Pope nixes speech, so Gaillot gives
interviews
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
NCR Staff Rome
As gag orders go, this has to rank
as one of the least effective in recent Vatican history.
French Bishop Jacques Gaillot, reached on his cell phone the
afternoon of July 2 by the president of his countrys bishops
conference, was told that the pope did not want him to speak at a World Pride
session on religion and homosexuality July 3. Gaillot honored the edict by
staying out of the conference room at the Hotel Cicerone.
But the pope didnt tell Gaillot to leave the hotel, so the
controversial French prelate, removed from his diocese in 1995 in part because
of his support for gay rights, spent the day in the lobby making himself
available to reporters. His comments have received wide coverage.
Everyone has a place in the church, especially those on the
margins, Gaillot said. The role of the church should be to stand
with those who are suffering, not with the far-right groups.
Homosexuals are knocking at the gates of the church, and
they want the church to open the treasures of the gospel to them, he
said. We must provoke the church to give an answer that comes from beyond
itself, that comes from Christ.
Gaillot also indirectly criticized the popes decision to
block his speech: It is not natural that people cant express
themselves, he said. Gaillot said the pope did not offer a reason for his
instruction.
When Gaillot was removed as bishop of Evreux in January 1995, the
Vatican cited his stances on contraception, priestly celibacy, the use of
condoms in AIDS prevention and civil recognition of homosexual unions.
National Catholic Reporter, July 14,
2000
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