The letter

In the May 2 letter, Porteous railed against the "radicalised transgender lobby", same-sex marriage and the "woke movement".

"What we are now witnessing in our Australian society is the imposition of certain ideological positions on social and moral questions by means of legislation" the archbishop wrote.

"We are challenged as to why we do not accept what is now viewed as reasonable and acceptable behaviour.

Since the same-sex marriage plebiscite, "we have seen the growth in what has been referred to as the 'woke' movement, seeking to overturn other traditional values and beliefs".

"This has included the push for 'diversity and inclusivity' training in the corporate sector and the attack on the biological reality of being male or female through a radicalised transgender lobby.

"As the Church, we cannot stand by as we experience our freedoms being taken from us."

The letter was widely distributed among Tasmania's Catholic schools.

Politicians and LGBTQIA+ advocates criticised it as being transphobic, homophobic and draconian.

School response

After its school community received the letter, one school wrote to parents.

St Cuthbert's Catholic School told them it had replied to the archbishop. It confirmed it is "committed to developing an inclusive and accepting culture that is in harmony with the Catholic tradition".

It will "continue to foster a safe, respectful and inclusive environment" for students and the school community.

The Independent Education Union supported St Cuthbert's response to the archbishop.

"Taking a stand like this on behalf of students, staff and the whole community is in the best tradition of Catholic social justice" the union said.

The Archdiocese of Hobart declined to comment on the school's response.

By Wednesday evening, the school's message to parents via an internal communication app had been deleted.

Archbishop rebuked

Concerned Catholics Tasmania (CCT) — a group "committed to renewal and reform in our Church" — rebuked the letter's "heartless" and "alarmist" tone.

Porteous's "reference to 'God's own people' is both arrogant and exclusory" and "a form of aggression and violence" the CCT said.

She was concerned that Porteous's letter suggested "no one is being forced to teach in or be a student in a Catholic school ...".

If they find their personal views are at variance with those of the Catholic faith, "then it would only make sense they should seek an alternative educational institution more aligned with their views" Poteous wrote.

Hate speech

Tasmanian MP Kristie Johnston criticised the letter as "nothing short of hateful speech".

Tasmanian LGBTQIA+ advocacy group Equality Tasmania said the letter contained "misinformation and disinformation, and also some homophobic and transphobic beliefs".

Source

• ABC

CLC provided legal services to many survivors who gave witness statements to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in faith-based institutions.

It also acted for clients in claims against faith-based institutions.

Most staff say they hold Kimberley (pictured) "no personal ill will".

They also admit they are "conscious" of the fact that they have not met him.

Staff concerns

Staff wrote to the CLC board and outgoing chief executive regarding Kimberley's appointment and selection process.

They were worried how some survivors might react to having a former Anglican priest lead the community law organisation.

They said some staff "hold serious concerns about how some survivors we have assisted in engaging with the royal commission will view... a former religious leader as the head, face and voice of CLC".

Another staff concern questioned the new chief executive's possible response to having 11 openly LGBTQIA+ staff.

They said they believed the board had not considered this.

"The fraught and complex relationship between religious organisations generally and LGBTQIA+ communities is well documented" they wrote.

Several staff were considering resigning. Ten already have.

Serious issue

In January, a Public Service Association (PSA) organiser wrote to the New Zealand Law Society's Canterbury-Westland Branch about CLC health and safety.

It voiced its concerns about CLC lawyers' ability to meet future practice obligations.

Canterbury-Westland Law Society president Lana Paul said she had received communications from both the PSA and CLC's board offering different perspectives of events.

She answered both letters and has not heard further from the PSA.

Reverence and respect

Kimberley says since his appointment, ten employees had left CLC. They have since been replaced.

"Some of the staff who left did so before I started so I didn't even get the chance to meet them" he says.

He accepts some churches and religious organisations are "quite strident" about their views on several issues.

For himself though, he says he makes his own mind up, believing "wherever there is love, there is God".

As a practising Anglican, he says it's "difficult sometimes" to be associated with a church that in a "global sense" is discriminatory.

"It makes me feel angry because of the hurt that is caused to the rainbow community, but also very motivated to... overcome and try to change those views.

Every human being must be treated with reverence and respect, he says.

Board response

CLC board chairperson Jenny Hughey defended Kimberley's appointment.

The process for the October 2023 appointment was "robust and professional" and the board was confident the best candidate was appointed.

CLC respects all people regardless of gender, religious beliefs and race - values and beliefs which Kimberley's match exactly, she says.

Commenting on staff leaving without meeting Kimberley, Hughey said "unfortunately, perception has clouded reality".

"If they had spoken to him or taken time to work with him, they would know his views and what kind of person he is."

Source

• Stuff

Gentili was a transgender woman of colour who advocated for the health and dignity of sex workers and LGBTQIA+ people.

She was also a baptised Catholic and therefore entitled to a Catholic funeral, a corporal work of mercy.

Gentili was born in Argentina and, after surviving a childhood of sexual abuse, immigrated to the United States where she was "undocumented, homeless and trafficked for prostitution in the U.S., [and] she also had a heroin addiction," The New York Times wrote in an obituary.

'In spite of these hardships, Gentili went on to assume leadership roles in nonprofits, providing health care for trans people and AIDS patients and advocating for the decriminalization of sex work.

Gentili exhibited a life of joy, love and radical acceptance.

However, the funeral garnered criticism and condemnation from a number of Catholic media outlets and figures, including the New York Archdiocese.

It is regrettable, to say the least, that many Catholics have chosen to react in anger, assuming that because Gentili had identified as an atheist, the Catholic funeral was a mockery of the faith.

But in a November 2023 interview Gentili had said, "I have been reexamining my relationship with religion for a long time," and articulated her renewed intention to attend church on Sundays with her partner.

Detractors have called her funeral "indecent" and "revolting," labelling those in attendance "rank anti-Catholic bigots."

The pastor of the cathedral, Fr Enrique Salvo, responded to the public outcry with a formal statement, calling the funeral "scandalous" and "sacrilegious."

Others have expressed concern that the event may have further harmed trans people's reputation with the Catholic Church.

But the livestream of the funeral service reveals a liturgy of joy rooted in Christian values of charity, human dignity and hope of everlasting life.

Before the funeral rite began, Black actor and singer Billy Porter delivered a powerful performance of the Gospel hymn "This Day," a rendition of the Our Father prayer.

Catholic Vote tweeted that Porter's performance was "mocking the Our Father prayer" and called it "unbelievable and sick."

Such a response belies cultural ignorance.

The song was written by Edwin Hawkins, a legend of Gospel music. The lyrics emphasize gratitude for God's love, provision and grace.

One of the most controversial moments occurred when eulogists Liaam Winslet and Oscar Diaz addressing the deceased as, "esta puta, esta gran puta, la santa Cecilia, la madre de todas de las putas," that is, "this whore, this great whore, saint Cecila, the mother of all whores."

Such language is understandably shocking to many sensibilities, but context matters.

Within Gentili's community, the word "whore" is a reclamation of a slur used with affection, much like the word "queer" itself.

Organizer Fran Tirado said that if Gentili called you a whore, this was her highest compliment. Here, a word once used for shame is used to honour a motherly heroine.

This esteem was also on display the moment a woman of colour exclaimed "Ave Cecilia!" during the cantor's rendition of "Ave Maria" and danced down the aisle, also prompting conservative ire. But "ave" is a greeting akin "O Cecilia" or "Dear Cecilia."

More importantly, that someone saw the likeness of Mary, mother of compassion, in Gentili should make us hopeful.

Some have criticized the funeral for being "raucous."

Even Fr James Martin, known for his advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Catholics, commented that when in any sacred place "I feel that you should always err on the side of respect and prudence."

But by what standards are we deciding those terms? Continue reading

• Jessica Gerhardt is a singer-songwriter, worship musician, artist, rosary-maker and writer originally from Santa Monica, California.

The latest comes from David Palmieri of Outreach, a US LGBTQ Catholic resource.

"Aroha and Diversity in Catholic Schools, manifests the love of Jesus Christ in its courage to seek "respect, compassion, and sensitivity" for LGBTQ children in Catholic schools and colleges" he says.

For this unique effort among Catholic leaders, "Aroha" deserves global recognition and accolades, he says.

The National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS), a branch of the official teaching arm of the NZ Catholic bishops' Te Kupenga-Catholic Leadership Institute, talked to Palmieri about their role in helping draft the new document.

The NCRS is responsible for Religious Education curricula and resources at primary and secondary school levels, and provides an early childhood curriculum.

The NCRS "is led by Colin MacLeod, and is blessed by the wisdom and experience of full-time or part-time curriculum and resource developers: Laurel Lanner, Sam Steele, Kate McHeyzer, Stephen Woodnutt (seconded for 2022) and Lyn Smith".

"The bishops genuinely care for the young people in their schools and want to support them," the NCRS told Palmieri.

"Throughout the process, the New Zealand bishops have been compassionately aware of the need to support vulnerable young people."

In September 2020, the New Zealand Ministry of Education released new guidelines for education on relationships and sexuality.

They included gender considerations for all grade levels.

The bishops' new document acknowledges that in the culture, there are some "ideological stances which run counter to Catholic teaching on human sexuality."

As an example, the NCRS says 2018 census data shows 48.2 percent of the New Zealand population is religiously unaffiliated.

Additionally, the Catholic Church is navigating cultural divergences among its members from official doctrines. These include prostitution, same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia.

The NCRS says the bishops are also concerned about the over-sexualisation of society, which targets young people and influences their principles and choices.

The bishops' process for drafting the document "highlights the reality that being followers of Jesus today is just as complex as it was in Jesus' time, and the Church needs to be just as creative, compassionate and strong in its message of love and faith as modelled by Jesus."

According to the NCRS, the document's preparation was an exercise in synodality and co-responsibility.

The bishops listened to school principals, guidance counsellors, directors of religious studies and diocesan religious education advisors. Principals involved in the drafting process were very clear that this document was needed urgently in schools.

They also "spoke to some groups of high school seniors and school leavers to see what they had to say about positive and negative experiences in New Zealand Catholic schools, and what advice they had to offer."

Another positive aspect is the bishops' choice to use "LGBTQ language".

"We used LGBTQIA+ because we wanted to show inclusivity. This is also the terminology used in the Ministry of Education documentation on relationship and sexuality education, and it is the language used by young people in general," NCRS says.

"Aroha" takes a far different approach from the US with LGBTQI+ issues. It advises "each situation must be judged on its merits.

The document is unique in at least three ways, NCRS told Outreach.

As it's a pastoral guide, it shows a preferential option for the principles of Catholic social teaching.

It features a pastoral approach to catechesis on human sexuality.

The NZCBC prioritise the affirming and buffering of young people.

Source

• NCRS
• Outreach

Primarily targeting Catholic educators, "Aroha and Diversity in Catholic Schools" is the opposite of so many policies which have harmed students and upset school communities in recent years, Shine comments.

The document clearly shows the bishops' core concern is young people's safety and well-being, not with defending church teaching, he says.

He sees the guideline as exciting "as it provides Catholics worldwide with an opportunity to grow in understanding and to improve pastoral practice."

First, most importantly, the bishops address LGBTQ+ issues primarily through the lens of social justice, Shine says.

"The text stresses repeatedly values like respecting human dignity, advancing solidarity, and promoting the common good.

"At the document's heart is the clear statement, 'How we as a Church treat those members of the LGBTQIA+ community should reflect Catholic social teaching.'"

Shine notes the bishops recognise this commitment to social justice is central for young people.

"Such a social justice-focused approach is different from nearly every other diocesan or national gender policy, which sadly focus instead on upholding orthodoxy and imposing LGBTQ-negative prohibitions."

Second, and linked to the first point, there is a repeated emphasis on the need to end discrimination and curtail bullying, Shine notes.

He says he likes the guideline's practical advice, which includes general principles like:

• "Ensure that school is a safe place - many young people may not feel accepted anywhere else ... school may be their only ... sanctuary."
• "Acceptance of others sets a very ‘low bar' - Catholic schools need to be centres of welcome from all the community. . ."
• "Ensure ... procedures and guidelines on how homophobia, sexism, racism, and other forms of violence are unacceptable and how they are to be addressed ...".

The third point is the role an informed conscience has in handling personal, complex issues like gender and sexuality.

"Catholic schools are called to help form the consciences of the young people in their care, while recognising that parents, caregivers and whanau have a role to play in this area. . ."

Practical suggestions include encouraging staff to educate themselves about LGBTQIA+ people, to develop relevant resources and revise gender-related dress codes. It also provides practical guidelines for young people themselves.

The final section - "Tools for Decision Making" - includes questions on how to hold events or promote resources.

On the minus side, Shine says the document reiterates... a conservative interpretation of church teaching!

"Yet, the document does so in a way that is far more limited than other policy documents on this subject."

Catholic education worldwide can now study the guidelines, he says. By being so focused on localised decision-making, the bishops end up offering universal principles and tools for reflection.

New Ways Ministry has locked horns with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the US bishops for its dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

Pope Francis, however, has praised its founder in a handwritten letter.

Source

• New Ways Ministry

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But Tauranga's Bethlehem College says the statement is not intended to tell anyone what they are required to believe but to "transparently explain what we believe".

The school has a Statement of Belief and Statement of Special Character which is signed by parents enrolling students.

The Statement of Belief contains 13 items a student's parent or caregiver must read and tick the box beside "confirming you acknowledge that these statements summarise key beliefs of the Christian Education Trust, and underpin the School's Special Character". Read more