Catholic Church
#BOLAction: Tell The Pope—Our LGBTQ Families Matter When President Obama welcomes Pope Francis to the White House this Wednesday, the chief executive will be accompanied by a number of LGBT Catholics, their allies, and other LGBT and social justice advocates. While the presence of these guests is a cause for celebration for many who have waited decades for…
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With any discussion involving the family, a diversity of views must be taken into account. This begs the question, should the Catholic Church maintain the status quo or attempt to learn more about the gifts and qualities LGBT people have to offer? Due to the uplifting words and actions of Pope Francis, more Catholics are…
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In response to the silencing of LGBTQ people during the World Meeting on Families, it is critical that we share our own stories to tell Pope Francis that LGBTQ families enrich our lives and the Church. Join me in writing letters of faith and family to Pope Francis during his historic visit to the United…
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Help us Tell Pope Francis: Our LGBTQ Families Matter As the United States prepares to welcome Pope Francis next week for his historic visit for the World Meeting of Families—the excitement within the Catholic and non-Catholic communities is palpable. Since becoming elected just two years ago, Pope Francis has offered hope to many. Pope Francis…
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Even with recent years’ positive steps in the church, remaining Catholic can be deeply challenging for LGBT people and their loved ones. Sacramental denials, harsh rhetoric, and church worker firings are simply the surface of the harm that some church officials, perhaps unintentionally, inflict. The question of “why to stay?” remains real and relevant. Thankfully, for Catholics, this question, and…
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The Vatican recently announced that it is “impossible to allow” transgender people to be godparents. In the warped logic of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, identifying as transgender “reveals in a public way an attitude opposite to the moral imperative of solving the problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one’s own…
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In a landmark decision for LGBT employees at Catholic institutions, St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon, has altered its employment policies to be more inclusive, in response to what was a growing backlash against administrators’ decision to withdraw an employment contract with a lesbian counselor, Lauren Brown. Bondings 2.0 reported on this incident earlier today and you can…
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One of the things I love most about being Catholic is our unapologetic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I’ve always envisioned her to be the ultimate mother—she’d have to be wouldn’t she? God chose her to be the mother of our Savior. And by all accounts in the Bible, Mary was pretty awesome. “Hail…
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The trend of church workers losing their jobs in LGBT-related employment disputes is not slowing, but thankfully community responses and legal improvements are pushing back. Below, I offer updates on two previous incidents, including the implementation of a German bishops’ employment policy more welcoming of LGBT church workers. A German educator fired for her plans to marry a…
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In preparation for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the United States, GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, today released “The Papal Visit: a resource guide for journalists covering Pope Francis and the LGBT community.” The playbook was released after GLAAD, DignityUSA and 28 other groups published a letter asking…
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