Out in the Mountains Editorial ls Angell An Angel? PaulOlsen Forget for a moment that Vermont’s new Catholic Bishop, Kenneth A. Angell, is fac- ing racketeering charges for allegedly cov- ering up the sexual abuse of yoimg boys in RhodeIslandForgetthatBishopAngellre— fuses to allow yormg women to serve as altar girls and opposes the ordinafion of women as priests. Forget that, in the spirit of christian disunityand ecumenical separatism, Bishop Angell will not allow the installation of Ver- mont’s new Episcopal Bishop to occur at Saint Michael’s College because she is a women. And finally, forget the fact that in spite of calls for a nationwide boycott, Bishop Angell recently went to Colorado to meet that othermaninadress,thePope(note:inthe spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that while in high school even I made a pilgrim- age to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for an audience with the Pope). The purpose of my latest tirade is to explore how Bishop Angell may (or may not) serve Ver- mont's lesbian and gay community. After serving 18 years as auxiliary bishop in Rhode Island, Pope John Paul II appointed Angell the eighth Catholic bishop of Ver- mont. Succeeding the wretched John Mar- shall, 63 year—old Angell began his reign as bishop after his installation on November 9, 1992. Since that time Angell has criticized the city of Burlington for extending health insurance coverage to “so-called” domestic partners of city employees. Citing the breakup of the “family”, Angell’s dribble failed to address the fact that extending in- surance coverage might effectively solve .| the problem of many Vermonters lack of access to health care. Labeled an activist by the media, Angell’s plethora of foolishness also failed to point out that Burlington’s in- itiative would confront the institutionalized oppression faced by lesbians and gay men in the work place. With the exception of blessing a few statues, Bishop Angell’s tenure in Vermont has been’ marked by controversy and his failure to in any way reach out to Vermont’s lesbian and — gay community. As the “spiritual leader” of Verrnont’s 144,000 Catholics, Angell’s nar- row-mindedness and rhetoric are disturbing. When I asked Bishop Angell’s Communica- tions Director, Gloria J. Gibson, if Angell would have publicly opposed Vermont’s anti-discrimination bill when it was pending in the Legislature she replied “yes”. Thank God he wasn’t bishop back then. V “Ask me ‘ow to save on car insurance?’ Ifyou yuul1ornearxicarlm.uarroetoAllstate,yorroa1ldreoeiveatuactlve; savm§bri:gyuuAlktate<2rhs.nmroepoflcyzJrstgtwmeamflabwtdwAlktaw Multi-Line Discount It could rally give you a lift. Call Ellen Hetherington - 863-3808 Allstate Youhingoodhnnds.