Just What Does ‘Homophobia Must Be Rejected’ Actually Mean?

Bondings 2.0 writers Robert Shine and Francis DeBernardo are in Rome for the month of October covering the first global assembly of the Synod on Synodality, particularly LGBTQ-related developments. For the blog’s full coverage of this multi-year synodal journey, click here.

REPORTING FROM ROME—At a recent press briefing for the Synod General Assembly, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communications, commented that the delegates had discussed LGBTQ issues, and, while there were differences of opinion, “All agreed homophobia must be rejected.“

On the surface that sounds like a promising development, but is it really? I’m not quite sure.

The English word “homophobia” is considered by many to be a misnomer, or at best ambiguous. As a portmanteau combining “homosexual” with “phobia,” the word’s plain meaning seems to be “fear of homosexuals” (or “homosexuality”).

The word, however, is not used that way in common discourse. Most of the time, when someone accuses someone of having homophobia, the intended meaning is not that the person is fearful of gay folks, but that the person opposes gay folks, sometimes to the point of hatred. For example, laws restricting the rights of gay and lesbian people are called homophobic, not because they are based on fear, but because they are based on misunderstanding and prejudice. Some people think the word “homo-hatred,” not “homophobia,” is a more accurate way to describe this reality.

And that’s just English. There are at least seven formal language groups at the synod, and likely many dozens of informal  language groups, too. How the word “homophobia” is used in these different linguistic and cultural perspectives can also create for great ambiguity.

If this assembly’s final synthesis can only come up with an agreement that all homophobia must be rejected, it must have a good definition of what the assembly means by homophobia.

Even limiting this word to how it is used among Catholics in the English-speaking world, homophobia can mean a variety of different things to people. A review of how church documents have used that word or concept over the years shows that what some people think is good Christian charity, others think of as outrageously homophobic.

In recent years, for example, we’ve seen a lot of church leaders profess their great love for LGBTQ+ people, but that profession of love is often an introduction to a statement that it is okay to discriminate against them in church settings, fire them from jobs, restrict their gender expression, and sometimes even encourage the quack approach of “conversion therapy.”

Some church leaders profess love for LGBTQ+ people. This love, they say, means they want to bring LGBTQ+ people “the Truth,” which usually means that they want someone to conceal or suppress their gender and/or sexual identity.

For instance, recent pastoral guidelines from the Archdiocese of Baltimore state:

“How do we offer pastoral accompaniment to LGBT persons and their families in a way that truly welcomes and embraces them while faithfully teaching the truth about human sexuality that God has revealed in creation, Scripture, and Tradition?”

Make no mistake: “the truth about human sexuality” refers to disapproval of same-gender relationships and gender transitions. Though Archbishop Lori, who authored this statement, may believe that he is eschewing homophobia by making what might sound like a positive statement, his intention to enforce restrictions on LGBTQ+ people is also revealed.

That kind of rhetoric has become commonplace in official documents from a number of U.S. bishops.

An agreement that homophobia should be rejected is not a new development. It has been authentic Catholic teaching since 1975, stated so in the Vatican’s Declaration on Sexual Ethics:

“In the pastoral field, these homosexuals must certainly be treated with understanding and sustained in the hope of overcoming their personal difficulties and their inability to fit into society.”

This teaching was later enshrined in the Catechism’s directive that gay people be treated with “respect, compassion, and sensitivity.”

So, finding common ground across approaches to LGBTQ+ people by rejecting homophobia is something that should have been a given going into the Synod assembly, not a result of serious discussion.

I suggest a few ideas about  particular details that should go into a good definition by the Synod assembly in rejecting homophobia:

1. Publicly and privately opposing laws which criminalize LGBTQ+ people. This applies doubly to any Catholic leader who can use the power of church office to oppose such destructive initiatives.
2. Allowing faithful, competent, professional LGBTQ+ church employees to continue working without fear of penalty because of their identities.
3. Warmly welcoming LGBTQ+ people and their families, including their spouses, into parish communities and other Catholic spaces.
4. Encouraging LGBTQ+ people to take leadership roles in Catholic activities when their skill sets and spiritualities match with church needs.
5. Allowing LGBTQ+ people to be open about their identities when they enter vowed religious communities or present themselves for ordination.

These would be a good start, but there are many other ways that the Synod assembly can reject homophobia. If you have some suggestions, please add them in the “Comments” section of this post.

If the Synod assembly participants agree that “homophobia must be rejected,”  let’s make sure that there is agreement on what they mean by these words, and make sure any Synod synthesis report is clear about this common understanding.

And last, but certainly by no means least, let’s hope that the Synod synthesis report rejects transphobia, too!

TONIGHT: Join Bondings 2.0’s Francis DeBernardo and Robert Shine for a conversation about the Synod first General Assembly underway this month. They are in Rome covering the Synod meeting, where LGBTQ+ issues remain a prominent theme, as they have been throughout this multi-year synodal process

The virtual event, “Live from Rome! A Mid-Synod Conversation,” will be held Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time. The program will feature a brief presentation on the latest LGBTQ-related developments and general impressions of the Synod. True to being a synodal church, this conversation also includes plenty of time for participants’ questions and comments, too.

You can find more information or register for the conversation by clicking here.

—Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry, October 18, 2023