A diocese in Michigan says Roman Catholics living in same-sex relationships or publicly identifying as transgender must repent before being baptized or receiving Communion.
Bishop John Doerfler of the Diocese of Marquette issued the requirement in July in a pastoral document that is now gaining attention in the LGBTQ community.
The document is titled “Created in the Image and Likeness of God: An Instruction on Some Aspects of the Pastoral Care of Persons with Same-Sex Attraction and Gender Dysphoria” and presents guidelines for LGBTQ churchgoers.
It states that a Catholic who is “publicly living in a same-sex sexual relationship” or “publicly identifies as a different gender” or “has attempted ’gender transitioning’” is barred from being “Baptized, Confirmed, or received into full communion in the Church, unless the person has repented.”
Asked for a definition of “repentance,” a diocesan spokesman provided a statement from Bishop Doerfler: “Repentance is a change of mind and heart to turn away from sin and turn toward God. Jesus says at the beginning of his ministry (Mark 1:15) ‘The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel.’”
For those who are transgender, the guidelines state: “Repentance does not require reversing the physical changes to the body that the person has undergone. The experience of incongruence in one’s sexual identity is not sinful if it does not arise from the person’s free will, nor would it stand in the way of Christian Initiation. However, deliberate, freely chosen and manifest behaviors to redefine one’s sex do constitute such an obstacle.”
The same applies to those “in any sexual relationship outside of a marriage between one man and one woman,” the guidelines state.
LGBTQ advocates and supporters in the Catholic church have criticized the pastoral document.
“Not only will LGBTQ people feel further alienated from the church, but their family members, friends, and supporters will also end up leaving for more welcoming communities,” Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry in Mount Rainier, Maryland, said in a statement. “Worse yet, such harsh messaging will certainly cause some LGBTQ people, particularly youth, to develop negative self-images and potentially practice self-harm.”
Mr. DeBernardo said the guidelines “reflect [a] church policy which restricts Jesus’ inclusive message for all and which does not protect the Catholic Church, but gravely harms it.”
He said in an email that he holds “a sincere hope that the diocese withdraws the guidelines.”
That doesn’t seem likely. A spokesman for the Marquette Diocese said Thursday that officials were not available for interviews. He provided a statement noting that the document “focuses on accompaniment with dignity and respect for the person, while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Church” and that Bishop Doerfler “remains inspired by the members’ ‘faith and desire to live chastely.’”
The Washington Times asked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Courage International, a Catholic apostolate to persons with same-sex attraction for comment. Neither organization responded immediately.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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