Kori Pacyniak
Today’s post is from guest contributor Kori Pacyniak ( they/them ), a queer, nonbinary, and trans Catholic, who is a PhD candidate at the University of California Riverside. They are currently completing a research titled”, Sacred Bodies, Sacred Lives: Trans Catholic Joy, Opposition, and Liberation” about the lived theological views of transgender Christians. Ordained as a preacher through Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Kori now focuses on creating sacred place and ritual by and for gay and trans Catholics.
” A words cries out in the forest. ” Isaiah’s words echo throughout our Advent liturgies, whether spoken or sung ( the Michael Joncas song of the same name has long been a mainstay of my Advent devotional practices ), and this year feel especially poignant as we glance around a world facing climate change, war, and economic disparity. While our souls are big with all that is going on around the world, the political and social climate here in the U. S. is just as delicate for trans people.
In recent years, transgender rights have been challenged by state policy on an exceptional level. In 2023 only, 591 bills were introduced across 49 state. Of these charges that seek to ban trans women’s right to access medical, use their names and nouns, and play sports, 85 have passed, 377 are still active, and 129 have failed. Also, anti- trans speech has emerged in the Roman Catholic Church, exemplified by catholic policies that ban the use of trans individuals ‘ names and pronouns and prevent them from full cooperation in chapel life.
Recent moves by Pope Francis, such as the 2023 email permitting transgender people to serve as guardians and to be baptized themselves, as well as having breakfast with a group of transgender girls provide a more sympathetic and agricultural approach, offering hope to countless trans Catholics. These mixed messages – of persecution and kindness – leave many wondering whether trans people have a position within the Catholic Church.
Nonetheless, this may not be the right issue. Trans people have long existed within the Catholic Church and while our right might be the topic of debate among church leaders, politicians, and people gathered around trip dining tables, our beliefs and our position in the temple should not be in question.
Recently, more Christian magazines have taken up reading, positively and negatively, about transgender Catholics. Most of these reports are usually written by transgender ( non- trans ) persons, because of the lack of transgender representation in Catholic press. As a result, reports get framed as” How should the church secretary to transgender people? “rather than” How does the government of transgender people help change the chapel to better serve the globe? One could say the same about the Catholic conversation of transgender people, just as the majority of discussions about racism in the chapel have focused on making white folks comfortable. Trans Catholics are framed as the “other” who need ministering to rather than with or by as long as temple discourse and theology on them focus on cisgender and bisexual experiences and frameworks. As a result, trans Catholics still lack access to real fairness and liberation.
It is history period to allow trans Christians speak for themselves and raise their voices. My graduate work focusing on the reports of transgender Catholics—those who remain in the temple as well as those who leave—was motivated by my desire for trans Catholic voices to get heard and my continued anger with being talked about. What keeps trans Catholics in place? What causes transgender Catholic to emigrate? What aspirations do we have for a church that is entirely affirming and transgender? What do Catholic transgender people say to chapel leaders? These are a few of the inquiries that have guided my meetings, which at this point in history feel especially poignant.
What would it be like if Catholic media outlets allowed transgender Christians to speak for themselves in this time when transgender rights are being discussed both inside and outside of the church? to make room for the wide range of transgender Catholic voices—some of whom believe that the priest’s new email on transgender people is a success to be celebrated, individuals who believe it is insufficient, and those of us in the both/and station. Being a trans Catholic right nowadays makes me feel as though I am experiencing the already-existing/not-yet-dimension of Advent. We are witnessing some extraordinary rural deeds toward trans people, as well as support for state legislation and anti-trans chapel policies.
Maybe this Advent season is a time to pay attention to and raise the voices of those in the margins, allowing those transgender Catholic voices to be heard by the larger temple. To hear the tales of happiness and suffering, bias and independence, so that as a group, we can envision ourselves as the chapel that not only accepts and affirms transgender people but also prioritizes them.
An offer to take part in analysis
In order to discover the group’s lived religious experiences, Kori is conducting interviews with trans Catholics ( someone who identifies as trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, agender, or gender non-conforming, etc. and has identified as Catholic at any point in time ). They are focusing on styles of joy, resistance, and liberation while attempting to develop an inclusive and liberal religious ethic based on Catholic social justice. Click here to find out more about the job or to take part in it.
—Kori Pacyniak ( they/them ), December 11, 2023
