Quote of the Day

It is definitely disturbing that bishops are echoing the pope’s negative language [of “gender theory” and “ideological colonization” when discussing the issues of gender and marriage equality]. More disturbing, though, is the fact that the pope’s and these bishops’ words reveal an immense lack of information on gender and transgender people. For instance, [a recent] Crux article quotes Pope Francis as saying “gender theory is an error of the human mind that leads to so much confusion,” and that this view of gender is one reason why “the family is under attack.”

If the pope and bishops would listen to LGBT people’s experience, they could understand that what they claim is “theory” and “ideology” is actually a very human and holy phenomenon. They would also realize that LGBT advocates are not attacking anything, but just trying to help people live whole and full lives. Far from attacking the family, the experience of families with LGBT members shows that acceptance of these realities can promote family harmony, unity, and strength. LGBT people are not enemies of the church, but faithful members who can help it grow. Since LGBT people’s experiences are lived realities, it seems that the only people promoting “theory” and “ideology” in these discussions are the those who insist that gender binaries are set in stone.

– Francis DeBernardo
Excerpted from "Pope Francis’ Negative Rhetoric
Begins to Be Echoed Around the Globe"
Bondings 2.0
September 21, 2016

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Quote of the Day – August 25, 2015
• Quote of the Day – June 12, 2015
• Lisa Leff on Five Things to Know About Transgender People
• Putting a Human Face on the 'T' of 'GLBT'
• Shannon Kearns' Transgender Day of Remembrance Message: "We Are Beloved Children of the Universe"
• Living Lives of Principle
• We Three . . . Queens
• Signs and Wonders Continue
• Standing with Jennicet Gutiérrez, the "Mother of Our Newest Stonewall Movement"
• North America: Perhaps Once the "Queerest Continent on the Planet"

Related Off-site Links:
Pope’s Lament About Children and Gender Identity Reveals Serious Blind Spot – Francis DeBernardo (Bondings 2.0, August 3, 2016).
What is Gender? OR Why the Term is Both Meaningless and Indispensable – Anna Magdalena (The Catholic Transgender, August 16, 2015).
Transgender and Catholic – Nick Stevens (The New York Times via The Progressive Catholic Voice, May 24, 2015).
Beyond Male and Female: Gender Trouble, Biology Trouble – Terry Weldon (Queering the Church, September 25, 2011).
Sub Secretum – Jacqueline White (The Progressive Catholic Voice, January 19, 2009).
Who Decides What Makes a Woman? – Brynn Tannehill (The Huffington Post, June 11, 2015).
Clinging to a Dangerous Past: Dr Paul McHugh’s Selective Reading of Transgender Medical Literature – Mari Brighe (The TransAdvocate, June 15, 2014).

Image: Kristen Solberg