Despite renewed Vatican disapproval of homosexual activity,...

Despite renewed Vatican disapproval of homosexual activity, there is no outward sign of friction between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the local chapter of Dignity, an 18-year-old independent association of homosexual Roman Catholics.

Father John J. McNeill of New York City, the psychiatrist-author who was notified last October that he would be expelled from the Jesuit order for not ending his ministry to gay people, will be the speaker tonight for Dignity’s annual banquet at the Hyatt on Sunset Strip. Because Dignity is not an official organization of the archdiocese, a chancery spokesman said, there is no problem with his speaking appearance.

Although the Vatican reaffirmed last October in a tough new statement that homosexuality is an “objective disorder” and that all homosexual acts are immoral, the archdiocese recently bolstered its ties with the homosexual community.

Father Brad Dusack, who had been a pastor on Santa Catalina Island, was assigned full time as liaison priest to gay and lesbian Catholics and to work on AIDS-related problems. Marianist Father John McEnhill had been doing both assignments on a part-time basis for the last year. McEnhill said he will continue part time, assisting Dusack.

One function of the archdiocesan office of ministry to persons with AIDS is to schedule periodic Masses for sufferers of AIDS and their families and friends. Auxiliary Bishop Juan Arzube is celebrating such a Mass on Feb. 8 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles.

In yet another development, the Dignity chapter this month started a building fund with the eventual goal of acquiring a permanent meeting site. An estimated 150 to 180 people go to the Dignity-sponsored Masses on Sunday evenings at the Newman Center near Los Angeles City College.

“Anyone who is aware of recent events in the Church realize that our continued tenancy in the Newman Center may not be a matter of choice,” Charles Hartman, a former chapter treasurer, wrote in the Dignity newsletter. Though saying the chapter has no reason “to believe that our welcome has worn thin,” Hartman cautioned, “we may be asked to leave at any time.”

CONGREGATIONS

United Methodist Church leaders, faced with dwindling numbers and a denomination-wide target to double membership by 1990, Sunday will hold public evangelistic rallies at nine churches in Southern California from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Methodists outside the Bible Belt have generally avoided evangelistic practices, ostensibly because of their association with fundamentalist Christianity, but many Methodist leaders have complained that this has meant that few clergy and lay people feel comfortable about engaging even in low-key evangelism--speaking about their faith and inviting people to church. The simultaneous rallies Sunday may be the first coordinated evangelistic meetings by Methodists in Southern California “since the mid-1950s,” spokeswoman Peg Parker said. The two largest meetings in the Los Angeles area will be at Holman United Methodist and Pasadena First United Methodist, but perhaps the best-known speaker, Bishop Roy Sano of Denver, will preach at Riviera United Methodist in Redondo Beach. Other rallies will be at churches in Riverside, San Diego, Garden Grove, Van Nuys, Santa Barbara and Arroyo Grande.

DATES

An 8,000-square-foot gymnasium in the Los Angeles inner city will be dedicated Sunday by World Impact, an evangelical group that works with about 800 children and teen-agers in Bible clubs and other activities. Former professional football player Roosevelt Grier, a World Impact board member, and Mayor Tom Bradley are expected to participate in the 2 p.m. ceremonies at the site on Vermont Avenue north of the Santa Monica Freeway.

Roman Catholic Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega, exiled by Nicaragua last July amid conflict between the church and the Sandinista government, will be one of the speakers next Saturday in Anaheim at the annual conference of the St. Louis-based Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation. The daylong conference will be at the Disneyland Hotel.

PEOPLE

Rep. William H. Gray III (D-Pa.), chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, will preach Sunday at the 11 a.m. service in Ward African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. Gray, 45, is no stranger to the pulpit. He is still considered the senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia and holds master’s degrees in theology from Drew University and Princeton Theological Seminary. His appearance is in connection with Afro-American History Month in February. Another such observance is a convocation at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the School of Theology at Claremont for a speech by the Rev. J. Alfred Smith, pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland and president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention.