Wonderfully, Fearfully Made: Letters on Living with Hope, Teaching Understanding, and Ministering with Love, from a Gay Catholic Priest with AIDS

by Robert L. Arpin

A gay Roman Catholic priest who has been diagnosed with AIDS shares his ministry to fellow AIDS sufferers, explains how he has dealt with his own illness, and offers hope, love, and understanding to AIDS sufferers and their caregivers. Original.

Genres: Biography

Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this collection of letters written by Fr. Robert L. Arpin to others (parents, friends, religious community members, and those who had written to him in hate/anger), I felt intimate with this man in his journey being true to himself, others, and God. I felt his struggle living with AIDS, being gay, as well as being a Catholic priest. He faced more prejudice than most since not much was known about AIDS at the time of his diagnosis. Also, because of the fear and prejudice that the church expressed toward the gays, he was not well received in either the church nor the gay community.
He decides though to LIVE and be open about his life rather than just wait to die in secrecy. He decides that his situation in life was given/allowed by God to reach out in love to the LGBTs and help encourage the church to see them through different, more understanding and loving eyes. He also raises awareness about the AIDS epidemic and encourages the church to reach out to those with the disease with love, care, prayer, and help rather than be fearful and hate them.
Fr. Bob is and was truly an amazing man and everyone should know his story!

~Mary

[Cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Father Arpin's letters to various people, arranged to tell his story of being ordained as a Catholic priest and then realizing he was gay. Sometimes his style felt over-dramatic, but that was mostly easy to overlook. Historically, it's interesting to me to have read McNaught (On Being Gay), Williams (Just As I Am), and Arpin in close succession, and to realize how much and how little has changed for gay and lesbian people--especially GLBTQI Christians. All three books really drove home for me how far backward the Roman Catholic Church in particular has gone in the last 20 years.

Father Arpin died of AIDS at age 48 in May 1995.