You can't preach love for all exclusively (Trigger Warning: Homophobia, Transphobia, basically talking about the Catholic Church)

                                This is the blogpost I never wanted to write. It's the one that could possibly alienate me from my family and from some of my friends. But just as I get filled with anger as some of my non-minority friends abandon me when I push for the recognition of the difficulties minorities face, I too must face my privilege as a Catholic living in a Christian country. My main issue with the Catholic faith and why I waiver in my support of it, ashamed to call myself Catholic, is that by most primary interpretations of the Bible, the LGBTQ community are labeled sinners. While Christians (Catholics included) rush to preach a gospel of love and acceptance, what many often fail to mention is the underlying belief that those whose sexual orientation are not heterosexual are considered deviant and hellbound. Even by the most liberal interpretation of the bible, which withholds all judgement by God, the bible is clear in its disapproval of anyone who identifies as LGBTQ. Now I know there are other alternative interpretations and I don't want to debate those right now, mostly because I'm not properly informed. I just know that this is a particular facet of my own social justice spectrum that I've struggled with. I grew up in a household where homophobic remarks were normal. While an outright hatred of gays was considered unacceptable, the derision of them was considered appropriate and humorous. Even at school this was considered to be acceptable, especially when connected to the stereotypical effeminate behavior associated with gay men. Gender definitely intersects into this issue and so my experience is a limited one. All I can say is that I cannot in good faith tell someone I love them if a part of me believes that the person that they are is abhorrent. By choosing to remain true to my catholic faith, I am essentially choosing to deny an honest love to many of my friends in the LGBTQ community. This is not a religious choice. It is a moral choice. I choose to tread on the skirts of religiosity in order to maintain what I believe to be the moral imperative and the bedrock commitment I have to my friends. I cannot call anyone out because it is difficult for me to even express how I feel. But do not shed a drop of pity on me because what is far worse is someone holding a core piece of who you are as immoral due to an immutable text. Am I hear to admonish those who are catholic and who claim to be allies? I don't know. I'm not sure if that's my place. I'm not sure if that's right. All I know is that I will not sit by and listen to religious conversation from catholics who claim to support the LGBTQ community, but still consider being apart of the community a sin. The two modes are mutually exclusive and you do a disservice to your friends when you hold both at the same time.

Again I don't believe I deserve any pity. Just like how I show no pity to white people who grapple with white privilege, I don't expect a badge or a pat on the back for writing this. I feel this could start a crucial conversation in the catholic community about a glaring hypocrisy that many of us want to ignore.