Rev Warren Hall

Fired Gay Minister Writes Letter to Pope Pleading for His Attention on American LGBTs During Visit

Rev Warren Hall

Images via Facebook and Twitter screenshots

He’s hoping the Pontiff will “find time to listen to the challenges faced by LGBT people, especially those who are Catholic and wish to remain a part of the Church…”

In line with the scheduled visit of Pope Francis to the United States in September this year, Rev. Warren Hall, the fired chaplain of Seton Hall University made a letter addressed to the Pope appealing that the pontiff give time to meet the LGBT Catholics in the U.S.

In his letter, which was also shared on Facebook, he asks the Pope to “find time to listen to the challenges faced by LGBT people, especially those who are Catholic and wish to remain a part of the Church they have grown up in, which they love, and yet which it seems is alienating them more and more”.

Rev. Hall was encouraged to write the Pope due to his recent firing as the chaplain of the Seton Hall University in New Jersey after publicly admitting that he is gay, in addition to his efforts against gay bullying. It was Newark Archbishop John Myers who called and fired him last May. According to the Archbishop, he decided on the grounds of Hall’s public support to the NOH8 campaign organized by the LGBT community after same-sex marriage was banned in California in 2008 after the passing of Proposition 8.

In an official statement coming from the Archbishop’s spokesman, they defended the decision to fire the chaplain from his post saying that “someone who labels himself or another in terms of sexual orientation or attraction contradicts what the church teaches”.

Rev. Hall defended himself arguing that he was not advocating against any church teachings. It was not his intention to advocate for gay Catholics neither does he wants his gender preference to become an issue.

Hall hopes to achieve two things in his letter. Primarily to show the plight of the LGBT community from the negative treatments of the Catholic Church and secondarily, he hopes to retain wonderful and good gay Catholics who are on the verge of leaving the church.

The case of Rev. Warren Hall is not the only instance where gays and lesbians are fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation or beliefs. From the time same-sex marriage was legalized slowly across the United States, several teachers and parish ministers who belong to the third sex were sacked because of the contradicting views of the churches where they are a member of.

One of the most recent cases is the firing of a school staffer in a Philadelphia Catholic School. A student’s parent learned that the staffer married her lesbian partner prompting her to complain leading to the removal of the staffer from work. Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Chaput also defended the school’s decision saying that the school administrators “showed character and common sense”.

Rev. Warren Hall is not certain whether the Pope will respond to his letter or not although the pontiff is known to do surprises by replying to letters and even directly calling people.

After his dismissal from work, the gay priest received several offers from non-Catholic churches. But he refused and replied that “I’m Catholic, I’m not leaving”! Now unemployed, the priest solely depends on his savings and help from friends.

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