A Letter to Bishop Malone

P.O. Box 637
North Berwick, ME 03906
October 26, 2009

Bishop Richard Malone
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Maine
510 Ocean Avenue
P.O. Box 11559
Portland, ME 04104

Dear Bishop Malone,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to you. Be assured that I have put this to prayer over these last several weeks. I am now writing to you about the diocese’s and your position on Maine Question 1.

Three weeks ago at Mass, I was most disturbed to have the sacred liturgy interrupted by your political infomercial. I have always believed that it is our sacred liturgy that binds our faith community together. However, three weeks ago I saw our faith community torn apart by your “homily”. Many in the assembly left the church during your infomercial, only to return after it was over. Most were appalled at the half-truths promulgated in your speech; and some, even though they may have agreed with you, were upset because it caused many uncomfortable questions from their children who were attending Mass with their parents as a family - - the true “domestic church”.

I never in my life thought that I would live to see the day when a member of the Catholic episcopacy would actually encourage Catholics to vote for discrimination against a minority. As a junior in college in the spring of 1965, at the age of 18, I spent a month in Selma, Alabama. I have always taken the Church’s attitudes about peace and social justice seriously. I have been a proud and faithful Catholic for my entire life, now over 62 years, and I am appalled at your stance about civil marriage equality. I am sure that in the past, there were bishops who spoke out for slavery, against civil rights, and against women’s suffrage, but I thought that we, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, had moved beyond such misguided ideas as “God’s will”. I have attended Catholic schools throughout most of my life and have completed post graduate work in Catholic theology. And, as a result, I must vote my conscience on all matters: peace, social justice and rights for minorities and the oppressed.

As for your claim, as stated in your “homily”, that it is all about “protecting the children”, I find that a little hard to accept. If children are raised in a loving home with parents who love and care for them, regardless of the parents’ sexuality, they will have all they need to succeed in life and grow up to be loving, caring individuals. After all, the members of the Catholic episcopacy have very little high moral ground on which to stand about protecting children, given recent events.

I firmly believe that one’s sexuality is not a choice, it is the way we, each one of us, were created; and God, She doesn’t make mistakes. I, personally, did not wake up one morning in my teens, and choose to be heterosexual, any more than any gay or lesbian person made the choice about their own sexuality.

God is Love, Lover and Beloved. Since all love is God, what difference does the form of that love make? I do believe that all love should be celebrated and blessed.

I remain a proud Catholic for marriage equality and encourage my Catholic sisters and brothers to support equal rights for all of us, no matter what their created sexuality.

With peace and love I remain

Sincerely yours,

Pamela Murphy Ewers