Governor McGreeveys farewell speech

The following is a part of the text of Governor McGreevey’s farewell speech.

I am not apologizing for being a gay American, but rather, for having let personal feelings impact my decision-making and for not having had the courage to be open about whom I was.

…You see, today I stand before you as a changed man. Aeschylus said, ‘In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’ Like the psalmist of old, I have asked God to ‘create in me a clean heart’ and to ‘renew a right spirit within me.’ I stand before you as a man who has experienced the freedom that comes with the truth — claiming that promise, ‘the truth will set you free.’ Just as Lincoln said that house divided against itself cannot stand, so it is true with a person. A divided self is not an integrated self. And so as I have been preparing for this day I have been doing some mending in my soul. I so want the words of my mouth and the actions of my hands and the thoughts of my heart to be one and the same thing. That brings proper alignment, something true and whole.

…With these thoughts then, I begin my own new journey as an American who just happens to be gay and proud. I don’t look back with bitterness, anger or sorrow. I look forward to seeking knowledge, a journey of self-discovery and finding ways to contribute my gifts to those to whom they could be helpful. I won’t dwell on what might have been and instead have been focused on what’s possible. You see, as Kipling said, ‘… I have met with triumph and disaster’ … and as he hoped, I realize that those two impostors are just the same. So I will dare to dream, but this time, not let the dream by my master.

His speech was full of biblical references and references to his soul though of course one statement he attributed to Lincoln was originally said by Jesus. It is sad that his personal reassessment does not include a reevaluations of the trap of identifying yourself by a sexual attachment.

He came into the headlines before the scandal that caused him to resign broke out when The Most Rev. Joseph Galante said that McGreevey could not receive Communion because of his remarriage without annulment and the fact that he supports abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and other issues. To his credit McGreevey said that he would not receive Communion, though he made statements critical of the Bishops calling his statement a "profound disservice to the faithful."