Someone who really cares

I first met Father Harvey in December 1981, just prior to attending a Courage meeting for the first time, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in lower Manhattan. I had the opportunity to speak with him alone for about 20 minutes. It wasn’t long into into our conversation that I said to myself: “Here is someone who really cares.“

He confirmed my evaluation often, but most notably to me in 1987, when I asked him about the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith’s Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. The Letter stated that the homosexual inclination “…must be seen as an objective disorder” - a statement that troubled many same-sex attracted persons and that gay activists misused to energize their movement. He immediately put me at ease when he began his reply by saying that to call something a disorder “is not meant to be demeaning”. He then went on to explain further.

Fr Harvey was a respected Moral Theologian in addition to being the Spiritual Director of Courage. As a Moral Theologian he was called upon to explain and defend the Congregation’s Letter to the Bishops. He did so conscientiously in his books and articles; however, in his pastoral role as Spiritual Director of Courage he avoided using the terms “disorder” or “disordered” unless asked about them. Fr. Harvey understood that the precise and technical terms in the letter, addressed to bishops, need not be used pastorally. Another example of his caring.

God bless Father Harvey.