Gomes participated in the first Harvard Veritas Forum in 1986.

But Benjamin D. Grizzle '03, the driving force behind the recent revival of the Veritas Forum, a member of Christian Impact and also a Crimson editor, says Gomes has not been asked to speak in this year's conference in part because he is seen by some Harvard Christians as an academic figure, rather than a spiritual leader.

"Beyond the walls of [Memorial] Church, the congregation, he's not a leader for the evangelical Christians, the Catholic students or the black [Christian] community," Grizzle says. "[Students] go to Memorial Church and they feel like they're being taught. Most students involved in the Veritas Forum want to worship."

In a recent interview, Gomes said that Memorial Church was not directly involved in planning the Forum. The conference however, will be using Memorial Church for its kickoff event with a Christian rock band.

Both Grizzle and John C. Huang '02, a member of the Harvard Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, say that the Forum organizers are not trying to exclude Gomes, but that they are mostly recruiting speakers from off-campus.

Grizzle says that the organizers of the Forum did not consider Gomes' sexual orientation when deciding not to invite him to participate. Gomes publicly revealed that he was gay in 1991, after the conservative student journal The Peninsula published an issue denouncing homosexuality.

The relationship between Christianity and homosexuality will be discussed at the Forum, Grizzle says.

"One of the leaders is going to be talking about the Christian church being more accepting of gays. We're not trying to dodge the elephant in the living room," Grizzle says.