Thread by @JamesMartinSJ

From the Diocese of Sioux Falls on #LGBTQ students: "Students may not advocate, celebrate, or express same-sex attraction in such a way as to cause confusion or distraction in the context of Catholic school classes, activities, or events... s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2213…

"When discussing homosexuality or homosexual inclinations, the use of the term 'same-sex attraction' is preferred, as it is a more appropriate description in accordance with the truths of Catholic faith and morals..."

First, people should be able to, and encouraged to, "celebrate" who they are and, more importantly, how God made them, including LGBTQ people. This is an essential part of a healthy spirituality for anyone. "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Ps 139)...

This is crucial for young people, and especially for LGBTQ youth, who feel, thanks to statements like the one above, ignored, rejected, condemned, marginalized and completely unwelcome in their own church....

Imagine being an LGBTQ student (or the parent of an LGBTQ youth) and reading that statement. Would you feel welcomed? Valued? Loved? And how people are treated by their church influences, for better or worse, how they understand themselves in God's eyes....

Of course some people will say, "We have to call out the sin!" But where is the sin in a young person who is in no sexual relationship, and is far too young to even contemplate marriage, to say, even publicly, "God made me this way and I am good"?

Second, communities have the right to name themselves. And usage changes as communities adopt new names. To use outdated and offensive terms like "same-sex attraction" is the opposite of the "respect" that the Catechism calls for. At the very least, "respect" means calling...

... the members of a community by the name that they choose, not those that others want to impose on them. To persist in using outmoded terms is disrespectful.

Besides, the Vatican, the Synod of Bishops, and various cardinals and bishops, have been using "LGBT" for some time...

Here is an article from @VaticanNews, the official news agency of the Vatican and Holy See, which uses the term prominently: vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2…

Here is a story about a recent communique from the Vatican's Synod of Bishops @Synod_va in which the synod representatives (and the synod's website) apologize to the LGBTQ community. thetablet.co.uk/news/14792/syn…

Cardinals, archbishops and bishops are also using the now commonly accepted term, for example, these US bishops who signed this statement against bullying and harassment of LGBTQ youth:
tylerclementi.org/catholicbishop…

And this is the case not just in the West. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, often speaks of the need to reach out to "LGBTs."
newwaysministry.org/2016/02/07/ind…

So if the Vatican, the Synod of Bishops and Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops can use the term "LGBT," reflecting what the community now calls itself, so can the rest of the church, including the Diocese of Sioux Falls.