Bishop John Stowe: A Courageous Friend to LGBTQ Catholics
The Bishop of Lexington, Kentucky is an outlier among US Catholic bishops
Update: “The Board and Staff of New Ways Ministry are pleased to announce that the organization’s highest honor, the Bridge Building Award, will be given to Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., for his courageous efforts to promote equality for LGBTQ+ people. He embodies the welcoming style of Pope Francis and has inspired countless Catholics to work for LGBTQ+ people’s dignity.”
The struggle of LGBTQ Catholics to find a place of welcome in their church is often painful, demoralizing, and humiliating. There are numerous stories of clerical bias against the community. For example, several members of the leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) are openly anti-LHBTQ.
Not a few teachers in Catholic schools and parish music directors have been fired because they were discovered to be in same-sex relationships. And LGBTQ Catholics have been refused Holy Communion, even at the funerals of family members.
There are, however, more than a handful of powerful and courageous allies in the struggle. Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky is one of these allies.
In an address to the Outreach Conference in 2022, Bishop Stowe, a Franciscan friar, said the following, after telling those gathered, and by extension the entire LGBTQ Catholic community, “I love you.”
I’ve been privileged to hear the stories and be part of the struggles of many LGBTQ persons during my years as a friar, priest, and bishop. I’ve heard about so much pain, rejection, self-doubt, self-hate, attempted suicide, anger, hurt, and deep sorrow from people who know that they did not choose their identity but are certain that it is an essential part of who they are. That identity is both gay and Catholic.
And it is true that many in the course of their journey have attempted to change one or the other or both. But when accompanied by loving, supportive, and faithful people, I’m glad that many have come to see that they cannot and should not.
To those of you who have experienced any part of that struggle, and to those of you who have accompanied others or even prevented them from reaching depression and despair, you have my profound admiration. Your faith, and your faithfulness, come at a price that’s not always required of others.
The diocese of Lexington, led by Bishop Stowe since his 2015 appointment by Pope Francis, is also LGBTQ-friendly. One of the goals of the diocesan pastoral plan is “Forming inclusive and welcoming parish communities.” And a strategy within this goal is for the “Diocese to work with Saint Paul’s parish to develop an exportable workshop on welcoming LGBTQ+ parishioners.”
There is a link on the homepage of Historic Saint Paul Catholic Church to its “LGBTQ+ Ministry & same sex couple blessings.” The page itself offers a number of topics for readers’ consideration, including “LGBTQ+ Ministries & Fortunate Families,” “Questions? Contact Our LGBTQ+ Ministry Director,” “Same Sex Couples Seeking a Blessing,” “News and Updates,” “Events,” as well as a link to the “LGBTQ+ Monthly Social Calendar” for the entire year. There is even a prayer to Our Mother of Pride!
The page also contains a statement from the ministry:
The Church is called to recognize in each person their God-given dignity. We provide a sacred and safe space for LGBTQ+ Catholics to share their life and faith. By sharing their unique gifts in community with us they are treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity, their dignity is defended, preserved and celebrated. LGBTQ+ Catholics — their families and friends, too — are brought back HOME to take their rightful place in the Church, accepted and loved for exactly who they are, just as God made them.
This page — and this ministry — would not exist without the approval and support of the diocese and its bishop.
Bishop Stowe appears to be somewhat of a renegade among the mainly conservative body of US Catholic bishops. In a June 1, 2024 article, The Catholic World Report commented:
The behavior of Bishop John Stowe of Lexington — behavior so gratingly at odds with the good work of his brother bishops — can only serve to embarrass the USCCB and will continue to hamper their pastoral witness if left unaddressed by the Holy See.
The article goes on to say:
Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, goes his own way. He regularly steps into the most delicate and highly-charged cultural and political issues with none of the painstaking care his brother bishops show. He seems determined, in fact, to follow his own blundering impulses, and to kick against the other bishops’ pastoral approach whenever it might rein him in.
It seems this disapprobation stems mainly from Bishop Stowe’s acceptance of the profession of a diocesan hermit, Brother Christian Matson, who came out as transgender on Pentecost Sunday. The hermit’s profession had been repeatedly rejected by “other bishops in a ten-year search that ultimately found support from Stowe.”
Bishop Stowe is one of a handful of US bishops who openly support the LGBTQ+ Catholic community; these include Cardinals Wilton Gregory of Washington DC, Blasé Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of San Diego, and Joseph Tobin of Newark.
Let us hope that as more bishops appointed by Pope Francis come into prominence in the leadership structure of the USCCB, the American Church will move into the twenty-first century and become more welcoming to its LGBTQ+ congregation. In the meantime, I am sure members of the community are grateful for the courageous support of bishops like John Stowe.
To locate an LGBTQ+ friendly parish in the United States, click here.
