Lesbian Student Ejected from Catholic Prom Welcomed by Neighboring School; More Updates on Previous Stories
Aniya Wolf, left, and her date at prom
At Bondings 2.0, we often find that there are almost always too many Catholic LGBT news stories and perspectives to cover. Not to mention the fact, that some of the best stories often have important follow-ups. Today’s post covers developments in stories which our blog has previously covered.
Lesbian Student Ejected from Prom Welcomed by Neighboring School
Aniya Wolf, a lesbian student ejected from her Catholic school’s prom for wearing a suit, was welcomed by William Penn Senior High School in York, Pennsylvania, suit and all. Principal Brandon Carter said the school does “embrace all” students and had welcomed its own students many times in attire which was comfortable for them.
Wolf had been removed from the prom of Harrisburg’s Bishop McDevitt High School because, school officials claimed, female students were required to wear a dress. Wolf showed up in a suit purchased for the occasion, which she was finally able to wear to Penn’s prom. Her mother, Carol, told The Washington Post:
” ‘This is Aniya. . .This is who Aniya has been since she’s very young. And she would not look right in a dress. She looks great in a suit.’ “
This is not the first instance where gendered clothing in Catholic education has caused tremendous pain and public controversy, but it hopefully might be one of the last.
Bolivia Passes Transgender Law Against Bishops’ Opposition
Despite heavy opposition from Catholic bishops, Bolivian legislators passed a transgender rights bill in late May that President Evo Morales then signed into law.
The law affords transgender people the right to alter government records in accordance with their gender identity, reported TeleSur. Reuters reported that a recent study shows that Bolivia becomes now only one of five nations in the world to constitutionally protect the rights of LGBT people, the others being Britain, Fiji, Malta, and Ecuador. Legislators had been pressured by some Bolivian Catholics to reject the law, according to The Washington Post:
“Predictably, the gender identity law has met with stiff resistance, not least from the Catholic Church. There have been protest marches, particularly in Santa Cruz, the conservative city that is Bolivia’s economic motor. Writing in Bolivian newspaper El Diario, theologian Gary Antonio Rodrígues Alvarez even warned that the concept of ‘hate,’ as used to define crimes committed against gays because of their sexuality, is ‘highly dangerous.’ “
Bolivia’s bishops specifically criticized the law, according to Crux, because it “wasn’t publicly debated, and didn’t receive the necessary consensus.” It did not, in their opinion, “solve the underlying problems.” The bishops did affirm the church’s opposition to discrimination. This recent response from the bishops softens slightly language from Bishop Aurelio Pesoa, president of the nation’s episcopal conference, who said in December that the law “aims to subvert one of the foundations of our human lifestyle” and was “a clear attempt of cultural colonization.”
Florida Implements LGBT Youth Protections Opposed by Bishops
A policy which bans the bullying and harassment of LGBT foster children in group homes has finally been reinstated by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), after it was withdrawn for a time as a result of religious opposition, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said the process was “basically just listening to all involved,” and the decision had now been made about “how you best protect young people who have already been abused and neglected and who are the most vulnerable in our system.” An ombudsperson position has been created to monitor discrimination. The new policy explicitly bans “reparative therapy.”.
This policy was again criticized by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops who said in a statement the policy “goes too far” and does not consider other children’s well-being if they must share space “with someone who ‘identifies’ as the same gender, but remains biologically different.” The Conference, in conjunction with partner religious organizations, had successfully had the policy reversed late last year. Bondings 2.0 said, at the time, that the Conference’s treatment of this issue was “misguided and ill-informed.
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–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry
So a school named for a bishop who, I presume, regularly paraded around in a multi-layer lace and satin dress with necklace and floor length cape wouldn’t let a lesbian wear a tuxedo which has been an accepted form of formal dress for women, straight and gay, for most of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Marlena Deitrich (sp?) and others started the fashion in the 1930s and it reached its peak with Pierre Cardin’s “Le Suit” in the later 20th C. and is a variant on the pants suit worn by most women today – prominently by Hillary Clinton. This would be a joke if it weren’t so sad.
As her mother said, the young lady looked stunningly beautiful in very proper midnight blue tux. That school lacks the Grace of God and any sense of style.
SLAM DUNK, Tom! And how about St. Joan of Arc — who reportedly went into battle against her religious enemies while dressed in male armor? Here are some Google references:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Joan+of+Arc+the+transvestite+saint
The (mostly) male clerics who promulgate such ignorant cultural prejudices against GLBT people — especially against those brave heroes and heroines who have accomplished an outstanding moral witness on behalf of the greater good of the entire Church — have got some serious explaining to do.