Welcome to my LGTBQIA+ brothers and sisters
Love one another, as I have loved you.
I can't stop crying. They are tears of joy. Pope Francis is letting priests bless same-sex couples, a major step in his efforts to make the church more welcoming to L.G.B.T.Q.I.A+ Catholics.1 It's long overdue.
As a Catholic, it bothered me the church was excluding people in my community. I grew up in an agnostic/atheist home and, at a very young age, tended to latch on to my friends who were headed to church. I was exposed to several different religions and churches: Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, Buddhist, Church of England, Judaism, and others. At age 25, after years of roaming, I settled on catholicism and was baptized Catholic.
People asked me at the time why I chose to become a catholic, and after years of exploring, I told them it was the one place I kept returning to that nurtured my soul. I didn't believe it to be better or worse than all of the other religions; it was a place to nurture my soul in my community. I love the traditions and had a great friend, a priest, who was a great role model in our community.
However, there were a few things about my chosen religion that bothered me deeply: the church excluding the LGBTQIA+ community and standing against a family's choice to make reproductive decisions. I know more work needs to happen, but this is a win!
BONUS
Everyone deserves to vote and thrive,
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
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I believe in the power of the people. People Power United members believe in the possibility of change and work to make it happen. I have seen the love and determination of folks stepping up to write letters and postcards to voters, signing petitions and letter campaigns, making calls, sending texts, hitting doors, and dropping literature. There is no power like that of the people, and People Power United stands ready to protect our communities against any and all injustices. - Laurie Woodward Garcia, People Power United
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https://wapo.st/47TbGvf
Yes, that is good news. A small first step. I hope Catholics who care about racial and social and LGBTQ rights are working hard from within to change the hearts and mind of your fellow Catholics, who are at the forefront of denying women the right to choose their own healthcare, including abortion. Now that’s a petition I would sign.
We must add a statement about white Christian nationalism and its powerful, negative presence in politics and in the Supreme Court, operating as it does to assert and functionally establish a narrow ideological religious