Letter to Editor of National Catholic Reporter by Deacon Clare Julian Carbone, ARCWP

NCR Letter to the Editor July 17-30th
Parents Needed In response to Pope Francis' statement that children need heterosexual parents, ( NCRonline.org/node104241) I would like to emphasize that what children are really in need of are loving, safe and affirming homes in which  to grow and develop into their truest and best selves.  This may be provided by same-gender parents as well as heterosexual ones. At the heart of raising children, the essential element is the wholehearted love, security and nurturance given them by their parents, not the gender combination involved.
 Having said this, my question for our beloved Pope Francis would be, why is having heterosexual parents necessary in secular family life but not in church family life? Why are there only "fathers" present at the altar and not "mothers" ?  Does this not create for all of us a grave double standard? Is there not a need as well for the unique presence, gifts and governance of both genders within the life and growth of the church?
  My hope is that we may consider more integrally both the kind of nurturance children are in need of and the kind of feminine presence and spiritual "mothers" the church has long been in need of.
  Clare Julian Carbone
  Salt Lake City, Utah