Pope Francis met today with a diverse group of transgender, intersex, and ally Catholics, including a medical doctor who provides gender transition care. The group urged Pope Francis to move past the Church’s negative approach to gender-diverse people, and to encourage Church leaders to listen more attentively to the lives and faith of LGBTQ+ people.
The nearly 90-minute meeting was arranged by Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL, a U.S. nun who has ministered with LGBTQ+ people and their families for more than 50 years. The visit was sponsored by New Ways Ministry, a national Catholic outreach to the LGBTQ+ community, which Sister Gramick co-founded in 1977 with the late Fr. Robert Nugent, SDS.
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Five of the group of 11 Catholics who met with the pope shared their testimonies with him, including:
- Nicole Santamaria, an intersex woman from El Salvador who immigrated to the United States because of death threats.
- Michael Sennett, a transgender man and a theology graduate student, who has been involved with church ministry for many years.
- Deacon Raymond and Laurie Dever, pastoral ministers who are the parents of a transgender daughter, whose difficult transition led to a suicide attempt.
- Dr. Cynthia Herrick, a medical doctor specializing in endocrinology and a co-director of a gender medicine clinic.
Continue reading at New Ways Ministries