Does Worcester want (or need) a transphobic and queerphobic bishop?
I wrote this op-ed back when Worcester Diocese Bishop McManus published his letter on May 4, 2022 about his transphobic position regarding the Nativity School of Worcester flying the Pride and BLM flags outside the school. I sent it to our local newspaper, the Telegram & Gazette, and it was ignored. If this was a “one-time thing,” I might not be as irritated. However, as an LGBTQ+ advocate in Worcester for many years, I am used to the T&G ignoring press releases relating to queer content — primarily when it advocates for our rights and representation. Their lack of coverage and relative silence on these issues speaks volumes. This recent Boston Globe article, “Nativity School of Worcester now prohibited from calling itself a Catholic school,” has re-inflamed an already infuriating situation, so I’m publishing this op-ed here. I hope you’ll read it and consider sharing. Our stories need to be told. We don’t have room for hate in our communities, and the Bishop’s actions are hateful and cause harm to people, especially our youth.
Recently, Worcester Bishop Robert McManus has been vocalizing his disapproval of Nativity School of Worcester’s choice for flying LGBTQIA+ Pride and Black Lives Matter flags — most recently in a letter published on the Worcester Diocese website*. He takes a few bold positions in this letter that he tries to obscure with sentiments like “we must love everyone regardless of gender, race, creed, etc.” and “We are all God’s Children.” His positions include being against gay marriage, “transgenderism,” and people actively living an “LGBTQ+ lifestyle.” In his defense of removing the BLM flag, he claims that the church “is 100% behind the phrase ‘black lives matter,” but continues to explain that he can’t condone the BLM flag flying at the school because of the movement’s principles that include “queer-affirming” and “trans-affirming,” furthering the homophobic and transphobic motivation behind his position.
I grew up in a conservative Christian family and insular social groups (The kind of sheltered where I had three kids in my third-grade class that was in the basement of a church). As an out, queer, nonbinary 30-something now, I can tell you that I’m still unpacking the traumas of growing up in environments that told me that I was living in sin for embracing something as true to me as the existence of gravity (though that truth was clouded in indoctrination and fearmongering since as early as I can remember). I also grew up in Central Massachusetts, so if you’re thinking, “we have it so good here in Mass,” we certainly don’t have it good enough.
The Bishop’s rhetoric is harmful. He mentions the word science in his letter, so let’s consider this further. Aside from arguments of biology surrounding sex and the presence of homosexuality in other species, etc., if we know that specific actions we take as a community can decrease the number of deaths in our community, is it not our responsibility to do so?
LGBTQIA+ youth have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and attempted suicide than their cis and heterosexual peers. And I need to name that this is not due to some “inner conflict with sin because they’re living a ‘lifestyle” argument that’s often made and is everything to do with growing up in environments where people like McManus tell you that something is wrong with you and that not making any sense because at your core you know he’s wrong.
A Trevor Project study found that just one accepting adult in the life of an LGBTQIA+ young person can reduce the risk of a suicide attempt by 40 percent.
McManus is right about one thing; symbols do matter. These flags are both a symbol of solidarity for the oppression people have and continue to endure and a visible display that there are spaces that support and affirm who we are.
Love Your Labels, an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit I co-founded in Worcester, has youth coming from a 40-mile radius outside of the city to access our programs that are affirming and supportive of who they are. If people claim to “love all God’s children,” they must understand that homophobia and transphobia are killing them.
Love is an action. Love supports the nature of others’ humanness — their right to love who they love and embrace the parts of themselves that bring joy, healing, and fulfillment. Love is not a bumper sticker that says “We are all God’s Children” when actions and positions are really communicating, “Sure, God loves all people, but we’re using His name to deny rights, safety, and affirming spaces to people that is leading to preventable deaths.”
What we need at this moment is for Catholics that support and affirm our LGBTQIA+ community to stand up against the Bishop’s bigotry and demand that this institution changes its position on LGBTQ+ issues. I’ve heard the “not all Catholics” argument. I challenge those folks to consider that this might be true on an individual level — maybe even a community level in some places — but if the institution that has power, platform, and lobbying dollars does not shift its position, I urge you to consider whether or not this institution is truly in line with your values.
To the Nativity School: Thank you for doing what you’re doing. Symbols are important, and those flags mean more than you may know to the LGBTQIA+ kids that walk into school every day and to our broader community. You have our support.
*Link to Bishop Robert J. McManus Letter Regarding Nativity School Flags posted May 5, 2022
