* From the Diocese website…

“During a recent TV interview, speaking about this year’s Gay Pride Parade, I used an analogy that is inflammatory.

“I am personally distressed that what I said has been taken to mean that I believe all gays and lesbians are like members of the Klan. I do not believe that; it is obviously not true. Many people have friends and family members who are gay or lesbian, as have I. We love them; they are part of our lives, part of who we are. I am deeply sorry for the hurt that my remarks have brought to the hearts of gays and lesbians and their families.

“I can only say that my remarks were motivated by fear for the Church’s liberty. This is a larger topic that cannot be explored in this expression of personal sorrow and sympathy for those who were wounded by what I said.”

Francis Cardinal George, OMI

* Equality Illinois’ response…

“It appears that the Cardinal has had a chance to reflect on the deeply hurtful and destructive statement he had made on Christmas day in comparing the movement for LGBT equality to the Ku Klax Klan. His apology is important and will go some way toward healing the pain he has caused. However, his actions will speak louder than words, and we will be paying attention to see if his words translate into acts of dignity and respect towards LGBT people.” - said Bernard Cherkasov, Chief Executive Officer of Equality Illinois, the state’s oldest and largest organization advocating for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

* More react…

“It’s a very cowardly way to deliver a statement,” said Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network. “He not only made the statement twice, but three times, and he didn’t even make the apology to the people who his original statement was directed to.”

“I am underwhelmed,” Thayer told Chicago Phoenix. […]

“This is really fantastic news,” said Anthony Martinez, executive director of The Civil Rights Agenda. “I am actually really pleased that the cardinal is taking responsibility for his hurtful words. This will really allow the divides created by his harmful remarks between the Catholic Church and the LGBT community.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** From Rep. Greg Harris…

“I am glad that Cardinal George has reconsidered his remarks. Part of what makes America great is that the Catholic Church, and all faiths, are guaranteed Freedom of Religion by our Constitution. Similarly, the LGBT community will continue to struggle to achieve Equal Treatment Under the Law guaranteed by the our Constitution. In our democracy there will be philosophical, cultural and faith-based differences. However, we should always address these differences with respect and tolerance, and not attacks based on fear.”

*** UPDATE 1 *** Laurie Higgins, Cultural Analyst for the Illinois Family Institute…

I agree that the analogy was inflammatory and that the point that homosexual activism is becoming increasingly hateful, aggressive, and tyrannical could have been made without it. Cardinal George could have said that some homosexual activists discriminate based on religion; that some activists hate people who hold orthodox theological beliefs on homosexuality; that some employ hateful and obscene rhetoric; that some march in the streets violating public decency laws and promoting evil ideas; that some seek to diminish other people’s fundamental constitutionally protected liberties; and that some seek to use public schools to promulgate their philosophical, moral, and political beliefs about homosexuality. All of this may be hurtful to hear, but it is not unethical to say.

What I wish Cardinal George had said was that homosexual acts are soul-destroying acts that are “detestable” in God’s eyes and that the parade is a tragic, offensive event that shouldn’t take place on any day in any neighborhood. It is not an act of love to affirm or appear to affirm that which God condemns.

*Cardinal George should not use the terms “gay” and “lesbian.” Those terms do not merely denote same-sex attraction and volitional acts. They connote biological determinism, immutability, and an inherent morality. What other groups would Cardinal George choose to identify by their disordered inclinations and freely chosen sinful acts? Rhetoric matters.