A campus Christian
group at Cornell University removed a student from a
leadership position after he informed them that he had accepted
his own homosexuality.
Chris Donohoe was part
of a leadership team at the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, an
independent student organization that, while receiving student
fees, is not subject to the Ithaca, N.Y., Ivy League
school's clause prohibiting discrimination
against LGBT students.
Donohoe had previously
struggled with his sexuality but was told he could still rise
within Chi Alpha as long as he didn't pursue relationships
with men. Things changed when Donohoe met
his boyfriend this summer.
"I told them
I'm 100% OK with my sexuality," Donohoe told
The Cornell Daily Sun
. "I wanted the opportunity to show them I love God and
I'm gay and it's OK." Instead he was told to step
down by Chi Alpha's pastors, Matt and Tracy Herman.
"The decision to
ask Chris to step down was not that he did something wrong in
having homosexual tendencies," Danielle D'Ambrosio,
Chi Alpha's president and a former Cornell student, told
the
Daily Sun
. "[It was because] he no longer thought it was wrong I
support the decision fully."
An outcry from gay and
straight students has erupted, with the dean of students
declaring his concern. A vigil in support of LGBT students will
take place Friday on campus.
"There was a
consequence for my belief that it's OK [to] be a
homosexual," Donohoe told the
Daily Sun
. "I believe you should be held responsible and
accountable to your beliefs so that Chi Alpha is answering to
everyone to the community."
Jessica Longoria, a
Cornell senior and former Chi Alpha president, summed up her
group's beliefs: "If you're committing
sins, you will not enter the kingdom of God."
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