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COMMUNITY
PROFILE:
ARCHBISHOP BRUCE SIMPSON
 Archbishop
Bruce Simpson on His Life and His Future with the Old Catholic
Church
By Jed Ryan
Speaking with Archbishop Bruce Simpson of the Order of Saint
John the Beloved, the Old Catholic Church (OCC), is
a revelation. Archbishop Simpson has only been living
in Suffolk County for about a year now, but already
has become one of the most recognized faces and most
influential voices in the Long Island GLBT community.
He was named as "Humanitarian of the Year"
for 2001 by Outlook
Long Island magazine. To that, Bruce responds, "I was
totally unaware and shocked. I'm very grateful for Outlook
LI magazine. Tom (Hroncich, the editor the magazine) has
always been very supportive of the Parish. He's done more
than anyone else to help spread the word." Despite many people's
beliefs that the United States is mostly a Protestant country,
the Archbishop believes that at least a small majority of
the population is Catholic (53 million Roman Catholics, 1
million Old Catholics), an figure that's only destined to
grow with America's increasing Hispanic population. Not to
be confused with the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic
Church split from Rome in 1889. Bruce was ordained as a Deacon
for the OCC in 1995, became a priest in 1996, and was consecrated
as a Bishop in 1999. As an Archbishop, he has responsibilities
over his Diocese. Bruce is one of nine Archbishops of the
OCC in the US Through his weekly sermons, Archbishop Simpson
offers a much-needed comforting voice of traditional yet
enlightened religious perspective to GLBT Long Island Catholics.
He frequently contributes his opinions on important issues
via the Long
Island Pride eGroup, offering a balanced and educated
yet compassionate perspective to discussions which can often
get out of control with emotion. And this busy man is guaranteed
to be a presence at many community events, most recently
appearing at the Ninth Annual International Gay and Lesbian
Expo in Manhattan and showing up the L.I.
Ravens M.C. Tenth Anniversary Ball. Archbishop Simpson's
colorful life has been a mix of eclectic achievements and
awe-inspiring life experiences. He has been in the military,
has been a police officer, and even briefly served as a
bodyguard for the Saudi Arabian royal family. He has met
former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton.
He served as a Special Agent for the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) during Operation Desert Storm. He has written pieces
that have been published in the national magazine "Genre." Yet
this holy man's saga is, more importantly, that of unyielding
faith, the vocation (or "calling") received by a young
man named Bruce, and that man's subsequent bittersweet
experiences with the wealthy, established Roman Catholic
Church-- an institution struggling with its own hierarchy
and managing the conflict between medieval doctrine and
the modern situations of the individuals it represents.
During our four-hour interview at his Mastic home, Archbishop
Simpson spoke about a world completely outside the perception
of lay people-- the world of religious politics. Even though
listening to Bruce's experiences were never less than provocative
and at times downright shocking, Bruce always kept a natural
undercurrent of humor running through his words-- a challenge
to many people's ideas that men and women of faith are
overly serious and don't know how to have fun. Here's one
holy man who can flawlessly summarize the history of the
Catholic Church yet also speak about the merits of "Queer
As Folk"-- his favorite TV show. At the door of his
house, I'm greeted by two adorable black Scottish terriers,
Mary and Cindy, who enthusiastically compete for their
owner's (and their visitor's) attention throughout the
interview. Bruce shows me around his house, which is highlighted
by a collection of artwork, including paintings with their
own individual lighting. In his office, he points out
two highly personal pieces. One is a stick pen and ink
drawing of a winged lion called "St. Mark, Patron Saint
of Venice," done by his
life partner Jack. The other is an illuminated manuscript/
portrait of the patron saints of the Byzantine army, Bacchus
and Sergius. These two saints were well known to be gay
lovers-- and to this day, they're still very popular.
 Born
and raised in New Jersey, Bruce moved to Pennsylvania at age
14. Being a fan of the TV show "Highway Patrol, his earliest
ambition was to be a cop. Bruce got that chance when at age
18 he voluntarily joined the Air Force during the Vietnam
War. At that time, a lot of his friends were being drafted--
including Jack, the young man who would eventually become
his life partner. Bruce served as an Officer in the Air Force
Nuclear Security Division. After his three and a half year
military experience, Bruce became a police officer in Maryland.
In a career which entailed enforcing the law, protecting citizens,
and dealing with violence, Bruce found sanctuary at the local
Church and became friendly with the local priests, one of
which was Police Chaplain. During his career as a police officer,
Bruce received Citations for Bravery in Cheverly, Maryland
as well as the Award for "Cop of the Year" in 1984.
Less than a week later, Bruce entered the Seminary.
Interestingly, during Bruce's last call as a police officer,
he had to deal with a particularly heady and dangerous confrontation
in which he may have had to kill a man. Could he enter the
Seminary having just killed someone? Luckily, that never happened.
However, the Washington Post did get wind of the story about
the highly praised Maryland policeman who, at age 33, decided
to become a priest. According to Bruce, the newspaper found
this "fascinating." Bruce stated that he had received his
vocation (a call towards God and the Church) at age 21, but
that he ignored it for 12 years. "The longer you ignore it,
the stronger it gets. If it's genuine, it's an itch that needs
to be scratched," he stated. Bruce was sent to "one of the
most conservative seminaries," Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg,
Maryland. Bruce's decision, and his mandatory vow of celibacy,
brought up serious issues between him and Jack, who became
partners in 1974. What would happen to their relationship?
According to Bruce, Jack understood Bruce's vocation and,
despite the difficulties, was supportive.
 Bruce
started out his career with the Roman Catholic Church, at
the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He developed a very close
relationship with Cardinal Hickey, one of the most conservative
Roman Catholic officers at the time. Cardinal Hickey, according
to Bruce, had a long history of forcefully silencing voices
for gay equality in Washington, DC His actions included banning
the gay Catholic group Dignity from having mass at any Catholic
Church and attempting to ban any priests who celebrated their
mass. Despite their close relationship (Bruce even served
as Bodyguard for Cardinal Hickey for six months.), Bruce and
the Cardinal came head to head with the gay issue. Cardinal
Hickey informed Bruce that he did not know if Bruce could
be ordained after the revealed that he was gay, even though
Bruce had no intention of swaying from his vow of celibacy.
He was told that celibacy couldn't apply to gay men-- it inferred,
according to Hickey, a "lack of a union between a man and
woman." Granted, this was only Hickey's opinion-- other deacons,
bishops, and priests could disagree-- but as one of Washington's
most powerful Roman Catholic officers at the time, Bruce was
hardly at liberty to dispute. Hickey told Bruce that he would
give Bruce his decision after one year. What particularly
upset Bruce was the Cardinal's request to let the vow of secrecy
between Bruce and his Spiritual Director (who knew that Bruce
was gay) evaporate so that he could discuss Bruce's situation
with the Spiritual Director. Bruce refused, telling me "I
didn't want to start a precedent for future seminarians."
In addition, Bruce had difficulties with the Roman Catholic
Church's views on birth control, gay rights, and abortion,
and in particular, the resistance to the teaching of safe
sex. "Attempts to address these issues with the Roman Catholic
Church hierarchy never amounted to much. Thomas Aquinas speaking
on the nature of man, used an example of a sheep and a wolf.
He said 'The sheep is afraid because it's in its nature to
be afraid of the wolf. The sheep did not learn to be afraid,
it was not taught to be afraid.' Well, the nature of man is
the same. As with sheep, I believe that people are born gay.
We are attracted to our own gender by our nature, not because
we have been taught, or learned a particular behavior. We
are born in the image and likeness of God. God is male and
female, white, black, brown, and all the colors in between.
And yes, gay and straight. How do we know that we are not
God's natural way of controlling the birth rate? How many
people would be on this tiny planet if gays never existed?"
He adds, "None of us are capable of understanding even the
slightest portion of what God is, or what his plan is. We
can only interpret based on ancient Scripture and the ideals
that Jesus laid out. The greatest Commandment is 'Love one
another like we love the Lord.' If we really followed that,
there wouldn't be any hatred."
Bruce's faith and desire to spread God's word didn't change,
but he left the Seminary in 1985. Although he views Cardinal
Hickey's views and actions as "more ignorant than mean-spirited,"
he became disenchanted with the Roman Catholic Church, mostly
based on many Roman Catholic official's focus on their own
power rather than the needs of the world's Roman Catholic
population. "The Church is here to serve, not to be served.
The Roman Catholic Church is very powerful and wealthy, and
they have the ability to make changes which influence government
legislation. There are disturbing aspects to the hierarchy
of the Roman Catholic Church. It's intrinsically defective.
Church politics can be more vicious than civil politics. They
divide what Christ created as one. There's a lot of authority
which unfortunately manifests itself as arrogance. Many officials
have a strong awareness of their ability to exercise power
and to control clerical dynamics around them. For example,
they can silence a priest with a wave of their hands. They
can meet with the President, and have access to the American
government that 99.9% of the American people don't have."
From 1988 to 1996, Bruce went on to work for the Federal government,
as Chief of the Collections Divisions of the US Treasury for
Non-Tax Debt, an organization which he helped build from the
ground up. He helped write and implement the Debt Collection
Improvement Act in 1996. (Bruce pointed out that $100 billion
is owed to the US,and half of it is non-tax debt.) It was
at this time that Bruce met and received an award from then
Vice President Al Gore for his work at the Treasury Department.
Bruce founded the Long Island congregation of St. Julian of
Norwich in August 2001. Many people are unfamiliar with the
Old Catholic Church, which has long history but which officially
split from the Vatican in 1889. The seat of the OCC is the
holy, ancient city of Utrecht, Holland. After the OCC was
formed, Churches in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria appealed
to Utrecht to consecrate their first bishops. Under the Holland
Church's leadership, these Churches in Europe formed the "Utrecht
Union." Today, there are Old Catholic Churches worldwide.
The name "Old Catholic" refers to these Churches' adherence
to the original beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church
of the post-apostolic era. While the Roman Catholic Church
is the only "Catholic" Church that most Americans think of,
there are other Catholic Churches as well. In addition to
the OCC, there's also the Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox,
and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges
the Pope as its leader, whereas the other Catholic Churches
do not. States Bruce, "Only Christ is the head of the Church.
We don't acknowledge the Pope as our leader. He is, respectfully,
the Bishop of Rome-- honored among equals." The Old Catholic
Church has more latitude than the Roman Catholic Church to
make decisions. Celibacy is optional for its clergy. Aside
from that, the Sacraments and Deposit of Faith are identical
to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Long Island OCC is the Parish of St. Julian of Norwich,
an Old Catholic parish under the guidance and ministry of
Saint John the Beloved. Bruce stresses that the Order of St.
John the Beloved is not limited to being only a "gay" Church.
"We are open and accepting to everyone." Currently, the parish
has 20 members and is growing. "We don't have the funds to
advertise and educate the public. Unlike the Roman Catholic
Church, we're stifled by the lack of funding. Bruce's biggest
disappointment is that most Long Island Roman Catholics, especially
gay and lesbian Catholics, haven't discovered OCC. He refers
to the "walking wounded"-- those hurt or disappointed by the
Roman Catholic Church. Bruce has reason to be optimistic.
On May 18th, 2001, 180 people turned up for the Deaconization
of Reverend Lynette Curley, CSW. Although Bruce currently
serves as Pastor, after Lynette is ordained as priest, she
will be able to celebrate Sunday mass and will be named Pastor.
The Church is at a temporary location pending final approval
for the use of an Episcopal Church.
Years of working in law enforcement took its toll on Bruce's
body, but that hasn't slowed him down one bit. At a period
of life when many former military men and retired police officers
would be "burned out" sadly vanish from the public eye to
lead a quiet existence, Bruce's faith and desire to spread
the word of God has kept him busier than ever. For the Parish
of St. Julian of Norwich, his goals are to build a Church
as well as a rectory for the priests, and also a hospice center,
for which he states there's a "great need on Long Island."
Eventually, he'd like to see a monastery and a retreat center.
On a personal level, he continues to enjoy happiness with
his partner Jack. The couple enjoyed their own same-sex union
at an Episcopal Church in Maryland on their 20th anniversary
together. Afterward, they enjoyed a gay cruise. In their spare
time, they enjoy Broadway shows, travel, and spending time
at home together with Mary and Cindy.
Bruce Simpson has led a life full of ups and downs, with enough
drama to warrant a big-screen Showtime original movie. Aspiring
producers, are you listening? But who would play Bruce? I
personally vote for either Ryan O'Neil, John Voight, or Nick
Nolte to play the adult Bruce. What actor would play the younger
version? Who better than the actor who plays "Justin" on "Queer
As Folk"-- a tribute which Bruce would no doubt appreciate.
Visit the St. Julian Church web site at www.OSJTB.com
for info on the Church, including the history of the Old Catholic
church, to meet the clergy, or to make a donation.
To subscribe
to the Long Island Pride eGroup,
send a blank email to
li-pride-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Also
see:
Community Profile:
Pastor Hibbs Talks About the Long Island Fellowship
Photos
by Jed Ryan and Louis Trapani
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