Students Discuss Queer Religiosity
By Ashley Jiang, Selim Kim, Clark Wu
The Religious and Spiritual Life team organized a display of solidarity in response to the Vatican Church’s recent statement against same-sex unions at Phillips Church on March 22. Students of all backgrounds and identities were welcomed to gather for conversation on the state of LGBTQ+ rights in all branches of religion. Students of different religious backgrounds, sexual orientation and gender identities attended.
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and Vatican City State, declared in a Vatican statement that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex civil unions on March 15. The Church found “absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”
Senior and Catholic Exonians co-head Stephen McNulty shared the Vatican’s statement and his own thoughts about it to club members in an email on March 18. McNulty shared a quote from Father James Martin, SJ, a leader in the LGBTQ+ Catholic community: “The mother of a gay teen once said to me, ‘Does the Vatican realize what the language they use can do to a 14 year old boy? It can destroy him.’”
“That feeling is very real right about now,” McNulty wrote. “Truth be told, it was not the contents of the document that most impacted me. It does not represent a shift in Church teaching in any substantive way, nor is it really a surprise. The language was crushing and demeaning to me. I think it was a bit jarring for LGBTQ+ Catholics, myself included, because of what has seemed like openness from the church as of late. There’s a bit of whiplash, and I’m obviously disappointed.”
Religion Department Chair and event co-host Hannah Hofheinz explained their reasoning behind the event’s organization. “My concern was the pain people felt when they were told that the institution to which they belong invalidates their relationships and the shapes of their love,” Hofheinz said. “Opening up that space to remind students that queer love is beautiful and to be celebrated is as important on campus as it is anywhere else.”
Director of Religious and Spiritual Reverend Bonnie-Jeanne Casey shared similar thoughts. “We are an affirming and open community. The foundation of what we do is to support students wherever they are on their spiritual journey,” Casey said. “For LGBTQIA students this sometimes means grappling with an institution's rigid theology and figuring out a way to carve out an affirming space within their religion of origin. Integrating one's sexual and gender identity with one's spiritual self can be a complicated process, but we want to also make it joyful.”
“The Vatican statement is something I care deeply about as a Christian theologian who identifies as queer. I don’t think it’s a sufficient understanding of the Christian tradition. I respect the Vatican’s teaching for the importance that it holds, but I do not respect it as being the final word,” Hofheinz said. “I’ve spent many years studying Christian theology, and there’s also so much love and beauty and play and desire throughout the traditions, texts, teachings and communities.”
“I hope that students left with a deeper sense of connection to each other and Phillips Church. No matter what callous proclamations are made by the Pope, I want students to know that the Religious & Spiritual Life department here at PEA will always support them especially as they reckon with this kind of hurt,” Casey said.
McNulty appreciated the conversation on the role of institutions in influencing religion, acknowledging the importance of the Vatican to many Catholics. “On social media I saw many people posting that the pope is not your country clerk, that you should go get married and have a glass of wine. For some people it’s not that simple,” McNulty said. “I think that a lot of LGBTQ+ people in the Church right now are yearning for a conversation that seriously and honestly grapples with the gravity and importance of the Vatican and its statement. At least from my perspective, it’s not helpful to reject one part of that person’s identity in order to protect another.”
“You don’t have Friday without Easter Sunday, right? Even through the Lent, through the cross, through all the rejection, ultimately love triumphs,” McNulty said. “Easter is always before us, friends. Keep your eyes on the prize.”
