-friendly parishes, diocesan gay and lesbian outreach programs, and diocesan and parish AIDS ministries. Furthermore, we will see the growth of local Church reform umbrella groups like Call to Action and Catholic Organizations for Renewal. Since each diocese is different, each Dignity chapter will need to learn, pray and act in its own unique situation.

I have become convinced that homophobia (like other forms of prejudice) can be lessened only by people getting to know each other through face-to-face meetings. Looking at the modern situation in the Church in a positive way, there are now more opportunities than ever for such meetings to take place.

 THE FUTURE OF Dignity

 In the Spring 1996 edition of the DIGNITY/USA Journal, an Internet exchange between DIGNITY members Joseph Curtis, Darryl Grant, and Tom Kaun was published. Joseph Curtis, of Orlando, Florida, was detailing all the ways that he communicates with parishes in his diocese, and how he has encouraged DIGNITY members to join local parishes instead of worshiping together. He explained that this arose from having no priests in their local DIGNITY chapter. He ended with an admonishment that DIGNITY chapters should not "play Mass."

Darryl Grant raised questions about how DIGNITY would look in the future. Tom Kaun stressed that there is a real value in having our own faith communities and in maintaining a separate identity as an organization.

Several people wrote to the editor of the Journal in response to this interchange. I was one of the people who wrote; I made the point that non-parish faith communities are very common among Catholics who are committed to Church reform, and that they provide a model of what a reformed Church will look like. These are places to do reform not just talk about it.

Certainly I have experienced this in our own faith community. There is a special spirit of mutual love and support, as well as faith, among those who have chosen to worship together. I can only imagine that this is the sort of spirit that every Christian community should have had all along. In our group, people are assigned to functions because they are able to do them well -- not for irrelevant reasons such as their gender. (I have noticed the same thing in our Call to Action group. How wonderful it is to find a Catholic place where people's gifts are actually used!) Finally, being on our board has been a wonderful experience of helping to make decisions by consensus and prayerful reflection -- the sort of discernment which is found in the Acts of the Apostles, and which is truly Christian.

As I reflected on the letters and Internet exchanges, another thought came to me: it is very important that each DIGNITY chapter respect the rest. Each is unique in its own way, and in the future there may be even greater variation than before; but this is not a calamity, but an opportunity. We must be open to appreciating each other (even those who are far different from us), and understand that each chapter is reacting to local conditions which are not the same as ours.

An attitude of respect and basic trust in the good discernment of other chapters will not prevent us from learning from each other. Far from it. Each chapter, with its own struggles and triumphs, may very well have something to teach us.

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