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Nine Catholic bishops in the U.S. have signed a joint statement to LGBTQ youth to tell them they are supported and loved.
The group worked with the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which was set up in the wake of the 2010 suicide of a student, Tyler Clementi, to tackle LGBTQ bullying in schools, workplaces, and faith communities.
Among the most prominent figures to sign were Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark (pictured above), and Archbishop John Wester, who leads the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Two of the signatories – Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Diocese of Detroit, and Bishop Denis Madden of the Archdiocese of Baltimore – are retired.
The full statement, which acknowledges LGBTQ youth face a greater risk of homelessness and suicide than their straight peers, reads as follows.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“As Catholic Bishops in the United States, we join with the Tyler Clementi Foundation in standing up for at-risk LGBT youth in our country.
“As we see in the Gospels, Jesus Christ taught love, mercy and welcome for all people, especially for those who felt persecuted or marginalized in any way; and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that LGBT people are to be treated with ‘respect, compassion and sensitivity.’
“All people of goodwill should help, support, and defend LGBT youth; who attempt suicide at much higher rates than their straight counterparts; who are often homeless because of families who reject them; who are rejected, bullied and harassed; and who are the target of violent acts at alarming rates.
“The Catholic Church values the God-given dignity of all human life and we take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you.
“Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.”
One of the signatories, Archbishop Wester, told America Magazine, he signed because he wanted young LGBTQ people to know: “you have worth, you have value and you’re a child of God.”
The letter echoes sentiments recently expressed by Pope Francis, who had voiced support for same-sex civil unions.
Related: Pope meets with parents of LGBTQ kids and tells them to love their children as they are
However, the Catholic Church as an institution continues to adhere to its doctrine of homosexuality being “objectively disordered”, and that same-sex sexual activity is sinful. Gay teachers are routinely fired from Catholic-run schools and colleges in the U.S.
“We have our teachings, which we prize and cherish, but those teachings need to be understood in the proper context of love and mercy,” Archbishop Wester said. “Sometimes people can make equivocations, ‘Well if it’s a sin to engage in a homosexual act, then I must be a terrible person.’ The church doesn’t teach that and it’s important [young people] don’t get that erroneous impression.”
Jane Clementi, co-founder and CEO of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, said in a statement, “This is a great beginning. I am very grateful to the Catholic bishops who have signed the declaration and are courageously adding their voices to an effort to show God’s love by opposing any violence, harassment or bullying behavior against the most vulnerable among us.
“With this groundbreaking statement, these bishops are saying that all God’s children, including our LGBT siblings, deserve kindness, respect and compassion.”
Father James Martin, a New York Jesuit priest and leading voice within the Catholic church for advancing the acceptance of LGBTQ people within the church, worked with the Tyler Clementi Foundation to identify bishops to approach. On Facebook, he called the statement, “an historic document opposing violence, harassment and bullying of LGBT people, especially youth.”
Related: Pope Francis receives an insight into LGBTQ lives from US priest
Eight bishops initially put their name to the statement, with a ninth – Rev. John P Dolan, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego – adding his after it first appeared online. Father Martin and the Tyler Clementi Foundation are encouraging other bishops to come forward and add their name to the statement.
sfhairy
No one cares. If you need to live your life under the catholic umbrella you have other issues you need to figure out before worrying about the church accepting that you’re homosexual.
Paul Nadolski
As a teenager, I recall our parish priest, Father Murphy, preaching a sermon in which he said that “we should embrace the gays, the homosexuals” (this was in the mid-90s!). In response my dad said he would “never” embrace a homosexual. It’s no wonder why I’m so emotionally screwed up…and why he and I barely have a relationship…
Leash
Father Murphy seems like a ok dude, but to put things into perspective they say “embrace the gays” just like they say “embrace rapists or murderers”. Preaching forgiveness is their thing, but I for one have nothing to be forgiven for.
Openminded
Yes, Leash. They will embrace you but they also want you to change from being who you are. A gay person is the same as a drug addict to the church. They “love the person, but hate the sin” and seek to remove what they see as sin in their eyes.
Cam
If the pressure keeps coming, the Catholic Church could move. The only issue is, most of it’s new converts are in countries that are REALLY anti-LGBTQ, but most of it’s money comes from countries that are not anti-LGBTQ.
If the Catholics flip, that leaves the Mormons as the largest monolithic bigoted religion in the U.S.
andrew.agee
Dont leave out our evangelical wing-nuts.
trsxyz
If I understand the Catholic Church stance on homosexuality, it’s always been that the orientation itself is not sinful. It’s only acting upon those impulses that is sinful. I guess we were all supposed to become priests (or nuns).
Kangol2
It’s a bit more complex than that, but it essentially comes down to two perspectives. One is espoused by Pope Francis, which is that we are all God’s children and though Catholic doctrine forbids homosexual behavior, gay, bi and trans people are not to be cast out. This underscores his recently shared pronouncements on civil unions, his welcoming of out gay people and so on.
The other perspective is espoused by Pope Benedict, the ex-Pope who infamously authored a hateful tract on homosexuality when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. It’s entitled “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.” His screed says that being gay is not “a sin” in itself, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered,” and then goes on to write that the “homosexual inclination…is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”
Ratzinger adds: “Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.”
There is an ongoing struggle right now between those who back Francis and those who still supported the failed tenure of Benedict. Where things go remain to be seen.
Leash
Same difference? Both basically say “being gay etc is not a sin, but acting on those ‘urges’ is”… which all leads to “being gay is bad” in the end, because the only other option they are giving us here is to not have gay sex and be miserable for the rest of our lifes. Or like for trans folks that would mean not changing their phyiscal form to match their insides.
Maybe the nuances are too subtle for me to see. “I guess Pope Francis is a bit more welcoming?” is what I’m getting from this.
Leash
What a groundbreaking statement that is indeed, they want us to be treated us with respect and kindness?! I’m holding back tears as I’m writing this… *rollseyes*
What’s the word I’m looking for here, dishonest? 2-faced? So on one hand they – I mean, a handful of them – say “hey dont bully queer kids”, but on the other hand homosexuality is still a sinful disorder to them?
To me, while I think it’s nice of them to openly state that because they surely will get some kind of backlash for that, it feels like advertising, it feels like preaching one thing, while your organisation is doing the complete opposite.
WSnyder
Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth is important. The RCC certainly bears a huge amount of the anguish these kids have faced, not the least of which has lead to many suicides. What the RCC NEEDS to do is to advance programs to council families of LGBTQ+ youth, denounce families who reject or throw LGBTQ+ kids into the streets and excommunicate any parent who threatens or commits violence on kids because they are LGBTQ+. The RCC needs to open Halfway Homes for homeless LGBTQ+ and support such that already exist even if under other churches or those not affiliated with any church.
Mister P
They should give up on threatening people with hell and try acceptance.
Mack
If you are going to say you’re the word of Christ then you should actually follow the word of Christ and not hatred.
cubcmh
Just great. God is (finally) on the side of today’s youths. What about the youth who are now adults who suffered while your brethren clergy took advantage of them for the last 50+ years while the church covered it up? Was god on their side? Is he on their side now?? And what about the rest of us estimated 10-20 million plus adult LGBTG+ people out there? Isn’t god on our side, too? Or are we still going to hell??
Seth
Hard pass on the 1st-century blood cult’s approval. Kindness is always appreciated but gay people, and people in general, shouldn’t need the approval of misery vultures to live in peace. Next.
trell
In a refreshing change from the usual “Religion vs Sexuality” debate, this is a bit of fresh air, an maybe a hopeful indication of things to come….
….then again, I think just about every religion is nothing more than politics hung precariously on the premise of a bunch of old fairy tales, so why should I care what an old outdated institution thinks?
rand503
So they are basically saying that they no longer believe it’s okay to execute us for being gay. Hurray! I guess this is a big step for them.
But even this little bit will be met with howls of protests by the closeted self-loathing bishops who like to demonize us. Then these guys will back down and lie low for a while.
And so on. Wake me when they come to a final decision about LBGTs and what they think they can do with us.
Heywood Jablowme
If you want clickbait, change the headline just a bit to “Catholic bishops embrace gay youth” – tee hee.
dougie
“God is on your side” . . . but the Catholic Church hates your guts.
basils_Herald
Opium of the masses