Courage International

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Courage International is an apostolate of the Roman Catholic Church that addresses lesbian and gay Catholics and encourages them to live chaste lives.

Courage International must not be confused with Courage UK, which is part of the ex-ex gay movement . To avoid confusion, Courage International is called EnCourage in the United Kingdom.

aims

Courage International gives five goals for the organization written by the members of the first Courage group:

  1. Chastity: a chaste life in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.
  2. Prayer and devotion: service to others, spiritual readings, prayer, pastoral care, frequent attendance of mass and frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
  3. Community: Promote a spirit of community in which everyone can speak openly about their thoughts and experiences and no one has to face the problems of homosexuality alone.
  4. Support: to be aware that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life, to encourage one another to make and maintain such friendships.
  5. Good example: living a life that can serve as a good example to others.

Courage International is a member of PATH In contrast to other organizations in PATH, Courage International does not expect members to change their sexual orientation or develop heterosexual feelings. Members are free to seek help in this regard, but even then, for Courage International, deepening the Catholic faith and obedience to Christ is a top priority for these members.

history

Courage International was created by Terence Cardinal Cooke as Archbishop of New York City developed as a spiritual support system which same-leaning Catholics would support them to live according to the guidelines of the Vatican over sexual behavior.

Cooke invited the moral theologian John F. Harvey (1918-2010) to New York, who had started a work with homosexuals in Washington in 1978 on the basis of the twelve-step program , and Harvey began the Courage International work together with Benedict Groeschel von the Franciscans of Renewal . The first meeting was in September 1980 at Mother Seton's Shrine in South Ferry.

Courage began a group work for those affected on the basis of five self-formulated goals, but this was not to remain the only activity. Due to numerous inquiries from relatives, Encourage was founded, which is modeled on Al-Anon . Annual conferences of delegates from all local chapters were also held. A network of Priests with Courage was formed specifically for priests who struggle with homosexual tendencies. Today, Courage International runs discussion groups for various ages and interest groups based on mailing lists .

Today Courage International is legally established as a non-profit organization. The successor to the late John F. Harvey is Paul Check.

distribution

Courage International is officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church and, with the support of the Curia, today has local chapters in 75 dioceses in the United States. The organization has spread to English-speaking countries such as Australia , Canada , New Zealand , Great Britain (under the name EnCourage), Ireland and the West Indies, but also to other countries with strong Catholic traditions such as the Philippines , Poland , Slovenia and Slovakia .

In 2005, Courage International formed a Spanish language branch called Courage Latino , headquartered in Mexico City . This branch currently extends to Mexico , El Salvador , Guatemala , Argentina , Colombia , Spain, and Venezuela .

In the United States, Courage International is funded by contributions from the Archdiocese of New York and by donations. The individual local groups are financially independent and exist with the permission of the responsible bishop. Courage International was listed by the United States Catholic Bishops' Conference in 2006 as an example of a doctrinal support group for Catholics with homosexual tendencies.

Courage International also has a program called Encourage aimed at relatives and friends of homosexual people.

Opposing positions

Courage International is often compared to DignityUSA : While Courage supports same-sex oriented Catholics who want to adhere to the church's imperative of sexual abstinence for all unmarried persons, Dignity takes the view that active sexual relationships between consenting same-sex adults should be viewed as morally positive - a view that contradicts the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

Courage International is often accused of being close to NARTH by gay organizations , as both groups are members of PATH .

DignityUSA and gay organizations view Courage International as a group within the ex-gay movement . Courage International replies that they reject the term ex-gay, since their members practically never counted themselves to the gay movement before their time at Courage, but saw themselves as people with homosexual tendencies. Courage does not directly strive to change sexual orientation, but it does happen.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Courage International: The Five Goals ( Memento from July 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Courage International: FAQs ( Memento of March 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ John F. Harvey, Pastoral Implications of Church Teaching on Homosexuality
  4. ↑ Courage becomes Courage International, Incorporated ( Memento of March 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Welcome Fri. Check ( Memento from December 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ Catholic Online: Church has room for those struggling with homosexuality ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), September 8, 2006
  7. ↑ United States Catholic Bishops Conference: Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care