Gay Catholic Cant Lead Nonprofit Board

The vice president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Louis's board of directors is attempting to rally support after he was denied the position of board president because he is gay.

Jeffrey Goldone accepted his nomination for the spot in May but was told that his relationship to his partner of 20 years "goes against Catholic moral teaching, and could bring shame and embarrassment" to the society, he wrote in a August 2 letter to his "fellow Vincentians," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Goldone's letter is circulating along with a petition, which will be sent to local and national Vincentian leaders and St. Louis archbishop Robert Carlson.

Outgoing board president Ronald Guz said the organization didn't reject Goldone, but the Catholic Church's teachings led to him being rejected. The organization's executive director, Zip Rzeppa, reiterated the same view, adding, "He disqualified himself for the position of president by choosing to live a lifestyle of illicit sexual union, which falls outside the teachings of the Catholic Church, and outside the qualifications of the Society's international Rule."

The St. Vincent de Paul of St. Louis is the headquarters of the global nonprofit Catholic organization that reaches 140 countries.