“Queerness in the Catholic Church” is an invitation to engage, an opportunity to listen, and an example of how we can work toward building a community marked by desire, love, and blessedness.
Because I am a Catholic physician, I spent many hours discerning whether it was morally acceptable to treat transgender children.
What do we see when confronted with contemporary, sacred, trans*figured, embodied persons? How do we take the initiative in learning more about trans* identities?
When you see a rainbow, what does it mean to you? How about a rainbow flag, banner, or even a pin on a government building, a home, or on another’s personal belongings?
Identifying with those on the margins, I don’t need nor want to defend myself. I am much freer here knowing I am blessed everyday walking with Jesus who chose to live on the margins.
What does it mean to have an obligation or purpose to preach the good news? Are we under the same obligation that Paul and Jesus were?
Already, each of us paved our own separate ways through exclusionary sentiments and doctrine in the Church to get to that room.
I can’t repair injustice in the Church alone, but I can choose to work in places that are more affirming, and depart from the most hostile spaces.
“On this Holy Family Sunday as we look upon those sparkling manger scenes in our homes and churches, we need to recall that this family from 2,000 years ago was also marginalized in many ways.”
Perhaps this Advent season is a time to listen and amplify the voices of those on the margins, to allow those trans Catholic voices crying out to be heard by the wider church.