Fordham’s Bryan Massingale “jubilant” after Francis comes-out for same-sex unions

[Michie]

On October 23, 2020, Fr. Bryan Massingale was interviewed by NPR about Pope Francis’ statements concerning same-sex civil unions. When asked about the Pope’s remarks, Massingale said:

I was actually very excited and even jubilant, I have to say. I was very, very pleased to hear the pope make this kind of endorsement of civil unions for gay and lesbian persons.

He continued:

…I think what the pope is saying is that he is not opposed to the legal recognition of family life and the right for gay and lesbian persons to raise and have families.

When asked about the possibility of the Catholic Church recognizing same-sex marriages, Massingale said:

…I know many others, gay and lesbian persons and those who are allies and who love us – would want the church to be able to one day recognize the loving commitments of LGBTQ persons in the sacrament of marriage.

Although Massingale stated that Francis has not changed “church teaching,” he still says: “I think for queer Catholics, it’s a sign of hope that the church can change. It can grow. It can evolve.”

Bryan Massingale is currently a professor of Theology at Fordham University. In 2017, Massingale spoke at New Ways Ministry’s Eight National Symposium; Jesuit priest James Martin and Bishop John Stowe have also spoken at events sponsored by New Ways Ministry. In 1999, the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, Fr. Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick, were officially silenced by the Vatican. In 2010, Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I, Archbishop of Chicago and then-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on the status of the organization “New Ways Ministry;” here is an excerpt:

Continued below.
Fordham's Bryan Massingale "jubilant" after Francis comes-out for same-sex unions

 

[chevyontheriver]

Bryan Massingale is currently a professor of Theology at Fordham University. In 2017, Massingale spoke at New Ways Ministry’s Eight National Symposium; Jesuit priest James Martin and Bishop John Stowe have also spoken at events sponsored by New Ways Ministry. In 1999, the co-founders of New Ways Ministry, Fr. Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick, were officially silenced by the Vatican. In 2010, Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I, Archbishop of Chicago and then-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on the status of the organization “New Ways Ministry;” here is an excerpt:

Fordham is a lost place. It should have been shut down long ago.

 

[Michie]

The question was why wasn’t it?

 

[chevyontheriver]

The question was why wasn’t it?

That can be laid on the doorstep of McCarrick, instrumental in the Land-o-Lakes Statement. He basically assisted in the liberation of Fordham and most of the rest of Catholic colleges and universities from the Church. Ruined. But it wasn't just McCarrick. It was Theodore Hesburg and Tracy Ellis among others.

The Land O’ Lakes Statement Has Caused Devastation For 50 Years - Cardinal Newman Society

McCarrick and theological dissent in the Sixties: Observations of a contemporary