Pope Francis last week made another incremental step forward for LGBT progress in the Catholic Church — but that’s not to say that all of his followers are opening the door to LGBT equality.
While the pope undoubtedly has quite a ways to go before coming within a stone’s throw of being labeled as progressive on LGBT issues, he has made a few statements indicating a willingness to not be as hostile to the LGBT community as his predecessors. Last year, he famously uttered the “who am I to judge” statement about LGBT people, and last week said he would be willing to “evaluate” the feasibility of civil unions. The pope remains solidly opposed to the concept of marriage equality, and past statements on the LGBT community are at least troubling. But, in his comments on civil unions, the pope alluded to the notion that the church should be looking at the practical reasons for instating statutes that sanction “different situations of living together” — providing joint health care and fostering financial success. While his statement was drastically far from an endorsement and acknowledgement of the validity and credence of the love shared between same-sex couples, it does demonstrate a willingness to move towards “tolerance,” while full “acceptance” remains off the table.
But the Catholic Church itself remains divided on LGBT equality. There are factions of Catholics who support LGBT rights and LGBT inclusion in the church and want Pope Francis to go further in his LGBT evolution; other more conservative Catholics, however, have sharply criticized the statements he has made as pandering. Some are continuing to do their best to restrict LGBT progress — Catholic communities are among the most active opponents of Maryland’s trans-rights bill, and Catholic-generated St. Patrick’s Day parades around the country continue to be mired in controversy for their banning of LGBT groups.
Wherever opinions fall, it is clear that there needs to be a conversation within the Catholic Church — and countless other faith communities — about the role LGBT people play in our society, and the role they should or could play in religious circles. As the pope’s comment suggests, LGBT people are going to continue to be LGBT people, like it or not. They are going to continue to form same-sex relationships, to get married, to raise families — to do all the things that heterosexual people do — yet they have to do them without rights, without protections and, often, without dignity.
Some define the term “catholic” as meaning “universal.” How is denying rights, denying protections and denying dignity living up to what it means to be Catholic?