For immediate release: October 24, 2003
Dignity/Boston Leader Testifies Before Massachusetts Joint Committee
in Support of Same-Sex Marriage and Civil Rights
Boston, MA Chuck Provancher, president of
Dignity/Boston, the group that gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and
transgender Catholics and others have called home for more than
30 years, testified before a joint committee of the Massachusetts
Senate and House of Representatives in Boston yesterday. Provancher
called for justice and civil rights for same-sex couples -- providing
a counterpoint to official Catholic voices that have opposed civil
protections and religious recognition for same-sex couples and
families.
Provancher’s testimony follows:
Good afternoon. My name is Chuck Provancher, and I am the president
of Dignity/Boston, a faith community of gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender Catholics, our friends and our families. Thank
you for allowing me to speak with you today.
The debate over same-sex marriage has been a very personal
one for thousands of gays and lesbians and their families in
Massachusetts, but perhaps it has been the most painful for
those of us who identify as faithful Catholics. As you are by
now aware, the leaders of the Catholic Church have insisted
that allowing same-sex couples to marry would be an attack on
the American family.
In fact, just the opposite is true. Withholding the legal protections
and responsibilities of marriage from gays and lesbians subjects
our families to additional legal, financial, and emotional burdens
that other families simply don't have to contend with.
My life partner, David, and I have been together for nine years,
and anyone who knows us will confirm that we have built a solid
life together. Two years ago, we traveled to Vermont -- accompanied
by our families and friends -- to celebrate our civil union.
The ceremony held much symbolic value for us, but we understood
that once we crossed the state line to return home to Massachusetts,
none of the legal protections and benefits associated with the
civil union law applied to us any longer.
Currently, if David finds himself in the intensive care unit,
I am at the mercy of hospital staff as to whether I am permitted
to visit him. If we decide to adopt one day, our child will
not be automatically afforded all the economic and legal protections
under the laws of the Commonwealth that the child of a heterosexual
marriage would have. And when one of us dies, the surviving
partner will be faced with immediate tax liabilities -- a concern
not shared by the surviving spouse in a heterosexual marriage.
The list goes on and on.
Those of us who gather for liturgy each week at Dignity pray
for a day when we can celebrate our relationships in the mainstream
Catholic Church. Frankly, we acknowledge that this may not happen
in our lifetimes. That’s not the point. Civil marriage for same-sex
couples will not require the Catholic Church, or any other religious
institution, to perform a religious rite of marriage if it chooses
not to -- in the same way that the Commonwealth does not require
the Catholic Church to recognize the civil marriages of divorced
parishioners.
Gay and lesbian Catholics are saddened that our Church has
made it a priority to prevent same-sex couples, like David and
myself, from accessing legal protections for our families instead
of focusing on the many important problems in society that need
attention -- such as homelessness, lack of sufficient healthcare,
and children who lack adequate nutrition. If the Church truly
wants to support marriages, there are many positive ways it
can do that: by providing support for couples and their children,
helping couples in crisis, and doing more to help couples prepare
for marriage.
We ask the Commonwealth to demonstrate its support for
marriage by allowing loving, committed gay or lesbian couples
and their families to have access to the stabilizing legal protections
of marriage.
In late September, leaders of Dignity/Boston offered Archbishop
O’Malley an opportunity for open and honest dialogue about the
lives and experiences of same-sex Catholic couples and called
on him to reconsider his decision to speak at the Massachusetts
Family Institute SOS, The Summit of October to Save Marriage.”
Dignity/Boston encouraged O'Malley to consider the historical
social justice stance of the Catholic Church, especially in the
area of ensuring civil protections for the marginalized in society.
Dignity/Boston offers blessings of same-sex unions for its members
in committed relationships. In doing so, the community affirms
the resolution of DignityUSA, representing chapters and members
across the country, on same sex marriage that calls for marriage
rights for same-sex couples in society and in the church. For
more information, please visit www.dignityboston.org
and www.dignityusa.org.
Dignity/Boston is a progressive and inclusive community of
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, our families,
friends and supporters. The community gathers for liturgy every
Sunday at the Church of St. John the Evangelist on Beacon Hill
in Boston. Dignity/Boston celebrated its 30th year of service
to the community and witness to the Catholic Church in 2002.
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