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officers from the torched bar, but their work had barely started. Rioting continued far into the night, with Puerto Rican transvestites and young street people leading charges against rows of uniformed police officers and then withdrawing to regroup in...alleys and side streets.

a

"By the following night, graffiti calling for "Gay Power" had appeared along Christopher Street. Knots of young gays-effeminate, according to most reports-gathered on corners, angry and restless. Someone heaved a sack of wet garbage through the window of a patrol car.. concrete block landed on the hood of another police car that was quickly surrounded by dozens of men, pounding on its doors and dancing on its hood. Helmeted officers from the tactical patrol force arrived on the scene and dispersed with swinging clubs an impromptu chorus line of gay men in the middle of a full kick. At the interesection of Greenwich Avenue and Christopher Street, several dozen queens

Publisher Cleveland Gay Peoples Press Associates

screaming "Save our Sister!" rushed a group of officers who were clubbing a young man and dragged him to safety. For the next few hours, trash fires blazed, bottles and stones flew through the air, and cries of "Gay Power! rang in the streets as the police, numbering over 400, did battle with a crowd estimated at more than 2,000."

For the first time, gay people had turned on their oppressors and fought back, showing we were no longer a safe target to attack and changing society's view of us. The Stonewall Riots were the catalyst that gave birth to the concept of gay pride and to the gay liberation movement. So we commemorate them. And doing so, should remember that a lesbian struck the first blow and that we owe much to the drag queens. They fought.

We urge our readers to attend the June 30 parade in Columbus. Taking part in this is a significant act, It's also fun. And it engenders a very strong sense of community, even of communion.

Pope's Image Tainted with Bigotry

Pope John Paul II's journey through the Netherlands drew small audiences but many demonstrators, some of whom wore pink triangles. More significant were the issues raised by active Catholics at official meetings, even though speakers expected to criticize the Church had been weeded out. Much of the criticism addressed to the Pope centered on the Church's sexism. Speakers called on him to modify its condemnation of birth control, divorce, extramarital sex, and gay people. They asked that it allow priests to marry, and that it ordain women.

While the Pope's reception in Belgium was much friendlier, he heard the same criticisms, delivered more politely. the New York Times. E. J. Dionne reported, "At event after event, there always seemed to be a polite, respectable-looking woman asking that women be given a bigger role in the church or calling for greater moral tolerance on sexual issues."

Rejecting all these calls for re-examining his stand on sexual issues, including the status of gay people, the Pope insisted that the Church's position was set from the beginning and endures for all time. Gay people have too often seen history

distorted by those who hate us.

We don't

know Christ's views on homosexuality. We don't know the views of early Christians. The early medieval church generally viewed gay sex as only a minor sin: necessarily a sin because it occurred outside the bonds of marriage, but much less serious than adultery. The first ecumenical council to condemn homosexual acts was Lateran II in 1179, which also condemned Jews, Moslems, heretics, and minorities in general. It based its condemnation of gay people on a misunderstanding of the Old Testament story of the destruction of Sodom, not on Christian teaching.

The cautious optimism engendered by Vatican II has not been fulfilled. The

Catholic church has gone no further than defining a homosexual orientation as acceptible providing it does not lead to sexual acts. Members of the clergy who wished to go beyond this have been silenced.

The Pope's unyielding condemnation of us can be called nothing other than homophobic, like that of Cardinal O'Connor. News stories about his recent trip emphasized his love of children. Does he realize that some of these children are gay?

The Value of Readers' Letters

This month, letters to the editor suddenly jumped in quantity. We were particularly pleased to receive Ray O'Loughlin's letter; not simply because he congratulated us (although that was very pleasant), but because he is a professional gay journalist who knows the Cleveland lesbian/gay community at first hand and has published a description and analysis of it.

liked his stressing the importance of reliable, locally run media.

But we welcome all letters from our readers, even those like Mr. Glassborn with whose criticism, however sincere, we cannot agree. And we appreciate their taking the time to write. Letters help us assess the reactions to The Chronicle and give us an indication of the community's interests.

June 1985

Advisory Board Charles Adams, Rick Berg Jerry Bores, Charles Callender, Rob Daroff, Bob Downing, Karen Giffen, Mark Kroboth, Joy Medley, Martha Pontoni, Bob Reynolds

Business Manager Bob Reynolds

Advertising Manager Joy Medley

Circulation Manager Bob Downing Editor-in-Chief

Charles Callender

Assistant Editor Rick Berg

Writers

Rick Berg, James Barnouw, Charles Callender, Katherine Clark, Rob Daroff Mark Kroboth, Casimir Kuczinski, Sebestian Melmoth, Martha Pontoni

Photographer Rob Daroff

Columnists

Peter Beebe, L. Kolke, Alex Liberacki, Jym Roe, Julian Wilde

Production Staff James Amerson, Rick Berg Charles Callender Rob Daroff, Mark Kroboth, Jeff Lang, Joy Medley Publication of the name, picture, or other representation of an individual, organization, or place of business in the Chronicle is not indicative of his, hers, or its sexual orientation or character.

Any materials submitted for publication will be subject to editing. The Chronicle cannot guarantee the return of any such material unless accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope.

Advertisers may obtain rate sheets and other information by writing the Chron icle, P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, Ohio 44101. The Chronicle is distributed free of charge in any establishment that permits distribution.

The Chronicle is copyrighted under federal law. Any reproduction of its contents is prohibited unless either written or verbal permission is obtained.

Circulation: 6,000 Distribution: Northern

Ohio.

Telephone: 932-2195