: 201 : 223 This alluded to LGBT and LGBT-accepting Catholic groups such as DignityUSA and New Ways Ministry, : 201 and ultimately resulted in the exclusion of Dignity from Church property. Ĭritics have described the document as teaching 'that a gay male or lesbian sexual identity is not to be celebrated, nor is it properly seen as a source of pride'. The claims that accepting and legalizing homosexual behaviour leads to violence were seen as controversially blaming gay people for homophobic violence and encouraging homophobic violence. Andrew Sullivan called this comment 'extraordinary for its lack of compassion' and added that 'some of clauses read chillingly like comparable church documents produced in Europe in the 1930s.' : 193 Referring to the AIDS epidemic, the letter, McNeill writes, blamed AIDS on gay rights activists and gay-accepting mental health professionals: 'Even when the practice of homosexuality may seriously threaten the lives and well-being of a large number of people, its advocates remain undeterred and refuse to consider the magnitude of the risks involved'.
