The Catholic bishops have lost an ally in their fight to keep religiously-affiliated adoption and foster agencies from being LGBTQ-inclusive. Meanwhile, some Catholics are pushing for the Biden administration to enforce regulations that would require such agencies to not discriminate.
Catholics are voicing their support for the Equality Act after it passed the U.S. House of Representatives recently. But Catholics are also criticizing the U.S. bishops for harsh rhetoric about the Act, including denials that LGBTQ people face systemic discrimination.
Leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a letter against the Equality Act, suggesting the legislation could “inflict numerous legal and social harms” on religious people and “be construed to include an abortion mandate.”
The story of Black Lives Matter cannot be told without queer and transgender activists, who helped found and lead the movement since its beginnings in 2013. That is why it was so refreshing to see LGBTQ people centered repeatedly in a new book on the relationship between the movement for racial justice and the Catholic Church.
The U.S.’ leading network of women religious, as well as more religious communities have joined a statement against the bullying of LGBTQ youth. Additionally, priests in the Diocese of Lexington released their own statement of support.
Yesterday, Bondings 2.0 reported on the lawsuit of a church worker fired over his same-gender marriage that was reinstated on the grounds of a hostile work environment. Today’s post features a recent commentary by theologian Patrick Hornbeck.
“Because the crises we face this Ash Wednesday are many and are intense, today feels less the beginning of a new liturgical season than a waypoint marked in a Lent that never ended last year. Introducing new or intensifying existing spiritual practices strikes me as unnecessary, or, if I am honest, just tiring.”
Joe Biden has been U.S. president for less than a month, and already he has reversed much of the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies and charted a new course for equality going forward. But questions remain about how he will interface with U.S. bishops and with anti-LGBTQ activists, and some advocates for intersex rights remain critical.
Additional bishops, as well as communities of men and women religious have added their names to a statement against anti-LGBTQ bullying released last month by eight U.S. Catholic bishops.
Students and alumni of The Catholic University of America protested an anti-abortion speaker who has made repeated anti-LGBTQ and racist comments and participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.