On Monday it was announced that Roman Catholic practice can now be changed to be more accommodating of homosexual unions and other nontraditional couplings. There is still some confusion about to what degree this is implicitly or explicitly declaring sexual behavior to be no longer problematic in one’s relationship with the Lord or his church. While many Roman Catholics tout the faithfulness of their ‘one true church,’ Protestants like me are getting the impression that their house in struggling similarly to ours.

This segment covers some of the particulars of the new language and ties the undergirding theology around sexual behavior and gender to phenomena we also see in many other denominations. In particular, we will look at the Episcopal Church and its postmortem sanctification of gay martyr Matthew Shepard, coupled with the drag show phenomenon. For those who are incredulous at the continued development of these insults, I hope it helpful to think through these things and to connect some of these dots.

Links:

NPR Article “Pope Francis approves Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, but not for marriage” by Becky Sullivan - https://www.npr.org/2023/12/18/1220077102/pope-francis-blessings-same-sex-couples

Fiducia Supplicans (the Roman Catholic document in question) - https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en

Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Barron’s Statement on the document -

https://twitter.com/BishopBarron/status/1737574875395391530

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IRD Article on Drag Worship Service for Matthew Shepard “Drag ‘Sister’ Indulges Episcopal Washington National Cathedral” by Jeffrey Walton - https://juicyecumenism.com/2023/12/12/perpetual-indulgence/

YouTube Video of the Actual Service at the National Cathedral - https://www.youtube.com/live/J0VGWyE6Tw0?si=xd2psBP0XOavEe9n

Wikipedia Page for Matthew Shepard - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

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