Catholicism

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by genghisfawn

Hi folks,

Are there any other Catholics out there? Of course there are issues of patriarchy and heterosexism in the Church itself, but what parts, if any, of Catholicism have you kept in your life and daily faith?

Belonging to a parish is hard for me as I'm queer and out. There are two parishes in town where I'd gladly belong if I could just take the plunge...

Another issue is taking the Eucharist. It's part of my tradition that I find very important, but there are no options besides taking the Blood of Christ for celiacs at present. If I belonged to a parish, there may be something I could do to work things out, but belonging to a parish also means being an out queer, and that's another story!

So here I am, trying to take the lessons of social justice, God's love and a devotion to Our Mother with me as I limp through faith... what's your story?

<3

I am a Roman Catholic. I don't subscribe to all of the church's teachings, past or present, but my faith is strongly Roman Catholic in belief, instinct and practice.

My Catholicism conveys itself in an unequivocal belief in original sin and a need for atonement; I am somewhat drawn towards Opus Dei. I also believe unreservedly in the existence of Satan and other demonic forces and my Catholicism is important to me in providing comfort against this unseen evil. I acknowledge that much of my belief system would be viewed as out-dated to many contemporary Catholics.

I do not take eucharist although I attend mass on a reasonably frequent basis. Sometimes I choose to attend the Soho Masses - http://www.sohomasses.com/ . These are masses aimed at LGBT people, their families and friends that are held in London twice-monthy. Unsurprisingly, these masses are not without controversy within the church but attending these is positive, reaffirming and uplifting for me.

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Ciaran

I do not take eucharist although I attend mass on a reasonably frequent basis. Sometimes I choose to attend the Soho Masses - http://www.sohomasses.com/ . These are masses aimed at LGBT people, their families and friends that are held in London twice-monthy. Unsurprisingly, these masses are not without controversy within the church but attending these is positive, reaffirming and uplifting for me.

This has been a difficult week to be Catholic, especially here in London. This evening was our last ever Soho Mass, something that's generated significant press attention both in the UK and continental Europe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21490633


Some of the press coverage has been inaccurate and, in any event, our LGBT Catholic community has found another Roman Catholic church in which to worship but there's been hurt and heartache in how this has come about.


With that said, this evening's final service was tremendously powerful and reaffirming for me and, I think, for many others too. We had seven priests (yes, SEVEN) to celebrate the mass tonight as a sign of support and to demonstrate that we are very much a part of the Catholic community.


The Church was packed. It was standing room only with LGBT Catholics, friends, families and allies. Ironically, despite these obstacles, my Roman Catholic faith is stronger today than it has ever been before.


This evening's service concluded with the following song. I'd never heard it before but it is truly beautiful: