In "Prayers for Bobby," Mary Griffith is a devout Christian who raises her children with the conservative teachings…
…However, when her son Bobby confides to his older brother he may be gay, life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. While Bobby's father and siblings slowly come to terms with his homosexuality, Mary believes God can cure him of what she considers his 'sin' and persuades Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in church activities in hopes of changing him. Desperate for his mother's approval, Bobby does what is asked of him, but through it all, the church's apparent disapproval of homosexuality causes him to grow increasingly withdrawn and depressed… Read more
With all due respect, I do not know how Pope Benedict XVI and his hierarchy are able to maintain an uninformed conscience, a self-imposed ignorance about the truth of human sexuality, particularly about homosexual orientation and gender identity and that by their ignorance cause life threatening harm and death to millions of innocent children. How can they be so harden against human life? They did not protect children in the decades of sexual abuse sandals and again they are not protecting children. I do not know how in good conscience they can even cerebrate mass; it is such a sacrilege for them to do so. This is especially true when Benedict XVI has absolutely no substantiated evidence, the supported documentary evidence that is accepted by most authorities in the field to back up his teachings on human sexuality, homosexual orientation and gender identity. I furthermore do not understand how such a religious leader is allowed to continue with this blatant harm (crimes against humanity) in the Catholic Church to go unchecked, unchallenged, and is even allowed to silence the clergy and religious who speak out for the truth. Something is so terribly wrong with this system, which turns a blind eye to the fact that "Kids are being hurt!!!" And that no one in the hierarchy or in the Vatican cares enought to try to stop it. Some serious waves need to be made! It is such a grievous sin agaisnt children that it forever crys to heaven for justice. Thank God for PFLAG, Fortunate Families and many many other parents support groups around the world whose purpose is for the safety and well-being of LGBT children. These parents have a non-stop ticket straight to heaven when they die, they must truly be God's angels here on earth. As a priest, who is concerned and involved in LGBT issues, you very quickly come know more than one story like Bobby's, way too many more to be able in good conscience remain silent and not take a stand to protect children. For every story that is told like Bobby's there are thousands of other similar stories never told that are just as tragic and many even more tragic. Thank God Bobby's story was told for us all. It hurts so deeply knowing that there are ways in the Catholic Church that could of and should of prevented his death. It is criminal that it has to take the death of innocent children to awaken us to our responsibility to protect children, however, it has not yet awaken Benedict XVI and his hierarchy. In the meantime, they can only be left in the hands of God. I do not believe in leaving the priesthood or the Catholic Church, but I wholeheartedly believe in "cleaning house" with the help of God. "Kids are being hurt!!!"Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Metro DC PFLAG Education a short excerpt from
...One Friday night in August 1983, Bobby had dinner with his cousin. She noticed that he seemed thoughtful, perhaps depressed. He seemed to want to talk about something, but said little. Then he left, saying he was taking a bus to go dancing downtown.
Early the next morning, two men driving to work noticed a young man, later identified as Bobby, on an overpass above a busy thoroughfare. As they described the next few moments, the boy walked to the railing, turned around, and did a sudden back flip into mid-air. He landed in the path of an eighteen-wheeler.
Bobby's body was return to Walnut Creek for funeral services in the Presbyterian church. The minister told the mourners that Bobby was gay, and suggested that his tragic end was the result of his sinning.
Later, the Griffiths met with their pastor for grief counseling. In her despair, Mary was seeking ways to atone for the loss of Bobby. She told the pastor she knew there were "other Bobbys out there" and asked how she could help them. The pastor merely shrugged his shoulders—and Mary never again returned to that church.
However, she did not lose her sense of religion. Her speech resonates with the tones of spiritual awareness. But she has found a very different God from the one she worshiped at Walnut Creek Presbyterian. She reread her Bible with fresh eyes, and sought out secular books about homosexuality. She concluded that there was nothing wrong with Bobby, that "he was the kind of person God wanted him to be...an equal, lovable valuable part of God's creation." She says now, "I helped instill false guilt in an innocent child's conscience." ...
An Interview With Mary Griffith, the Inspiration Behind Prayers for Bobby - Lifetime
The Evolution of Prayers for Bobby – Advocate.com
Prayers for Bobby: TV Guide News
"Prayers for Bobby" Trailer 111,293
A review of Prayers for Bobby and about the author Leroy Aarons
Links to LGBT parents support groups, suppling numerous resources for parents.
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