The meeting, facilitated by Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, centred on the personal testimonies of five individuals about their experiences as transgender and intersex Catholics.

One of the participants, Michael Sennett, a transgender man, shared his experience of being rejected by a priest at the age of eight for requesting to wear a suit instead of a dress during his First Communion.

"I cried because I was convinced God hated me" Sennett said. He spoke of his attempted suicide at 17 and how the support of a Catholic nurse helped him see a path forward in his faith and identity.

Another testimony came from Nicole Santamaria, an intersex woman from El Salvador, who highlighted the invisibility of intersex people, even within the LGBTQ+ community.

Santamaria's own experience of intersexuality and her Catholic faith informs her work with marginalised communities. She believes she is called to serve those often overlooked and misunderstood.

Although academic studies are disputed, it is estimated that about 1.7% of babies are born intersex.

More harm than good

Ray Dever, a retired Catholic deacon and father of a transgender woman, spoke about the struggles faced by transgender Catholics.

Dever said he noticed a "stunning lack of compassion within so much of the church for transgender people". This included people being excluded from the life of the church in many dioceses and parishes. They were also denied sacraments and turned away from Catholic schools.

"It pains me to say this but, right now, I think that we as a church are doing more harm than good in our approach to gender theory and transgender individuals" Dever told the Pope.

While Pope Francis has criticised gender theory, calling it an "ugly ideology" that erases differences, he has also condemned the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people.

Earlier this year, the Vatican published Dignitas Infinita ("Infinite Dignity") which denounces discrimination based on sexual orientation and warns against gender theory and sex-change intervention.

Sources

America Magazine

CathNews New Zealand

The meeting sought to understand the challenges transgender people face. It included discussions with transgender individuals, their families, theologians, medical professionals and church ministry workers.

The move came against the backdrop of increasing state-based legislation and Catholic diocesan policies that critics argue negatively affect transgender individuals.

The meeting was organised by New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group.

New Ways Ministry, co-founded in 1977 by Loretto Sr Jeannine Gramick, has been at the forefront of advocacy for LGBTQ Catholics, despite facing historical opposition from the Vatican.

A step toward understanding

The day-and-a-half-long event, closed to both the public and press, sought to equip bishops with insights that would assist in enhancing pastoral care within their dioceses.

According to participants, the initiative reflects the varied reception and treatment of transgender individuals across Catholic dioceses and parishes nationwide.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky highlighted the consensus among attendees about the legitimacy of transgender experiences.

"After hearing from medical experts and from transgender people, we are not talking about something that is fabricated. People have a right to be called as they wish to be called" he said.

Engaging in dialogue

The meeting, attended by some 40 individuals, marks a significant moment of engagement between church leaders and the LGBTQ community.

"We've all encountered pastoral situations related to transgender persons and for the most part felt inadequately prepared to deal with them" Stowe noted, underscoring the bishops' eagerness to attend and learn.

This gathering is the second of its kind following a previous event in January 2023 that focused on LGBTQ issues more broadly.

Moving forward

Participants shared their stories and experiences at the meeting, providing a platform for open and heartfelt dialogue.

Dominican Fr Charles Bouchard, a previous attendee, lauded the meetings as a "safe space" for bishops to discuss and explore these complex issues candidly.

While the meeting did not aim to produce a unified statement or theological plan, it represents a significant step in the church's ongoing efforts to engage more inclusively with LGBTQ individuals.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to revise its ethical directives for Catholic health care institutions, with expectations to align closely with doctrinal stances on gender-affirming treatments.

Source

• NCR

The group had previously been denounced by both the US Bishops' Conference and the Vatican's doctrinal office for causing confusion on sexual morality among the Catholic faithful.

It's unclear what the topic of the meeting was.

The organisation said in an Oct 17 statement that its controversial co-founder, Sister of Loretto Jeannine Gramick, thanked the Holy Father for "his openness to blessing same-sex unions, as well as for his opposition to the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people in civil society."

None of the Holy Father's comments in the meeting were reported in the organisation's statement. CNA asked the organisation what was discussed in the meeting but did not receive a response before publication.

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Bishop Robert Lynch of St Petersburg wrote on his blog in reaction to the killings of at least 49 people and injuring of 53 more by gunman Omar Marteen in an Orlando gay nightclub on Sunday.

"Sadly it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people," Bishop Lynch wrote on Monday.

"Attacks today on LGBT men and women often plant the seed of contempt, then hatred, which can ultimately lead to violence."

"Those women and men who were mowed down early yesterday morning were all made in the image and likeness of God," Bishop Lynch added.

The bishop called for a ban on the sale of all assault weapons.

He also labelled attempts to bar Muslim people from entering the US as "un-American, even in these most challenging of times and situations".

"Singling out people for victimisation because of their religion, their sexual orientation, their nationality must be offensive to God's ears. It has to stop also," he said.

New Ways Ministry, a US Catholic LGBT outreach ministry, criticised Church leaders who omitted references to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in their conciliatory statements after the killings.

"The Orlando murders should move all Catholic leaders to reflect on how their silence about homophobic and transphobic attitudes and violence contributes to behaviours which treat LGBT people as less than human and deserving of punishment," said New Ways Ministry executive director Frank DeBernardo.

"This sad moment in our history should become a time when Catholic leaders speak loudly and clearly, with one voice, that attacks on LGBT people must stop," he said.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Bishop Robert Lynch blog
• Image: Tampa Bay Times

The Associated Press and Reuters reported that New Ways Ministry received VIP treatment and were given tickets to be in the front row of the audience.

The group said this contrasted with previous occasions when they were ignored by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

But according to a report in the Catholic News Agency, a pontifical household source said no requests are rejected for the free tickets for the "reparto speciale" in St Peter's Square.

Seats are available on a "first come, first served basis," and no chairs are specially reserved for any group of pilgrims, the source explained.

Another Vatican source said the group was treated the same as any other group of faithful in St Peter's Square.

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Fifty members of New Ways Ministry, which ministers to homosexual Catholics and promotes gay rights, made a pilgrimage to Rome.

Their requests for VIP seats at the weekly audience were forwarded to Rome by the Vatican's ambassador to Washington and San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

The group was invited to sit in the front row at the audience by Archbishop Georg Ganswein, the prefect of the papal household.

Sr Jeannine Gramick, the co-founder of New Ways Ministry, said their treatment was "a sign of movement that's due to the Francis effect".

"Pope Francis gives me hope," she told The Associated Press.

"To me, this is an example of the kind of willingness he has to welcome those on the fringes of the Church back to the centre of the Church."

The group's executive director, Francis DeBernardo, said New Ways Ministry had tried unsuccessfully under the previous two popes to get VIP seats for its Rome pilgrimages.

On their previous pilgrimages to Rome, they were ignored by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the pilgrims told media.

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he permanently prohibited the New Ways Ministry co-founders, Sister Jeannine Gramick, and the Rev. Robert Nugent, from ministering to gays.

In 1999, the CDF determined that New Ways didn't sufficiently adhere to Church teaching on the "intrinsic evil" of homosexual acts.

Rev. Nugent abided by the directive and died last year.

Sr Gramick has continued her ministry, changing religious orders to the Sisters of Loreto, and was at Wednesday's audience.

But the Vatican's list of attendees only identified the New Ways Ministry pilgrims as a "group of lay people accompanied by a Sister of Loreto".

When a Vatican official read out the list of groups of pilgrims at the audience, he skipped over the group altogether.

Pope Francis didn't mention them, either.

"We didn't get the shout-out, but we were very, very close," Mr DeBernardo said.

As the Pope passed by, the group sang "All Are Welcome," a hymn symbolising their desire for a more inclusive Church.

Sources

• Associated Press
• Reuters
• Image: Reuters