Commentary 23/11/24 Everyone, everyone, everyone

[성기화 요셉]

Everyone, everyone, everyone

Published: November 24, 2023 03:59 AM

Pope Francis arrives for his general audience in Saint Peter Square at the Vatican on Nov. 22. (Photo: AFP)

In Lent 2004, the Katorikku Shimbun (Catholic Weekly) newspaper published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan inaugurated an annual series of profiles of men and women preparing for baptism at the following Easter. (Disclosure: I was the paper’s editor-in-chief at the time.)

One such profile was of a 25-year-old catechumen who though physically male was psychologically and emotionally female. Since about the age of 10, Nakano-san realized a disparity between appearances and feelings.

The article quotes Nakano as saying, "When I was in elementary school, I dressed like a boy and played as a boy, but something was different. My friends told me that I seemed more comfortable with girls, but I never felt particularly bullied."

However, over time the stress of living as a female in a male body and being forced to meet social expectations as a male resulted in treatment for depression and eventually a suicide attempt.

“At that time, I suddenly thought, ‘Maybe the Church can save me,’”

“I’d been interested in Christianity since I was in elementary school since my birthday is December 25 and people used to say, ‘Your birthday is the same as Christ’s.’ So, from a young age, I wondered what kind of person Christ was. I read a children’s life of Christ in the library and, although I didn’t understand it well, I thought he was an amazing person who took everyone’s sins to himself, so I’ve been interested in him ever since.”

"I don’t look back, I don’t worry about things I can’t change, I just look forward and live my life"

“I was looking to the Church for help, but I didn’t want to be told that people like me could not come, so I called and explained that I had gender dysphoria and asked if it was okay for me to go to church. The lady who took my call said, ‘It’s okay,’ so I went to church right after that.

“I can live because Christ is always by my side and watching over me. I have only Christ. There is a sense of security that he is always walking with me. If it weren’t for Christ, I would have attempted suicide again. Christ is my hope. Now, I don’t look back, I don’t worry about things I can’t change, I just look forward and live my life. I want to be a person with a big heart like Christ.”

Whoever answered the phone at the church did not say, “People like you are not welcome here,” or, “You can come, but you must wipe off your makeup and dress like a male.” And so, Nakano met Christ in a welcoming community.

Under the leadership of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is facing the issue of discrimination and worse against those whose sexual identity does not fit stereotypes from times when biology and psychology were less understood than is becoming the case.

The latest news-making step was the recent confirmation from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department that deals with the basics, that transgender people can be baptized, as can the children of same-sex couples. They may also serve as godparents. On the World Day of the Poor, Francis hosted a lunch for transgender women at the Vatican.

The biblical Book of Wisdom (11:24-26) says, “You love all things that exist and detest none of the things that you have made, for you would not have formed anything if you had hated it.

How would anything have endured if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.”

"Christians’ willingness to encounter and accept those who differ can open them to knowing Christ’s love"

The world needs visible, tangible models of that divine love. The Church’s mission is to be such a model. That means that the Church must, like God, “love all things that exist,” including, of course, every human being, without limits, without exclusion.

As in the case of Nakano, Christians’ willingness to encounter and accept those who differ can open them to knowing Christ’s love, accepting Christ’s love, and joining us in attempting to live by Christ’s love.

The Pharisees with whom Jesus contended (there was a school of Pharisees with whom he may have had more amicable relations) felt that their own piety required that they monitor and critique the religious observance and standing of others.

Many Christians today carry on that tradition. Some of them even hold positions of authority in the Church. Generally, their focus is on sexual and gender matters over which people may have little or no control rather than such sins as racism, exploitation, environmental abuse, financial malfeasance, lying, indifference, or even general nastiness.

At the World Youth Day, Pope Francis proclaimed, “The Church is open to everyone, everyone, everyone.” Making that proclamation true has always been difficult for us sinners but this age, as every age, requires that we struggle against prejudices, customs, and personal feelings to make it true.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.