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Gay group backs Cawcutt's stand
18/07/2002 13:54 - (SA)
Cape Town - Bishop Reginald Cawcutt has always been honest about his sexual orientation, says the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project.
The project said he had done much to stimulate thought and debate within the
wider Christian and religious community regarding homosexuality,
in response to Cawcutt's shock resignation on
Wednesday as Cape Town's auxiliary Roman Catholic bishop.
Cawcutt resigned after being implicated in a gay website
scandal. His resignation came after allegations first made two years
ago by a rightwing Catholic advocacy group in the United States.
The US group claimed Cawcutt had compromised his position by being a member of a gay website and e-mail support group for priests.
Cawcutt acknowledged in an article in a Cape Town newspaper last month that he had been involved with the site through his ministry to gays and Aids victims and that he consistently promoted celibacy in the group.
In an official statement prepared for the archdiocese of Cape
Town, Cawcutt said he knew that his ministry had not been without
controversy.
Serving with a lower profile
"I know that I have made mistakes. I know that I have offended
and angered some and, for that, I humbly apologise and beg your
forgiveness and understanding," he said.
"Because I do not wish to be the cause of any further division
in the church - after 40 years of what I believed to have been
service to the Lord, I have resigned as Cape Town's auxiliary
bishop and I will continue serving the Good Lord with a lower
profile."
The project's acting director Evert Knoesen said in a statement that, contrary to general Christian principles, bishops were informally expected to effectively be dishonest about their orientation by not revealing this fact about their lives.
"It would appear this bishop's honesty was too much for
Rome," Knoesen said.
"We regret Cawcutt's resignation, but we understand the
tremendous pressure he was under. It is regrettable that in
this matter, just as in relation to HIV/Aids, the Catholic Church
would rather choose to deny than to face a challenge."
Knoesen expressed the hope that Cawcutt's honest approach to the challenge ahead within the religious community would not be lost.
Pope John Paul II has accepted Cawcutt's resignation.
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