Gomes To Speak at Veritas Forum

Reverend Peter J. Gomes, Plummer professor of Christian morals and minister at Memorial Church, has agreed to speak at the upcoming Veritas Forum, after an invitation was extended to him by the conference organizers.

Organizers of the weekend-long conference about Christianity and intellectual life originally did not invite Gomes to participate, saying the Veritas Forum was focusing on inviting off- campus speakers.

Benjamin D. Grizzle '03, one of the main organizers of the forum and also a Crimson editor, had said that Gomes would not be invited in part because some Christians on campus view Gomes more as an academic figure than a spiritual leader.

Gomes will speak on a panel about how Christians can better welcome the homosexual community at Harvard, along with Peggy Campolo, a Christian speaker who works as an advocate for gay rights within the church and two more undetermined speakers, said Richard T. Halvorson '03, another organizer of the conference.

Gomes publicly revealed that he was gay in 1991, after the conservative student journal The Peninsula published an issue denouncing homosexuality.

Gomes said on Friday that he did not know what panel he was scheduled to speak on--he had simply agreed to speak at the forum. But he said he thinks the relationship between the Christian community and homosexuals is an important issue to discuss at Harvard, and anywhere.

"They just asked me if I'd speak on one of their panels," he said. "I can speak to frankly anything."

On the morning of Feb. 28, the same day The Crimson reported that Gomes would not be speaking at the Veritas Forum, organizers of the forum extended an invitation to Gomes to speak at the conference, according to both Grizzle and Richard T. Halvorson '03, also an organizer of the conference.

Halvorson said he had always planned on inviting Gomes, and it was just a coincidence that the invitation was extended on the same day as The Crimson's story.

Grizzle said that because of organizers' intentions to organize a national conference, many prominent Harvard religious scholars were not invited to participate in the Veritas Forum.

"The most important thing isn't having a big name on campus. That's why we were late in including them," Grizzle said. "Peter was not unique in not having been invited."

Gomes said that he agreed to participate in the conference because he thinks it is good that students are trying to discuss Christianity and secular issues.