To the Journal editor:

This letter was prompted by a mass mailing received this past week sent to St. Peter’s parishioners.

While I respect the right of an organization to have rules, the language and terminology the church uses in this pamphlet and mass mailing letter is unacceptable and speaks to a much deeper problem in the Catholic church.

To Monsignor Michael Steber, I am returning your pamphlet, “What the Catholic Church teaches – Same Sex Marriage.”

I actually left St. Peters in 2013 because of the un-Christian attitude towards those who do not tow the Catholic hard line being preached from the pulpit.

I believe the word evil used in a sermon to describe every-day people prompted my departure. Your pamphlet confirms the rightness of my original decision.

The church is on the wrong side of history with this ‘wrong thinking’ homophobic attitude. I am ashamed of you, its leaders for promoting a mindset in Catholics that gay, lesbian and transgender individuals are “objectively disordered.” How insulting! We are all God’s children and equally loved.

I am deeply offended by your attitude and your leadership stance. I have people in my life including a much loved family member who belong to this “objectively disordered” population. They are amazing people who give much to their communities.

My family member who lives in a different state is a Eucharistic minister at his church. His pastor and fellow parishioners do not consider him ‘objectively disordered.

He enjoys full membership in his church and full and complete acceptance for who he is and how he lives his life. Something he could not say as true in this community.

I hope we all live long enough to see the Catholic Church recognize the wrongness of its homophobic fears and finally follow Christ who accepts all God’s children without qualifications.

Patty Cornish

Ishpeming