Sr. Jeannine Gramick “Extremely Disappointed” by Pope Francis’ Exhortation

Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, or The Joy of Love, continues to instigate commentaries and analysis from all over. Bondings 2.0 provides our third round-up of reactions.

You can read previous reaction posts here and here. You can read New Ways Ministry’s response by clicking here.

Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, said she was “extremely disappointed in these bland remarks” offered by Pope Francis in the document. Gramick continued, in a statement to the National Catholic Reporter:

“[Francis] repeats previous calls for non-discrimination without giving examples of what that discrimination entails. LGBT people are shunned, fired from their jobs, bullied, jailed, executed and assassinated.”

Speaking of Pope Francis’ comment that the Church at times can uphold an “artificial theological ideal of marriage,” Gramick asked if the church has “an artificial theological ideal that all marriages should be heterosexual?” She also commented on Amoris Laetitia as it relates to transgender issues, saying:

“The document shows no understanding of gender identity, and of the pain parents feel when their child says they want to die because they are in the wrong body. Society once thought that homosexuality was a choice; now we know that the orientation is not a choice, but a discovery that one makes about oneself. So too with gender identity. The person comes to discover that their body does not match who they really are inside. The person must follow the inner promptings of the heart.”

But Gramick noted that, as church history shows time and gain, teachings do change, and she said the pope is “laying the groundwork for this change.”

Fortunate Families (FF), a national network for Catholic parents of LGBT children, said Pope Francis’ exhortation offered “glimmers of hope,” but ultimately,  it fell short. The FF statement said:

“We feel that this document would have been even more powerful if only the Pope would specifically connect this primary teaching of conscience formation to our LGBT children, who often feel called by God to full participation, including sexual intimacy, in a committed relationship. . . Positive statements on the issues of gender expression and language based on solid scientific evidence are also lacking.”

In a related commentary, Patricia Vasilj, the Catholic mother of a gay son, wrote on the DignityUSA website:

“Our GLBTQ children are not just inconveniences. . .Our GLBTQ children deserve more than a few paragraphs in a 264 page report. You, the Church, have left many of them shattered. The Church and Faith are intertwined. When the Church turns away, they believe God has gone with it. Their Father in heaven has not left them, but one certainly can’t tell that from the tone of this treatise. I am saddened and angry that once again our children have been hurt by those who should know better.”

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics released a comprehensive statement, saying Amoris Laetitia “opens up new perspectives,” though these perspectives are not fully applied to LGBT issues. It concluded:

“While we appreciate this understanding of dialogue, we also invite the Church to embrace this type of dialogue herself and adopt such attitudes towards the several LGBTQI persons within the Catholic Church who also want to share with the Church their own lived faith in their sexual and gender diversity.”

Irish reform organization We Are Church Ireland said in a statement, reported by the National Catholic Reporter, that they welcomed Amoris Laetitia, but noted its recommendations were inadequate because they “did not reflect the voices of Catholic families who had no deliberative voice throughout the course of both Synods.” The statement said further:

“The one area where Pope Francis has failed to recognize is the giftedness and grace of Gay and Lesbian people both as single people and in their relationships.”

Feminism and Religion’s Gina Messina-Dysert, a religion professor at Urusline College, Pepper Pike, Ohio, said it seemed Pope Francis “has finally read Margaret Farley’s Just Love,” but needed time to process it. Messina-Dysert added:

“Francis has called for us to begin to change our attitudes towards ‘the other’ but is still unwilling to change the man made rules of the Vatican.  He refuses to acknowledge that LGBTQ relationships are in fact just. . .it continues a highly negative tone for the LGBTQ community and does not acknowledge women’s value outside of marriage.”

The Human Rights Campaign, through a statement by Senior Vice President Mary Beth Maxwell, said it had “hoped that Pope Francis’ more open and loving message about LGBT people would translate into fuller inclusion during the Church’s Year of Mercy.”

John Gehring of Faith in Public Life explained to the Gaston Gazette that this document should refocus the church’s concern for families on the real threats against them, rather than false threats like marriage equality, which church leaders so heartily attack. Gehring wrote:

“While some view family values as only a battlefield in the culture wars, the pope understands that poverty, the refugee crisis and an economy of exclusion are grave threats to families. He widens the frame in a way that should expand the debate beyond a few hot button sexual issues.”

You can read more about the content of Amoris Laetitia from Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter by clicking here.   You can read document excerpts related to LGBT issues by clicking here.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Related Articles

The Chicago Tribune, “LGBT faith community voices disappointment over ‘Joy of Love’ ”

The New York Times, “Francis’ Message Calls on Church to be Inclusive”

Religion Dispatches, “Pope Francis’ Love Letter is a Lost Opportunity” by Mary Hunt