Sometimes the Good Guys Win: "Leather" Retreat Cancelled

Last night, my friend Christine Niles posted a link on Face Book to an article in California Catholic newspaper that described a retreat to be held at a diocesan-approved retreat center in the Diocese of Sacramento. The title of the article:

“Homosexualist and Leather Retreat in Diocese of Sacramento”

And I said to myself, “Huh?!?!”

Here are the opening paragraphs of the article:

From August 30 to September 2, Dignity San Francisco and the San Francisco chapter of the Defenders will sponsor a retreat at the Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. The homepage of the Defenders website describes the retreat:

“Join us August 30 to September 2nd, 2013 (Labor Day weekend), for a joint retreat with Dignity/San Francisco at a retreat center near Sacramento. The first two days of the retreat we will be with those attending from the Dignity chapter, followed by a third day that will emphasize integrating leather and spirituality. The retreat will be lead by a Catholic priest who works with Dignity.”

The Defenders are an integral part of Dignity, and have been affiliated with the group since 1981. The webpage of Dignity SF’s webpage also publicizes the retreat, and says the retreat master will be Father Tom Bonacci. Father Bonacci has led a number of retreats for DignitySF.

There’s more…read the rest here, at your own risk. I actually was a bit scandalized just by the description of the group!

At any rate, I became a Catholic in the Diocese of Sacramento, and I still have friends there. In fact, my best friend ever lives there! And she does have a few contacts in the Chancery office and elsewhere. She is also a staunch and outspoken defender of the Faith, and when I shared the article with her, she “went ballistic” as they say.

And just a few hours later, she received word that the event had been cancelled! Thanks be to God!

Christine Niles actually called the bishop’s office to verify this, and was told that the bishop had only learned of the event yesterday, and that it had been cancelled.

Well…the reason the bishop learned about it is because Christine posted the link and a number of people emailed the bishop's office with their thoughts. The reason the bishop actually cancelled the event, I’m pretty sure, is because my friend took action. 

So…Christine posted the link; people emailed; I shared it with my friend; my friend informed key people in the Diocese of Sacramento; the event is cancelled.

Face Book is good for something after all!

Feel free to contact the bishop and thank him for taking action!