Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religion News
An Update on the Situation in the Diocese of Oakland

An Update on the Situation in the Diocese of Oakland

Last updated on: November 22, 2022 at 10:37 pm by Mary Pezzulo

An Update on the Situation in the Diocese of Oakland 2022-11-22T22:37:31-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve been watching the developments out of the Diocese of Oakland since my post yesterday, and I think they’re worth another post.

For those of you who have been asking, my friend whose tweet inadvertently started the kerfuffle is doing fine. He’s locked his account because of all the sudden attention. Transgender people have to be careful. You can imagine how the whole community has been traumatized by the terrorist attack at Club Q. But he is shocked and moved by all the support he’s received– and there has been a lot. I was by no means the first person to get furious with Deacon Rob Federle’s cruelty. People apparently flooded the Diocese of Oakland and Saint Michael’s parish with complaints.

To my great surprise, Deacon Rob Federle said he was sorry for his cruel remarks yesterday, as NCR has reported. He didn’t address the rest of his public oeuvre, which was a Twitter page absolutely mired with cruelty and hatred of LGBTQ people. But he addressed that one tweet: “I apologize for the post I made on Sunday following the tragedy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It lacked Christian charity and it is not befitting of ordained clergy, or of anyone who professes to be a follower of Jesus Christ.” I know this because the Diocese of Oakland shared a screenshot of the apology on their social media pages. Deacon Federle’s Twitter page seems to have been deleted entirely, shortly after the apology was posted. Based on the swiftness with which the diocese shared the screenshot after the apology was tweeted and before the page was deleted, it’s been speculated by many that Deacon Rob wrote that apology and deleted his Twitter with the diocese looking over his shoulder. And no, it’s not a very good apology. He didn’t say he was sorry that he hurt a man of God. He apologized because he had engaged in behavior unbecoming of him, a classic “me me me me me” apology. But it’s something.

The diocese also disowned the remarks and stressed they’d been tweeted on Deacon Rob’s private Twitter and not anything that belonged to them.

I don’t think I’ve ever, in my life, seen a diocese apologize for anything.

Technically I still haven’t seen that; I’ve seen the diocese sharing a picture of a bad apology and a note that they don’t endorse the person who did wrong. But it was close to an apology. And it also had a statement about how nobody deserves to get shot. “I ask everyone to join me in prayer and support for all those impacted by the attack at Club Q; including those who died, those who have been injured, the first responders, and their loved ones. No one should suffer from violence; as Christians, we are called to witness to the dignity of all human life. In this moment of tragedy, we are called to mourn with those who mourn, and weep with those who weep.”

I have been bisexual my whole life. I have been Catholic for one month shy of my whole life: I was baptized a month after I was born. I have been an LGBTQ Catholic for as long as I can remember, and it has hurt. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bishop say anything kind about queer people, ever. We’re the redheaded stepchild. We don’t exist unless we’re being paraded out of the closet so we can be blamed for things. We’re blamed for ruining heterosexual marriages. We’re blamed for sexual abuse. We’re blamed for pandemics and the price of insurance, for natural disasters and latchkey kids. We’re the cause of everything. It’s exhausting. But here was a bishop trying to say something nice.

Which is why I’m sitting here on the verge of tears in front of the Diocese of Oakland’s twitter page. And yes, I realize that it’s pathetic to be so moved by this most imperfect turn of events.

Being Catholic often feels like being a codependent daughter who feels thrilled and loved when her alcoholic father sends a birthday card, two weeks late, with the wrong name written inside. Or, at least, it does to me.

And we’ll see where we go from here.

image via Pixabay

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows and Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.

Steel Magnificat operates almost entirely on tips. To tip the author, visit our donate page.

Religion News

Previous Post

November 21, 2022

The Tale of Lizzie Bord-Hen

Next Post

November 27, 2022 At the Corner of the Grass

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the name "Samuel" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Chosen one Servant of the Lord Heard by God The Lord is my salvation