BARRING peace activist and former Iraq hostage James Loney from speaking at a Roman Catholic social justice conference in Winnipeg this weekend has hurt and outraged some Catholics, who say they expected better from their archbishop, James Weisgerber.
"I thought, 'How can I speak at a conference on social justice when it is committing such an unjust action?' -- and it is unjust to me," said Nerina Robson. She and her husband John Robson -- one of the organizers of the two-day event that starts tomorrow morning -- have dropped out of the conference.
James Loney, the peace activist who was held hostage by militants in Iraq for four months, arrives in Winnipeg yesterday to speak about his experience.
"Archbishop Weisgerber has been a breath of fresh air... We're really concerned that he would be succumbing to pressure from colleagues and a certain sect of Catholic parishioners," Robson said.
Loney, a Catholic who is openly gay and has challenged the church's stance on homosexuality, made international headlines in 2005 when he, fellow Canadian Harmeet Sooden, Briton Norm Kember and American Tom Fox were snatched off the streets of Baghdad.
Fox was later shot dead, while the three remaining captives, all of them members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, were held for four months before they were rescued by a team of British commandos.
Loney returned to Canada and to his partner Dan Hunt, making headlines all over again. Their romantic relationship was kept quiet while Loney was in captivity because it was feared the homophobic fundamentalist insurgents holding them would have killed Loney had they known.
Loney forgave his captors and has since been sought by social justice groups to speak on faith, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Two weeks ago, he was notified that the office of the Archbishop of Winnipeg was rescinding his invitation to speak at this weekend's conference because Loney has spoken against the church's stance on homosexuality.
The archbishop declined an interview, but the archdiocese issued a statement that said Loney is not being excluded because he's gay, but because the archdiocese learned he's publicly opposed the church for not accepting homosexuality.
"Mr. Loney is well known because of his experience as a captive in Iraq, for which he is justly admired... Once the Archdiocese became aware of this public dissent, the Archbishop had no choice but to ask him not to speak at the conference."
Loney's rejection could be seen as a triumph for hard-line orthodox Catholics like Winnipeg's Maria Slykerman. The Campaign Life Coalition which she heads urged parishioners to lobby Weisgerber to prevent "the unrepentant, active homosexual" from speaking at the social justice conference.
The coalition's affiliate, Internet publication LifeSite, also called on the archbishop to bar NDP MP Bill Blaikie -- an ordained United Church minister -- from speaking. The group said Blaikie's party supports unrestricted access to abortion and he voted with his party against the traditional definition of marriage, contrary to Catholic doctrine.
Blaikie, however, has not been barred from the conference. Neither he nor Slykerman returned telephoned requests for comment.
After landing in Winnipeg late Friday morning, Loney responded to the archbishop's decision the same way he responded to his Iraqi captors.
He forgave.
"I respect the archbishop," said Loney, who spoke with Weisgerber by phone earlier. "He strikes me as a very good man. But I disagree with his decision. It was a mistake. I invite him to change his mind."
Robson, who withdrew from the conference, said she was disappointed in the explanation Weisgerber gave in a radio interview for asking Loney not to speak.
"He was saying that, as Catholics, we'd better not speak out on anything publicly that disagrees with the church's beliefs.
"That's what's killing our church. It's dying because we don't have healthy disagreement or discussions," said Robson.
Loney met several faith groups, spoke at Menno Simons College Friday afternoon and is set to speak publicly at St. Augustine United Church in Osborne Village on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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