Catholic Review Online: Courage
In an article dated today, His Excellency, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien discusses "Courage" in his weekly column, "Thoughts on Our Church." To cite just a part of this column:
I've heard Fr. Groeschel discuss this ministry on his Sunday evening TV show on EWTN. It is marvelous to hear that His Excellency plans to bring this ministry to the Archdiocese! Let us all pray for the Archbishop daily and for the success of this ministry.
With Father John Harvey, O.S.F.S., and Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., I was involved in the founding of Courage, a support group for Catholics with same-sex attractions who seek to live chaste lives. Off to a small start in 1980, Courage now has branches in 95 U.S. dioceses as well as in 12 other countries. The strength it continues to lend individuals and their families is a sure sign of God’s grace at work.
At present, we have EnCourage, a group that meets regularly in our Archdiocese. I wrote about it in this column in March after celebrating Mass for its members. EnCourage supports relatives and loved ones of individuals who are involved in same-sex relationships. These EnCourage members are often parents who have homosexually active children and see the sad gap between them and our Church’s stand. They have been univocal in expressing the need for Courage in our Archdiocese.
Now it is my hope to accede to their request and to other similar requests to promote and support our Church’s teaching with the formation of a Courage group. This I have begun and I will share details of our plans in a future column.