Presented at the Pacific November Regional Meeting in San Diego

As both a member of the NACDLGM (National Assoc. of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian & Gay Ministries) and a member of Dignity I attended the recent annual Conf of NACDLGM along with Linda Rieder and others from Dignity.  I was there to observe and to speak up for Dignity's interests.

Dignity was not only well represented but was also well received by most of the people in attendance.  Linda will also have some thoughts to share with you regarding that Conference.

Thursday evening , Sept 4, was the opening session with Fr. Pete Liuzzi, OCarm (Director of the Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics for the Archdiocese of LA) giving the opening address.  Neither Linda nor I were overly impressed with his presentation.  In all fairness he had some good things to say.  The topic of his speech was "Laying Claim to what is ours by Baptism."  This was the first time I had met the man in person.

Friday began with a 3 person panel presentation followed by questions and comments from the rest of us.  The topic of the panel "The Church responds to its Gay and Lesbian members".  The persons on the panel were:  Bishop Stephen Blaire (Bishop of Our Lady of Angels Pastoral Region in the LA Diocese), Bishop Gabino Savala (Auxiliary Bishop of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region of the LA Diocese), and Richard McCord, Jr (Associate Dir of the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth at the National Conf. of Catholic Bishops).  Following their presentations, I was the first to speak - and as Jim Mott and Linda will attest too I was moved by the Spirit.  I simply made the request that the assembled body recognize and acknowledge the contributions made by Dignity over its past 28 years.  To my surprise my request was met with applause.

The "workshops/seminars" (whatever you want to call them) were mediocre to excellent.  One man in particular stood out, and that was Fr. Ken Waibel,  from Kentucky.  He gave an outstanding presentation on Gay Spirituality in 2 PARTS !!!  His presentations were packed.

Bob Mialiovich, Jerry Deas, Linda and I spread ourselves around throughout the weekend attending various workshops. 

Saturday morning began with a talk by Sr. Kathleen Schinhofen, CSJ (facilitator, educator, and counselor).  Her topic was "Pastoral Reflections on our Sacred Core and Sanctuary - where God' Voice Echoes in our Depths."  (This conference definitely goes in for long titles !)  Again this is one of those kinds of talks that had some good elements to it.  I think Linda can best describe this one.

When it came time for the celebration of the Eucharist Saturday night with Roger Mahoney, our numbers swelled to approx. 50 people !!   We were a significant presence at the Mass.    All of us were recognizable by our Dignity pins and shirts.  Many, if not most, of us spoke with the Cardinal in the reception line following the Mass.  Again I took the opportunity to request of his "eminence" (just love that title, don't you) that he not forget the contributions and gifts of his "brothers & sisters" in Dignity.  And furthermore I addressed him as "Roger".

After that, we had our own Dignity Dinner at a local coffee shop down the street from the hotel.  We had a great time and Jerry & I addressed the group and brought them up to date on the weekend meeting.

Sunday morning was devoted to geographical groups.  Linda & I participated in the Southern Calif. group (the biggest one).  One of the members of the group expressed frustration at the fact that when one does a

search of "Gay and Catholic" on the internet, one comes up with pages & pages of Dignity.  (need I say more)

Each day began with a prayer service.  And on this day, Sunday, Jerry & I were the sole readers for this service (both of us wearing Dignity shirts).

Dignity was denied a table to share our literature.  However, on a positive note, we did hand out our literature at one point in the weekend, Saturday morning.  I dare say that we reached virtually everyone in attendance this way.  Bob M. had a terrific selection of literature from the National Office, including the new question & answer brochure, the chronology of Dignity, the Dignity Statement and Solidarity Sunday stuff.

Our presence as a non-threatening organization was very much felt by those in attendance.  In essence they seem grateful for our voice in the Church (in private).  We say outloud and in print what they believe but dare not say in public.

My overall assessment of the weekend is very favorable.  I think there is a future of collaboration and dialogue between Dignity & NACDLGM.  We have shown them our deep sincerity and dedication to the fullness of life for the gay and lesbian Catholic.  We have shown them that we are not confrontational.  We have shown them that we are very aware of our gifts and our prophetic voice.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat McArron