Washington D.C., Apr 5, 2013 / 17:10 pm
Students and parishioners are speaking up for a Catholic priest after two gay students at George Washington University said they want him removed for supporting the Church's stance on homosexual behavior.
"I have never seen Fr. Greg be less than compassionate to any student on an issue of sexuality," Catholic author and speaker Dawn Eden told CNA April 5. "He's been instrumental in helping them to find healing in Christ."
Eden, who is a parishioner at Saint Stephen Martyr Parish where Fr. Greg Schaffer serves as chaplain to the GWU Newman Center, said participation in Catholic life "shot up exponentially" since his arrival in 2009.
These comments come in the wake of an effort by two former Newman Center members seeking to force Fr. Schaffer off campus at the D.C. university, saying that they felt alienated by his defense of the Church's teaching on homosexuality.
Seniors Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, both of whom are gay, want Fr. Schaffer removed because he taught that homosexual behavior is immoral, consistent with the teaching of the Catholic faith.