On Gilbert Baker’s Passing, Why Rainbow Flags Are Needed in Catholic Spaces
Gilbert Baker, the person who designed the rainbow flag used as a symbol of LGBT identity, passed away last week. Despite his flag first appearing in 1978, controversy about its presence continues, including a recent spate at a Catholic university in Australia. As we remember Baker’s contribution, this additional unfortunate incident is a reminder of why pride flags are so essential for Catholic spaces.
The flag sticker in dispute
Rainbow flag stickers have twice been posted, and twice torn down, at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s campus in Fremantle. The stickers were posted by the Student Association on their office windows as an expression of welcome, given the general absence of LGBTQ supports on campus. Buzzfeed reported:
“’We took it upon ourselves to do stuff for our LGBTIQ students, because there was nothing,’ student association president Dylan Gojak told BuzzFeed News. ‘One of the first steps was putting up these ally stickers.’ . . .But the vandalism has placed the stickers in the spotlight – and prompted complaints to university management arguing the ‘divisive’ rainbow flag has no place on campus.”
Gojak said for LGBTQ students like himself “there’s nothing, there’s no public statement, there’s no sign that you’re welcome here.” No action thus far has been taken on recommendations made by the Sexuality and Pastoral Care Working Party. The repeated vandalism against the flag stickers has only intensified awareness that such supports are absent.
Administrators initially asked the Student Association to remove the flag stickers, though a compromise was reached which allowed them to remain. After the stickers were vandalized a second time, Vice Chancellor Celia Hammond sent an email, saying:
“‘While I believe the symbol is divisive, and the University does not support all that has come to be associated with the Rainbow flag, the University does not condone the sticker being deliberately taken down in the way that it was. . .This only aggravates the situation and has the potential to cause additional distress.’ . . .
“‘To that end, while the University does not endorse the Rainbow flag, and does not approve it being displayed on any other parts of the University campus, the University is not seeking for it to be removed from the two windows of the Student Association Office at this time.'”
According to Hammond, “the display of the politically charged stickers” could imply the University is not in full compliance with Catholic teaching. She acknowledged there may be people on campus with homophobic views that are “inconsistent with our Catholic teachings,” but that there were others with “legitimate concerns” about the flag stickers.
Gilbert Baker
Over time, the rainbow flag has come to signify inclusion, acceptance, and pride in embracing the sexual and/or gender identity. These are all Catholic values and can lead a person on the path to holiness.
Baker’s flag, created at the request of martyred gay icon Harvey Milk, was to be more celebratory than the pink triangle symbol then in use, which has ties to Nazi Germany. And, according to Gay Star News, Baker imbued the flag with even more meaning:
“Each stripe on the original eight-color flag had a meaning starting with hot pink which represented sexuality. Red represented life, orange was healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic and art, blue for serenity and harmony and violet for spirit.”
These facts make it hard to understand what “legitimate concerns” could be lodged against the posting of rainbow flag stickers. Rather, it is very disturbing that the University of Notre Dame Australia offers no formal support to LGBTQ students, and, in this recent situation, administrators could not express unqualified solidarity with such students.
As the world remembers Gilbert Baker, church officials should remember that church teaching backs the value of each stripe on the rainbow flag, as well as the flag’s symbol of welcome and acceptance. Given how important LGBTQ visibility can be for youth and young adults, every Catholic institution should fly the rainbow flag with pride this spring.
—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, April 10, 2017
(Actially, they have the flag upside down,,, purple should be at the bottom,,, just saying,,,)
Sent from Samsung tablet
Some “Christian” spokespersons go so far as to demand that LGBT people give the rainbow back to God, as though the rainbow visible in water vapor in the sky and in prisms belongs only to the creator, and any use of it by LGBT people is a blasphemy.
But taking the rainbow away from LGBT people in colleges or elsewhere, is an attempt to at least marginalize if not erase the reality of LGBT people as humans who have intrinsic value in all dimensions, including sexuality and gender identity. If we have no or less value, our rights can be ignored if not opposed and eliminated. And if our lives have less value, then our lives have no value.
When marriage equality was judged by the Supreme Court to be a right for all, not just for couples entering heterosexual relationships, the contrast between the Catholic Vice President and Protestant President (both in their roles as civil leaders) and the Catholic bishops, was poignant. The civil leaders rejoiced that the right of their fellow citizens to equal civil marriage was upheld by the highest count in the land. The Catholic bishops (and I am thinking of one auxiliary bishop in St. Louis in particular) declared it to be a sad day for the nation. What kind of person feels sad when a couple joyfully enters a lifelong commitment to marriage?
And what kind of Christian or Catholic begrudges their fellow humans the use of chosen symbols as a form of support and acceptance and identity and pride?
In looking at the Rainbow Flag we see what we want to see: exclusion or inclusion, condemnation or welcome, Love or… It is ours to see and be seen. When we stand Proud and United we become the Flag. Fly the Rainbow Proudly! Be seen!