Local
New web site targets closeted Catholic priests
A gay activist has launched a web site to collect information about closeted gay Catholic priests assigned to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., with the aim of “persuading” them to disclose their sexual orientation and speak out against the church’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
Phil Attey, an Internet consultant who coordinated local gay volunteers for the 2008 Obama campaign, said he hopes to identify such a large number of gay priests that a “critical mass” will be reached and church leaders won’t be able to oust them.
“The goal of this campaign is not to hurt any of these Catholic priests,” Attey said. “The goal of this campaign is to create an environment where priests will be able to come out safely to their parishes.”
Attey told D.C. Agenda that his web site could disclose the identity of priests he confirms are gay if they decline to identify themselves.
“We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that,” he said.
“One of the reasons we’re asking for such detailed information is that the more details we have, the more appealing it is for the priest to come out on his own so that all he has to say is that he’s gay rather than have all of the lurid details we may have on them or not have on them come out.”
According to Attey, the response to the web site, www.churchouting.org, has been “overwhelming,” with D.C.-area gay Catholics submitting information about closeted priests about whom they have first-hand information.
He said the information received would be carefully vetted and a priest’s sexual orientation would not be disclosed unless it is verified by two or more people with reliable information.
“Once a story is verified, we will be contacting the priests involved to help them make the right choices,” a message on the web site says.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Washington could not be immediately reached for comment.
Bill Donahue, president of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, called Attey’s web site a form of “religious cleansing” and a “witch hunt,” according to Christian News Service.
“Are they going to start harassing, intimidating, stalking priests?” CNS quoted Donahue as saying. “This is simply beyond the pale.”
Attey said he expects conservative, anti-gay groups such as Donahue’s organization to level that type of accusation against churchouting.org.
“None of that is true, and people will come to see that as we move forward,” he said.
The site includes a drop-down menu showing the entire roster of 314 priests assigned to parishes throughout the D.C. metropolitan area under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Washington. It also includes directions prompting readers to submit their name and e-mail address along with a narrative identifying a closeted gay priest and a description of how they know the priest is gay.
Attey said recent statements by Archbishop Donald Wuerl, who heads the Archdiocese of Washington, opposing the same-sex marriage bill pending before the D.C. City Council played a role in his decision to launch the web site late last month. He said Wuerl’s decision to sign a document prepared jointly with fundamentalist Christian groups known as the Manhattan Declaration, which calls for using civil disobedience to oppose certain laws that conflict with religious beliefs, including same-sex marriage laws, also prompted him to act at this time.
However, Attey said he had been planning the site for several years, largely as a concerned gay Catholic interested in challenging the church hierarchy’s anti-gay positions and the large number of closeted gay priests who, according to Attey, lend their support to the anti-gay policies by remaining silent.
“This is a site dedicated to every Catholic family who has lost a loved one to suicide or disassociation, needlessly caused by the spiritual pain inflicted by the church hierarchy’s relentless attacks on LGBT people,” Attey wrote on the site.
Gay activists have had mixed views on the use of outing as a means of advancing LGBT rights. D.C. gay activist Michael Rogers, editor of the gay blogs PageOneQ and BlogActive, has received national attention for his stories outing closeted anti-gay politicians. Rogers said he would have no objections to Attey’s outing of priests who actively campaign against gay rights. But he said he was less certain about outing priests who remain silent or who quietly support the LGBT community but don’t take a public stand.
“I don’t know where to draw the line on religious outing,” he said.
Mitch Wood, president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, said an outing campaign against the Catholic Church should be directed at “higher up decision-makers, not rank-and-file clergy.”
GLAA Vice President Rick Rosendall cautioned that indiscriminate outings of priests could backfire and hurt the LGBT rights movement.
“If you had an ordinary priest who was not brave or bold enough to throw his pastoral career into a tailspin by confronting the hierarchy publicly, targeting him would likely turn the main focus back on those doing the outing, and show them to be cruel and fanatical,” Rosendall said.
“Our opponents on the radical religious right already portray themselves as victims,” he said. “We should take care to avoid playing into their hands.”
Father Joseph Palacios, an openly gay Catholic priest who teaches at Georgetown University, said he was ambivalent about the outing web site.
“A gay priest leading a double life and working overtly or covertly against gay rights is working against his own self interests and that of the gay community that he participates in,” Palacios said. “This kind of hypocrisy should be brought to light – just as should be done to straight priests living double lives.”
He said a gay priest generally should be “personally encouraged to look at himself and make the decision to live the truth of his sexuality.”
Attey said he doesn’t expect his web site to disclose the names of gay priests in the immediate future.
“I’m not looking at this as a short-term project,” he said.
District of Columbia
Judge rescinds stay-away order in Capital Pride anti-stalking case
Evidence hearing to determine if order should be reinstated against Darren Pasha
A D.C. Superior Court judge on April 17 rescinded an anti-stalking order he approved in February at the request of Capital Pride Alliance against local LGBTQ activist Darren Pasha.
In a ruling at a court status hearing, Judge Robert D. Okum agreed with defendant Darren Pasha’s stated concern that the initial order was too broad and did not specify who specifically he must stay at least 100 feet away from, as called for in the order.
Okum ruled on April 17 that the initial order, which he noted was oral rather than written, would be suspended until an evidentiary hearing takes place in which Capital Pride will need to present evidence justifying the need for such an order.
“I’m fine with scheduling a hearing at which the plaintiff can present evidence, and the defendant can present evidence,” Okum said. “But I’m not fine with just continuing this oral TRO [Temporary Restraining Order] that Mr. Pasha really doesn’t even have notice of. That seems unfair,” he said.
After asking both Pasha and Capital Pride Alliance Attorney Nick Harrison when they would be available for the evidence hearing, Okum set the date for April 27 at 11 a.m. in Superior Court.
The case began when Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based LGBTQ group that organizes the city’s annual Pride events, filed a Civil Complaint on Oct. 27, 2025, against Pasha, accusing him of engaging in a year-long effort to harass, intimidate, and stalk Capital Pride’s staff, board members, and volunteers.
The complaint was accompanied by a separate motion seeking a restraining order, preliminary injunction, and anti-stalking order prohibiting Pasha from “any further contact, harassment, intimidation, or interference with the Plaintiff, its staff, board members, volunteers, and affiliates.”
In his initial ruling in February, Okum issued an order requiring Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride staff, board members, and volunteers until the April 17 status hearing. He reduced the stay-away distance from the 200 yards requested by Capital Pride.
Pasha, who has so far represented himself in court without an attorney, has argued in multiple court filings and motions that the Capital Pride stalking allegations are untrue. In his initial 16-page response to the complaint, Pasha said it appears to be a form of retaliation against him for a dispute he has had with Capital Pride and its former board president, Ashley Smith, who has since resigned from the board.
“It is evident that the document is replete with false, misleading, and unsubstantiated assertions,” Pasha’s court response states.
At the April 17 hearing, Okum also ruled that, as standard procedure for civil complaints such as this one, he has ordered both parties to enter into court-supervised mediation to attempt to reach a settlement rather than go to trial.
In an earlier ruling Okum denied Pasha’s request for a jury trial, stating that civil cases such as this must undergo a trial with the judge determining the verdict under existing civil court statutes.
The April 17 court hearing was held in a courtroom at the courthouse, but as allowed under current court rules, Capital Pride attorney Harrison and Capital Pride official June Crenshaw participated virtually through a video connection. Pasha attended the hearing in the courtroom.
“This matter is proceeding through the court in the normal course,” Capital Pride released in a statement. “We look forward to presenting the relevant evidence at the scheduled hearing. Capital Pride Alliance remains committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for our staff, volunteers, and community, and to addressing concerns through appropriate channels.”
“This is clearly a case of retaliation,” Pasha told the Blade after the hearing. “Today the judge removed the stay-away order and asked Capital Pride Alliance to present enough evidence and examples to see if a stay-away order should be granted,” he said. “Because Pride is coming up in June, we need to see where this is going.”
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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