Letter to Rev. Cilinski

Here's the letter I sent Rev. Cilinski regarding member of his church opposing a gay-owned business in Manassas (you can do the same via colby@allsaintsva.org):

To the Rev. Robert Cilinski
via Pat Colby email

Dear Rev. Cilinski -

I read with dismay this morning in the Washington Post that a gay man, Howard Daniel, in Manassas, is being denied a business license due to the fact that he is gay. Yes, I know, that's not what the opponents are saying but their actions (including using anti-gay graffiti) are speaking louder than their words.

The Post reports that many of his opponents are affiliated with your church.

Now, I am aware of your church's teachings on homosexuality. But no one's talking about opening up a gay massage parlor in your parish hall. Or even right next door to your church. This is a case of a well-established, former Marine reservist who has been in a long term relationship for 22 years, who, with the support of his neighbors, wants to open a legitimate business in his home. And, like the person who obtained a license from the Manassas City Council before him, would be well on his way to pursuing his dream if it weren't for the army of your congregants, marching into his neighborhood and putting up a fuss.

I don't understand this. The Jesus of the Gospel I read would not have led such a mob. He might have stopped in for a massage as he was on his feet a lot and probably suffered chronic back pain. I don't image the roads were very smooth back then and sitting on a donkey was probably not good for the lower back. Matthew 26:6-13 would seem to suggest that Jesus was not adverse to personal attention.

Further, and more importantly, such actions do not seem to speak out of the love of Christ that can be found in the Gospels. I'm thinking of Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27. If Jesus commands his followers to love even their enemies, how is it your church members are actively harming a man who has done nothing to them?

I'm not asking you to accept Mr. Daniels into your church or invite him over to the rectory for 60 minutes of deep tissue (though it sounds like some of your church members are a little uptight). I'm asking that the good people of All Saints leave him alone.

I'm also asking you to think of what harm this is doing any children in your congregation who may be gay. The church seemed to recognize that homosexuality can be innate in 1975, as outlined in the "Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics" issued in that year. I wonder what effect campaigns like the one against Daniel is telling these kids, already feeling isolated and alone in struggling with their feelings, who see their mommies and daddies unleashing anger if not hate against someone they suspect may be like themselves.

I end with the words of the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who wrote in 1986 that:

"It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastor's wherever it occurs. It reveals a kind of disregard for others which endangers the most fundamental principles of healthy society. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law."

Ratzinger must know what he's talking about, because you guys made him Pope. I hope you will call on your church members to cease and desist. It would seem to be the Christian thing to do.