By M K George

Rome, Aug 12, 2022: The acronym LGBTIQAPD stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and/or Ally, Pansexual, and Demi-sexual.

They are people who have different sexual orientations and struggle with identities divergent from what the mainstream society is used to. For many, these groups create phobia and they become targets for homophobic attacks. Does the Catholic Church really care for them?

Personal experiences

Looking back, it was in the 80s that I had personal encounters with this group. While travelling by train from South of India to Delhi, transgender groups would come in groups to the railway carriages and ask for money with a clapping of hands unique to them. If some did not give money, the groups at times would turn abusive. I started to fear the group and avoided them.

As fate would have, when I started working at the Indian Social Institute, Bangalore, I was invited to a group meeting of the LGBT group and I attended hesitatingly. For two hours, I sat behind the auditorium listening to a group of almost 400 people narrating their agonies of survival as humans.

Just two specific memories linger. One, the struggle of a transgender to use the toilet. Those days, if they walked into men’s toilets, they will be bullied and even attacked. If they dared to enter a women’s toilet all hell would break out. When a transgender went for a rented house, the owner would demand double or treble the rate. And remember, most transgender people had, those days, only begging or sex work as options. Thankfully, things have changed now.

A Church experience

The Bangalore experience had changed me. I had learned to treat transgender people as humans just like me. I started working with the transgender groups and to my surprise, some of the most committed social activists came from them.

And one of those days, I happened to preach in my local parish in the central Kerala and during my sermon, I mentioned my experience with the transgender group and my appreciation for their suffering. As soon as I came of out the church, there was family with two adult children and parents, waiting for me. And they told me, ‘Father, this is the first time in our life that we heard the terms LGBT being mentioned from the pulpit and that too with compassion. Thank you.’

Welcome changes

There are welcome changes in the Church that need to be known and appreciated. Pope Francis’ words mark a revolutionary change in the attitude of the Church to the LGBTQ group. He said, in answer to the question, ‘What do you say to an LGBT Catholic who has experienced rejection from the Church?’

‘I would have them recognize it not as “the rejection of the church,” but instead of “people in the church.” The church is a mother and calls together all her children. Take for example the parable of those invited to the feast: “the just, the sinners, the rich and the poor, etc.” [Matthew 22:1-15; Luke 14:15-24]. A “selective” church, one of “pure blood,” is not Holy Mother Church, but rather a sect.’

Fr. James Martin, an American Jesuit, has been pioneering some work among the groups and Pope Francis appreciated his work. “I want to thank you for your pastoral zeal and your ability to be close to people, with the closeness that Jesus had, and which reflects the closeness of God,” Pope Francis said.

There are increasing calls for stronger ministry to transgender Catholics. There are many other groups too engaged in advocating the cause of the LGBTQ groups. Maybe, someone should work towards a unified effort.

Theological issues and pastoral concerns

There are intricate theological issues when it comes to same sex marriages and their approval. Some of the Catholic institutions, particularly in the USA have faced problems with their faculty, when the hierarchical Church wanted ‘firmer action’ against same sex marriage couple working in the institutions.

The major question is whether the Church is willing to engage with the LGBTQ groups pastorally, engage in a dialogue, and discern over the theological issues that remain untreated.

The challenge is to meet the LGBTQ groups as human persons, listen to them, understand them, advocate for them and be ‘charitable’ to them in the true sense of the word.

LGBTQ groups challenge the Church to be truly compassionate.