Museum Caretakers

I suppose being Catholic and being confused in the modern world is not necessarily an oxymoron, but I do have to confess that confused I am. I read recently that one of our Catholic Bishops was sent to the retirement farm prematurely because he had the audacity to reach out to the people who could be compared to the lepers in Christ’s time. But that is not the primary source of my confusion. I have been a lay leader of the abandoned Gay and Lesbian Catholic Dignity Community in Sarasota Florida for four years. We have extended our hand to the local Bishops and not surprising we were slapped in the face. The more disappointing surprise has been the lack of compassion and outreach by local pastors and priests. My confusion is that we, as lay persons, are left to provide a sanctuary to Gay and Lesbian Catholics while the clergy seeks self growth within the Church all the time ignoring the true mission of Christ, to love one another.
There will be a time, if the current philosophy of the Church holds, when the Vatican will only be the curators of a large museum and will be looked upon as one of the greatest failures in Christendom. This I promise will happen if they continue on the course they are on.