I was very close to my brother Arthur, my only sibling. He was brilliant, an esteemed psychiatrist, who worked at a Catholic hospital upstate as well as having a private practice. In later years he became a forensic psychiatrist, who would testify on court cases. When he died of melanoma over twenty years ago on the same day that Princess Diana died, I was heartbroken. I lost my brother, my best friend and my "therapist" all at once. Pretty devastating to say the least.
When my brother came out as gay when he was in college, my family was shocked. We had no idea as he did have a girlfriend some of the time. We just had no clue. And we were a very close Italian family.
My parents who were both alive at the time, but who preceded him in death, were open-minded people. They just accepted it, even at that time. Arthur was the star of our family, the first doctor in our immediate family and he had won awards and scholarships all his life. He was not only smart, he was witty, and a very good person.
I was sad that I wouldn't have nieces or nephews, but I like my parents loved my brother unconditionally and so little changed in our relationship after he came out as gay.
I rarely share this story and definitely never on social media but I was so struck by Pope Francis' decision to approve a harsh statement on gay relationships that I thought it was time. The March 15th decree from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith instructed priests not to bless same sex couples. What I found particularly insensitive was the statement, "God does not and cannot bless sin." There certainly could have been a more compassionate way of dealing with the situation. When issuing a decree, of such sensitivity, words have to be chosen carefully and studied and debated and then issued. Some Vatican journalists say that Pope Francis may not have realized what he was approving. I'm not sure. But I do know, going forward, as I've said, more sensitivity needs to be taken, when issuing decrees, especially when speaking for God.
NJA
