40 Years Later Catholic Church Apologizes for Lack of Compassion for Anti-Gay Arson Victims

Personally, I believe that when the scales are balanced, religion, particularly Christianity, has done more harm and ruined and destroyed countless more lives than it has saved or aided.  Put another way, Christianity and religion in general have proved to be a pestilence to mankind.  Hate, bigotry, discrimination and the out right murder of those of other faiths have sadly been the norm rather than the exception.  Even within the last decade an Anglican Archbishop i Africa is suspected of having ordered the massacre of over 600 men, women and children.  Making matters even worse, break away Episcopal parishes in America have aligned themselves with such hate-filled and murderous clerics.  A piece in the UK's Daily Mail looks at the Catholic Church's belated apology for its behavior following the Upstairs Loungearson attack that claimed 32 lives.  Here are article highlights:

New Orleans marked the 40th anniversary on Saturday of one of the saddest days of its history and a tragic event which is regarded as the largest mass murder of gay people in U.S. history.

The Upstairs Lounge arson attack occurred on June 24, 1973 when a flash fire tore through a gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter.   In less than 20 minutes, 32 people were killed, dozens more critically injured and those who managed to escape watched helplessly as friends and lovers burned to death before their eyes. 

At the time local politicians and religious leaders wanted nothing to do with it and little effort was made to bring whoever started the suspected arson to justice.  The powerful Catholic Archbishop of New Orleans at the time, Phillip Hannan, did not offer his support or sympathy to victims.

Now 40 years on, the event is gaining greater recognition for its significant role in the fight for greater rights for gay people.  This year’s milestone anniversary was marked with a special mass in New Orleans, while the current Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has apologized for the church's silence over the tragic event.

'In retrospect, if we did not release a statement we should have to be in solidarity with the victims and their families,' Archbishop Gregory Aymond recently wrote in an email to TIME.   'The church does not condone violence and hatred. If we did not extend our care and condolences, I deeply apologize.'

New Orleans in the early 1970s was an extremely homophobic place as typified by the response of authorities following the fire.  Neither Mayor Moon Landrieu or any other government official made a public statement about the tragedy. 

The UpStairs Lounge fire was a seminal moment in the history of gay New Orleans and significant advancements have been made in the years since and now the city leads the South in extending civil rights to gay city employees. 

Other events being held to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy include a lecture at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a jazz funeral procession from there to the site of the fire and even a musical. 

The city recognizes domestic partnerships for gay and straight couples, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu - son of Moon Landrieu - has issued an official certificate commemorating the anniversary of the fire, something that would have been unthinkable for his father to do at the time of the fire.

Better late than never is how the saying goes, but sadly, the Catholic Church is still preaching and disseminating the same anti-gay vitriol that helped create the mindset that caused 32 individuals to lose their lives with little or no response for government officials.  Religion is a form of poison that yields death and damaged lives as its principal fruits.