not too much

These words are from a lecture by the Revd. Dr James Alison. Alison is a Catholic theologian, priest and author. He is the author of Knowing Jesus (London: SPCK 1992), Raising Abel (New York: Crossroad 1996), The Joy of being wrong (New York: Crossroad 1998), and Faith beyond resentment: fragments Catholic and Gay (London: Darton Longman and Todd 2001; NY: Crossroad 2001).

... For the moment, the twin forces of the non-acceptance of the anthropological reality of gay people, and the obligation of celibacy serve to create a deeply ambiguous place, a severely queasy mentality, and one which would, I hope, put off anyone who was honest. But the solution to the problem lies in the recognition that the virtue of chastity, which is arduously acquired singleness of heart, and which I take to be an indispensable part of what the reception of salvation looks like in any Christian life, means learning "my body given for you" rather than "your body taken for me" in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, over time. For gay people just as for straight people. That is all. In short, getting the Church's teaching made adequate to discovered reality is a necessary first step towards making of the priesthood an honest profession.

... No Christian can ever justify their dishonesty by blaming power. Our religion is specifically about someone who gave his life so as to make the truth shine in the midst of the mendacity of power. Not to be able to stand up for truth may be understandable, and for many of us, learning to be able to tell the truth at all has been a slow and painful process. But not standing up, over time, for what you know to be the truth can never be justified. And in any case, it is important that we remember that in the light of the death and resurrection of Our Lord, the worldly power which works by scapegoating and mendacity has been shown to have been overcome. ...

[I]t is by standing up for what is, enduring the Cross and despising the shame, that we get to make the truth resplendent, confident that loss of job, of reputation, of security and so forth is not an optional extra, but is just part of what being Christian means. If we are to be a minister, either we will be one of Christ, or one of the machine, but we can never blame the machine for not allowing us to be a minister of Christ. Rather we must laugh at it, tolerantly, and with a certain debonair quality as we go about the task of trying to give a soft landing to those it has trapped into being unable to imagine how loved they are, and who fear to receive that love. Then we will be able, after all, to share together in the great rejoicing.

Quoted from: Being wrong and telling the truth: a gay perspective, by James Alison. Millennium Lecture, St. Joseph's in the Village, Thursday, May 30, 2002. Centre for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry Lecture Series.