I’d like to take some time and discuss my thoughts on Pope Francis’s recent remarks regarding the Church in the United States. Back in August, Pope Francis, while addressing fellow Jesuits, criticized the U.S. church as being ‘reactionary’ and, to paraphrase, accused some of the hierarchy of replacing faith with ideology. He further lamented that the ‘backwards’ mentality and resistance to change among U.S. Catholics prevents the faithful from fully embracing the mission of the church.

I tend to agree with most of the Holy Father’s words, particularly labeling us as ‘reactionary.’ We need not look further than our own state, where the Cleveland Diocese recently enacted a new policy for their parishes and schools which is aimed at those of the LGBTQ community. The policy, titled “Parish and School Policy on Issues of Sexuality and Gender Identity” (you can read it here), essentially limits public display and expression of homosexuality and transgenderism. The document also prohibits an individual from engaging in gender transitioning, either medically or by expression alone. On the surface, this aligns with church doctrine on homosexuality and the defiling of one’s body. However, I believe this to be the epitome of Pope Francis claim of us being ‘reactionary.’ By enacting such a policy, the diocese is simply reacting to sin, giving power to the sin and in fact weakening the sinner. By weakening, I believe that such policies do not provide the sinner with the love and support they need to overcome their struggles. Missing in this statement is an encouragement to seek guidance in the Lord or feel confident that the church supports them in their struggles of identity. The individual will be less likely to seek help through prayer and faith, and instead see their faith as a source of persecution.

The fact is the relationship between faith and sexuality is a very complicated issue. The ongoing Synod on Synodality is seeking to address this issue head on and provide more clarity for the faithful. As it stands, those who live an alternate lifestyle are sinners, but we are all sinners. We must remember that homosexuality itself is not a sin. The act of sex outside marriage and without the intent to procreate is. Suffering from gender dysphoria is also not a sin, but a legitimate mental disorder (definition according to the National Library of Medicine) . Someone suffering from depression, schizophrenia or any other mental illness would not be labeled a sinner, so we must not label those suffering from gender dysphoria as sinners either. The sin falls on those who encourage to embrace the illness and succumb to it.

Many of the faithful have engaged in sins of sexuality, whether it be sex outside marriage, adultery or any other of the category. Because of the sacrifice of death by our Lord, we are all granted the ability to seek forgiveness. Yet, we seem to single out those of the gay and trans community as some sort of epidemic rather than embrace them as we would others in the Christian community. Rejection is not the way of Christ, and those of us claiming to be his followers must recognize that we are not the final judgment of others, but rather we are here to support each other in our earthly lives to live the most Christian life possible.

Many in the Catholic faith are in fact intermixing political ideology with church doctrine just as Pope Francis stated, including the clergy. Too often the homilies at Sunday Mass have been focused on political narratives rather than interpretation of scripture. The Church should act as a spiritual guide in civilian life, but there is a line crossed that enters judgement. Something important to recognize, is that while the clergy have sacrificed traditional lives to dedicate themselves to Christ, they are in fact man, and susceptible to error. They, as much as the laity, can find themselves entangled in ideology vs faith. It is imperative that we as laity as well as men of the cloth resist the urge to judge others and recognize ourselves as sinners seeking the forgiveness of God. This is in fact the work of the devil, seeking to turn us against our fellow man rather than embrace our brothers and sisters in Christ with love and respect.

The church’s mission has always been to provide the love and support for those seeking to come closer to God. But the words of policies and statements such as that enacted in Cleveland does not present a welcoming church, but a selective church. One can argue we have put sins in tiers based on the political narrative of the day. We must resist both the ‘woke’ and damning political landscape and focus our efforts solely on our love of God and love of our neighbors.