Over 6,000 Catholic nuns have come together to show their support for trans rights, penning an open letter that states trans and non-binary people are “beloved and cherished by God.”
The letter was spearheaded by the The Sisters of Saint Joseph Federation who joined with other Catholic organizations to publish the letter on Trans Day Of Visibility late last month. The letter shows support for the queer community and criticizes the recent anti-trans rhetoric sweeping the media.
The letter reads, “As vowed Catholic religious and our partners in mission, we wholeheartedly affirm that transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive individuals are beloved and cherished by God. We mark March 31, International Day of Transgender Visibility, as a time to celebrate, acknowledge and uplift folks who identify as transgender, nonbinary and/or gender-expansive. We know our actions and commitments must extend beyond this day’s observance.”
The letter also acknowledged the “harm and erasure” that trans people are currently experiencing in the US because of the onslaught of anti-trans bills and the “harmful rhetoric” from some religious institutions.
The nuns who created the letter and the Catholic groups who signed it aim to provide “deep belonging” for trans people in the church, and don’t want the church to be an “oppressor.”
“The Gospel call of unifying love compels us to actively interrupt harmful interactions in daily life and dismantle the systems that reinforce this rhetoric and violence in society,” the letters reads.
“We will remain oppressors until we – as vowed Catholic religious – acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations.”
PinkNews obtained a statement from The Sisters of Saint Joseph Federation that said the letter was a “direct response to the sweeping anti-trans and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation that has been threatening the lives of trans and non-binary people across the United States. We realized there was very little published in terms of Catholic support for trans and non-binary folks, and didn’t want hateful rhetoric to be the only thing people were hearing from the Catholic church.”
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