A Roman Catholic priest on Sunday came
out gay to his congregation.
According to the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, the Rev. Gregory Greiten received a
standing ovation when he told his congregation: “I am Greg. I am a
Roman Catholic priest. And, yes, I am gay!”
Greiten serves as the pastor of St.
Bernadette Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Archbishop
Jerome Listecki said in a statement that he supports Greiten.
In an op-ed published in the National
Catholic Reporter on Monday, Greiten came out to the rest of the
world, saying that he stands with the “few courageous priests who
have taken the risk to come out of the shadows and have chosen to
live in truth and authenticity.”
The Catholic Church teaches that acting
on same-sex attraction is a sin.
“By choosing to enforce silence, the
institutional church pretends that gay priests and religious do not
really exist,” he wrote. “Because of this, there are no
authentic role models of healthy, well-balanced, gay, celibate
priests to be an example for those, young and old, who are struggling
to come to terms with their sexual orientation. This only
perpetuates the toxic shaming and systemic secrecy.”
"I promise to be my authentically
gay self.”
"I have lived far too many years
chained up and imprisoned in the closet behind walls of shame, trauma
and abuse because of the homophobia and discrimination so prevalent
in my church and the world. But rather, today, I chart a new course
in freedom and in integrity knowing that there is nothing that anyone
can do to hurt or destroy my spirit any longer. First steps in
accepting and loving the person God created me to be. 'I am Greg. I
am a Roman Catholic priest. And, yes, I am gay!'” he concluded.