A Humble Church of Acolytes

How can the Catholic Church better adopt a humble disposition when it comes to LGBTQ folks? We should start by following the examples of our acolytes.  Read More

QUOTE TO NOTE: Theologian Says U.S. Courts Must Find “Judicial Clarity” on Religious Liberty

Religious liberty is among the most disputed areas when it comes to LGBT issues in the United States today. LGBT-negative elements have attempted use religious liberty to justify and make legal their discrimination against LGBT people, while advocates for LGBT equality have pushed back. Read More

Cardinal Cupich Says Church Should Learn From Families. We Hope It Will Learn From ALL Families

"Our ministerial approach should begin with the understanding that families are not problems to solve. Rather, they are opportunities for the church to discern with the aid of the Spirit how God is active in our time and what God is calling us to do here and now." Read More

Have Catholic Theologians Been Too Quiet About Fr. James Martin’s “Building a Bridge”?

The blog Daily Theology had an interesting back-and-forth about Fr. James Martin, SJ's new book, Building a Bridge. The conversation centered on whether academic theologians were sufficiently engaged a book that has made sizeable waves in the Church, and what it means to do public theology. Read More

Reviving the Role of Conscience in Catholic LGBT Discussions

"Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths." Read More

On Bishops’ Decrees Against Gay Catholics’ Funerals, the Real Scandal Is Discrimination

Two U.S. bishops' decrees that would deny funerals to Catholics in same-gender marriages were worried such celebrations would cause public scandal. But theologians Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler argued in the National Catholic Reporter that the real scandal is the decrees themselves. Read More

‘God made gay people. And God made gay people gay. That is all we need to know.’

A flip-flop by a British politician about his stance on the morality of gay sex has given rise to a leading international Catholic journal publishing an eminent defense of sacredness of lesbian and gay relationships. Read More

QUOTE TO NOTE: On MLK Day, Challenging the Rhetoric of Inferiority

In the U.S., today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national holiday commemorating the... Read More

On LGBT Issues, Does Catholic Education Have to Choose Between Church and Culture?

Is Catholic higher education in the U.S. being forced to choose between church and culture on matters of gender and sexuality? Patricia Miller, a contributor for Religion Dispatches, leans towards yes. I'm not so sure. Read More

NEWS NOTES: Transgender Lawmaker, Women’s Ordination Scholarship, and More

A new transgender lawmaker, a Bondings 2.0 contributor receives a scholarship, the passing of a theological giant, and a follow-up to a call for a new dialogue in the church on LGBTQ issues: you can read all about these items in today's News Notes. Read More