LGBTQ+ Advocates Celebrate New Pastoral Accompaniment Guidelines 

LGBTQ+ Catholics and supporters are celebrating a new set of guidelines that aims to treat LGBTQ+ individuals with “welcome, love, and respect.” 

The Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, recently released their “Guidelines for Pastoral Accompaniment of Sexual and Gender Minorities.” As Bondings 2.0 previously reported, the document is focused around five principles: dignity of the human person, acknowledging sexual and gender minorities, a commitment to love and listening, collaborative involvement, and a case-by-case approach. The new guidelines were created to help clergy and school personnel learn to work with those facing gender or sexual identity challenges. They were approved by Bishop Thomas Zinkula.

 For many Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates, the Davenport guidelines provide a compassionate pastoral approach to understanding gender and sexual identities. TheNational Catholic Reporter interviewed a wide range of advocates.

Ray Dever, a retired deacon who is the father of a transgender daughter, states that the guidelines are “truly a milestone in the evolution of the church’s approach to the LGBTQ community, especially transgender people.” 

David Palmieri, a Catholic school educator who has researched diocesan LGBTQ+ policies, has found that there is a disconnect between “between the legalism of many policies and the lived experiences of the human person.” In his opinion, the Davenport document truly focuses on the care of each individual by approaching matters with a “pastoral heart.” 

Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender Catholic who is an occasional blogger for Bondings 2.0,  said the Davenport guidelines were “amazing to see coming from a Catholic bishop in 2023.” He noted that often in Catholicism, “there’s an asterisk after the words ‘all are welcome.’ “

Father Thom Hennen, a member of the Davenport diocese’s gender committee, explained hat committee members spent three years educating themselves studying theological and medical articles, attending educational sessions, reviewing policies, and consulting with LGBTQ+ individuals and families. The committee has also been transparent throughout their crafting process by publishing updates in their diocesan newspaper. Hennen added:

“We’ve taken a slower approach to this. We like to think we are taking a synodal approach, and we’ve learned a lot in the process — our own attitudes have changed.” 

Robert Shine, associate director of New Ways Ministry, pointed out that other diocesan LGBTQ+ policies mentioned that diocesan officials spoke with transgender folks during the process. Yet, evidence of such consultations do not appear in the final documents. That the Davenport Diocese took the time to learn from the trans community shows that “transgender voices were heard, taken to heart,” he said. In a separate commentary, Shine said the Davenport diocese had modeled synodality in developing its guidelines.

Ish Ruiz, a theologian who has worked with LGBTQ+ youth, said the Davenport document is unique in its willingness to work alongside medical professionals. While some dioceses may be skeptical of forming connections with those in the medical field, Davenport’s approach encourages a “broad consultation with experts,” which “represents a genuine quest to find God’s truth wherever it can be found, including both church doctrine and the wisdom of our medical and psychological experts.” 

In November, Davenport ministry leaders, school principals, and diocesan clerks will meet to further discuss the document and ways that they can better accompany LGBTQ+ individuals moving forward. For Dever, one of the hopes of this meeting and the new documentation is that other dioceses will follow the Davenport model. He stated:

“Most dioceses in the U.S. have not yet promulgated documents on gender identity, but I expect that many are considering doing so. The stated goal of the Davenport document is ‘to find a balance in addressing the real pastoral needs of sexual and gender minorities, while remaining true to the teachings of our Catholic faith.’ “

–Sarah Cassidy (she/her), New Ways Ministry, October 20, 2023