Putting the smackdown on Sister Gramick
A nun wrestles with the Vatican's Grand Inquisitor


The Grand Inquisitor for Mother Rome, head of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the driving force behind the world's most powerful campaign against same-sex marriage, has a fan club. The Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club ("Putting the smackdown on heresy since 1981!") says "Ratzinger keeps himself busy in service to the Truth: correcting theological error, silencing dissenting theologians, and stomping down heresy wherever it may rear its ugly head."

Sister Jeannine Gramick is one of those dissenting theologians whom Ratzinger has stomped on. The Church began monitoring Gramick in 1977 because of her ministry to gays and lesbians. But after Ratzinger became head of the Inquisition, he took a personal interest in Gramick's activities, and eventually he ordered Gramick to be silent on matters regarding homosexuality and religion.

Gramick began working to end the spiritual abuse of homosexuals when she was busy working with another group targeted by Ratzinger - feminists.

"It was 1971 when I became involved in church ministry," Gramick recalled for us in a recent phone conversation. "Hand in hand with that I came in contact with women who were working for justice for women and change in the Church. So that brought me in contact with others who were advocates for change in other areas."


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Council supports same-sex marriage
By Joshua Coman Index-Tribune Staff Writer

8.6.04 - Members of the Sonoma City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to adopt a resolution declaring support for same-sex civil marriages.

Brought to councilmembers by Anne McGivern, of Marriage Equality California, the resolution supports same-sex civil marriages and opposes any amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would make them illegal.

The resolution, which has no legal effect, received no opposition from members of the audience but received support from three women who spoke in favor of the measure.


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Opposition to marriage ban says fight on track
Steering committee features veteran activists, fresh faces
By RYAN LEE


The members of the Georgians Against Discrimination steering committee come from many different backgrounds and sometimes offer opposing viewpoints, but they say there is unanimity amongst them on two key points.

Six members of the 14-person steering committee said this week that the campaign to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is on solid ground thanks to volunteers who are doing the “groundwork” while the campaign leadership is in transition.

The members agreed that the campaign’s most effective tool is door-to-door canvassing, where teams of volunteers disperse throughout neighborhoods to talk with fellow Georgians about the proposed amendment and other gay rights issues.

“In my 20 years of LGBT activism I have never seen the community rally around an issue the way we have rallied around this issue,” said Jeff Graham, executive director of the AIDS Survival Project and a member of the steering committee


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Prying open the closet door
Activists leading outing campaign refuse to offer details about their own lives
By JOE CREA


FOR ALL THE closet doors they’ve been opening on Capitol Hill, D.C. gay rights activists Mike Rogers and John Aravosis remain mum on their own personal histories and when their outing campaign will end.

Since June, the two bloggers have spearheaded a controversial outing campaign, listing the names of reportedly gay staff members working for anti-gay members of Congress on their Web sites. The campaign has drawn extensive media coverage, including an appearance by Rogers on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” last month.

But in an e-mail to the Blade, Aravosis says he is not interested in being profiled in the paper and would rather, “have the [outing] issue stand for and by itself, rather than focusing on personalities.”