The Rev. Chris Carpenter, former pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church in Mesa, now living in southern California, recently sent the Valley media a lengthy letter that he titled, Something Died. It is a long lament to mark the period two years ago when Bishop Thomas Olmsted instructed nine priests to remove their names from a statement that was sympathetic to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenderd people. He was one of eight who begrudgingly did so.Carpenter, a priest since 1995 and known as “Father Flick” for his review of films for the Catholic Sun biweekly newspaper, wrote a pointed letter about that fateful month of May 2004 when they were told to take their names off the Phoenix Declaration. Its a rather well-crafted statement drawn up in 2003 by No Longer Silent Clergy for Justice, a widely ecumenical group of pastors calling for the religious community to get past its mindset about and treatment of LGBT people and make them full participants in all that is church in the 21st century.
Wrote Carpenter, now engaged in fund development in theater in Long Beach, Calif., Something died as a result of the personal and public showdown over the Phoenix Declaration. A chilling effect has been experienced throughout all Catholic parishes and institutions concerned about outreach and ministry to LGBT persons. He said the work that he and other priests and pastors had done over the years to welcome back into the church those who felt alienated came to naught when they submitted to the bishop.
Recently a Protestant pastor who signed the letter and had read Carpenters recent letter told me that Olmsteds crackdown indeed was a crushing blow to the No Longer Silent movement, and it has not recovered now two years later. Carpenter put it this way: “Being essentially forced to remove our names from the Phoenix Declaration wounded some of the positive but sensitive relationships with other Christian leaders that has been forged. In the rest of the letter, Carpenter said the climate toward LGBT people in the diocese compels previously faithful parishioners to look elsewhere in their desire for relevance, not to mention intelligibility.”
Carpenter boldly noted that he refuses to serve as a priest in a church environment that is increasingly sending a false and destructive message that my LGBT brothers and sisters and I are little more than immature, defective sex addicts.
Pretty passionate comments from the native Valley priest.
If you want to see the full contents of that May 1 letter, it follows:
SOMETHING DIED
by Rev. Chris Carpenter
It has been two years since I and eight other priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix were ordered by our new bishop to rescind our support of the No Longer Silent Phoenix Declaration, a landmark, ecumenical statement of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. The declaration had been publicized over a year prior, and none of our superiors
raised objections to it until that fateful month of May 2004. Indeed, the statement contains nothing explicitly contrary to official Catholic Church teaching.
I say “fateful” because among the eight of of us who subsequently withdrew our names in light of our promise of obedience to our bishop, only three are still serving as priests. Three of us former signers have resigned at least temporarily from ministry, another was suspended for unrelated reasons, and another has since passed away. The ninth priest refused to remove his name and consequently had his sacramental faculties suspended. Other priests, gay and straight, have resigned from ministry in the diocese since then as well. While they did not endorse the Phoenix Declaration, most of them share our concerns about the treatment of LGBT people by the Church and society at large.
Something died as a result of the personal and public showdown over the Phoenix Declaration. A chilling effect has been experienced throughout all Catholic parishes and institutions concerned about outreach and ministry to LGBT persons. The hard work that many of us priests and other ministers had done over the years in welcoming back those who had felt alienated by the
Church came to naught, as many of those who had returned left once again in anger. Being essentially forced to remove our names from the Phoenix Declaration wounded some of the positive but sensitive relationships with other Christian leaders that had been forged. More internally, it irrevocably damaged hopes for open dialogue and a truly collaborative relationship with our new bishop.
The sole ministry to LGBT persons now approved for use in the Phoenix Diocese is Courage, which was acclaimed in a recent issue of “The Catholic Sun.” Founded by a priest in New York City and blessed by the late Pope John Paul II, Courage is controversial for its predominant emphasis on chaste living, as if LGBT persons have no other spiritual or personal concerns. The ministry employs antiquated clinical language, preferring the terms “same-sex attraction” and “homosexual inclinations” over “sexual orientation.” It thus treats homosexuality as an addiction or compulsion not unlike alcoholism. Also, Courage’s literature includes a subtle but
nonetheless psychologically dubious encouragement of LGBT people to work to change their sexual orientation. Thankfully, Courage has gained only a small number of adherents in the Diocese of Phoenix thus far.
By contrast, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where I now reside on a self-imposed leave of absence, will be celebrating 20 years of ministry to and with its homosexual community with great fanfare on May 6. The L.A. Archdiocese’s Ministry with Lesbian & Gay Catholics (MLGC) is cardinal-approved and diocese-supervised, but doesn’t demand chastity as the price of admission. Official Church teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts isn’t swept under the rug, but it also isn’t wielded as a club to beat people into submission. An individual’s life experience and conscience are respected. LGBT people are encouraged to live their lives openly, not in the closet. As a result, MLGC has a vibrant presence in multiple parishes throughout greater Los Angeles.
Yes, something died in the Diocese of Phoenix two years ago. While more conservative Catholics may applaud the fact that the majority of us who originally endorsed the Phoenix Declaration are no longer in active ministry, the trade-off has been fewer native priests and a growing influx of foreign-born priests with little to no knowledge of the local language or culture. This is in turn compelling previously faithful parishioners to seek out other parishes and even other denominations and breakaway Catholic
communities in their desire for relevance, not to mention intelligibility.
I love the Church of Phoenix, which until recently was my life-long home. But sadly, part of me died there. I love ministry and being a priest, and I’m feeling the stirrings of new life in that regard. But I refuse to serve as a priest in a church environment that is increasingly sending a false and destructive message that my LGBT brothers and sisters and I are little more than immature, defective sex addicts. Where I will ultimately end up, only God knows. I believe God is calling the people of Phoenix to new life as
well, but difficult and courageous choices may yet have to be made. Which do you prefer: death or new life?
OK, so here we have supposedly a passionate man speaking about a passionate subject. The problem is, looks can be deceiving. As a parishioner of Christ the King, I can be “no longer silent” about how the good Reverand Carpenter cloaks his own personal agenda with the agenda of the LGBT community.
For the past several years, Fr. Chris has been an oppressive leader who chastised, berated, belittled, and attempted to control parishioners and staff members. He threatened those who did not 100% support his views on anything, not just LGBT issues. Many people left the parish during his tenure and it is noticeable to see the pews filling up again now that he is gone.
The church that Fr. Chris signed up to work for the day he was ordained is exactly the same church today. It is apparent from personal witness and his articles that he doesn’t want to play by those rules anymore. This is more about a disgruntled employee than about a segment of our society. There are LGBT parishioners at our parish who still remain and still worship at our church. I have no problem with this and I am almost certain that other parishioners love them for who they are. We are ALL sinners on this journey towards heaven, our ultimate goal.
Fr. Chris needs to have a deep personal discussion with Bishop Olmstead, his boss, about his issues and leave it out of the press.
I know absolutely nothing about Rev. Carpenter other than what I read in this editorial so I cannot comment on him personally. I was just speaking up on the stance he took with the LGBT.
I am very glad to hear that you (Kate) have and accept LGBT parishioners in your parish though.
This comment is very late considering the original article was written in May. I just have to say that as a FORMER Christ the King parishoner, I have to agree with Karen. My husband and I came back to the church in 1997 and I converted and was Baptized Catholic in 2000. I love my faith and I loved our parish and all of the people who attended. We were all very close and it was very family oriented. Father Chris destroyed all of that with his dictatorship style of guiding us. It was basically his way or leave. He was not driven to be a “family” and community. We had mostly young families attending and I remember one of his homilies was very harsh and not appropriate for children. A mother approached him about it saying that she was concerned that her children had heard this. He basically told her that she could take her family elsewhere. He has a personal and “power” driven agenda and we felt that it was time for us to move on. I do not believe in the “alternative” lifestyles, but would never judge or condemn anyone who chose to live that way. Some of my very good friends have this life style, but they don’t shove it down your throat so to speak. I look at people for who they are and what’s in their heart not what they do or practice. Like the first posting said God is the final judgement and we need to leave it to him. I think Father Chris needs to talk to the Bishop and see someone else’s point of view besides his own.
In self-defense, I feel I must respond to some of Kate and Debbie’s allegations, which have nothing to do with the original posting of my editorial “Something Died.” Note: one should be careful before posting broad complaints smearing the reputation of an individual or group on a public blog like this.
Kate and Debbie seem ignorant of the many good things I was able to accomplish over 8 1/2 years while serving at Christ the King. I faced unusual challenges as a pastor but am proud of how I handled them, even if some feel my choices were divisive. Of course, EVERY priest naturally gains critics while in a leadership position from those unwilling or unable to follow.
Re: both Kate and Debbie’s statement that I need “to talk to the bishop”, we did discuss my concerns for over a year prior to my decision to resign and take a leave of absence. I only went public with one (hardly all) of my concerns when I continued to receive questions and shared concerns from many lay people in the Diocese of Phoenix several months after my departure.
We Catholics are allegedly living in a new period of transparency and accountability in our leaders’ decision-making. Clearly some are uncomfortable with that, and are happier dragging the names and reputations of those brave enough to speak out through the mud. I feel sorry for those who cling more to illusion than reality, painful as it often is. I continue to pray each day for everyone in the Diocese of Phoenix, including its current leaders. Thank you.
Chris, just remember illusion is in the eye of the beholder and interpreted reality is always filtered by our own perception. Good leaders don’t always agree with their staff/people, but they don’t shut them down, either. By polarizing your views, you threw consensus and harmony out the window That was your downfall at CTK.