Archbishop
Patrick
Batuyong,
wearing
a
clerical
collar,
sits
in
the
small
nave
of
St.
Michael
the
Defender
Catholic
Church
in
East
Point,
a
picture
of
priestly
tradition.
But
Batuyong
is
openly
gay,
hardly
a
Roman
Catholic
tradition.
Pope
Benedict
XVI,
who
toured
the
U.S.
for
the
first
time
last
week,
wrote
in
1986
as
then-Cardinal
Joseph
Ratzinger
that
homosexuality
is
“an
intrinsic
moral
evil.”
More
recently,
in
2003,
he
drafted
instructions
for
Catholic
politicians,
urging
them
to
oppose
gay
marriage
and
adoption
by
gay
couples.
St.
Michael’s
is
part
of
the
Reformed
Catholic
Church,
based
in
Ohio,
a
growing
offshoot
of
the
Roman
Catholic
Church.
“Catholic
guilt
is
powerful
—
‘If
I’m
not
in
the
Apostolic
Catholic
Church
then
I’m
not
in
the
real
church’
—
but
we
are
in
the
Apostolic
line
that
is
tied
not
to
the
Pope,
but
to
St.
Peter,”
Batuyong
said.
“We
are
a
Catholic
Church,
we
agree
with
the
traditions
of
Rome,
the
faith
of
Rome,
but
not
the
politics
of
Rome.”
Batuyong
was
elevated
to
archbishop
this
week
as
part
of
the
church’s
annual
Synod.
St.
Michael’s
is
part
of
the
Diocese
of
St.
Michael
that
includes
churches
in
North
Carolina,
South
Carolina,
Maryland,
Washington,
D.C.,
Virginia,
Florida,
Tennessee
and
Georgia.
When
asked,
he
has
a
committed
relationship,
not
a
marriage.
And
while
he
is
a
gay
archbishop,
his
church
is
largely
heterosexual.
“We’re
very
clear
when
visitors
come
to
explain
to
them
that
we’re
not
Roman
Catholic,
we’re
independent
Catholic,
and
I
think
because
of
that
[the
local
Catholic
diocese]
leaves
us
alone,”
he
said.
Spiritually,
the
Reformed
Church
holds
all
the
essential
Catholic
beliefs
and
traditions,
like
going
to
confession
and
the
use
of
a
crucifix
instead
of
an
empty
cross.
The
differences
are
not
limited
to
political,
structural
and
cultural.
“We
respect
the
Pope,
and
we
respect
Rome,
but
we
do
not
follow
Rome,”
Batuyong
said.
He
did
however
watch
Pope
Benedict’s
recent
visit
closely.
“It
was
an
excellent
visit,
he
did
an
excellent
job,”
he
said.
“[Pope]
John
Paul
II
was
the
first
to
get
on
the
plane
[to
travel
around
the
world];
they
couldn’t
stop
him.
He
threw
the
doors
of
the
plane
open,
and
Benedict
followed
him.”
Pope
Benedict
XVI
held
massive
services
during
his
visit,
something
the
Reformed
Church
is
unlikely
to
ever
do.
The
church’s
regulations
call
for
a
congregation
that
reaches
100
families
to
split
off
a
mission
church
and
start
a
new
congregation.
“It’s
all
right
to
have
a
mega-church,
but
I
don’t
know
if
you
actually
know
everyone
past
being
number
474
on
the
giving
envelope,”
Batuyong
said.
“Then
when
they
are
in
the
hospital
and
you
have
to
visit
them
its
like
‘who
are
they?
Are
they
active?’
With
a
small
church
you
know
each
other.”
A
monastic
order
and
less
than
a
dozen
churches
fall
under
Batuyong’s
dioceses.
But
the
church
hopes
to
be
a
growing
worldwide
network
of
worshipers
who
want
to
remain
Catholic,
but
want
a
more
open
environment.
To
that
end,
no
Reformed
priest
will
deny
the
sacraments,
require
an
annulment
before
a
second
marriage
or
insist
families
not
use
birth
control.
Batuyong,
however,
does
not
endorse
gay
marriage.
Although
he
has
been
with
his
partner,
Jerry,
for
13
years,
they
are
not
married,
and
do
not
plan
to
do
so.
“I
believe
that
a
marriage
is
a
spiritual
relationship
between
a
man
and
a
woman,”
Batuyong
said.
“Now
if
you
want
to
talk
about
equality,
that
is
something
different,
but
I
believe
marriage
is
a
sacrament.”
Not
being
married
does
not
release
him
from
any
commitments
to
himself,
his
partner
or
his
congregation.
“I
am
in
a
loving,
committed
relationship.
That
means
I
have
to
set
an
example
for
those
in
my
congregation
as
a
model
of
what
a
relationship
should
be,”
he
said,
noting
members
keep
distance
from
some
Midtown
activities.
“We
go
into
the
city
occasionally
because
we
like
entertainment,
but
we
have
to
be
responsible.”
The
church
draws
a
line
between
having
a
gay
archbishop
and
being
a
“gay
church.”
“We’re
not
a
gay
church,”
Batuyong
said.
“We
don’t
market
ourselves
as
a
gay
church,
we
market
ourselves
as
an
open
church,
all
are
truly
open.
Whether
you
are
gay,
straight,
bi,
transgender,
black,
white,
Latino,
you’re
welcome
here
at
St.
Michael’s.
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
PWB on 4/28/0811:00 PM:
Have already spoken to the SOVO writer of this article. My Conversation was taken out of context. "I wholeheartedly support the issue of same gender marriage and spitually view it as a sacramental moment of grace for the couples involved. Years back I was not sure, but with study of the issue, I came to the understanding that what we are dealing with is an equal rights issue. So much so, that I stood shoulder to shoulder with other supportive Atlanta clergy and State Representative Drenner during a moment of prayer in the State Office building where her office is.
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