They may be rebuked by some Catholics, including bishops, but they are accepted in certain parts of the church.
A growing number of Catholic parishes are forming LGBTQ support groups or ministries. They welcome transgender people in their own way. In the last two years, six Catholic dioceses issued guidelines that targeted trans people and refused to recognize their gender identity.
“Many of our bishops oppose science. … They are cruel and cold,” Sister Luisa Derouen (a retired nun who has served transgender people) said. “You cannot respect people while simultaneously denying their existence.”
In January, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee issued a new policy against trans Catholics. It prohibits church personnel from using trans persons’ preferred pronouns.
The policy prohibits trans-supportive gender theory. It states that all interactions, policies, parishes and organizations are to recognize a person’s biological sexuality.
It also states that parishes, schools, and other Catholic institutions in the archdiocese have to require people to use the bathrooms associated with their birth gender, and follow the same dress code.
A broader policy was issued by the Diocese of Marquette in July. It stated that pastors should not allow trans, gay, and nonbinary Catholics to receive the sacraments, such as Communion and baptism, “unless the person repents.”
In other parishes across the country, however, the church shows a different and more welcoming side.
A few weeks prior to the Marquette policy being issued, the Church of Our Lady of Grace, Hoboken, New Jersey celebrated its annual PrideMass in support of LGBTQ people. Christine Zuba, an transgender woman living in New Jersey, delivered part of the homily.
Zuba shared with worshippers her decades-long journey, which led to her six years earlier, at the age of 58, saying, “We aren’t disordered, confused, or a fad.” “We’re not trying to be godly, or to play God,” Zuba said.
She concluded that “By being visible, not just outside these walls, but inside our churches,” we can change hearts and minds one person at time. We may occasionally get thrown out but we won’t stop moving forward. We are coming back in.”
Santora, a priest of 40 years, said that the other worshippers rose to applaud.
Santora stated, “Our church was inaugurated in 1878.” “I wanted Christine on that pulpit.”
Zuba, a lifelong Catholic, said that she knew since age four that she was different. She was glad that Saints Peter and Paul, Turnersville, New Jersey welcomed her when she decided to leave the Catholic Church five decades ago. There she serves as a eucharistic minister.
She also knows that the U.S. Catholic hierarchy is comprised of a large portion of the Catholic hierarchy. Conference of Catholic Bishops rejects the idea of gender transition.
Zuba stated, “These priests and bishops don’t get that turning away someone is like losing their parents, children, or groups of friends who feel this church is not for them.”
Lynn Discenza is a transgender 64-year old woman. She grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut in a Catholic Italian American family and tried seminary before pursuing a career as an aerospace designer.
After having made the transition two years ago to become a member of Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Church, Hartford, she considers herself lucky. She is co-leader of the LGBTQ ministry.
Discenza stated that the Nov. 21 observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance (which commemorates victims of anti-trans violence) was particularly moving. She thanked other worshippers and received applause.
Timothy Shreenan, the pastor, highlighted the commemoration within the church bulletin.
He wrote, “We must never allow hatred to take root in any form and we must not allow hatred to fuel our fears or phobias.” “We must learn more about others’ experiences and become more accepting and tolerant of each other.”
Discenza believes that the grassroots activism for greater inclusion will increase as more parishes include LGBTQ ministries.
She stated that “the change will come from the ground up and some of the old Bishops will die off.”
Young transgender Catholics may face challenges from their parents due to the differing approaches of clergy and churches.
Eli Musselman, a Philadelphia transgender man, turns 19 this March. He came out almost four years ago.
The pastor of the family’s parish refused to use masculine pronouns. He also suffered anxiety attacks at church from some parishioners’ “nasty” looks, prompting the family and friends to move to a parish that felt like home.
Musselman, a freshman at St. Josephs University, a Jesuit-run university, said, “A place that had been a safe haven had become a dangers.” Students and professors have, with one exception, been supportive.
He said, “But since coming out,” that “my spirituality had grown.” … “I feel complete for the first time in all my life.”
JoEllen Musselman, his mother, said that “I lost some really great friends.” “I felt that I was always making excuses to people and it got tiring.”
She is now mixed emotions after she converted to Catholicism following her marriage. She is determined to continue her involvement in the church and advocate greater inclusion, but she remains skeptical about the most powerful Catholic leaders.
She said, “They are flawed.” “If Christ wasn’t there, the church would crumble, because humans screw up everything.”
Pope Francis’ position at the highest level in Catholic leadership can be best described as being two-sided.
One, he has ministered personally to trans Catholics, meeting them as an archbishop of Argentina and receiving them at the Vatican. He has repeatedly condemned “gender theory” as well as “ideological colonization”, which teaches children that they can have sex with anyone they want.
Francis spoke out on the topic during a press conference in 2016. He stressed the need for avoiding “gender ideology”, but reiterated the need to minister and support trans Catholics. Please, don’t tell us that the pope sanctifies trans.
Luisa Derouen is a retired nun who has served more than 250 transgender individuals since 1999. Her superiors granted her permission in 2014 to write about this work. However, she was required to not identify herself and her Dominican Sisters of Peace congregation. She used a pseudonym to do so, which she eventually abandoned in 2018. To publicly speak for trans people and “give testimony to their dignity as human beings”
Derouen stated in a recent interview that friction over transgender inclusion will likely increase.
She stated that “there has never been a moment in American Catholic church history when the Catholic hierarchy has had less moral credibility.” “The pews are taking the responsibility to do their homework and acknowledging that they are all God’s children.”
Michael Sennett, a 26 year-old transgender man sees this happening at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Chestnut Hill (Massachusetts), where he serves as communications director.
He is discouraged by the unwelcoming attitudes of some bishops, but he is encouraged by the advances, such as the formation of a support group called LGBTQ+ Catholics.
Sennett stated, “Overall, I marvel at how far we have come.” “People are joining forces and speaking out like never before. … The laity is gaining more power.”
