December 21, 2001 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

on the airoff the press

Gay Catholics urged to come out, and stay in the church

by John Graves

"We need publicly out lesbians and gays in our schools...our pulpits and our pews," freelance writer Robert J. Comiskey urged in a full-page column in the November 16 issue of the National Catholic Reporter.

Comiskey, who holds a doctorate in religion and ethics, describes progress in the church's development of support groups and other programs for lesbians and gays. He

notes public statements of support from Los

Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney, who called for full inclusion of lesbians and gays in church life in his Lenten message last March.

Comiskey also points out Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbelton's response to a March 19 article by Fr. Gerald Coleman that urged gay Catholic teachers in Catholic schools to stay in the closet, "since, in his judgment, by coming out they would lose credibility as public representatives of the church."

Gumbleton wrote, "Homosexual persons are good and loved by God. They have no reason to be in hiding. They have a right to be known, respected and loved as they are. We are the ones who have to change our thinking."

"It is time for our homosexual brothers and sisters to show up, participate and stay," Comiskey says. "It will only be through experience with publicly out homosexual persons that prejudices and fears will be overcome, and more serious dialogue on the issues--particularly those matters in which full integration is not possible can commence at the grassroots level, beyond the walls of the Vatican, episcopal conferences and academia."

I know personally of which Comiskey speaks. As an out Catholic and a member of St. Louis parish in Cleveland Heights, I was asked to share my thoughts on the Boy Scouts

of America's ban on gay members or leaders. A parent-advocate for the homeless and former WRUW 91.1 FM program director Brian Davis-had asked whether or not, in light of St. Louis's commitment to social justice, it should continue to support a Scout troop that has met there for 45 years.

During three months of intense, often heated discussions, I heard almost all of the stereotypes about gay people. But I also saw people trying to reconcile those stereotypes with the real presence of an out and respected member of their own parish family.

I also saw people come out about their own loved ones who were lesbian and gay, and their mixed feelings about the Supreme Court decision that allowed the Boy Scouts to continue their anti-gay policy.

Although the parish council did not drop the Scout troop, the issue is not closed and we realize we are still learning what it means to be lesbian or gay. A few months later I, an out member of the parish, was asked to sit on the parish council.

In his conclusion, Comiskey says, "By and large, I honestly do believe that the majority of our Catholic churchgoers are remarkably tolerant and accepting persons. Notwithstanding the poisonous fumes emanating in numerous instances from the pulpit and the pews, success . . . will largely be achieved by showing up and letting the church know that publicly out gays and lesbians are here to stay."

Tom Cruise is not gay, repeat, not gay

Tom Cruise has dropped his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Michael Davis, publisher of Bold magazine, for sending news releases to at least a dozen U.S. media organizations stating that Cruise had a gay relationship during his marriage to his ex-wife, Nicole Kidman.

In a stipulation approved November 29 by Judge Emilie Elias, the publisher agreed that "Cruise does not appear on the videotape to which said defendant referred . . ." and that "[Cruise] is not, and never has been, homosexual and has never had a homosexual affair."

The settlement also requires Davis to pay his own legal fees and prohibits him from "issuing or authorizing the issuance of any statement contrary to any of the foregoing findings."

Davis' attorney, Edward Pilot, said Davis was satisfied with the result.

"My client was sued for $100 million,” Pilot said. "As it turned out, he did not pay Mr. Cruise a penny, so obviously we are pleased with the outcome."

Cruise's attorney, Bertram Fields, said the actor was also satisfied with the terms of the settlement saying, “Essentially, what Tom was after was the very finding that the court made. The story was false, he's not gay, and the judge so ruled."

"Execution of Wanda Jean' premieres

The Execution of Wanda Jean, directed by Liz Garbus, will premiere in the documentary competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

The film is about the last days of Wanda Jean Allen, an African-American lesbian who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for shooting her lover Gloria Leathers outside an Oklahoma City police station in 1989.

Execution is also tentatively scheduled to make its television debut next March as part of HBO's "America Undercover" Sundays series. It follows Allen's final months on death row as she and her legal team prepare for her clemency hearing and her family, friends, and spiritual advisors have their final visits with the condemned woman.

Garbus also tells the story of the victim's family. Her mother Ruby Wilson was able to forgive Allen, even though she witnessed the fatal shooting.

During her clemency hearings, Allen's attorneys argued that her defense had failed

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to present crucial and potentially life-saving

evidence that she had borderline mental retardation and brain damage during her original trial.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which in its thirty-year history has never granted clemency, denied her plea and Wanda Jean Allen was executed on January 11, 2001 after spending 11 years on death row. She was the first black woman to be put to death in the United States in the modern era.

Sundance films of note

Other films of interest to the LGBT community at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival include The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, produced by lesbian icon Jodie Foster; Gerry, a new film directed by Gus Van Sant starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck; The Good Girl, a new film from Miguel Arteta and Mike White (Chuck and Buck); the thriller One Hour Photo, produced by Christine Vachon's Killer Films; and Lan Yu, director Stanley Kwan's portrait of a Beijing businessman in the late 1980s who has an affair with an ambitious country boy.

Another documentary on the list, according to the Advocate, is Britney Baby One More Time, in which struggling filmmaker Ludi Boeken's anticipated exclusive interview with Britney Spears mutates into a wild road trip with transvestite Britney look-alike Robert Stephens.

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys was scheduled to debut at Sundance last year, but was withdrawn when the animated sequences by Spawn creator Todd McFarland couldn't be completed in time. It will be seen at this year's festival, which begins January 10.

Queer Duck moves to cable

Showtime has ordered 20 episodes of the online cartoon Queer Duck, including 15 new episodes and the five original ones that ran on Icebox.com in October 2000.

The Queer Duck show, which features the lives of gay cartoon characters, is written by Mike Reiss who has won three Emmy awards for his work in other animated series, including The Simpsons and The Critic,.

With plans to show it both online and on TV, Showtime will launch the online version January 23 on Sho.com, said the Hollywood Reporter in its December 13 issue. No airdate has been set for the cable version.

Abe would have been proud

Two weeks ago, the NBC drama Ed aired a story about a school drama coach who was being fired for not casting a talented black student in the role of Abe Lincoln.

Turns out the person pushing for his firing was a homophobe school board member who had failed in his previous attempts to get the teacher fired for being gay.

In the end, the father of the student who didn't get the Lincoln role testified that he thought the teacher should keep his job. The jury found for the teacher. The judge, applauding the decision, told the teacher he still had his job and told the board member, “Good luck in keeping your job."

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, a lesbian-gay public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Fridays at 7 pm, and at http://radio.cwru.edu. Dave Haskell, Jim McGrattan and Kim Jones also contributed to this column.

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Historic St. John's Episcopal Church

Saint John's extends a special welcome to the Lesbian and Gay Community of Cleveland.

Welcomes you!

Fr. David Bargetzi, Rector, and his partner,

Stephen Gracey, invite you to explore this

friendly, loving, and diverse church.

Christmas Eve, Midnight Mass 11:00 PM

Sunday Eucharist, 11:30 AM

2600 Church Avenue

(Church Ave. & West 26th St.)

Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Phone: (216) 781-5546

http://www.dohio.org/stjohn/ email: indigo@stratos.net,