What If A Synod Participant Would Come Out?

Yesterday, we posted New Ways Ministry’s reaction statement to the list of participants for this October’s assembly of the Synod at the Vatican. That statement pointed out that, as far as we could tell, no openly LGBTQ+ people were on the list. This omission caused us a certain amount of disappointment.

However, the statement also professed feelings of hope that the number of participants who have been allies in some way will tell the stories of LGBTQ+ Catholics. Another hope, however, has emerged.

What if one or more of the participants decides to come out during the synodal assembly? It’s possible. There are  200 or so bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, plus about 100 priests, nuns, and lay people attending the meeting. Given sheer statistical odds, at least one (and likely, many more than one) of those people has an LGBTQ+ identity.

Our assessment that no recognizable LGBTQ+ person is on the list is based on our knowledge of LGBTQ+ Catholic issues and people, and also some research about their backgrounds. We acknowledge we may be wrong. But if we are right that there are no “openly” LGBTQ+ people on the list, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t LGBTQ+ people who may decide to use their Synod involvement to share their stories with the other participants. What a blessing that would be!

This possibility could happen not just among the lay participants, but among the clergy and vowed religious members, too. It is a reality known by many in the church that LGBTQ+ people serve in a variety of ways, at a variety of levels, though most often have to do secretly.

A Synod participant’s coming out could have a great impact on the other participants at the assembly, who would be able to hear firsthand the struggles and joys of an LGBTQ+ Catholic whose commitment to the church is so great as to be selected by church officials to participate in the assembly. And this participant’s coming out would give hope to queer and transgender people worldwide.

It is not just a theory that a Synod participant choosing to come out could have a profound influence. Catholics in Germany concluded their own national synodal process, known as the Synodal Way, earlier this year. At their final meeting in March, the participants adopted a remarkable text calling for the church to make “concrete improvements” in welcoming transgender and intersex Catholics.

But when the Synodal Way began in 2019, this text on gender diversity was not on the agenda. Only as the process evolved did the working group on sexuality and relationships realize that such a text was needed. The prospects for this gender diversity text were uncertain when it was presented to the participants for final approval this March. Mara Klein, a nonbinary youth delegate to the Synodal Way who suspected that perceived opposition by the bishops would sink the text, wrote for Bondings 2.0 about what transpired:

“Something remarkable happened: the vast majority of speakers that morning publicly supported the text. These speakers included several supportive bishops, notably a member of the Australian Bishops’ Conference who was invited as an international guest. Just before the final vote, a member of the working group that prepared the document spoke up about his own experiences being intersex, which was not common knowledge until that point. His brave testimony helped the gender diversity text pass with of 95.51 % of the assembly. Of nearly 200 members in the Assembly, just eight voted no and 19 abstained. It’s still hard to believe this incredible outcome happened.”

The power of a person’s coming out is well-known to LGBTQ+ people and allies. When a person comes out it often doesn’t change too much about who we know a person to be, but it does often change what we think we know about LGBTQ+ people. While the coming out process offers certain challenges, for many it is experienced as a spiritual awakening.  As such, it often helps not only the LGBTQ+ person, but the entire community. Love blossoms in such life-changing moments. What happened during Germany’s Synodal Way is proof that such change is not limited to personal relationships; indeed, one LGBTQ+ Catholic’s coming out can move the entire people of God towards greater inclusion.

Coming out, especially as someone who works in a church setting, is a highly personal choice. Everyone’s decision in this regard must be respected. Yet, we invite and encourage any LGBTQ+ participants to consider prayerfully sharing their personal journey of faith and identity at the Synod assembly this October.

—Francis DeBernardo and Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, July 8, 2023