Court Dismisses Parishes’ Lawsuit Against Michigan LGBTQ+ Law; Other Legal Developments

This week, Bondings 2.0 has featured a series on ways in which some Catholics and their allies are using the U.S. legal system to stop and even rollback LGBTQ+ rights. Today's post is the conclusion of this series featuring brief updates on other legal developments. Read More

What Disability Theology Can Teach the Church About Transgender Identities

Catholics should not be strangers to the deep connection between body and soul, refusing a binary that suggests we are composed of two separated entities. As Catholics, embodiment is central to the human experience and to God’s participation in the world, so how we treat the bodies of ourselves and others matters deeply. Read More

New Book Offers “New Ways and Next Steps” for LGBTQ+ Parish Ministry

A new book to help Catholic parishes develop LGBTQ+ ministry is being published in September 2023 by Liturgical Press, a leading Catholic publishing house. The author is Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry's executive director. Read More

Catholic Sister Says Bishop Invoked Her Name in Misleading Way on Transgender Healthcare

A Catholic sister long involved in transgender ministry has said a bishop made misleading claims about communication between them as the U.S. bishops discussed potentially ban gender-affirming care in Catholic hospitals. Read More

How Are Synod Assembly Participants on LGBTQ+ Issues? — Part II

Yesterday, Bondings 2.0 announced New Ways Ministry's new resource that details what participants in the upcoming Synod assembly in October have said or done when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. Today, a second batch of participants has been added to that resource. Read More

Hope and Disappointment for LGBTQ+ People Spring from List of Synod Participants

The participants’ list for the Synod’s next assembly causes both hope and disappointment for New Ways Ministry as we work for LGBTQ+ inclusion. This news commits us to continue working to ensure LGBTQ+ people will be heard in the church’s synodal process. Read More

Portland Archdiocese’s Gender Policy Seemingly Ignores Vatican II, Writes Theologian

Before the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon announced it was closing its Catholic schools office, possibly in response to backlash against its new gender identity policy, one theologian tackled the problems with document and its limited imagination. Read More

Finding God and Self by Bicycle During the Pandemic

I remember thinking about how strange it was to be transforming in real time—day by day, chin hair by chin hair; my voice dropping, decibel by decibel—in private. Read More

U.S. Bishops Vote for Process that Could End Gender-Affirming Care at Catholic Hospitals

The U.S. bishops voted unanimously at their spring assembly last week to begin revisions of their medical guidelines that could lead to gender-affirming care being offered at Catholic hospitals. Read More

“The Scars Embody Liberation”: A Transgender Catholic’s Call for Self-Care

Many LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies proclaimed the simple truth that gender-affirming care is self-care. Read More