Ever Hear of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan?

                                        Nashua, NH 03064
                                        July 24, 2010

Archbishop Timothy Dolan
1011 First Ave
New York, NY  10022

Dear Archbishop Dolan,

Can you help me understand what is going at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan, NY?   As I understand it, the parish for years has not been faithfully presenting the Church's teaching regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.  Most recently, the parish ignored your request to not carry a banner in the city's annual gay pride parade (in fact, they didn’t carry a blank banner as they claim – the carried their typical banner backwards).

More disturbing to me was the presentation to you, as the main celebrant at a recent church rededication there, of the parish's Lesbian Association and the parish's Gay Organization.  Unless the reaction of you I have seen through the parish’s video of the occasion was mis-edited with the audio, you genuinely seem pleased to welcome the presentation of these groups, let alone the idea of the presentations themselves.

So, on the surface it seems that maybe even you have not been faithfully presenting and upholding the Church's teaching regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts as it is clearly stated in CCC 2357-2359.  Maybe, just maybe, it hasn't been made clear that the message that Sacred Scripture itself presents of "homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity" and that of "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered" are being made at St. Francis Xavier. It doesn't seem likely though.

I enjoy listening to you on “Word to Life" on Sirius/XM's The Catholic Channel.  However, I'm very disturbed that it appears that you in your compassionate manner cannot be more faithful to the Church's teaching on homosexuality. Archbishop, please help me feel better that you, whom I admire, can and will continue to faithfully represent the Gospel and the Magisterium in this matter.

Yours in Christ,

Daniel E. Goddu