Chicago, Ill., Feb 14, 2010 / 14:45 pm
The New Ways Ministry for homosexual Catholics does not present an authentic view of Catholic teaching, Cardinal George has said. Rather, it confuses the faithful about the Church’s efforts to defend traditional marriage and to minister to homosexual persons.
“I wish to make it clear that, like other groups that claim to be Catholic but deny central aspects of Church teaching, New Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church and that they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the United States,” the cardinal explained.
Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), explained the history and status of the organization in a Feb. 5 statement
New Ways Ministry, based in Mount Rainier, Maryland, describes itself as a “gay-positive ministry of advocacy and justice.” Since its founding in 1977, the cardinal said, “serious questions” have been raised about its adherence to Catholic teaching on homosexuality.