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Sydney gay and lesbian Catholic group, Acceptance, will carry through their forum on Catholic youth and sexuality, despite World Youth Day (WYD) organisers forcing the Jesuit Catholic spiritual group MAGiS08 to withdraw the event from their WYD schedule.
Acceptance Co-Convenor Paul Harris told SX that within 48 hours of the advertising going out, MAGiS were told by WYD offices to close the workshop, giving no reasons. “It made a lot of people angry considering that we’re offering something that is affirming for young gay and lesbian Catholics and their families,” Harris said.
The program was to feature a Jesuit priest speaking about the Church, Harris said.
“MAGiS saw this as a unique opportunity to run something that didn’t seem to be on offer. Unfortunately groups like MAGiS can’t give us their official support, even though we’ve had lots of unofficial support from lots of aspects of the Church, but not from the hierarchy or WYD.”
Acceptance will independently host the forum on Wednesday, July 16, at 7pm, at the University of Technology Sydney. The workshop will address the question, “Is there a place for gay and lesbian Catholic youth in the Church?”
Speakers include a pair of Catholic parents with two gay sons, a priest who has worked with GLBT communities, a youth worker from GLBT youth service Twenty10, and a gay Catholic university student.
For more details, visit www.GayCatholicYouthForum.org .
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