ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECTUS

Executive Summary
Most of us would agree that our country is deeply divided politically. Every campaign
season we hear from candidates who tell us how they are going to the one to finally
break through partisan gridlock and get things done for the American people. And
yet the gridlock has worsened, not improved.
The same can be said for the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. While most
Catholics dont find themselves in any of the opposing ideological camps, in much of
our public life as Catholics we are a deeply divided lot. Litmus tests determine
whether someone is Catholic enough and those that dont pass are assigned labels
meant to marginalize.
Ideological rifts and campaigns on the fringes of all sides have hurt many. Indeed, our
church has caused a great number of its own people pain and suffering. This has
especially been true for our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and
sisters. Far too often we have set aside church teaching that expressly calls for LGBT
individuals to be treated with dignity and respect. As a result, countless children of
God have been turned away and forced out of our communities.
Its time for a new movement of lay Catholics in the United States dedicated to
moving past ideological divides, finding common ground and working for the
common good.
About 800 years ago, in the hillside near Assisi, a young man prayed in the midst of
the ruins of an old Italian church. There, the legend goes, St. Francis heard the voice
of God tell him to rebuild my church. Francis, eager to please God, began the hard
work of clearing away the rubble and started the process of literally rebuilding the
Church of San Damiano and other churches nearby.
Eventually he realized that God meant for him to also rebuild Gods church in a more
figurative way, providing a witness that continues to inspire Christians and other
people of faith the world over.
It is in this spirit that we begin our work together, building a movement of lay
Catholics who seek to rebuild the church from within by having the challenging
conversations, doing the important work of bringing about real change in the world
and providing a powerful witness to that world of what church can mean today.

The San Damiano Center seeks to bring about reconciliation in the

Roman Catholic Church in the United States by:
1. Working to end divisiveness and ideological rifts, seeking to find common
ground to bring about the common good.
2. Fostering an honest and respectful dialogue between gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender Catholics, their allies, families and church leaders. Raising up
the stories of faithful lives authentically lived by LGBT Catholics, we will work to
change hearts and minds, working toward acceptance, compassion and
respect called for by church teaching.
3. Being a public voice for change in the church and the world through earned
media and digital outreach; conferences, workshops and retreats; and public
speaking tours.

The San Damiano Center seeks to bring about renewal in the Roman
Catholic Church in the United States by:
1. Seeking to return our church to its rich history of seeking the common good,
especially in advocating for the poor, bringing about racial justice and caring
for Gods creation by organizing lay Catholics around these issues at the local
and state levels.
2. Assisting parishes and dioceses in navigating paths toward acceptance of
LGBT Catholics in their communities, informed by church teaching that calls for
respect, compassion and love.
3. Conducting programming and developing publications that emphasize the
need for spiritual growth and leadership development among lay Catholics.

Introduction
There is no doubt, these have been and continue to be difficult times for our church,
the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. We find ourselves in the midst of
continued scandal and great division. Instead of addressing years of intense anger,
pain, fear and mistrust we continue in silence, hoping that all of these problems will
go away.
And while we keep our heads firmly planted in the sand, deep down we know that
these problems wont simply be addressed on their own. We must find a path toward
healing.
It is long past time for us to be open and honest about these concernsfrom the deep
ideological divisions that are keeping us from fully sharing in Gods love found at our
common table to the way in each we as a church welcome and affirm our lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters.
Each of us in some way has experienced the division, the controversies and the
ideological movementsall of which have moved us further and further away from
living and preaching the Good News. We have watched as our brothers and sisters,
our children and grandchildren, our friends and neighbors have been turned away
from our parishes and schools because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
while we have remained painfully silent, believing that clergy and bishops know best,
even as our hearts told us otherwise.
If we do not act at this pivotal moment, we are very likely to lose an entire generation
of Catholics and quite possibly render our church completely irrelevant in the
spiritual life of our society. To be frank, these concerns outlined above: the
ideological polarization of the church and the way we treat gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender Catholics in and outside of the church have us on a path to even greater
dysfunction and turmoil.
Young Americans becoming adults today have a very low tolerance for any sort of
discrimination and highly value fairness and respect, especially toward their LGBT
brothers and sisters. They expect no less from the institutions in their lives, including
their church. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 85% of young
Catholics, age 18-29, believe that homosexuality should be accepted by society. In
their parishes and schools, with few exceptions, they wont find such acceptance.

Additionally, while many of these young people are engaged politically, they do not
believe that the church should be divided by internal politics.
The path forward must be led by us, the laity, the people of God and the Body of
Christ. In the end, it is our church and we have a shared responsibilitythe
responsibility found in our baptismto be a part of the work necessary to move it
toward the common good. We can no longer sit idly by while more and more
Catholics leave to seek church homes that are more inclusive and willing to be in
dialogue about challenging issues.
Real reform will only be possible through our leadership and our witness.
We hear a lot about the New Evangelization in Catholic circles today, a movement
that has much value. However, the best way for us to evangelize and to bring about
renewal in our faith is for us to begin to live it boldly and authentically.
By working together to find common ground that brings about the common good,
not only will we attract new members and increase vocations to varied ministries, we
will also strengthen our own faith lives and be better disciples of Jesus Christ.

From a Monologue to a Dialogue

Our greatest need today as a church is to bring about an open and honest dialogue
about the issues that face us. The ultimate agent of division, fear and scandal is
silence.
In many areas of our country our parishes have begun to reflect the political climate in
the public square, an atmosphere that is increasingly polarized and divisive. We take
on labels and assign them to others. Indeed, it seems that we have become so
focused on what divides us and not on what brings us together as a community of
faith. Worst of all, weve stopped talking to each other, and in many ways have
stopped building community, especially with those who disagree with us.
We need to begin to talk to each other again, but more importantly, we need to start
listening with compassion and sincerity.

Church teaching regarding the way in which we are called to treat our lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters is quite clear. Time and again weve
heard a bold reaffirmation that all children of God should be treated with dignity and
respect, only to then see the opposite happen.

Our strong desire to be an affirming and welcoming place for all is

driven by our faith and is not opposed to it.
As a church we need to step back from political disagreements over same-sex
marriage and honor the inherent dignity of all, without distinction and without
condition. We cannot move forward and we cannot be church to one another until we
return to this critically important dialogue.
And we must reach out to those gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans
that have been wounded by our words, actions and inactions. In recent years our
church and its leaders have waged a brutal and deadly battle, using acts of spiritual
violence against members of our communities that are already marginalized and
oppressed by society. The ramifications of these words and deeds have had
devastating impacts on our families, our spiritual lives and the future of Catholicism.
And, we know that the actions and inactions of our church have greatly contributed to
increased levels of homelessness, suicides and addiction among LGBT youth and
adults alike.
For too long weve allowed the church to approach these issues as a hierarchical
monologueshutting down dissent while at the same time negating church teaching
that is already in place.

The time has come for a genuine dialogue to commence among

the laity, with a sincere invitation to clergy and bishops to join us.
Further, those of us who remain in the church while leading authentic lives as LGBT
Catholics must stand up and tell our stories. We know that hearts and minds can
change, but they will only change through conversations in which non-affirming
people of faith realize that we are part of their families, their parishes and their
communities.

We will only change as a community if we honor all people of faith, as they are today,
regardless of their present stance as affirming or non-affirming. Attacks, name-calling
and similar disrespect directed toward our brothers and sisters who disagree with us,
including our lay and ordained leaders, take us even further from the potential of
long-term reconciliation.
Thus, we approach this work mindful of the ever present need to enter into such a
dialogue from a place of respect and a shared desire to bring about the
reconciliation necessary to improve lives and strengthen our shared Christian
community.

A Call to Renewal
Our baptism calls us to be disciples of Jesus Christ, sent into the world to bring the
Good News to it. We seek to do so not from an island as individuals, or in groups set
apart, but from the midst of a community of faith.
Our identity as Christians in the Catholic tradition remains an important part of our
daily lives and we continue to be nourished by our faith. We seek to share this
experience with others who find themselves wanting to bring about reconciliation
and renewal from within, not apart.
There is much that we can disagree about and dofrom politics and philosophy to
the use of incense and Mass translations. Some of that dialogue is fruitful, some of it
not as much. However, the world that we are called to serve, the people of God that
we have been sent to minister to are suffering far too much for us to sit stubbornly in
our ideological corners. And the Gospel we preach demands of us to not only feed
and clothe, but also to challenge what is wrong and provide witness to what can be.
As people of faith, concerned about the world around us, we should be especially
concerned about the growing economic inequality in our world today. While that
inequality has created more and more poor and homeless families and hungry
children, the problems of economic inequality go far beyond those realities.

Gun violence, for instance, an epidemic in itself, is directly connected to economic

and racial inequality and a system designed to keep the poor poor, no matter how
hard they work. When you dont have enough to make ends meet, when you yourself
are the victim of economic violence, physical and deadly violence really can make
sense.
And there are countless other problems in our society that are created or made
worse by greed and inequality.
So, what are we, as a church to do? We have a long and proud history of taking care
of the least among us. It is a heritage that we should be proud of. And, we have an
academic understanding of Catholic social teachingfrom documents and encyclicals
to exhortations and episcopal directives. Boththe charity that we provide and the
academic work we have done are important. But they are not enough.
The opportunity that awaits us now and in the near futurein the midst of a papacy
inspired by an overzealous yet endearing saintis to bring our unique perspective as
people of faith to the public discourse. That discussion is happening every day in the
streets, in city council chambers and in state houses, but often without us. Its time for
us to organize and act, as the Gospel calls on us to do.
Imagine the impact we could have, if we organized our parishes, our schools and our
entire dioceses to speak out and act to bring about significant systematic change
around these issues?
In addition to working for structural change to bring about economic and racial
justice through community organizing, we will also seek to do the same with issues
related to the care of Gods creation. Noting our Franciscan roots, concern for the
poor and the earth are related and cannot be separated.

Leadership Profiles
Eric S. Fought
Founder & President
Eric Fought is a lay pastoral leader in the Roman Catholic tradition. A lifelong
social justice advocate, activist and organizer, he continues to work for change,
inspired by Catholic social teaching and the witness of Scripture.
A former seminarian and former member of a religious order, Fought has a
unique perspective regarding Catholicism and the need for reform of the
Church, especially in the United States. This perspective is further formed by
his lifelong experience of being openly gay in the Catholic Church.
A nationally recognized political and communications strategist, Fought has
over 20 years of experience working in electoral politics, issue advocacy,
nonprofit management and public affairs. In 2006, he joined the staff of the
Democratic National Committee, part of the 50 State Strategy of former DNC
chair Governor Howard Dean. In his role with the DNC, Fought assisted state
Democratic parties with their communications strategy and served as
communications director of both the Minnesota and Nebraska state parties.
He has also served as campaign manager of a targeted statewide U.S. Senate
campaign, and as advisor to members of Congress throughout the country.
In 2012, Fought served as communications director for Our Vote Our Future,
the official statewide campaign to defeat the Voter ID amendment in
Minnesota. He also recently served as communications director of Minnesotans
for a Fair Economy, a coalition of labor, community and faith-based
organizations working to bring about racial and economic justice in the state.
Fought currently is a lay Master of Divinity candidate at Saint Johns School of
Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Because of his unique professional background and extensive theological
education, Fought is a regular commentator on issues related to the
convergence of politics and faith in American culture and travels extensively as
a retreat facilitator, workshop presenter and keynote speaker.

Organizational Contact:
Eric S. Fought
(612) 223-4744
efought@sandamianocenter.org

San Damiano Center for Reconciliation and Renewal

P.O. Box 5533
Collegeville, MN 56321
www.sandamianocenter.org

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