growing up — hatred and mockery — now directed towards bishops online in these photos .
Frankly , the harder part of the book is going to be for the lgbt community . They have felt so beaten down that showing respect , compassion and sensitivity for church leaders will be hard , but it is necessary and Christian .
This has been a one-way conversation sometimes from both sides : sometimes the church hierarchy talking about the lgbt community without listening , and sometimes the lgbt community talking without listening to the hierarchy . But it ’ s more incumbent on the church hierarchy than on the lgbt community in building this bridge . Why ? Because no group is as excluded .
Just this year , for example , there was an International Women ’ s Day event at the Vatican . Women experience exclusion in the church in ways , but women were included in the Vatican . But where is the lgbt day at the Vatican ? At the Vatican there are events celebrating and recognizing refugees , migrants , women , and scientists . The list goes on . Where is the lgbt community ? They are not there . Sometimes the hierarchy is still afraid of them . One of the things I was delighted with this book was endorsements from two cardinals — Cardinal Kevin Farrell , who works in the Vatican , and Cardinal Joseph Tobin . Not long ago that would not have happened . That could not have happened .
In the same paragraph of the Catechism with the words of “ respect , compassion , and sensitivity ” and the delineation of just and unjust discrimination , there is language of “ objectively disordered .” How do you make sense out of language in the Church teaching that seems to run in opposite directions of beautifully pastoral and incredibly difficult at the same time ?
In the book I say that the language of “ objectively disorder ” is needlessly cruel . With this language , of course , we are talking philosophical and theological terms . But the church has to be sensitive to the way
that the language has been heard . The way that has been heard from lgbt persons is that they themselves are disordered , that the way they love and the deepest level of who they are is disordered .
One of the reasons I am emphasizing “ respect , compassion , and sensitivity ” is that “ objectively disordered ” has been so emphasized for the past few decades . But that is not the only part of the Catechism . I am trying to bring the “ respect , compassion , and sensitivity ” to the fore . This , I think , is the way to go ahead in bridge building . You cannot extend a hand if you first say that you are “ objectively disordered .” You have to look at the rest of the church ’ s teaching too .
“ Listening ” and “ accompaniment ” are popular words in the Church today , in large part due to Pope Francis . How do we cultivate this skill of listening , both in Church leadership and in the people in the pews , on the sensitive reality of the lives of lgbt persons ?
First , we start by recognizing the value of listening . Most of us tend to only listen to the point where we can speak , so we are waiting for the other person to finish talking . Or we rush to the end of the article to rebut it , and say that it is wrong .
But if you look at the model of Jesus and the woman at the well , or Jesus ’ s encounter with Bartimaeus , you ’ ll see that Jesus is listening . He is paying attention . He is listening to their stories . Remember Jairus ’ s daughter ? When Jesus is rushing to heal the young girl , the woman with the hemorrhage , who is in the crowd , touches Jesus . Jesus stops and says , “ Who touched me ?” He stops and listens to her . He does not just keep going . There is a ministry of listening , and it is valuable .
Second , it is not all about us and our opinions , or imposing our opinions . It is also about people ’ s own lived experiences , which is another example of Pope Francis ’ s use of “ encounter .” In the book , I write that bishops and church leaders can ask lgbt persons what their experiences are : What are their continued on page 11
10 • The New Wine Press • May 2017