Toledo, Ohio, May 7, 2009 / 02:51 am
Bishop of Toledo, Ohio Leonard Blair has banned a workshop on homosexual ministry that was scheduled to start on May 1, saying its positions were "not at all in accord" with U.S. bishops’ guidelines and do not present the "full, authentic teaching" of the Catholic Church.
The three-day workshop was offered by New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that describes itself as "a gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian and gay Catholics." According to the Toledo Blade, the workshop was to take place at the Sisters of St. Francis campus in Tiffin, Ohio.
Sally Oberski, director of communications for the Toledo diocese, said that Bishop Blair had sent a letter to Sister Jacquelyn Doepker, head of the Sisters of St. Francis, asking her to cancel the workshop.
According to the Toledo Blade, Bishop Blair in his letter said "the positions of New Ways Ministry are not at all in accord with the guidelines for pastoral care which the bishops of the United States issued in 2006 regarding 'Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination.' Nor does New Ways Ministry present the full, authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality."