Thousands Of Nuns Sign Letter That Trans People Are 'Cherished'

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        Thousands Of Catholic Nuns Declare Trans People 'Beloved And Cherished By God' In Open Letter
    
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    Over 6,000 nuns published an open letter for Trans Day of Visibility railing against anti-LGBTQ+ views in the Catholic church.

By Joanna EdwardsApr 06, 2023
Joanna Edwards
Joanna Edwards wears many hats: student, data-wrangler and LGBTQ+ activist. Her main passion is writing, followed shortly by percussion, mediocre watercolor painting and scuba diving. A New Englander currently displaced to the South, she waits patiently for winter and its more reasonable weather.
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In an open letter, more than 6,000 Catholic nuns stated trans and non-binary people are "beloved and cherished by God," joining the fight for trans rights.
On Trans Day of Visibility, the Sisters of Saint Joseph Federation and a number of other Catholic organizations sent an open statement supporting the LGBTQ+ community and denouncing the recent wave of oppressive and discriminatory legislation that has been sweeping the US.
The Sisters wrote:
“We mark March 31, International Day of Transgender Visibility, as a time to celebrate, acknowledge and uplift folks who identify as transgender, nonbinary and/or gender-expansive." "We know our actions and commitments must extend beyond this day’s observance.”

@magpiekilljoy/Twitter
Recognizing Christian organizations are often behind the discriminatory legislation, the letter addressed that.
"The Gospel call of unifying love compels us to actively interrupt harmful interactions in daily life and dismantle the systems that reinforce this rhetoric and violence in society...""We will remain oppressors until we—as vowed Catholic religious—acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations.”Changes in the Catholic Church's acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community are happening. 
Pope Francis commented recently the Roman Catholic Church still views homosexuality as a sin in the context any sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin, but not that homosexual sex is a different category.
Going further and in defiance of church authority, priests in Belgium recently began blessing same-sex unions, not in the same way as a marriage sacrament, but a blessing nevertheless.
People's reactions to the nuns declaration were mostly positive.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy This guy was at the TDoV rally at the Minnesota capitol yesterday.\n\nhttps://t.co/NKHR0JsFnx\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Some people shared personal stories of the good nuns can do.

\u201cmy aunt was married to jesus, in the sisters of presentation, and was trans accepting, so ive never doubted that catholicism is capable of accepting trans people.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392

\u201c@magpiekilljoy I was a part of a Catholic volunteer program a few years back. Since accepting myself, the lady who runs the program, the new volunteers, and one of the Sisters have been accepting and sweet - even let me live in the house for a few weeks when I needed it.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392

\u201c@magpiekilljoy In Catholic elementary school the 80s the nun who taught 3rd & 4th grade religion class said that god being referred to as He/Him is only a reference to terms like mankind. If Sister Maurice were still around she'd probably use a capitalized They\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Others commented on this statement in contrast with the larger official Catholic Church.

\u201ci hold that there is a distinction between catholics and the catholic hierarchy, between folk catholicism and the Church with a capital C. \n\nnuns have faith without holding official power within the patriarchal institution.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Some went so far as to suggest different leadership for the Catholic Church.

\u201c@OutrchCatholic @JamesMartinSJ Honestly think one of the best things the Catholic Church could do is let the nuns take over\u201d
 — Outreach (@Outreach)
        1680351945
After all, some said, they often are better at it.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy Nuns are often way better at articulating the Gospel than priests and bishops in my experience.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Others talked about other movements in Catholicism that are different from the main Catholic doctrine.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy In college I took a class that looked at a lot of Liberation Theology and folk theology in Latin America and I've gotta say, it totally made me look at the belief differently. Definitely some cool people who did cool stuff.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
One person noted the complexity of religion.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy Every church is more than it's hierarchy. Thank God.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Another said experiences with individual nuns don't change other people's bad experiences with the Catholic church as an institution.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy As much as I despise religious institutions, and dislike religious fundamentalists, I typically make exceptions for nuns.\nThey are mostly loving, supportive, wildly feminist women.\nBut my good experiences with nuns don't change your bad experiences with the Catholic institution.\u201d
 — Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4)
        1680357392
Maybe this is a new direction for the Catholic Church.
It certainly can be a comfort for many Catholics who are or love someone who is transgender.

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In an open letter, more than 6,000 Catholic nuns stated trans and non-binary people are "beloved and cherished by God," joining the fight for trans rights.

On Trans Day of Visibility, the Sisters of Saint Joseph Federation and a number of other Catholic organizations sent an open statement supporting the LGBTQ+ community and denouncing the recent wave of oppressive and discriminatory legislation that has been sweeping the US.

The Sisters wrote:

“We mark March 31, International Day of Transgender Visibility, as a time to celebrate, acknowledge and uplift folks who identify as transgender, nonbinary and/or gender-expansive."

"We know our actions and commitments must extend beyond this day’s observance.”

@magpiekilljoy/Twitter

Recognizing Christian organizations are often behind the discriminatory legislation, the letter addressed that.

"The Gospel call of unifying love compels us to actively interrupt harmful interactions in daily life and dismantle the systems that reinforce this rhetoric and violence in society..."

"We will remain oppressors until we—as vowed Catholic religious—acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations.”

Changes in the Catholic Church's acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community are happening.

Pope Francis commented recently the Roman Catholic Church still views homosexuality as a sin in the context any sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin, but not that homosexual sex is a different category.

Going further and in defiance of church authority, priests in Belgium recently began blessing same-sex unions, not in the same way as a marriage sacrament, but a blessing nevertheless.

People's reactions to the nuns declaration were mostly positive.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy This guy was at the TDoV rally at the Minnesota capitol yesterday.\n\nhttps://t.co/NKHR0JsFnx\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Some people shared personal stories of the good nuns can do.

\u201cmy aunt was married to jesus, in the sisters of presentation, and was trans accepting, so ive never doubted that catholicism is capable of accepting trans people.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

\u201c@magpiekilljoy I was a part of a Catholic volunteer program a few years back. Since accepting myself, the lady who runs the program, the new volunteers, and one of the Sisters have been accepting and sweet - even let me live in the house for a few weeks when I needed it.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

\u201c@magpiekilljoy In Catholic elementary school the 80s the nun who taught 3rd & 4th grade religion class said that god being referred to as He/Him is only a reference to terms like mankind. If Sister Maurice were still around she'd probably use a capitalized They\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Others commented on this statement in contrast with the larger official Catholic Church.

\u201ci hold that there is a distinction between catholics and the catholic hierarchy, between folk catholicism and the Church with a capital C. \n\nnuns have faith without holding official power within the patriarchal institution.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Some went so far as to suggest different leadership for the Catholic Church.

\u201c@OutrchCatholic @JamesMartinSJ Honestly think one of the best things the Catholic Church could do is let the nuns take over\u201d
— Outreach (@Outreach) 1680351945

After all, some said, they often are better at it.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy Nuns are often way better at articulating the Gospel than priests and bishops in my experience.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Others talked about other movements in Catholicism that are different from the main Catholic doctrine.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy In college I took a class that looked at a lot of Liberation Theology and folk theology in Latin America and I've gotta say, it totally made me look at the belief differently. Definitely some cool people who did cool stuff.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

One person noted the complexity of religion.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy Every church is more than it's hierarchy. Thank God.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Another said experiences with individual nuns don't change other people's bad experiences with the Catholic church as an institution.

\u201c@magpiekilljoy As much as I despise religious institutions, and dislike religious fundamentalists, I typically make exceptions for nuns.\nThey are mostly loving, supportive, wildly feminist women.\nBut my good experiences with nuns don't change your bad experiences with the Catholic institution.\u201d
— Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4 (@Margaret Killjoy \ud83c\udff4) 1680357392

Maybe this is a new direction for the Catholic Church.

It certainly can be a comfort for many Catholics who are or love someone who is transgender.

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Thousands Of Catholic Nuns Declare Trans People 'Beloved And Cherished By God' In Open Letter

Over 6,000 nuns published an open letter for Trans Day of Visibility railing against anti-LGBTQ+ views in the Catholic church.

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