We are Christians. We are queer. And we are part of the Catholic Church!

Text by Jason Steidl Jack* posted on Outreach (United States) on January 2, 2023. Freely translated by the volunteers of the Gionata project.

In 2018, the then Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, surprised many when at the Synod of young people he said: "There is no thing like a LGBTQ Catholic". According to him, using this abbreviation in the official documents of the Church would have meant recognizing that they were real and autonomous groups, and the Church, he added, "does not categorize people in this way".

Those words affected me deeply. Because if LGBTQ Catholics were not really there, then our objections to homophobia and transphobia would not even exist. If we did not exist, there would be no need to show us compassion.

Yet the truth is that the Church categorizes us all right. The Catechism of the Catholic Church he defines the desire between people of the same sex as a "condition" and homosexual acts as "intrinsically disordered". The Vatican prohibits access to seminars to men who "practice homosexuality, have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support the so -called 'gay culture'". And some bishops, including chaput, argue Courage, a ministry for those who "live attractions for the same sex".

They are real categories, which have real consequences.

For many managers of the Church, however, only some groups can be recognized, those who accept their "objective disorder" with shame and who fight against their "homosexual inclinations". It is a language that feeds a long history of cancellation, manipulation and spiritual wounds towards LGBTQ people.

But our story does not reduce to this. For decades, we Catholics LGBTQ and our supporters have claimed our place inside an institution that often denies our existence. We have created welcome and affirmation ministries, rooted in our faith and in our spirituality. We have carried out unique pastoral needs, born from the discrimination we have suffered.

Today this LGBTQ Catholic Movement is growing. The basic mentality are opening, the ministries bloom. Even the Pope showed signs of attention and support. It is a time when we can nourish cautious optimism, even without forgetting the painful past. We know that our apostolate remain fragile and often hindered by local, diocesan or universal authorities.

Yet our memory remains necessary. The more ecclesial managers try to cancel us, the more vital becomes to tell our stories of perseverance.

Knowing our story is essential for us catholics lGBTQ And for those who accompany us. Many of us grew up in houses and parishes that made us feel strange, out of place. Homophobia and transphobia have fueled isolation and shame. we Had no models, guides or saints that looked like Us. it took years to integrate faith and sexuality, to feel at home even in the largest lGBTQ World.

But when we finally got there, we discovered a people made noble by the struggle of generations. We found ourselves surrounded by a large "cloud of witnesses", saints canonized or not, who lived with integrity and taught us to do the same. We are part of a proud movement that is making the Church more similar to the Gospel of Christ. Our story tells us that we are not, and we have never been, alone.

It is not easy, for those who support us, to be next to us. Many paid dearly their solidarity, losing their work in schools and parishes for having shown themselves too close to our journey. One wonders: is it worth it? When will they really change things?

Yet their alliance is precious. Supporters help us Catholics LGBTQ not to lose faith. They share a weight that otherwise would crush us, making our path more bearable.

For us, the coming out remains a prophetic act of resistance against cancellation. Harvey Milk, one of the first declaredly gay politicians in the United States, said: "We will not conquer our rights while remaining silent in the wardrobes ... We are leaving! Learning to fight the lies, myths, the distortions! Learning to tell the truth about homosexuals!".

And also within the Church, this gesture has the same transformative power. The sincerity and vulnerability of Queer Catholics open hearts. Telling our story shows that Msgr. Chaput and others like him are wrong: LGBTQ Catholics exist, and as a real and autonomous group they already have more than seventy -five years of history.

From a theological point of view, our stories are sacred. They tell the presence Of god who acts in unexpected ways, outside the borders of traditional family structures, relationships and even the church. We Belong to the Body of Christ, and our experience recalls the church To be more faithful to the mission of hospitality, compassion and accompaniment of Jesus.

At the beginning of the gay liberation movement, a motto recited: "We are here. We are queer. Expare you." Today our commitment to the Church continues to resonate that same force: the Catholic LGBTQ Ministry is here. The Catholic LGBTQ ministry is Queer. And it is time for the Church to learn to welcome him.

*Jason Steidl Jack is professor of religious studies at the St. Joseph's University brooklyn, New York. He achieved a doctorate in systematic theology at the Fordham University in 2018.

Original text: The power in claiming LGBTQ Catholic history