Recording Available Below
In December 2023, the Vatican released a groundbreaking declaration, Fiducia Supplicans, allowing blessings for Catholics in same-gender couples and others in so-called “irregular situations.” The declaration has been welcomed by many LGBTQ+ Catholics as a small but significant step forward. While accepted by some bishops, it has been challenged by others.
The following webinar focused on the complex reception of Fiducia Supplicans, featuring paenlists Xavier Montecel, a theologian who studies the interaction of liturgy and ethics; Yunuen Trujillo, who works on pastoral outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics; and SimonMary Aikhiokai, a theologian who studies religion, race, and decolonization across multiple contexts. The panelists’ remarks were followed by a question and answer period.
Panelists
Yunuen Trujillo (she/her/hers) is a Catholic lay minister, serving as the Religious Formation Coordinator (Spanish) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She speaks annually on LGBT ministry at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which draws more than 30,000 attendees from all over the world. Trujillo is author of LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry from Paulist Press and founder of the Instagram page “@lgbtcatholics.” She is also a community organizer and immigration attorney experienced working in a faith-based, multi-faith, multi-racial groups advocating for immigrant rights, education, and criminal justice reform.
Dr. SimonMary Aihiokhai is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Portland, where his research focuses on religion, race, and identity constructions; African approaches to ethics; African philosophies, cultures, and theologies; religion and violence; comparative theology; themes in systematic theology; and interfaith studies. Born in Nigeria, he has degrees from the Spiritan School of Philosophy; the Spiritan International School of Theology,University of Nigeria; and Saint John Seminary in Camarillo, California. He received his doctorate in systematic theology from Duquesne University. He is author of Fostering Interreligious Encounters in Pluralist Societies: Hospitality and Friendship, as well as numerous articles and lectures.
Dr. Xavier Montecel is an Assistant Professor of Catholic Theological and Social Ethics at St. Mary’s University in Texas, whose primary research investigates the relationship between liturgy and ethics. In addition, Montecel is a scholar of fundamental moral theology, with a specialization in virtue ethics and theologies of sin. He reads and writes in a variety of areas in applied ethics, including LGBTQ+ issues, the environment, migration and technology. His teaching courses, both in ethics and in sacramental theology, emphasize the integrity of critical and creative theological reflection with attention to the embodied experience of marginalized groups.
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