Nicholas Coppola was stripped of his church duties when he married his husband in New York. Now he wants the Pope to meet with LGBTI families and listen to their concerns
A faithful parishioner of St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside, New York, has teamed up with media advocacy organization GLAAD to campaign for Pope Francis to sit down with gay families when he visits the US later this month.
Nicholas Coppola has a particular interest in persuading the Pope to take speak out on LGBT issues. The devout Catholic was stripped of his many church duties – including altar service, helping bereaved families to plan funerals and visiting sick parishioners – after he married his husband.
‘My partner and I had gotten married in October 2012,’ he told Gay Star News. ‘We had a wonderful wedding in Bethpage State Park, which was attended by parishioners and clergy.
‘We had to postpone our honeymoon until that January because of Superstorm Sandy. When we came back from our honeymoon, I returned to mass – ironically on Martin Luther King Day – and I was called into the pastor’s office by the deacon.
‘I was informed that the bishop had received a letter of complaint. Someone complained about the fact that a married gay man had a position within the ministry. I was removed from any active service.
‘They said it was because I had made a very public statement that went against the church’s teachings.’
‘It was horrible,’ he says, reflecting on how he reacted to the news.
‘In my entire life – I’m now 50 – I have really never experienced discrimination in a very direct way. It was shocking. It was surreal and took a couple of days to sink in.
‘It saddened me. I wasn’t angry but I was definitely very sad and hurt. The community there welcomed me, and they still continue to welcome me. The pastor did not want to do it. He was forced by the bishop. So I still feel terrible for him.’
Coppola has been a parishioner at the Church since he moved to the area from Queen’s in 2002. He says that he and his partner, David Crespo, have been friends for 25 years, and became a couple 12 years ago.
When he first relocated, Coppola attended Church weekly but after suffering an accident and requiring multiple surgeries in 2008, he was unable to work for a while and began attending mass daily, which he says helped him with his recovery. He subsequently became more involved with the Church.
‘The pastor at that time – a wonderful, wonderful Jesuit – introduced himself and asked if I’d be interested in being an altar server. At that point I was very upfront with him. I told him that I was gay, and he said that he didn’t care, and I become an altar server.
‘I was very involved in the community and then cut off completely.’
He says that he has been encouraged by some of the things that Pope Francis has said since becoming Pontiff, but that much more needs to be done by way of action to assure LGBT Catholics that they are truly welcomed and embraced by the Catholic church.
‘We continue to have LGBT people removed from their posts within the church, and I struggle with the fact that the Pope has not addressed these things specifically.
‘But I’m very hopeful about his forthcoming trip to the US. I’m very encouraged by his words, and am now just hoping that he takes action. And being a Jesuit, he knows St Ignatius’ famous words; “Love is best expressed in deeds and not in words.”
‘Jesuits follow that and I believe in that, and I believe that when they removed me, they stopped me practicing my faith. Although they allow me to come to church and receive communion, that’s not what’s involved 100% in practicing my faith. It’s to go out there and help the community.
‘This is what people don’t realize, it doesn’t just hurt me and my husband and family, it hurts the community.’
‘I’m cautious with my feelings because I don’t want to be hurt again, but hope is a wonderful thing.
‘I genuinely believe that if the Pope sat with us, he’d realize that gay people in relationships have the same struggles as any other loving couple; we have the same joys as any other loving couple, that our love is the same for each other.’
Coppola has teamed up with GLAAD to start a petition urging the Pope to meet with LGBT Catholics during his visit to the US.
‘In the US and around the world, LGBT people experience alienation from the Church, higher rates of poverty and violence, and discrimination in employment, housing, educational opportunities, and access to health care,’ says Coppola on the petition site.
‘The Pope can help address this crisis by meeting with LGBT Catholic families like mine and hearing our stories of perseverance, hope, and struggle.’
Source: gaystarnews.com
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