I was blessed to be interviewed for another cool article, this time by Crux Magazine following the RECon trans panel. Michael O’Loughlin wrote a very charitable piece and gave my co-panelist Mateo and I lots of space to share our thoughts
You can read the whole piece here: “Transgender Catholics hope to build bridges in the Church” Continue reading
“I’m Proud to be a Transgender Catholic” – TIME Magazine
I came to school as Jes, a compassionate, but at times confused, young female searching for a way through school. I left Fontbonne as Nick, a young Catholic man who was more confident going out into the world.
During my transition from female to male, I was often confused with and mad at God. I didn’t understand why I had been born in the wrong body. This anger and confusion with how God had made me seeped into my daily life. I often wasn’t present to my friends and their needs, and I lost a sense of who and what mattered to me.
During this struggle, I closed myself off to God. But God never tired of pursuing me, and eventually we rekindled our relationship. It was at this point that I relearned one of the basic truths of our faith: that God created me, that God loves me, and that God accompanies me. The Lord already knew that I wasn’t accepting a part of myself, but once I told God how broken I felt, he showed me how loved I was.
Read the rest here: http://time.com/3744270/catholic-church-pope-francis-transgender-community/
On the subject of gender transition, The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales seems encouragingly positive. A year ago they released a draft of guidelines instructing Catholics on how far to comply with England’s Equality Act 2010, which will provide increased civil protection for a number of minority groups, including transsexuals. Their document says that:
Transsexual people face many difficulties before, during and after transitioning to another gender. As such it is recommended to seek guidance on how to make the transitional process as easy as possible. This could include training for co-workers, as well as reference to medical and social advice.
The implication of this quote seems to be that Catholics in Britain are expected to fully abide by the law’s prohibition of anti-trans discrimination, and more significantly to cooperate or at least be supportive of a transgender person in the process of transitioning.
Read the full text here.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna:
“As we all know, there is multicoloured variety in God’s garden. Not everyone who is born male feels he is a man and the same applies to women. Such people deserve the same respect that we all have a right to as human beings.”
The Tablet – News – Cardinal praises Eurovision-winning transvestite.
Siciliano’s letter as printed in the New York Times
The head of the largest shelter i the U.S. for homeless LGBT youth has written an open letter to Pope Francis asking for his support for these teens.
Carl Siciliano’s letter, published as a full-page ad in The New York Times, asks the pope to counter the religious rejection of LGBT youth by their families which is so often the cause of homelessness. Siciliano is founder and executive director of the Ali Forney Center in New York City, and also a former Benedictine monk and gay Catholic man.
In the letter reported on by LGBTQ Nation, he urges Pope Francis to reverse the hierarchy’s teaching that homogenital acts are wrong and that a homosexual orientation is disordered, writing:
“I ask you to take urgent action to protect them from the devastating consequences of religious rejection, which is the most common reason…
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Nathan Schneider explores the unresolved challenge of transgender identity for the Catholic Church and one woman’s courageous, life-saving response.
http://america.aljazeera.com/features/2014/3/transgender-and-catholic.html
Catholic Trans* 