A new report on the creation of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has revealed that Catholic bishops actively worked to derail the hotline. The reason: the plan for the hotline included counseling of at-risk LGBTQ people.
The National Suicide Prevention Line, which goes into effect in July 2022, will offer mental health counseling services to Americans considering suicide by dialing 9-8-8 on any phone. Now, a new report has revealed that deputies of the Catholic Church quietly lobbied against the creation of the hotline, as it would affirm callers questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The National Catholic Reporter has revealed that “When the U.S. Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act last fall to establish a toll-free number with assistance for those with mental health crises, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops quietly lobbied behind the scenes against the legislation. The bishops’ justification? The legislation contained special funding for LGBTQ support.”
Related: The Catholic Church is trending and you know that can’t be good for the gays
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The same article also revealed that the Catholic Church also opposed the Violence Against Women Act in 2013 for the very same reason. “All persons must be protected from violence, but codifying the classifications ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ as contained in S. 47 is problematic,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in a letter at the time.
The renewed scrutiny over the lobbying by the Catholic Church comes as the religious institution has also come out against the Equality Act, which is currently under consideration in the US Congress. The act would provide protections for LGBTQ people in housing and employment. President Joe Biden has indicated that should it pass, he will sign it into law. The council of bishops have opposed the law on the grounds that it represents a “violation of precious rights to life and conscience” and would “chip away at religious freedom.”
The news also comes following the announcement that the Catholic Church would refuse to bless same-sex unions. In a statement, the church said that God “does not and cannot bless sin: He blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him.” The announcement has yielded wide criticism, as Pope Francis had previously spoken out in favor of legal protections for queer people, and singer Elton John revealed that the Catholic Church was a major investor in the film Rocketman, which dealt heavily in queer content.
Cam
To put it bluntly, those Catholic bishops had, as their goal, for LGBTQ kids to kill themselves rather than get help.
Bosch
They just want to lure depressed LGBT kids into priesthood because you know why.
cuteguy
What a shocker. Just another religious cult who will protect old pedophiles rather than innocent young ppl. I’m sure they will spin this too so they can appeal to the younger demographic who are fleeting from all these cults bc they are more accepting and kind, unlike their older ignorant predecessors who will hopefully die off soon
Cato
The hierarchy gives LGBTQ Catholics a set of impossible choices.
1. Live as a happy out person and burn in hell for all eternity after you die
2. Endure a living hell in the closet and reject the love that feels natural to you, or
3. Kill yourself and got to hell immediately
I prefer #1 and taking my chances. Life has been so much better since I gave up being Catholic for Lent.
novadude
“I gave up being Catholic for Lent”
OMG, you rock!
Hint: Unlike most things folks give up for Lent, I recommend you just leave it and never pick it back up.
Mr. Stadnick
Dear Pope,
There is no god and you are the head of the largest group of grifters, molesters and hypocrites the world has ever known.
TAX THE CHURCHES
Matthewnow
Enjoy your after life. I hear it’s a dry heat.
LumpyPillows
Not what Jesus would do. Not a fan of cancel culture, but I am all for canceling religion – all of them.
missvamp
all churches need to die- but this one needs to go down in flames first. it’s been a bane on society for far too long. it’s been destroying society for centuries.
radiooutmike
As a former Catholic, sometimes I see things and think, “Hey, the Catholic Church may be starting to get it.”
Then I see something like this. How dare they interfere!
Fahd
The article lists some of the latest misdeeds, but if you really want to list the atrocious acts of the Catholic Church toward the gay community, you’re going to need more than a single blog post – you’re talking volumes. Thanks be to G*d, those Catholics who vote the way the Church tells them are becoming sparser in the more developed nations. In the US, it’s a real failing of the IRS that they don’t tax (or threaten to tax) those religions who involve themselves in civil government. Threatening all that untaxed wealth would be the best way to keep the “celibate” men in gowns in their churches and out of Congress’ lobby.
lykeitiz
“Catholic Church fought suicide prevention hotline for supporting LGBTQ people”
Shocking
Wait until you hear what they did to little boys.
James26
The Catholic Church does not care if LGB youth live or die. That’s nothing new.
What is new is the expropriation by trans activists of LGB resources to combat youth suicide. Every single resource that LGB people have ever created to assist suicidal LGB youth is forced to spread their limited resources to serve “transgender” youth, even though those youth may not be gay or bi and even though those youth have issues and problems that are distinct from those of LGB youth.
At the same time, trans activists freely set up their own exclusive hotlines, such as the “Trans Lifeline,” solely for trans people. If a gay youth were to call a trans hotline, he would get no substantive help. If he showed up at a trans shelter, he would be turned back to the streets.
Trans activists see LGB people as a free source of labor and an ATM machine. Like the Catholic Church, they do not care whether LGB youth live or die. It’s not enough to fight just one or the other. LGBs must fight both.
Bosch
I get where you’re coming from, but trans people didn’t add themselves to our club of social pariahs on purpose. Rejection by heteronormative society put them there.
Cam
Alternate screename for “Monkey1, Roy Ajax, TheREALTruth, etc. Comes on to a thread about the Catholic church attacking suicidal LGBTQ youth and uses it as an excuse to attack Trans people.
You right wing trolls are not subtle.
James26
@Bosch Trans people can have any sexual orientation and most are heterosexual.
Trans people may not have chosen their problems in society, but they absolutely chose the strategy to attach themselves to LGB people, to suck out as many resources as possible while contributing as little as possible. They boasted about it to the NY Times a few years ago, admitting that their strategy was to “embed” themselves within the gay rights movement while maintaining a “parallel” movement exclusively for themselves.
It has been one of the great heists in political history. We would need McKinsey or Boston Consulting Group or a similar outfit to crunch the numbers, but the total value of LGB wealth and labor transferred to trans activists is likely in the billions of dollars.
Bosch
You clearly have this debate more often.
1) as stated, heteronormative society put the T in the acronym.
2) intentionally conflating trans individuals with trans activists is a sneaky strategy.
3) you are not going to bridge the gap between homosexuals and homophobes by emulating transphobia.
Openminded
Just another reason I think ALL lobbyist should be outlawed. If our lawmakers can’t listen to the people who vote for them, they should be thrown out. In this case, it’s the Catholics lobbying, which shows you that the Catholic church is very much a Big Business just like Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Insurance and all the other Big Lobby groups.
BLAKENOW
And it’s because of this kind of crap I am proudly suing the church for the clergy abuse me and 30 other victims endured in my home town.
The catholic church is a cult. no matter how you look at it, that is exactly what it has morphed into.
No different than scientologists. Sorry if the truth hurts, take a long look in the mirror catholics.
Kangol2
Good luck and I hope you win your lawsuit. I also hope your healing continues.
Kangol2
Fewer than 50% of Americans report going to church now, and the number will keep falling, because of hateful policies like this. The thing is, they run directly counter to the word of Christ. But that’s never stopped these charlatans and manipulators before and it won’t stop them until their pews are completely empty. Oh well.
Jim
Have these men no shame?
Invader7
The RCC = BIG ole cult !!! Criminal too…