The Light of the World, by William Holman Hunt
To give some context, Quest is a volunteer led charity which has been around for almost half a century. Our ‘birthday’ is the 6th of November, the anniversary of the first meeting of 9 respondents to an ad placed in ‘Gay News’ back in 1973. The impetus to the advert and the reason that we continue remain the same: we support LGBT+ Catholics to integrate their sexuality and their faith against a backdrop of a sometimes more/sometimes less sympathetic church.
‘Who am I to judge’ is probably the most widely publicised LGBT+ related comment made by Pope Francis. In recent years we have seen great shifts in the way in which the Roman Catholic Church in the UK is responding to the call and challenge of the Gospel to make church buildings welcoming and its ministry truly inclusive? This changing landscape is to be welcomed and celebrated, but we cannot sit back on our laurels quite yet.
So COVID-19, the Church and LGBT+ Catholics.
As People of Faith we have listened to, watched and experienced the restriction of access to the buildings we call church, to the sacraments, acts of shared worship and communities therein. For many of our non-LGBT+ siblings this will be a unique, first time challenge to something that they have always felt was theirs. But if we look back at our shared Catholic history restrictions such as these have been, or continue to be, a significant part of our LGBT+ stories.
The impact of the virus on our lives has been incredible in all sorts of ways: but not all of them bad. As always, LGBT+ People of Faith have had to be creative in our response. So as LGBT+ Catholics we have perhaps had something unique to offer our non-LGBT+ siblings in these challenging times. We have been making opportunities to understand the nature and experience of Church and Christ living amongst us beyond those buildings for a long time - because we have had to.
The convenors and steering groups of Quest’s regional network of groups have shared events and ideas on our national and regional group Facebook pages as well as on our social media channels. And there have been lots of phone calls too. For those with web access we gathered and shared links that would allow members and the public alike to find information, support, streamed Masses and other resources that a number of churches and organisations have shared online. I wonder if we will keep some of those streamed masses into the future. What an incredible gift that would be for the geographically and physically isolated but also for those who might continue to face exclusion on their LGBT+ journey of faith.
The use of Zoom and other audio/video conferencing tools has offered us the opportunity to explore a previously underused method of staying connected and worshiping. We have gathered via live streamed Facebook events. In one of our regional groups we have seen a doubling of numbers meeting for morning prayer and shared breakfast (albeit virtual toast and coffee) at 7:30 on Wednesday mornings.
When we eventually move out of lockdown, I am left hoping that it will change the shape of how we ensure connection with our membership and perhaps the broader Catholic LGBT+ community. In my own region we have been talking about how some of our future face-to-face meetings might offer blended opportunities for folk who cannot physically get to a meeting to join by video link and to participate in planned activity. So maybe an event at someone’s home which has a spiritual focus followed by a social might offer full participation in the spiritual focus to all attendees (actual and virtual) and a virtual social breakout room when those who are in the building are sharing a glass of something in the dining room.
And moving forward there is something about revisiting what it means to be isolated or denied access to each other, to the Church, to the sacraments and to church buildings. I can only hope that our story of separation and exclusion has more resonance for all Roman Catholics and that we will all remember what COVID-19 taught us as we engage in conversations and decision making that will impact on LGBT+ siblings. The question can never be “how do we keep them out?” Perhaps instead we need to reflect on the reasons that our siblings can’t get in or don’t feel welcome, as well as why we see these ‘made in the image of God’ people as a separated ‘them’. That then prompts the questions: “are we part of the cause or part of the solution?” and, “do we play a part in creating the marginalised?”. In answer to both the Spirit of the Gospel is clear about what we need to do.
In finding my own place within, and peace with, the Catholic Church I have been distinguishing for a long time the various roles that fall to priests: that of their calling, of ministry as Priests within the Church (I don’t mean the buildings) and those administrative functions which demand their attention as building stewards. It was with some joy I learned that during the Chrism Mass on March 28th, “Pope Francis called on the world’s priests to bring the healing power of God’s grace to everyone in need, to stay close to the marginalized and to be ‘shepherds living with the smell of the sheep’. Those priests ‘who do not go out of themselves’ by being ‘mediators between God and men’ [I think they mean ‘people’] can ‘gradually become intermediaries, managers’”.[1]
I believe we are all called to some form of ministry and it is here that Quest has excelled since its birth and through this pandemic. We have recognised and continue to recognise the call of the Gospel to be a sacrament to each other: connecting, being there, healing and holding. Quest has been ministering to the marginalised since our beginnings. We are Church and we are living the call of the Gospel.
Gerard Swan is the Chair of Quest, an organisation that provides pastoral support for LGBT+ Catholics
[1] Carol Glatz, Pope Francis: Priests should be ‘shepherds living with the smell of the sheep’ (Online: thecatholictelegraph.com, 2013) https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/pope-francis-priests-should-be-shepherds-living-with-the-smell-of-the-sheep/13439