Gay Liberation Network cancels protest, cites disagreement with other LGBT groups
Sat. January 7, 2012 2:18 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Chicago, IL -
The Gay Liberation Network (GLN), which Friday called Cardinal Francis George's apology "pathetically inadequate," has reversed its decision to move forward with a planned protest Sunday against the cardinal.
"While taking this action, we highlight our sharp disagreement with some LGBT groups which previously backed the protest and now bubble over with undeserved praise for Cardinal George," said GLN in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
George issued an apology Friday on the Archdiocese of Chicago website for repeatedly comparing the gay liberation movement to the Ku Klux Klan.
"A web posting is about as passive a delivery of an apology as you can get," GLN said in a statement released late Friday. "Cardinal George could have picked up the phone and called an LGBT journalist and had a genuine dialog about the issues."
George, the head of the Catholic Conference of Illinois and the Archbishop of Chicago, first made controversial comments about the LGBT community to Fox Chicago News on Dec. 21.
"You don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating against Catholicism," George said on Fox Chicago Sunday, which aired Christmas morning.
GLN organized a demonstration against George with the Catholic LGBT group Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) which was to take place Sunday, Jan. 8 outside Holy Name Cathedral.
With the cancellation of Sunday's protest, GLN says they are doubling efforts to secure participation in the Freedom to Marry Day demonstration scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State St.
George and the Archdiocese of Chicago have long clashed with the LGBT community on matters of equality, most-recently the church has fought the passage and implementation of civil unions in the state.
Equality Illinois and The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), two of the state's largest LGBT advocacy organizations, along with Rainbow Sash Movement and the national LGBT advocacy group Truth Wins Out have commended the cardinal's statement.
"A true leader can admit when they are wrong, and the Cardinal has set a good example of leadership today with his statement," said Anthony Martinez, executive director of TCRA. "Now, with this apology, the LGBT community and the Catholic community can begin to heal the divides that this has caused."
"While taking this action, we highlight our sharp disagreement with some LGBT groups which previously backed the protest and now bubble over with undeserved praise for Cardinal George," said GLN in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
George issued an apology Friday on the Archdiocese of Chicago website for repeatedly comparing the gay liberation movement to the Ku Klux Klan.
"A web posting is about as passive a delivery of an apology as you can get," GLN said in a statement released late Friday. "Cardinal George could have picked up the phone and called an LGBT journalist and had a genuine dialog about the issues."
George, the head of the Catholic Conference of Illinois and the Archbishop of Chicago, first made controversial comments about the LGBT community to Fox Chicago News on Dec. 21.
"You don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating against Catholicism," George said on Fox Chicago Sunday, which aired Christmas morning.
GLN organized a demonstration against George with the Catholic LGBT group Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) which was to take place Sunday, Jan. 8 outside Holy Name Cathedral.
With the cancellation of Sunday's protest, GLN says they are doubling efforts to secure participation in the Freedom to Marry Day demonstration scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 12 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State St.
George and the Archdiocese of Chicago have long clashed with the LGBT community on matters of equality, most-recently the church has fought the passage and implementation of civil unions in the state.
Equality Illinois and The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA), two of the state's largest LGBT advocacy organizations, along with Rainbow Sash Movement and the national LGBT advocacy group Truth Wins Out have commended the cardinal's statement.
"A true leader can admit when they are wrong, and the Cardinal has set a good example of leadership today with his statement," said Anthony Martinez, executive director of TCRA. "Now, with this apology, the LGBT community and the Catholic community can begin to heal the divides that this has caused."