CAMPUS CHRONICLES: ‘Being Gay at a Catholic University’

collegeIn the past decade, whenever people ask me where I see the most hopeful situations for LGBT people in the Catholic Church, I have consistently answered, “Catholic colleges and universities.”  More than any other sector in the Catholic world, these institutions have established solid practices, programs, and policies which recognize the equality of LGBT students, faculty and staff.  New Ways Ministry has tried to document the growth of this pro-LGBT movement on Catholic campuses by maintaining a list of gay-friendly Catholic schools.  We also try to update our supporters by the posts we run on this blog entitled “Campus Chronicles.”  Throughout the year, we are frequently in touch with personnel from Catholic campuses, offering them advice, resources, and information.

The movement for gay-friendly Catholic colleges and universities received a major boost this week with the publication of an article entitled “Being Gay at a Catholic University” on ReligionandPolitics.org.   Authored by Michael O’Loughlin, himself a graduate of a Catholic college which wrestled with how to welcome LGBT people, the essay is a wonderful snapshot of the diversity of approaches that schools are taking to respond to the new needs.

Michael O'Loughlin

Michael O’Loughlin

The essay is a wonderful read, and I recommend viewing the entire text.  Below I will provide some germane excerpts with commentary.

O’Loughlin’s  essay is more than just a survey of representative Catholic schools.  He delves into some of the more important questions that the presence of gay-friendly schools implies for the future of Catholicism.  In his introduction he lays out several:

 What do the future lay leaders of the Catholic Church, still one of the most politically potent institutions in the U.S., believe about gay rights? How do their schools shape their views? And how will they shape the Catholic Church?”

One of the school’s he visited was DePaul University, Chicago, the largest Catholic university in the nation, and the only one that has an LGBTQ Studies minor, in addition to many other supportive programs.  DePaul, like other gay-friendly schools, sometimes gets criticized for not being truly Catholic.  Religious Studies Professor and Chair James Halstead offered a pertinent answer:

“When I asked what he thought about the critics who questioned DePaul’s Catholic identity because of the minor and various LGBT student groups, Halstead lamented that Catholic universities are subjected to charges of being ‘un-Catholic’ or ‘not Catholic enough’ because of issues of sex and sexuality—a charge, he said, that comes from both the left and right. ‘To measure the Catholic identity of a university by asking if it has a LGBT program or not, Jesus, help us all. Do people really think that’s at the heart of Catholic Christianity? To me, it’s just not.’ Instead, he wishes that Catholic schools were judged on how well students answer the deep questions’ such as where they come from and what it means to be human, all in the search for truth. ‘Truth really is a process of emerging, in goodness and beauty, friendship and love,’ he said. ‘Rational people can figure this stuff out. Reason, enriched by faith, is going to reveal truth.’”

Indeed,  when O’Loughlin visited the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University, California, he discovered that far from diluting Catholic identity, being LGBT-friendly was an enhancement to the faith life of students.  He describes a conversation with Max Silva, a student:

“Silva, a rising junior, came out in high school in Santa Barbara. Raised nominally Catholic, he didn’t dive into his faith until he enrolled at Santa Clara, exploring what it meant to be gay and Catholic. He leads a group called GASPED (Gay and Straight People for the Education of Diversity), which he views as a sort of social justice ministry, offering diversity education to the campus community. Of being out at a Jesuit school, he said, ‘It really does come down to the school’s Jesuit philosophy and its Jesuit ideals. It focuses on Catholic social teaching, especially the social justice aspect, instead of focusing on the sexual ethics and homosexuality aspect.’ The school, he said, approaches these issues from the ‘very Jesuit idea of educating the whole person, discerning your experience of Catholicism in an educated way.’ ”

At St. Anselm College, New Hampshire, creating a welcoming environment for LGBT students provided an opportunity for religious renewal for the campus, as described by Sue Gabert, the director of campus ministry:

Gabert. . .explained that the college had conducted a community-wide survey about diversity and discrimination shortly after students organized back in 2005. The students, faculty, and staff who identified as gay reported the campus environment to be unwelcoming and even abusive. So the school hosted a forum to talk about the issues. ‘There was so much respect and care for people’s stories. It was one of my most graced moments at the college. What we heard most is that people were happy we were talking about these issues. It was something that some people felt was taboo, so the fact that we were talking about the challenges we face as a Catholic institution and welcoming all people in a fair and inclusive way was good,’ she said.

At New Ways Ministry, we have heard similar things from parishes who welcome LGBT people.  The experience turns out to be a re-evangelization of the entire parish community, not just an outreach to LGBT people.

Not all the Catholic schools O’Loughlin visited were gay-friendly.  One notable exception was Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, for which O’Loughlin lists a series of repealed gay-friendly policies over the past three decades, and which this year, once again, rejected a student proposal to establish a gay-straight alliance.   The juxtaposition of Catholic University’s retrograde policies with other campuses’ more progressive experiences offers an important example:

“The contrast of resources available to students at DePaul and CUA is exemplary of a polarized U.S. Catholic Church, especially as it grapples with LGBT issues. By some estimations, nearly a quarter of the funding used to campaign against marriage equality efforts in the 2012 election came from official Catholic sources, including various dioceses, Catholic state conferences and lobbying groups, as well as the Knights of Columbus. . . .

“Just like the generational divide in the general population on issues of LGBT rights, the laity and the bishops appear to be separated by an expanding chasm, one that one that seems poised to widen in years to come.”

In other words, what is happening on campuses mirrors the experience of the entire American church generally.

For those who strive for equality and justice for LGBT people in the Catholic Church, the concluding paragraph of the essay offers amazing hope:

“The future laity of the Catholic Church is still being educated at Catholic colleges and universities. The Catholic laity as a whole is already in favor of same-sex marriage and is accepting of their gay family and friends. It seems this trend will only accelerate further as graduates of Catholic schools mature into adults. Some say that bishops, by leading the fight against same-sex marriage, are widening the gap between themselves and their flock. But on Catholic campuses, gay students are carving out spaces for themselves, and finding allies not only among their peers, but also in professors and priests alike.”

O’Loughlin, who blogs at Religion News Service, added a post on the day his article was published which contains the entire text of his interview with Systematic Theology Professor Paul Crowley, SJ.  It’s definitely worth a read, too.    Both the essay and the extended interview are wonderful contributions to the ever-growing conversation on LGBT issues and the Catholic Church.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

7 replies
  1. Erma Durkin
    Erma Durkin says:

    This is a very encouraging article. Again, educated young people are moving the issue forward. Serious dialogue with a diverse College population necessarily leads to broadening one from a narrow perception of people to surprising insights into reality. I also like the additional sites offered within this article.

    Reply
  2. Dan Lopata
    Dan Lopata says:

    While the article is inspiring, there is still much work to do. I do not qualify for a job at a Christian College because they are exempt from certain provisions of ENDA (anti-discrimination laws). I am straight but cannot meet their policies of believing that marriage is defined as one man and one woman. I have all of the qualification for the job offer and would be able to carry out all of the job functions regardless of my beliefs, but because of their anti-gay stance, their exclusion to the anti-discriminatory laws, and my personal beliefs, I need not apply.

    How can there be a place for the LGBT community in a Christian College if there isn’t a place for a straight supporter of LGBT issues within the faculty/staff at a Christian College?

    Reply
  3. Charlie Jackson
    Charlie Jackson says:

    Not my experience. Quite the opposite. My Catholic college raided my suite, took down a rainbow flag, and confiscated any material relating to homosexuality. Belmont Abbey is extremely anti-gay.

    Reply
    • Samuel d. Hudson Bailey
      Samuel d. Hudson Bailey says:

      Since we’re talking in “Catholic lingo” our Sacrament of Confirmation taps into the Holy Spirit for enlightenment. Why such a Rite for fourteen year olds when the mind remains “nailed” shut? Scientific discoveries of human sexuality are ignored. Some Catholic milieux hostiley regard research as inimical to the faith experience. How embarrassing for a creed that “peppers’ the globe with multiple higher universities of learning. Ironic? I hadn’t mentioned the secondary and primary educational institutions.
      Inflammatory literature that opposes marriage equality, LGBTQ rights on college campuses regarding housing and student government is tantamount to ARGO. No where in sacred scripture did Jesus condemn gays. He condemned hatred.
      So often we’re lost. There are the rich, the poor, the marginalized vs. the core. Segregation can spark violence when the minority is consigned to the darker corridors of a community. The chasm between the gays and the “straights” must be bridged. The Pope is the PONTIFF and a pontiff is a BRIDGE BUILDER. Such is the mandate of every Christian. Jesus came to call the LOST to Himself.

      Reply
    • Samuel d. Hudson Bailey
      Samuel d. Hudson Bailey says:

      Charlie Jackson,

      I knew a Benedictine professor “Dollard OSB” by name. Fr. Dollard taught at Belmont Abbey back in my day. Dollard reached out to anyone who was treated hostilely as it was contrary to Christianity. Yet, he felt isolated. I might hope in this era of science the faculty and students would’ve opened their minds.

      Reply
  4. Samuel d. Hudson Bailey
    Samuel d. Hudson Bailey says:

    Since we’re talking in “Catholic lingo” our Sacrament of Confirmation taps into the Holy Spirit for enlightenment. Why such a Rite for fourteen year olds when the mind remains “nailed” shut? Scientific discoveries of human sexuality are ignored. Some Catholic milieux hostile regard research as inimical to the faith experience. How embarrassing for a creed that “peppers’ the globe with multiple higher universities of learning. Ironic? I hadn’t mentioned the secondary and primary educational institutions.
    Inflammatory literature that opposes marriage equality, LGBTQ rights on college campuses regarding housing and student government is tantamount to ARGO. No where in sacred scripture did Jesus condemn gays. He condemned hatred.
    So often we’re lost. There are the rich, the poor, the marginalized vs. the core. Segregation can spark violence when the minority is consigned to the darker corridors of a community. The chasm between the gays and the “straights” must be bridged. The Pope is the PONTIFF and a pontiff is a BRIDGE BUILDER. Such is the mandate of every Christian. Jesus came to call the LOST to Himself.

    Reply

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  1. […] this month, Bondings 2.0 reported on Michael O’Loughlin’s article about “Being Gay at a Catholic University,” which dove into the cultures around LGBT issues present on a variety of […]

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