The Epiphany of Father Beattie

The epiphany of Father Beattie, as recounted by The Los Angeles Daily News tells us that on one day in 1989 Father Beattie...

...was called to the City of Angels hospice, where a
young gay man was in a coma and dying from AIDS.  When
Beattie arrived, he found the man's friends sitting
around him, one of them stroking his forehead.

    Beattie prayed with them, and celebrated the
Sacrement of the Sick, also known as the Last Rites.
As he left the hospice, the priest suddenly had to
pull over to the side of the road.

    "Quite literally, the hair on the back of my neck
stood up," he said.  "I remember sitting there and
saying I was just there in the presence of God--
for where there is love there is God."

    Beattie believes the church has failed gays and
lesbians.

    "One of the things we have got to do as a church,"
he said, "is simply apologize and beg forgiveness of
the gay community."