Taking the Minnesota Catholic Church's Anti-Gay Campaign, and Turning It Into Art

The Minnesota Catholic Church has decided to make same-sex marriage their number one issue heading into the November 2010 election. The Church just spent a whopping amount of money to produce 800,000 DVDs, sent to all Catholic homes throughout the state, calling same-sex marriage an abomination, and arguing that gay and lesbian couples don't deserve legal recognition. Marriage, the Church leaders say, would be under assault if Minnesota moves to recognize same-sex marriage.

Imagine what the money used to produce 800,000 DVDs could have gone to. It could have helped Minnesota deal with unemployment, especially during these tough economic times. It could have gone to help the more than 9,000 people who are homeless in the state. It could have gone to help the more than two million families who visited food banks last year, because times were particularly tough.

Instead, that money has been used to infiltrate Minnesota households with the message that beyond poverty, war, genocide, the economy, health care, and hunger, it's the thought of two loving women or two loving men getting married that's the worst threat to humanity. The DVD even features a cameo from Maggie Gallagher, the leader behind the National Organization for Marriage, which earlier this summer ran a (poorly-attended) nationwide speaking tour where the group's own supporters came to rallies with signs arguing that gay people should be killed.

Now that's some moral message, Minnesota Catholics. If you haven't yet signed the petition urging the leadership of the Minnesota Catholic Church to stop spending money fighting gays, and instead spend money fighting poverty, please do so.

And if you want to be inspired by how a local artist is using this DVD campaign of hate, and instead turning it into a message of love, equality and acceptance, check this story out from the Minnesota Independent.

Lucinda Naylor is an artist in Minneapolis, who is urging all Catholics in favor of same-sex marriage to send her a copy of their DVD. What is Taylor then going to do with it? Well, it depends on how many she gets. But the vision is to create a piece of art with the DVDs that says in no uncertain terms that God is love, and that God would not tear apart same-sex couples.

"I feel that the archbishop is particularly bent in regard to this issue of same-sex marriage," Taylor says, pointing out that St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt has made campaigning against gay marriage his number one priority. As for her art project? "I have ideas, but it really depends on how many DVDs I get. I’d love to make a large sculpture — probably something rather flame or water like — since both are important Catholic symbols of the Holy Spirit."

Please, help a sister out. If you have one of these DVDs, or you come across one of these DVDs, send them Taylor's way. She even put together a Facebook page where folks can go for more information on her work.

Taylor notes in the Minnesota Independent piece that she was particularly moved by a recent effort in Minnesota, where a group of Catholic mothers pleaded with their religious leaders to stop focusing on condemning gay marriage. These mothers, it turns out, all have gay children, and they're sick of seeing the Church criticize and condemn their sons and daughters.

Mothers. Artists. Oh, and you can add activists to the group of folks pressuring the Minnesota Catholic Church to bark up another tree. OutFront Minnesota, the state's largest LGBT organization, put out a statement this past week suggesting that Catholics also "return to sender" these DVDs, whenever they pop up in their mailboxes.

“If you are one of the 800,000 Minnesota Catholics Nienstedt is targeting with this message of exclusion, intolerance and discrimination, you can send him a powerful message about his misguided priorities by writing ‘RETURN TO SENDER’ on the DVD and leaving it in your mailbox,” OutFront said in a statement.

So pass them along to Taylor, or return them to sender. But whatever you do, make this massive DVD bombardment a teachable moment to tell the Church that hatred is not a biblical or Catholic value.

Photo credit: Collin Allen