t
8 ▼ O cto b e r 17, 1 9 9 7 T ju st o u t
W HO AM I?
In the Gospel accounts Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do peo­
ple say that I am?" They respond that many see him as a prophet. He
then asks them, "But what about you? Who do you say that I am?" To
which Peter replies, "You are the Christ."
It isn't clear exactly when or how Jesus came to fully understand
who he was, but from the time of his baptism in the Jordan until his
death on the cross he lived out a clear and unfaltering vision of his mis­
sion. Unperturbed that his ministry threatened the underpinnings of the
dominant religious authorities, he stood relentlessly and fearlessly
against those opposed to him. Ultimately he faced certain death by dar­
ing to face them in Jerusalem, the very center of their power. The only
thing we know with certainty is that he prayed frequently and believed
himself in an intimate and essential relationship with God whom he
called Father.
Even those who deny the divinity of Jesus admire the authentic­
ity of his life and the inherent truth of his teaching. Many of us long for
the same clarity of purpose in our lives but are unable to achieve it in
spite of diligent effort. We would do well to ask the same question as
Jesus: "Who do people say that I am?" Am I who the religious extrem­
ists say that I am? Or the pornographers? Or my friends and my family?
Do I know my own self? Can we really hope to discover who we are
unless, like Jesus, we are intimate with the very source of our being?
As gay men we are born into a world that misunderstands and
often hates us. Unwittingly we adopt some aspects of this distorted
view and few of us ever totally free ourselves of the disastrous conse­
quences. For centuries we have been persecuted and repressed. Now
we dare to live openly, but are we living lives that bring blessing to our­
selves and others?
Created gay by a loving God, it is only by living in the goodness
of that love that we are transformed and become truly authentic. Have
you considered how you might more fully walk in the presence of
God's love?
A m essage from th e A n a w im C o m m u n ity — g a y m e n c o m m itte d to fo llo w in g Jesus
thro ugh a life o f p ra y e r a n d service to o u r g a y brothers.
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1939 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, O regon
national news
Clinton appoints Apuzzo
President Clinton officially appointed former
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force head Vir­
ginia Apuzzo assistant to the president for man­
agement and administration at the White House
on Oct. 1.
The post makes Apuzzo the highest-ranking
openly lesbian or gay person ever to serve in a
federal government position.
Apuzzo, 56, is a former nun and longtime
lesbian activist. She was executive director of
NGLTF from 1983 to 1985. She served New
York Gov. Mario Cuomo as his liaison to the
lesbian and gay community, and on the New York
State AIDS Advisory Council and the New York
State Consumer Protection Board. In 1994 she
was confirmed as president of the New York State
Civil Service Commission.
Apuzzo served the past year as assistant deputy
assistant secretary for the Department of Labor.
Apuzzo’s new position does not require Sen­
ate confirmation.
tion of workplace bias in cities across the United
States and in a variety of occupations.
By combining the results of several surveys
with testimony from academic, legal and medical
professionals, the report details the types of dis­
crimination experienced by gay men, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgendered people in the work­
place.
It also describes the public policy implications
of such discrimination, its effect on morale and
productivity, as well as the negative impact it has
on the earnings of sexual minorities.
To obtain a copy of the report, contact the
I-GLSS Research Office, PO Box 2603, Amherst,
MA 01004-2603. I-GLSS is a nonprofit think
tank working to inform public policy debates on
issues of concern to gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered people.
Forget the mask, who was
that bearded man?
A federal task force is trying to identify a
bearded man seen at a lesbian nightclub before a
bomb exploded there in February.
A pastoral letter released Oct. 1 by the U.S.
According to The Associated Press, agents
Catholic Conference encouraging families to ac­
maintain the man is wanted as a witness and not
cept their gay loved ones and reaffirming the
as a suspect, and he may be the same person seen
basic human rights of gay people was welcomed
near an abortion clinic bombed five weeks earlier.
by the Human Rights Campaign.
The task force is investigating the nightclub
“This is another milestone on America’s jour­
and abortion clinic bombings in addition to the
ney toward common ground where faith, family
July 1996 bombing at Centennial Olympic Park
and fairness go together,” says HRC Executive
that killed one person and injured more than 100
Director Elizabeth Birch.
during the Atlanta Games. A dozen people were
The letter, entitled “Always Our Children: A
injured in the other two bombings.
Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Chil-
In June, the task force released two computer­
generated sketches: one of a hood-wearing man
with a dark complexion and another of a man with
I
■ a full gray beard, both of whom were seen in the
WmW
abortion clinic’s parking lot before the Jan. 16
bombing there. The new sketch also shows a man
with a full gray beard. It was based on descrip­
tions from witnesses at the nightclub, ATF spokes­
man Bill King told the AP on Oct. 2.
Investigators have said they are almost sure
the two latest bombings are linked and are in­
’**«*»*
uBCS-fcv.
creasingly confident the same person or group is
ft#
responsible for the Olympic explosion.
dren and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers,”
reaffirms an earlier call for all Christians to work
to end discrimination against gay people; recog­
nizes the mounting evidence that a person’s sexual
Galeria de la Raza in San Francisco’s Mission
orientation is not a matter of choice; and encour­
district was vandalized twice in a three-week
ages families to be accepting and supportive of
their gay loved ones even as they are working
through areas of confusion and disagreement.
Birch noted HRC’s disagreement with some
aspects of the letter—most notably its unrealistic
call for celibacy; she said that gay people should
be able to live full and complete lives. But she
emphasized that the letter’s overall message en­
couraging honest dialogue within families repre­
sents a faith-based approach to the issues that
urgently needs to be heard.
Kerry Lobel, executive director of the Na­
period in September, apparently due to a new
tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force, adds, “I hope
installation by Los Angeles artist Alex Donis,
this open discussion within the Catholic Church
reports the San Francisco Exam iner. The exhibit
will ease the pain of young people coming to grips
depicts same-sex kisses involving religious lead­
with their sexual orientation. I reject the notion,
ers, Latino/a community heroes and pop icons.
however, that our behavior is immoral. We call on
Gallery officials believe the images, which
the Church to end its mixed message and recog­
include intimate moments between Madonna and
nize and affirm the loving relationships we have
Mother Theresa, Cesar Chavez and Che Guevara,
which cannot be separated from sexual expres­
and John F. Kennedy and Fidel Castro, prompted
sion.”
someone to throw rocks and a wooden traffic
barrier through the windows, destroying two pieces
of art worth $5,000 each.
Local police are unable to classify the attacks
on the gallery as hate crimes because they cannot
be certain that homophobia was the motivating
A new report, released in September by the
factor, according to Sgt. Pablo Ossio.
Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies,
Donis told reporters he had gotten into shout­
says sexual minorities encounter discrimination
ing matches with some gallery patrons over the
in the workplace.
content of the exhibit, which has proved to be one
“Vulnerability in the Workplace: Evidence of
of the most popular in the gallery’s 27-year his­
Anti-Gay Discrimination” includes documenta­
tory.
Gay groups applaud action
Exhibit target of vandalism
Setting the record
not-straight