ATLANTA-Soulforce Atlanta, a licensed local affiliate of Soulforce Inc., will be holding a peaceful vigil at the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Tuesday, November 9, 2004 from 11am-1pm in demonstration of Archbishop John F. Donoghue's refusal to meet with them.
Despite repeated contacts by both phone and mail, the Archbishop has indicated that he will not dialogue with the group regarding their concerns over the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) position on issues that affect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, including USCCB's public support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. Archbishop Donoghue is a member of the USCCB.
"Our intention is to sit down and begin an honest conversation with Archbishop Donoghue so that we can have insight into the Catholic Church's stance on issues pertinent to the gay community," said Chris Merritt, Soulforce Atlanta group leader. "At the same time, we also want to share with him the hurtful effects that the Church's language and rhetoric is having not only on GLBT Catholics and people of faith, but on society as a whole."
In preparation for the vigil, Soulforce Atlanta will be holding training at Epworth United Methodist Church on Sunday, November 7th from 2:00 - 3:30 pm. Individuals interested in participating in the vigil should plan on attending the training. For more information, contact Chris Merritt at 770-300-0488 or email soulforceatlanta@aol.com. Soulforce, Inc. is a national interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Soulforce teaches and employs the non-violent principles of Gandhi and King to the liberation of sexual and gender minorities. For more information, visit www.soulforce.org.
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