Here All Along, Here to Stay: LGBTQ Catholics in the United States is a new exhibit at BC Libraries that opened this past May. It can be viewed in the first floor exhibit space of O’Neill Library, the Theology and Ministry Library on the Brighton Campus, the Educational Resource Center in Campion Hall, and the Social Work Library in McGuinn Hall. The full exhibit is also available online.
The Church’s relationship with members who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria has produced strong controversy, especially in light of a response issued March 15, 2021 by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith denying the blessing of same-sex unions. On June 10, 2019, the Congregation for Catholic Education released its official statement affirming God’s gift of identity as male or female from conception in Male and Female He Created Them. Both these responses and the Catechism of the Catholic Church represent the official teaching of the Church on these matters. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church holds itself to welcome all into the mission of salvation, as reflected by the Catechism’s statement that those who experience same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided” (CCC 2358).
“[E]xploring issues surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has been a key strategic emphasis within the BCL [Boston College Libraries] for several years now,” explained the Theology and Ministry Library’s head librarian Steve Dalton. The exhibit’s planning team, said Dalton, consisted of “ten BCL staff members, an associate dean and two students from the STM, and a member of the parish staff at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church.” Dalton’s words, featured in a Sept. 21, 2021 article of the BCL newsletter, also provide an explanation of the idea behind the exhibit.
“While viewing blackatbostoncollege [a BCL exhibit last year inspired by an Instagram account of the same name] at the Theology and Ministry Library (TML), James Reding, an openly gay student of BC’s School of Theology and Ministry (STM), envisioned a similarly toned exhibit, but one dealing with the experiences of LGBTQ people within the Catholic Church,” said Dalton.
O’Neill Library’s version of the exhibit begins with a space to encounter others through the written testimonies of current students and alumni of the School of Theology and Ministry, who expressed their experiences of faith as LGBTQ Catholics. Next is a timeline of pivotal moments in the journey of LGBTQ Catholics in the United States during the past century, followed by a list of important figures.
The exhibit concludes with the naming of various support resources for LGBTQ Catholics, the mention of some parishes (including St. Ignatius of Loyola on the corner of BC’s campus) that have forged LGBTQ outreach ministries, and a reference to the exhibit’s foundation in the Ignatian spirituality of the Jesuit tradition.
Key Jesuit values cited as inspiration for LGBTQ ministry include “care for the entire person (cura personalis), the tireless pursuit of justice, recognition of each person’s inherent dignity as a child of God, concern for the marginalized, finding God in all things, being people for others, and doing all things for the greater glory of God.”
Dalton’s article also includes an interview with Reding, in which Reding described his hope that the exhibit “conveys inspiration, encouragement, and urgency to an audience of active members and leaders of the Catholic Church.” Reding continued, “Within the Church, there are still numerous people who would deny or belittle my place in it as an LGBTQ Catholic.”
The interview concluded with Reding’s vision for the exhibit’s long-term impact at BC and in the Catholic Church.
“I hope the exhibit sparks new conversations. The time has come – in fact, more than come – for conversations that take LGBTQ Catholics seriously, at our word. It must begin with our witness and our stories.”
Staff photo by Olivia Colombo
Thomas is a student in BC’s Carroll School of Management, who fittingly serves as the current Business Manager of The Torch in addition to his position as Campus News Editor. Thomas can be found around campus singing at Masses with the Liturgy Arts Group, tabling for the BC Pro-Life Club, deep in conversation while enjoying BC Dining cuisine, or gazing in awe at Gasson Hall and its Collegiate Gothic style architectural neighbors.
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