Research suggests that views on same-sex relationships vary by Christian denomination and by religious practices.[1] Currently, mainline Catholicism ministers to LGBTQ youth as teenagers with eyes wide shut. The ministerial presence currently available to the young church (a phrase used in youth ministry that refers to high school adolescents ages fourteen through eighteen), particularly to Catholic LGBTQ youth, is almost non-existent.[2] The overwhelming majority of Catholic youth ministries in the United States do not cater to, actively attract, or tolerate LGBTQ youth. The Catholic Church in general, and youth ministry specifically, could be and should be doing more to reach out and minister to LGBTQ youth. Catholic LGBTQ youth need a place in the church where they can be accepted, their gifts empowered, their faith and spirituality nurtured, and their sexuality supported.
Therefore, this essay is an invitation for US Catholic Bishops, Catholic pastors, and Catholic youth ministers (1) to be more hospitable, gracious, and open-minded with the LGBTQ youth community and (2) to have LGBTQ Catholics present at the table for dialogue and critique about the lack of advocacy and pastoral care in Catholic youth ministry. This essay hopes to encourage youth ministers and adolescent catechists "to minister to, with, by, and for" LGBTQ young people, as is so beautifully articulated in the original Catholic youth ministry document, A Vision of Youth Ministry.[3]
Typically, the topic, discussion, and rhetoric surrounding sexual minorities and the Catholic Church centers around three camps of theological thought: (1) traditional/conservative, who are those theologians who adhere to the Magisterium's[4] position on homosexual acts with little or no pastoral concern for the LGBTQ person; (2) mediating/moderate, who are those theologians who do not challenge magisterial teaching on homosexual acts, but place a greater emphasis on the pastoral ramifications for the LGBTQ person; and (3) revisionist/progressive, who are those theologians who openly challenge the magisterial teaching on LGBTQ persons.[5] Perhaps a revisionist perspective is needed concerning this delicate issue, in order to allow an open-minded approach toward LGBTQ youth. All Catholic people—LGBTQ youth included—share in the same Catholic identity and dignity as heterosexual Catholics, which is shared by virtue of baptism, sealed at confirmation, and nourished at the Eucharistic table.[6]
It is beneficial for the readers to learn the basic terminology for this study. The language will also give a general Catholic audience common ground and a common vocabulary to speak from, as well as the proper understanding of the terminology, such that it can be incorporated into future Catholic documents.
LGBT refers to individuals who consider themselves as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Adolescents who claim the LGBT sexual status are considered minorities—more specifically, "sexual minority teenagers"—by the American Academy of Pediatrics.[7] In recent literature surrounding LGBT youth, the letter Q has been added,
- ↑ L. J. Francis, B. G. Fawcett, and J. Linkletter, "The Sexual Attitudes of Religiosity Committed Canadian Youth within the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches," Journal of Youth & Theology 12, no. 1 (2013): 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/24055093-90000057.
- ↑ Samuel Sanabria and Joffrey S. Suprina, "Addressing Spirituality when Counseling Gay Boys, Adolescents, and Men," in Counseling Gay Men, Adolescents, and Boys: A Strength-Based Guide for Helping Professionals and Educators, ed. Michael M. Kocet (New York: Routledge Group, 2014), 54–55.
- ↑ Department of [Catholic] Education, A Vision of Youth Ministry (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1976), 6–7.
- ↑ The Magisterium (Latin for "office of the teacher"), in the Catholic Church, refers to the authoritative teaching of the universal church, which belongs to the whole college of bishops (Catholic bishops around the world) who are united with the bishop of Rome—the presiding pope.
- ↑ M. J. Maher and L. M. Sever, "What Educators in Catholic Schools Might Expect When Addressing Gay and Lesbian Issues: A Study of Needs and Barriers," Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education 4, no. 3 (2007): 82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J367v04n03_06.
- ↑ Gerald D. Coleman, Homosexuality: Catholic Teaching and Pastoral Practice (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1996), 110.
- ↑ D. A. Levine, "Office-Based Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth," Pediatrics 132, no. 1 (2013): 198–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-1282.
