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Toronto Priest Disciplined for Support of Homosexual 'Marriage' Now Says He's 'Gay'

Homosexual Activists Campaign Archdiocese on Priest's Behalf

TORONTO, March 8, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Father Tim Ryan, the Toronto Priest who was forbidden to say public Masses by the Archdiocese of Toronto last month for having submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court of Canada in defence of homosexual 'marriage', has indicated he is 'gay' in an opinion piece in the Toronto Star.

Rev. Ryan defends his position against the Catholic Church's consistent moral teaching saying, "For the last 30 years, I have struggled, along with many others, to develop mutual support structures for gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities within a church that has remained generally inhospitable to the acceptance of such human diversity." He indicates he is actively 'gay' saying, "While many Catholic gays and lesbians have left the Church behind or have opted to move on to more welcoming Christian communities, some of us have chosen to remain. In addition to trying to create and maintain a small welcoming community within the church, we have tried to engage in patient dialogue with the larger church."

Playing the martyr for his cause, Ryan writes that for his actions, "I have since been stripped of my ability to serve in public ministry in my church - a penalty I feel to be profoundly unjust. But if the price of siding publicly with our courts and government in their efforts to extend basic human rights to a minority in Canada in the year 2004 requires that I pay this heavy a price within my own church community, then I feel very deeply saddened, but at peace with my decision." Any sexual activity outside of marriage has always been considered a serious moral rather than "rights" issue and a mortal sin in Catholic teaching.

Meanwhile, the homosexual activists who helped mastermind homosexual activist legal challenges to the definition of marriage are now campaigning for Ryan. They have urged their supporters to call the Archdiocese of Toronto to complain about Ryan's suspension, supposedly to browbeat the diocese into caving into the demands of the publicly defiant priest.

In comments to homosexual activists Ryan was more blunt about his unrepentant state. "I'm not taking this lying down," he told Samesexmarriage.ca. "Since they've gone public, so have I." Ryan said, ""It's not that I regret providing the affidavit. I regret the penalty and I think it's unfair, but if that's the price to pay on a civil rights issue, I've paid it. It means a lot to me. It's a big loss. It's heavy handed. I thought they would publicly criticize me, which is fair, but I never expected they would go to these lengths."

See previous LifeSite coverage which includes a link to the full affidavit:
Toronto Diocese Serious About Defending Marriage: Disciplines Dissident Priest
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04030502.html
Toronto Catholic Priest Files Supreme Court Affidavit Supporting Same-Sex
Marriage
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04020308.html

See Tim Ryan's column in The Star and the homosexual activist's coverage:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T...
http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/equality/030504.htm

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