TORONTO, June 15 (LSN) - In a shocking story yesterday the Catholic Register reported that
St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto has become a “bronze-level sponsor” of Toronto’s Gay
Pride Week ‘99. According to the article this will be the third year of involvement in the
Gay Pride Week activities but the first time as a bronze-level supporter. The donation to
the event must have been a substantial one since the “Catholic” hospital is only outstripped
by a few corporate giants such as Labbatt Blue, Air Canada, Molson Dry, The Royal Bank and
Toronto Hydro.
For a complete list of sponsors of the event see:
http://www.pridetoronto.com/sponsors.html
Hospital spokeswoman Rosemary MacGilchrist attempted to explain the hospital’s involvement
in the Pride event saying “a Catholic hospital is inclusive, we celebrate diversity.” She
noted that the provincial government has designated St. Michael’s as a leader in treatment
and research of AIDS and HIV and that the Pride support was a way of reaching out to the
people it serves.
However, the Gay Pride Week cannot be seen as an innocuous event able to be supported by an
institution that calls itself Catholic. While the hospital may attempt to assert that
support for the parade is supporting only the people and not the behaviour, such
argumentation is not supported by the realities of the Pride activities.
According to the official information on the Pride Week celebrations, a Pre-Pride event is
listed as “Show your Naked Pride. Join TNT MEN for their picnic at Hanlan’s Point clothing
optional beach.” During the official Pride week under “entertainment” one can find “A dyke
striptease unlike any you’ve seen before, unless you saw her last year.”
Critics point out that St. Mike’s support for Gay Pride is clear encouragement for the
homosexual lifestyle that in the first place leads to the homosexual suffering and deadly
disease requiring hospital treatment. Msgr. Vincent Foy of Toronto states that the
hospital’s Gay Pride involvement “betrays homosexuals.”
The Catholic teaching on homosexuality says that “basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which
presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that
homosexual acts are disordered. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (CCC #2357)
In fact the Church expressly warned against any activity (such as Gay Pride) which might
encourage those with homosexual tendencies “to believe that the living out of this
orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.” (CDF, Oct.
1986, Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons)