Gay man loses church music job

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Joseph Nadeau prayed for storms when he was an altar boy, hoping the lights would go out and he would be chosen to play the church's creaking organ during Mass. Mr. Nadeau, now in his mid-30s, has brought dozens of parishioners to his suburban parish in Roeland Park, Kan., with his bold spiritual arrangements.

But last month, Mr. Nadeau ended his final Sunday Mass at St. Agnes Catholic Church with a wrenching solo on "God Help the Outcasts." His other life, as the artistic director of one of the nation's largest homosexual male choirs, had cost him his job.

"I've known I was gay since I was 15 or 16," said the soft-spoken singer/.musician at his brick home in Kansas City. "My parish priest told me just follow your heart and you can't go wrong. I can't think of doing anything else."

The Roman Catholic Church views homosexual acts as "intrinsically disordered" and in November held that those who support "so-called gay culture" cannot be ordained as priests. While Vatican teachings also instruct that homosexuals should be treated with compassion, church employees are expected to live in accordance with Catholic doctrine.

The church's decision to let Mr. Nadeau's contract lapse, however, comes at a time when the role of homosexuals is causing debates inside parishes nationwide -- though the bulk of those conversations never go public.

In January, the St. Agnes Catholic Church hierarchy summoned Mr. Nadeau into a closed-door meeting, he said.

Mr. Nadeau recalls Monsignor Gary Applegate telling him that, to continue as music director, he needed to resign from Kansas City's Heartland Men's Chorus, take a vow of celibacy and acknowledge that homosexuality was a disorder.

"Science and psychology have taught us that homosexuality isn't a disorder," Mr. Nadeau said. "If I had agreed to that, I would have felt like I was being very dishonest with myself. And I think there are a lot of parishioners who feel the same way."

Officials with St. Agnes refused interview requests, and the Archdiocese of Kansas City said it would not discuss personnel issues. But staff confirmed that after eight years of service, Mr. Nadeau's contract will officially expire this month. A letter from Monsignor Applegate dated May 15 says that the two men "discussed whether and under what circumstances you could remain as the parish music director." It also says, "We were not able to reach an understanding."

In April, a Las Vegas Catholic high school reportedly fired a veteran philosophy teacher after he placed an ad on Myspace.com detailing his preferences in men. In 2003, a homosexual music director at a Catholic parish in Rockford, Ill., lost his job when he refused to take a vow of chastity.