Cultural Commentary: This piece forms part of the recurring ‘Cultural Commentary’ series, which highlights the perspectives of Notre Dame students on salient issues. To inquire about writing a Cultural Commentary piece, please email ndirishrover@gmail.com.
Scrolling through Campus Ministry’s weekly email, I am never surprised to see advertisements for Bible studies, small groups, and prayer services. What catches my eye is the brightly colored rainbow graphic at times included in the email—an advertisement for an LGBTQ retreat, small group, or Mass.
I suspect that I’m not the only one who feels uneasy at the sight of these advertisements. When it comes to its faithfulness in controversial areas of Catholic moral teaching, many Catholics on this campus are suspicious of the university, and, by extension, Campus Ministry. And this skepticism is not unfounded, given that our university has publicly celebrated pride month and even hosted a drag show on campus. Events like these glorify disordered behaviors, and it is essential that we fight back against the tide of secularization and anti-Catholic agenda that they herald.
Sometimes, however, our legitimate distrust of Notre Dame’s approach to LGBTQ issues causes us to immediately react with hostility to anything that hints of rainbow, without investigating for ourselves and offering a fair judgment. Instead of condemning Campus Ministry for what seems to encourage LGBTQ behavior, we owe it to our university and fellow students to consider what they are actually doing. What does Campus Ministry’s pastoral approach to the LGBTQ community aim to do? How does it succeed, or fall short, of its goal?
To better understand how Campus Ministry tries to serve those who struggle with gender and sexuality issues, I spoke with Kaleb Reil and Joshua Velasquez, two Notre Dame students involved with Campus Ministry’s LGBTQ outreach. Reil helped organize the LGBTQ retreat earlier this semester. Velasquez, a senior, has been involved with the ministry in various capacities throughout his time at Notre Dame.
What did I learn? We don’t go too far when it comes to LGBTQ ministry. We actually don’t go far enough.
Velasquez described his personal experience, saying that “a lot of the positives of Campus Ministry’s approach aren’t programmatic.” He emphasized that the first and most important step of ministering to those with LGBTQ experiences is to receive them as individuals with God-given dignity, something that Campus Ministry does very well. In addition, he said that staff members also recommend resources such as Eden Invitation to those who are interested in pursuing community and discipleship within the Church.
When it comes to official programming, Campus Ministry offers an “LGBTQ and Allies Mass” in Dillon Hall and an annual LGBTQ retreat—two events I was highly skeptical of.
Both Reil and Velasquez stressed that the liturgies are just what they claim to be: a celebration of the Holy Mass, specifically welcoming those with shared LGBTQ experiences, providing them a place to strive after holiness and virtue in a community that understands their unique struggles and brings them to prayer.
Similarly, Reil remarked that the LGBTQ retreat is actually a beautiful opportunity for those with shared struggles to pray together, bringing their specific intentions to God in community. These opportunities are not veiled attempts to subvert Church teaching, but resources for students to seek God.
Campus Ministry’s approach to LGBTQ issues is fundamentally different from the university’s celebration of pride month or the events hosted by the Gender Studies Department. If anything, offering Masses and retreats to pray for strength to live in chastity and knowledge of God’s love is antithetical to the pride movement. Moreover, the Church is clear that pastoral care is necessary for those with homosexual attractions or gender dysphoria.
Part of the problem is linguistic. What should we call such a Mass? The same-sex attracted Mass? Mass of people praying for chastity? Each option is either ridiculously long, haphazard, or links the programming to a sinful movement that seeks to replace the person with their sexual identity, wrongfully labeling people and rightfully eliciting suspicion.
Even as someone opposed to the pride movement, I find myself unable to escape its language— LGBTQ, community, allies—a frustrating testament to the difficulty of addressing issues whose terminology is dominated by secular ideology. While it is understandable to be frustrated with Campus Ministry’s seemingly ambiguous marketing, we must remember that, given the limitations of language, there is often no way to label their events that would adequately express the good they are actually seeking to do.
Much of my skepticism towards many LGBTQ events was too strong. And yet, there is a problem with Campus Ministry’s pastoral approach to those with LGBTQ experiences.
After my conversations with Reil and Velasquez, I realized that the real issue is that Notre Dame’s LGBTQ students need a ministry that walks with them in their lives on campus. While Campus Ministry does the necessary and important work of affirming individuals in their human dignity, its overall approach fails to go further and offer them practical accompaniment or advice for how they can live out their call to chastity in the context of Catholic vocation. Annual retreats and infrequent Masses are good and worthwhile, but individuals struggling with their sexual identity should receive guidance and prayerful partnership as often as other student groups.
According to Reil, Campus Ministry’s approach often ignores the messy questions which come with the practical application of Church teaching. What does it look like to live a fruitful life of self-gift when all of the typical options for vocation are seemingly off the table? How do you deal with conflicting desires that do not just go away, even when you realize that you are made in the image and likeness of God? These are the questions that those trying to live in accord with Church teaching are asking. And they’re not receiving answers—not from Notre Dame, at least.
Notre Dame owes it to her students to accompany them through these genuinely difficult questions. Failing to address these struggles and this process of discernment is doing a disservice to those striving for an authentic life of discipleship. Although LGBTQ issues are complex and often emotionally charged, they are necessary for an authentically Catholic approach to sexuality and gender. If the only things we offer to students who struggle are an occasional pat on the head or a retreat focused on affirmation, we set them up for frustration and isolation.
But if Campus Ministry is going to develop a vibrant ministry in this area, it needs our help. We should encourage our university to strive for an authentic, Christ-centered ministry that walks with those who struggle with same-sex attraction in the unique challenges of their life of discipleship. In this way, we can work towards a Catholic alternative to the pride movement. We can do this while acknowledging that there are homilies, lectures, and events at Notre Dame that promote—and even pressure—acceptance of sin as someone’s identity. But the failure of some to teach the truth does not mean we should cease preaching it to all.
Moreover, we cannot mindlessly sound the alarm against perceived problems without first taking the time to learn what is actually going on. If we want to be taken seriously when condemning Notre Dame’s real failures, we must be willing to acknowledge when she does follow her precepts. In our climate of controversy, it’s essential that we don’t simply act as reactionaries who enjoy a fight for its own sake, clinging so much to the battle that we forget that there are faces on the “other side,” and failing to give complex issues the nuance they deserve.
It is not only possible, but it is our responsibility, to defend the teachings of the Catholic Church wholeheartedly. But loving proclamation of the truth is not in opposition to a compassionate reception of the individual. We are called to speak the truth precisely because we love our neighbor with all the fierceness of charity Christ invites us to. This love requires that we ask questions and seek truthful answers instead of making hasty judgments. Above all, it invites us to defend the dignity of every individual with compassion as we embrace the fullness of the Church’s teachings.
Abby Strelow is a sophomore majoring in theology and the Program of Liberal Studies. She can be reached at astrelow@nd.edu.