Reflecting on the Pope's Comments

by Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA

I am writing this in the wake of Pope Francis’ eventful visit to the Philippines. The Pope’s warning against “ideological colonization” and his apparent characterization of same-sex marriage as a threat to the family were shocks to many of our members. DignityUSA issued a strongly worded response, and several of you took the time to share your own reaction. The sense of being let down by the comments was prevalent. One reader said he’d had a statue of the Pope out as a sign of hope, but put it in the back of a closet. Another echoed the concern for people’s safety “particularly in the Philippines, where LGBT people have neither legal protections nor social acceptance outside of stereotypical positions, these statements can inspire intolerance to the level we've seen from ISIS. These statements are not only disappointing, but can also threaten the lives of those in a country primarily devoted to the Catholic faith.”

The intense reaction so many of us had reinforces the importance of Dignity’s mission in at least two ways. First, clearly, there is still a great deal of work to be done. We have not achieved our vision of full inclusion and justice for LGBT Catholics when our lives and relationships can be characterized as non-familial and as threatening to “real” families. Even as we celebrate the legal gains made in this country and others, and the increasing support for LGBT people among our families, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and people of faith, the gap between where we are and full justice remains wide.

Secondly, the powerful emotional connection to what the Pope has to say is a reminder of the power structure that is so deeply embedded in our Catholic culture, and indeed, even for people who are not Catholic.

It is clear that, even as we have created Catholic communities built on an empowered laity and clergy, many of us still are profoundly attentive to what the leader of our Church says and does. There is a tension between the ecclesial model many of us live and the one that most often comes to mind when people refer to the Catholic Church.