NEW: RI Rabbis & Jewish Alliance Support LGBTQ Pride After Catholic Bishop Tobin Denounces It
GoLocalProv News Team
NEW: RI Rabbis & Jewish Alliance Support LGBTQ Pride After Catholic Bishop Tobin Denounces It
This comes less than a week after Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin denounced the month in a tweet.
Read Their Joint Statement Below
As GoLocalProv first reported, last Saturday, Tobin tweeted, "A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ 'Pride Month' events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTobin later apologized for the statement on Sunday, saying," I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community. That certainly was not my intention."
Read Their Joint Statement Below
The month of June is observed as Pride Month in memory of the Stonewall Uprising in New York City on June 28, 1969. In that event, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community stood up against a police raid that was designed to intimidate, humiliate and brutalize people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The police knew that they were protected in their violent actions by a legal system that branded LGBTQ people as criminals. It was the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
As leaders of the Jewish community, we stand with those who defend human rights and civil rights for LGBTQ people. We are proud of our LGBTQ friends for standing up for themselves and for taking pride in their identity. We are reminded of the Israelites who fought for their freedom against Pharaoh. The story of Stonewall in 1969 reminds us of the story of Nachshon, the Israelite who first stepped into the Red Sea toward freedom even while under attack – hoping and taking action for a better world, even at a moment when all seemed lost.
We are honored to celebrate Pride along with members of the LGBTQ community. We are painfully aware that there are still many difficulties for LGBTQ people in our society and are particularly heartbroken by the high rate of suicide among LGBTQ youth and the high rate of violence against them. We pray that all our young people learn the important Jewish values of love, inclusion and acceptance from the celebration of Pride Month. May those feeling vulnerable take courage in the support of allies. We honor everyone who takes a stand for civil rights and for everyone who freely and publicly lives the truth of their lives.
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