You don’t see this every day. Worshippers at a Milwaukee Catholic were stunned when the Rev. Gregory Greiten used his Sunday address to come out of the closet.
“I will embrace the person that God created me to be,” Greiten wrote. “In my priestly life and ministry, I, too, will help you, whether you are gay or straight, bisexual or transgendered, to be your authentic self — to be fully alive living in your image and likeness of God.”
Instead of rejecting him for his unorthodox views, the church embraced Greiten’s openness. Catholicism’s relationship with homosexuality has historically been fraught with strife. Greiten’s congregation, however, never hesitated. His announcement was greeted with a standing ovation.
“We support Father Greiten in his own personal journey and telling his story of coming to understand and live with his sexual orientation,” Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki said in a statement Monday. “As the Church teaches, those with same-sex attraction must be treated with understanding and compassion.”
The church is evolving. Homosexuality is still a sticky issue, but many devout people no longer classify it as a sin. Greiten’s parishioners truly accept him. He’s their priest, their spiritual leader. They don’t care about his sexual history.
According to the New York Post: “Greiten said he revealed his sexual orientation because he wants to be a role model for others. He said he’s helping to break the silence of gay men in the clergy so he could reclaim his own voice.”
Greiten intends to continue his work with the church.
(Source: New York Post)