Over the past half-century, debates over homosexuality have divided many of the world's largest Christian bodies.
Next week, nationally recognized faith leaders will discuss how their religious traditions are addressing issues of human sexuality in the 21st century.
"The LGBTQ+ Community and the Future of the American Church," is the topic of Wednesday's forum, which is being hosted by the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton School of Public Service, and the Clinton Presidential Center.
Panelists include:
• Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest and prolific author whose works include "Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter Into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity."
• Sarah Wilke, director of global relations for the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College, a United Methodist-affiliated institution located in Winfield, Kan. Wilke's testimony, as a lifelong lesbian Christian, is included in the DVD series "Faithful and Inclusive -- The Bible, Sexuality, and the United Methodist Church."
• Frederick A. Davie, a Presbyterian minister and member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom who also serves as senior strategic adviser to the president at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Religion Editor Frank Lockwood will serve as moderator.
The event is the latest installment in the Clinton Center's Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series, which honors the late Kula and Dr. Frank Kumpuris.
It coincides with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Pride Month.
"The Clinton Center's Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series was established to bring our community together to discuss important, timely topics on a range of issues with speakers from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. Pride month gives us an opportunity to gain deeper insight into some of the ongoing challenges faced by our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and we are grateful that these respected faith leaders will share their perspectives on the intersection of human sexuality and faith," said Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the Clinton Foundation. "While each panelist represents a distinct faith tradition, they share a common message and commitment to inclusivity."
For much of American history, gays and lesbians were outcasts.
Until 2003, states could criminalize consensual intimate relationships between same-sex adults. Until 2015, states could prohibit same-sex marriage.
While barriers to equality are falling in the secular world, they remain common in religious circles, though gay rights advocates are increasingly making inroads there as well.
In an interview Wednesday, Martin said it's important for Christians to stand with the oppressed.
"The first thing is, this is what Jesus did, which is reaching out to people on the margins. And there's no one more marginalized in the Catholic church than the LGBTQ person," he said.
"Second, this is an at-risk community: At-risk of violence and harassment and beatings and discrimination and contempt. Also, when you look at youth in particular, at-risk of suicide and self-harm and homelessness, so it's also about standing with people who are persecuted and who need our help," he said.
LGBTQ Catholics, he emphasized, are full-fledged members of the community of faith.
"They're part of the church. It's as much their church, too, as anybody else's," he added.
Martin, editor at large of the Jesuit publication, America magazine, will share that message today at Outreach 2022, an LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference, which is being held at Fordham University Lincoln Center in New York.
Topics include "LGBTQ Ministry in Catholic Parishes" and "Who Am I to Judge? Theological Insights for LGBTQ Catholics."
(In 2013, Pope Francis told reporters: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?")
Francis is familiar with and supportive of Martin's outreach to gay Catholics. The pope held a private Vatican audience with Martin in September 2019, and sent him a handwritten letter, prior to last year's Outreach conference.
In his message to Martin, Francis wrote: "You are a priest for all men and women, just as God is the Father for all men and women. I pray for you to continue in this way, being close, compassionate and with great tenderness.
"And I pray for your faithful, your 'parishioners,' and anyone whom the Lord places in your care, so that you protect them, and make them grow in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
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NoneIf you go
The public is invited to attend “The LGBTQ+ Community and the Future of the American Church” from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The event will also be livestreamed at live.clintonpresidentialcenter.org.
Registration is available at forms.clinton-foundation.org/view.php?id=778889