by - 0 comments

Dear Christians: Practical Ways to be an Ally in 2017 America

Alright, peoples. The board is set; the pieces are moving. If you’re a person of good will, and I know most of you are, you need to get real serious about your commitment to your own values. It’s time to cash them in for some hard currency. Christ said: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me,” and:

 “Come, you that are blessed… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:40, 34-36)

 This isn’t a matter of political ideology. It’s a matter of basic common humanity. I know I risk sounding alarmist — I’m not about to claim that the world is on the brink of collapse — only that this is not the best time to be a minority in the United States of America, and in many other parts of the world.

 Below are some basic things Christians can do to help minorities feel safe:

  1.  Pray for change – but don’t stop there.
  2. Have real messy human relationships with minority friends.
  3. If you have a spare bedroom, be willing to put it to use.
  4. If you can, signal to minority groups that you’re a safe resource.
  5. Use your professional skills to help those in need.
  6. Educate yourself.
  7. Volunteer.
  8. Use language respectfully, because it sets the tone for how a person will be treated.
  9. Stand up to bullies, even if it inconveniences you (even if they’re your family).
  10. Teach your children to stand up to bullies and defend others.
  11. Make your churches welcome to any person who needs a warm environment – so make your churches warm.
  12. Be the warm body that will stand or sit beside a friend. As in: sit yourself physically down next to a minority friend (in the pew – yes, in church) and help them deflect all those nasty stares they’re accustomed to.
  13. Donate to initiatives that actively help minority groups. If not shelters and charities, then to law centers. We need good lawyers more than anyone else.
  14. Publicly support us. Stop worrying about your social clout.
  15. Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. This means, don’t expect to be given a ribbon for basic human decency. Thank you, really, but this isn’t about you. It’s just not.
  16. In summary, practice what you preach.
by - 0 comments

Interview with Dan Hitchens about transsexuality and Catholicism

Last month I was blessed to be interviewed by an excellent journalist, Dan Hitchens, about the theological and pastoral landscape of transsexuality in the Catholic Church. I was interviewed alongside two other dear Catholic trans women: my friend Aoife Assumpta Hart, and a fellow activist Jane Fae.

An article based on the interview was featured in the Catholic Herald. You can read the entire article here: What’s the truth about transsexuality? by Dan Hitchens.

Continue reading →

by - 2 Comments

Is Caitlyn Jenner a Demon? [Reblog]

I was going to write a response to Fr. Dwight Longenecker’s shortsighted article The Devil of Detroit and Caitlyn Jenner, but thankfully Melinda Selmys (my hero!) saved me from that ugh-some task.

From Is Caitlyn Jenner a Demon? by Melinda Selmys.

Fr. Longenecker’s article turns on the fact that the statue of Baphomet recently unveiled by the Satanists in Detroit includes elements of both male and female. Although he doesn’t quite come out and say it directly, the strong implication is that transgender people remake themselves in the image and likeness of a demon […]

Here’s the problem: there is a massive difference between the meaning of a symbol ina statue and the implications of the same physical reality in an actual human body. Take blindness for example. We often use the symbolism of blindness to refer to “spiritual blindness,” that is an inability to see the truth or apprehend the good. Scripture is very careful, however, to make it clear that blind people are not to be judged according to this symbolism.

Read the rest here.