The Franciscans Have an LGBT Mission. Here's Why.

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[beautybehindthemadness]

I am someone who was raised Catholic and has dealt with gender dysphoria for years, however I am dedicated to keeping my faith though sometimes it gets hard with misconceptions, stereotypes and generalizations that we are some Godless people. I pray we can have a safe future regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, class, disabilities and that even though we may not understand parts of others identities or struggles, we may still see we are all one in Christ. Thank you for your work 💙🙏

[sphinxcat]

I am a bisexual who ditched the Church for Paganism because I thought “God doesn’t love me anyways so why bother”. A couple years ago I started questioning things and it’s videos like this that pushed me to go through RCIA and confirmation. Best decision of my life, thank you 🙏🩷

[marcuspiepenstock]

Every Saint had a past - every Sinner has a future

[anthonyhulse]

As a high school chaplain, I often work with many LGBT and trans students. I have grown spiritually while working with these students. Often these students have mental health issues, are on the Autism spectrum, or have suffered trauma and abuse in their families, or may have housing insecurity, or all of the above. They deserve my best.

[alphacause]

"‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40-45) This verse, more so than any other, encapsulates the morality of the Gospels. Its how we treat the most marginal among us that signals whether we are living in accordance with God's will. While the Catholic Church has been pilloried for its transgressions by the mainstream media, little focus has been given as to how much the Catholic Church does for those who have been forgotten or mistreated by society. Thank you Father Casey for shedding some light on the immense good our Church does for the world.

[heywardhickman]

Fr. Casey,
Seeing the Franciscans once again brightly shining the light of Christlike love (safety, refuge, compassion) into darkness, the midst of evil (violence, hate, extortion) is a time to rejoice. Christlike love moves hearts and, in His time, leads to a better life for those you serve in accordance with His will. I often think of Matthew 25: 31-46. Additionally, service to those in need is not an implicit endorsement of their lifestyle, no more that a soup kitchen worker implicitly endorses the lifestyle of a soup kitchen patron. We do our part and must trust our Heavenly Father to do the rest. I pray for His continued blessings on all your efforts and the efforts of all Franciscans to make our world a better place for all humanity!
Heyward

[macnosmutano]

Yes, we believe homosexuality is disordered but that does not mean that we hate people who are gay. We are still urged to treat them with respect.

[skipgiblets]

This makes me think of something I heard in my youth, “hate the sin, but love the sinner”. I’m not saying I’m better than anyone (I’m a sinner too), but this ministry is awesome. The are truly showing God’s love, and are being good and faithful servants. This video was great too because in its subtle way, it tells others that we should all have the same “help all regardless” mindset.
As a former Baptist, now something more, I really enjoy your videos and get a lot from them.

[xorcheminem]

Wow, Fr. Casey. This is such a niche, unique, and specific topic and situation as well as controversial and easy for people to get mad at you. And you still choose to talk about it and advocate and provide nuance. Big respect to you again! Thank you for caring about our brothers and sisters at the border in the lgbt community!

[Georgio]

As an orthodox Christian of Lebanon, who was a member of the YouFra, I salute you for this.
"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
Good for you on serving the outcasts and the persecuted of society. This is what true Christianity is all about.

[ennaie]

There should be nothing controversial about showing humanity and unconditional love to our fellow neighbors in their time of desperate need. This is succinctly summed up in lesson of the Good Samaritan. 🙏🏾

[chuckjohnson]

Thank you Fr Casey, for this incredible report of sharing the deep deep love of Christ, . To help the poorest among us.
I’m so grateful to St Francis for showing us the way of truly following Jesus in the most spiritual way

[cuppajavaplease]

It is the Gospel message that we treat all human beings with dignity! This excludes no one. People that I love dearly, some members of my family, belong to this LGBTQ category. They have been assaulted and required surgery to repair their faces, insulted, excluded, made fun of. It is heart breaking that Catholics are part of this hatred. Be very careful who you despise. These are sons and daughters of Christ himself.

[Tal_Yusuf]

I'm a consevative atheist looking up religious debates. YT suggested this to me. I'm glad it did. It's refreshing to see religious folks showing GENUINE kindness, no buts, ifs, nor any condition. You've won a new subscriber here Father.

[ntmn]

This is not what I thought it would be based on other comments. Again, you never fail. Your message is so Catholic. I don’t understand others. This is why I don’t like labels like “modern” or “traditional”. It gets people to cajole themselves into nonsensical boxes because that’s what their label calls for them to do. I let the Holy Spirit inform my opinions, not labels. The message of this video (found in the end) is profound, and it’s exactly what I’ve been meditating on for a while now through prayer.

Yes, I’ve been a victim before, but I’ve also been a sinner too. It’s important to acknowledge both sides of the coin so we may grow in Christ’s love.

[outfitmadeofawesome]

I'm not surprised that this is happening in latin America. I am constantly inspired and moved by the work of Catholics in latin and south America, and I'm certainly not surprised that they've gotten the idea of actual charity and welcoming right.

Not to mention the wonderful moral landscape and love for the world and other people I find in St. Francis's story too.

[rosette]

How will anybody know Jesus or desire to know Him until they have first been shown the love of Christ? I recently converted to Catholicism from being Protestant. As a gen z young adult, I was stunned by the sheer kindness and spiritual hospitality of the Catholics who I reached out to for help in my journey. It is uncommon for Protestant Christians to help outside of their own little church (this always has driven me nuts). Becuase of this, I was expecting to be told to go away, or worse, that my entire life as a Protestant had been a waste of time. I got the opposite. Their kindness rocked my world. Yes, Jesus is the true healer and saviour, but He wants us to help clean up the scrapes, ice the bruises, and wrap up the wounds. The Great Physician wants us to help -- what an honour and joy! Who are we to deny Him?

In a final thought, people do not realize the high statistics of sexual abuse the lgbt members have experienced, often at a young age. Nobody deserves such horrific trauma.

[dalehinkley]

Wow! Where to begin. Not like anyone will read this anyway. I’m surprised to see Fr. Casey doing this video and surprised that it’s still up. Also surprised at the amount of positive responses, that’s heartening. My first thought is why is this "sin" the worst? No other gets this kind of response from people. I don’t think people are upset over the sin LGBT people are committing, after all how do they know what someone else has done, they’re just uncomfortable with anyone who is different. Greed causes a lot more trouble in this world yet we happily reward that, especially when it funds the Church. To those who are haters and yes, you are, how many LGBT people do you know? Have you listened to any of their stories? Any idea what they may have been through in their lives? One day I know I’ll stand in front of Jesus and have to give account for what I’ve done. Id rather be guilty of letting people in who shouldn’t than to exclude anyone. Gods love and grace extends to ALL.

[big_rig]

I'm someone who is transgender and about to be baptized for the first time ever. I told my priest that I was trans and he told me that I had to hide it. It left me so sad and conflicted that I'm wondering if this is where I want to go. I've been praying and praying for a sign that there is hope for me in the Catholic church and this is the first time I've seen anything. Thank you

[yiaq]

There are a lot of disappointing comments here. It's always "hate the sin, love the sinner" until somebody has the nerve to love the sinner. It's also telling that most of the comments about homosexuality being a sexual sin aren't also condemning the sexual assaults referenced in the video. I guess that's acceptable in God's eyes?

I'm glad to see Fr. Casey cover this in the way he did. I suspect that he still opposes gay marriage, but he's able to see that the violence done against queer people is the headline here. The world would be a much better place if this was the standard Christian stance.