Synod Delegates Tell LGBTQ+ People: ‘Let Us Hear Your Voice. Use Us to Amplify It.’

“Let us hear your voice. Let us hear your stories. Use us to make sure that it’s amplified.” This was the exhortation made by a delegate to the Synod on Synodality’s General Assembly while speaking to LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies last week.

Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns, the synod delegate quoted above, and Julia Oseka, another delegate, spoke last week at a webinar hosted by New Ways Ministry, “The Synod & LGBTQ+ People: Towards October 2024.” The program is a response to the Vatican’s call for Catholics to both deepen and broaden their engagement with the synodal process in the time between last October’s General Assembly and the coming one this year. The panel with Bailey Manns and Oseka aimed to help LGBTQ+ people and allies answer this invitation in positive ways.

During the webinar, the two delegates offered their thoughts about how issues of gender and sexuality were addressed at October’s gathering, as well as how LGBTQ+ people and allies can continue engaging the Synod on Synodality this year. A recording of the 1-hour webinar is now available of New Ways Ministry’s website, available here. 

Bailey Manns is the Adult Learning Director at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Community, Minneapolis, a progressive Catholic community with a long-standing commitment to LGBTQ+ministry.  Oseka is a student at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, studying theology and physics. Both delegates helped lead local Synod efforts in their archdioceses, and then later participated in the North American continental gatherings. (Their full bios are available here.)

In opening remarks, Bailey Manns celebrated the ways her parish welcomed and affirmed its LGBTQ+ members, such as an annual Pride Week prayer service, and brought news of those activities of affirmation to the Synod assembly “with the hope that our LGBTQ+ community will continue to be seen, listened to, and accepted as God’s beloved.” She then opined about the outcomes from that assembly:

“It was a deep disappointment that we were not able to place LGBTQ references in the Synthesis report. Due to a variety of reasons, such as in many [other] societies, same-sex relationships are unlawful and, in some cases, are punishable by death. Yet, we were able to highlight this community in two other areas in the report to continue this discussion. . .We proposed that initiatives and enabling shared discernment on controversial, doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues should be developed in the light of the Word of God, church teaching, theological reflection, and an appreciation of the synodal experience. We should also involve people directly reflected by the matters under consideration. Such initiatives should be set in motion before the next session of the assembly. “

Bailey Manns also highlighted the repot’s Chapter 16, “Toward a Listening and Accompanying Church,” as another place where LGBTQ+ people were implicitly included. She concluded:

“I will return to the Synod in October sharing the sacred stories of the life experiences of those who have entrusted me to be their voice as an LGBTQ+ member of our Catholic Church. Let us continue to journey together in respectful dialogue, sacred conversations, and peaceful collaboration and discernment, as we accompany each other on this journey we call life.”

Oseka focused her remarks around four themes: to stand in truth, to listen to the needs and desires, to be with and for others, and to preach the Gospel with your life.” She spoke of the church’s treatment of LGBTQ+ people as a “wound” to the Body of Christ, explaining further:

“The pain and hurt experienced by the LGBTQ+ community in and outside of the church caused a wound. . .It is okay to be scared to touch the wounds, to change an old dressing. But [doing so] is also necessary for the wound to heal. During the assembly in October, this past October, my experience is that we took off the dressing, removed the scab, and at the assembly, started the process of healing that hopefully will continue further. . .

“Some of the personal stories of LGBTQ+ Catholics have been surprising to many. Some of the stories about people who are active in their communities have been shocking to many at the assembly. But again, that space of vulnerability allowed for us to share those stories and to approach them mercifully.”

The delegates’ remarks were followed by a question-and-answer period. One question concerned whether there were any openly-LGBTQ+ delegates at last October’s assembly. To this, Oseka commented:

“I don’t know of any of the participants last October to be openly identifying themselves as members of the LGBTQ+ community. But I can assure you that there were members of LGBTQ+ community. A lot of those conversations around those topics started around coffee tables and during the breaks. . . .But to talk about it openly, especially when you’re in the leadership position in the church, is a risky thing to do and it takes a lot of courage. So, I personally want to be very, very understanding to everyone who decides not to come out and not to be openly, you know, speaking about their identity. But there were allies and there were people who were actively speaking up.”

About the dynamics surrounding LGBTQ+ issues at the Synod assembly, both delegates said much of the conversation happened outside of formal interventions or meetings. The small group discussions, Bailey Manns explained, “created the space for continuing conversation over a cup of coffee or sitting on the bus or whatever. That laid the groundwork for additional conversation to happen.” She added that, with those personal relationships formed, it is inevitable the conversation about LGBTQ+ issues will continue at the assembly this coming October.

Looking forward, the delegates were asked about what might happen next fall. Between now and then, both Bailey Manns and Oseka are involved in listening sessions, to gain insights from Catholics in their regions—and they will also focus on prayer, to help listen to God, too.

As to how other faithful can remain involved in the synodal journey, Oseka encouraged communities to use the “Conversations in the Spirit” method “which I truly believe is holy and can lead to holy things” as a means of incarnating synodality. She also told webinar attendees to contact their bishops and offer their thoughts, noting, “I thought that would be impossible, but at one of our very first gatherings with college students, I threw out the idea of having a coffee with our bishop—then I got to have coffee with Archbishop Perez from Philadelphia. . .I know that there are bishops who would really love to have conversations with you.”

For her part, Bailey Manns ended with a strong call for LGBTQ+ people and allies to remain involved with the Synod and to be energized in speaking out. She exhorted attendees:

“Do not underestimate the power of your voice and your presence. Allow yourself to also be an advocate for others. And step into that process knowing that you are not alone. Give us your stories that we can take with us because we want to be able to share those experiences when we’re talking about these topics. Just allow yourself to—you belong in this church. You have a voice. You have a responsibility to use it. And you have a right to be here. Let us hear your voice. Let us hear your stories. Use us to make sure that it’s amplified.”

A recording of the 1-hour webinar is now available of New Ways Ministry’s website, available here. 

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, February 5, 2024