For a number of years now, the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma has sponsored a local March for Life near the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. We have gathered to pray, march, and speak out on behalf of the unborn, who have no voice to defend themselves. We gather, too, in prayer and deep sympathy for the many women and men whose lives have been shattered by abortion.
A couple of weeks ago The Tulsa World published an article about the Oklahoma Conference of Churches and its recent theological statement against racism and discrimination. The article reported that I withdrew the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma from the Oklahoma Conference of Churches because of its theological statement. The article left the impression that I do not believe that persons with a same sex attraction or a gender discordance, often referred to as LGBTQ, should be protected against discrimination.