Honors for Detroit nun canceled over pro-gay ministry

The Archdiocese of Detroit says it canceled planned honors for a nun at a suburban church because her gay outreach mission is incompatible with Roman Catholic beliefs. Sister Jeannine Gramick, 62, was to have been honored Sunday at St. Mary Parish in Royal Oak following a screening of a documentary film highlighting her work. But the reception had to be moved because of objections by the archdiocese. The reception was held after the screening at the Royal Oak Main Art Theatre as part of the Reel Pride Film Festival, supported by the gay rights group Triangle Foundation. Once the diocese learned of the reception, it determined that "one of its parish facilities is not the appropriate setting for a gathering not in accord with the mission and message of the church," Ned McGrath, communications director of the archdiocese, said in a statement. Since the film's debut in April, the Washington, D.C., resident has traveled to international and national film festivals for the screening of In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick's Journey of Faith. She said this was the first time a diocese has barred her from a church. "There's a real sadness and embarrassment for my church when leaders of my church exercise this kind of authority," Gramick told The Detroit News. "It puts our church in real bad light.... What is so harmful about having cookies and punch after a film that brings people the knowledge that the church is bringing ministry to lesbian and gay people?" The film centers on Gramick's three decades of work reaching out to gay and lesbian people, many of whom she said feel unwelcome in the church. (AP)