A Transgender Catholic’s Perspective: The Proper Way to Honor Minneapolis Victims
Today’s post is by Bondings 2.0 contributor Michael Sennett.
Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel.
The names of two children that should be rising for roll call, not flashing across a breaking news banner, not etched into a gravestone. Their surviving peers not only mourn their friends but carry the physical, mental, and spiritual scars of horrific trauma. Grief for these innocents swells the body of our Church beyond measure. Sunday Mass in my parish was heavy with an air of somberness, undoubtedly a shared experience across faith communities.
Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel
Praying for the Annunciation parish and school community in Minneapolis, I was struck by the gravity of this horrific attack. Defenseless children were subjected to yet another brutal assault, this time in the sacred space of the holy Mass. Words alone lack the capacity to express the anguish of such a nightmare. My sorrow is compounded by a complicated intersection—I am Catholic and transgender. My heart aches for the evil endured in Minneapolis and it trembles under the weight of the transphobia in messages responding to the identity of the shooter.
Children are near to the heart of Christ. Repeatedly in scripture, Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God is theirs, advocating for their visibility and inclusion. Harm done to a child is profoundly evil. In Capernaum, Jesus repelled an unclean spirit from a man in a synagogue (Luke 4:31-37). The crowd was stunned by the sight, and marveled at Jesus’ authority and presence. We too are compelled to drive demons out. Freshly grieving, Harper’s parents called for action: “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
Nearly 30 years after the Columbine massacre, few policies have been revised to address and prevent gun violence in the U.S. The absence of action from our leaders has fueled the outlook on change as impossible. But the Moyski family reminds us that we have power. We are the authority and we are the presence guided by Jesus. Collectively, we can expel the unclean spirits of violence and hatred to protect our children.
Tragedy often contains the temptation to harden our hearts and retreat into the darkness. To do so is to betray the courage and hope Christ asks of us. Scapegoating transgender people and falsely claiming that we commit the majority of mass shootings leads us to the shadows. Exploiting the deaths of Harper and Fletcher in the name of transphobia does not appropriately honor their lives. Fletcher’s father hopes his son will be remembered for who he was rather than the violence that killed him.
Championing cruelty toward trans folks only pays homage to violence. Jesus rebuked an unclean spirit and awestruck the synagogue. We are called to share in the astonishment that raged through the crowd in Capernaum. To be shaken not only by the slaying of Fletcher and Harper, as well as the maiming of their classmates, but also to the systems that contributed to their deaths. And to be shaken by exploiting this tragedy by the cruel scapegoating of trans people.
Mourning does not suffice on its own, but behooves us to rebuke the demons of violence, hatred, and exclusion in our communities, including our faith communities. Our Church, overflowing with grief, remembers Harper and Fletcher not as headlines but as children of God. Let not our grief succumb to darkness, but beam with the authority of Christ, who rebukes evil. Let our sorrow compel us to be witnesses not to the power of fear, but to the enduring, liberating power of love.
–Michael Sennett, New Ways Ministry Advisory Board Member, September 3, 2025
The evil is US gun laws. This is the structure that permits such violence.
So grateful for this post and for addressing the issue of demonic influence. So often — even among those who are believers — the idea of possession or influence by “unclean spirits” is dismissed. As a practicing Catholic and parent of a child exploring their gender identity, learning the details of this particular mass shooting shook me like no other. Only something truly evil could have devised such a plan to destroy and divide at a time when the trans community is working so hard to gain acceptance and welcome within the Church and society as a whole. While I’ve no doubt the shooter suffered from mental illness, I can’t help but think something darker was at work here using this poor soul to perpetrate such a heinous act.
We live in an era that has shattered the boundaries of basic common human decency. To make the murder of innocent children to attack a vulnerable group of people is a mark of a country in rapid decline of decency, compassion, and intelligence. There are several hard-working groups working against the easy access of guns that account for the leading cause of death among children and suicide. We need to support those groups financially and with prayer.
Indeed prayer needs to be added to air tight gun restrictions and massive investments in mental health care as well as scientifically affirmed education related to gender and sexuality. Importantly for us the Catholic Church must strongly repent the damage we have done to transgender women, men and children..which may have played a role in Robin’s rage. What did she hear at Ascension School while a student there? .
Thank you, Michael, for witnessing with courage and faith!
Thank you for this very well written piece. I’ve been waiting to see some commentary from someone in the Catholic Church. I am disappointed that our clergy have been quiet.
I am sorry that as a transgender person you are suffering the effects of this tragic situation. As you beautifully pointed out, the root of this horrific event is not being transgender. May the Lord protect you in body, mind & spirit.