LGBTQ people
need justice, not mercy, from Pope Francis
It's
been nearly two and a half years since Pope Francis uttered his now-legendary "Who am I to judge?"
statement while aboard the papal plane.
Since that fateful in-flight press conference, I
have been told countless times (often by well-meaning, heterosexual Catholics)
that I should find hope and comfort in the pope because he has opened up the
doors to mercy for me and my LGBTQ friends.
But mercy, it seems
to me, is not the door that LGBTQ people need opened to them. Mercy is an act
of love, compassion or service given to those who sin or are afflicted in some
way. LGBTQ people, same-sex relationships, and transgender persons are not sins
or afflictions.
Some Catholics have
tried to convince me that the doors of mercy have a connecting corridor to the
doors of justice. "A change in tone can eventually effect a change in
teaching," I've heard more than once (usually from folks with a much more
privileged place in the church than my out LGBTQ friends and I have).
But
Pope Francis' refusal to speak out against draconian anti-homosexuality laws
during his recent trip to three African nations, his continued condemnations of
same-sex marriage laws, his ongoing glorification of heterosexual marriage ("God's masterwork,"
as he calls it), and the ceaseless firings of LGBTQ employees of
Catholic institutions leave me unconvinced that doors of mercy and justice are
somehow adjoined.
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The
pope's latest statement on "homosexual people" came last week in his
new, book-length interview with
Andrea Tornielli, published under the titleThe Name of God is Mercy.
When Tornielli asks
him about his "Who am I to judge?" statement, the pope reasserts that
he "was paraphrasing by heart the Catechism of the Catholic Church where
it says that these people should be treated with delicacy and not be marginalized."
"I am glad that
we are talking about 'homosexual people' because before all else comes the
individual person, in his wholeness and dignity," the pope continues.
"And people should not be defined only by their sexual tendencies."
Francis then
expresses his hope that "homosexual people" will "come to
confession, that they stay close to the Lord, and that we pray all together.
You can advise them to pray, show goodwill, show them the way, and accompany
them along it."
Though the words
sound pastoral, the pope remains vague about what ought to be confessed, what
it means to stay close to the Lord, and what precisely "the way"
should be for LGBTQ people.
Given the fact that
the pope reasserts the teaching of the catechism, given his previous criticisms
of marriage equality and same-sex parenting, and given his ongoing insistence
that same-sex relationships are not sacramental, one is left to deduce that he
still hopes that LGBTQ people will try to honor traditional church teachings:
That is, to refrain from sexual relationships and to not equate our families
with the traditional heterosexual model of family.
Ultimately, the pope
leaves us to assume that LGBTQ people are in need of some type of mercy and
forgiveness that heterosexuals, by their very natures, do not need.
As long as that is
the disposition of the pope and the church, we LGBTQ Catholics will always be
left to believe that, regardless of our gifts or the quality of love in our
lives, in the eyes of the church we will never be equal to our fellow straight
Catholics. And as long as that is the case, we will continue to be marginalized
by our church.
I do not mean to
suggest that the pope's call to increased delicacy and decreased
marginalization does not have the potential to ease the burden on some LGBTQ
persons, particularly those who are ostracized by their family members or faith
communities.
I am suggesting that
"showing greater mercy" towards LGBTQ Catholics will not get at the
root of what ails our relationship with the church. Why? Because treating us
with mercy presupposes that we, by our very natures, are in a state of sin or
affliction and are in need of forgiveness.
The truth is, gays
and lesbians do not need mercy for falling in love with someone of the same
sex. My transgender friends do not need the church's mercy for striving to
become the persons they believe God made them to be. LGBTQ couples do not need
forgiveness for being in loving relationships. These are not sins. There is
nothing to forgive.
If LGBTQ persons need
mercy and forgiveness, it is for reasons that are no different from the reasons
heterosexuals need mercy, like when we fail to be generous, patient,
supportive, respectful, kind, compassionate, or faithful.
The irony here is
that if anyone should be asking for mercy, it is the Catholic hierarchy. The
institutional church should seek forgiveness from the LGBTQ community for
failing to speak out when we are killed, beaten or imprisoned, for taking our
jobs and our livelihoods, for denying us access to Jesus' Eucharistic table,
for attempting to thwart our movements for equal protection under the law, and
for promoting teachings that have estranged us from our faith, our communities,
our families and, in some cases, even our own beloved partners.
LGBTQ persons do not
need mercy from the church. We need justice. We need an institutional church
that has the courage to admit that all people, regardless of sexual
orientation, relationship status, or gender identity, have the same potential
for goodness, wholeness and a sacramental life. Until that day comes, we will
not achieve true dignity and full equality in our church.
As no comments so far, will toss my pennyworth in.
ReplyDeleteAn equally good demand would simply be to seek equality.
This post resounds with an online article recently read on the French government's educational minister's insistence on an absence of all religion from the state secular educational system.
French government view religion and faith beliefs as personal matters outside the realm of education, and as such all students have equal rights to hold such personal beliefs, but no right to insist on deference to external symbols of religion or faith within the secular educational system. Thus, in preserving equality for all, symbols of religious belief, whether Christian crosses or Muslim veils etc are banned within state schools.
Equality for all.
Wouldn't it be excellant if the CEOs of all relious organisations did likewise?
Apparently the decision about Paul Symonds has been announced: retired priest without public ministry.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the time an elderly lady went into a hairdressers and said 'young man do me JUSTICE to which he replied 'Mam it's not JUSTICE that you need, it's MERCY.
ReplyDelete