“Out 100” List for 2023 Includes Papal Advisor Juan Carlos Cruz; And More News

Here are a few items you might find of interest:

1. Juan Carlos Cruz, a friend of Pope Francis and clergy abuse survivor, was named to Out Magazine’s “Out 100” list of impactful LGBTQ+ people. The magazine hailed in particular Cruz’s part in helping the pope denounce laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ identities. Cruz commented, “One of my biggest achievements this year was collaborating with Pope Francis to publicly denounce the criminalization of homosexuality globally. . .This landmark statement, unprecedented in history, has been echoed by other world leaders, potentially saving lives in the process.” To read more, click here.

2. Fr. Jan Haen has published a new visual memoir, My Life: As a Boy, Priest, Gay Man, and Artist, detailing the “surprising ways” he found to “unite his inclusive spirituality, queer sexuality, and monumental artistry across the globe in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.” Haen previously wrote and illustrated two books on LGBTQ+ holy people and other historical figures. A frequent contributor to the blog QSpirit, Haen’s art was praised by DignityUSA as “unique and intellectually stimulating.” More information about the book is available here.

3. Jason Steidl Jack, a gay theologian, wrote a remembrance of DignityUSA founder Pax Nidorf, who passed away earlier this year. Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, Steidl Jack recounted how in the 1960s, Nidorf, then an Augustinian priest, began doing lesbian/gay ministry in California. He would end up facing censure for the work, eventually leaving the priesthood to marry, and taking up a quieter role in Dignity. But, as article notes, many of the organization’s members remembered Nidorf fondly after his passing. Meli Barber, president of DignityUSA, commented, “Pax had the compassion, the vision, and the courage to understand that LGBTQIA+ Catholics needed a safe space to pray and find a spiritual home. . .What an amazing gift to so many, and to the whole church.”

4. This summer in Singapore, presidential candidate Ng Kok Song cited Pope Francis as his model for addressing LGBTQ+ issues. His words were in response to LGBTQ-negative remarks made by another candidate, Tan Kin Lian, who had previously suggestd gay people should remain private and not cause trouble. Asked about these remarks, Song, who is Catholic, replied about this “very personal matter” by saying, “Who we are to judge? Pope Francis himself was echoing what Jesus said: Judge not lest ye be judged.” Song later lost the election, though polled higher than his LGBTQ-negative opponent, Lian.

5. UCA News profiled the diverse opinions that Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates have about Pope Francis. Among those interview were Grace Doerfler, a journalist and Bondings 2.0 contributor, and Ish Ruiz, a theologian who said Francis had a “breakthrough papacy.” Doerfler, meanwhile, commented:

“‘[A]s a lesbian Catholic, I think (Pope Francis is) really a pastor. … He has such an attitude of welcome, kindness and love, and I think his papacy has made a real difference in how I and other LGBTQ Catholics feel about the church, and about staying (in it). . .[Yet, I] would love to see a church where I could have a church wedding someday, and where Catholic school teachers and other people in ministry could be openly gay and not lose jobs over it.'”

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, December 16, 2023