How to Reconcile Your Faith and Your Sexuality

As a gay Catholic, I'm often asked questions like "How are you gay AND Catholic?", "Aren't those two forces constantly at odds"?, "Do you have to do some sort of mental gymnastics to justify it to yourself?", and "Why don't you just leave the church?" So today I'm going to try to answer those questions and talk about how to reconcile your faith with your sexuality.

Follow us!

00:00 Intro
00:23 The Church vs. LGBTQ+ People
01:21 Get rid of "All or Nothing" thinking
03:34 Step away from the Church
04:40 Find a more accepting community
05:59 Learn to see God outside the Church
06:32 Conclusion
07:14 The Merton Prayer
08:08 Outro

Helpful Resources:

Catholic LGBT organizations:

Books:

YouTube Channels:

Talks:

Articles:

Subreddits:

*Bonus*

Non-denominational org:

#FaithfullyLGBT #GayAndChristian

[jeffwatkins]

So glad I never had to go through this, and heartfelt sympathy for those who do. Excellent video to help you with that struggle.

[jboremus]

Incredible video. Very deep and thought-provoking topic. Love the quote at the end.

[felicia_cbn]

I am bisexual. After I realised who I really am I started feeling weird and I still do. I feel sometimes like I don't belong at the church, there they teach young kids that "gay is wrong, disgusting and against God"...I feel really weird being there since it hurts hearing those things. In my country, we don't have those kind of churches you mentioned in this video so it's really hard for the people from the queer community . Thank you a lot for this video, it made me realize a lot of things.

[callunas]

Thank you for this. I (female, bisexual) wanted to the join the Catholic church some years ago, then had a tradcat bf that, on top of being abusive and controlling was extremely homophobic and bigoted in other ways. He took me to a parish where the priest ranted for the entire homily against pride. It scared me away from the faith. I still believe in God and feel drawn to Catholicism but I am not ready to go back. I hope I will find myself with my relationship to God intact at the end of this path.

[salusalu]

Thank you for this video. I really need it 💕💖

[JamesMC]

Videos like yours help gay Catholics like me to stay in the Church.

Thank you 🤗😄😁

[cloudydays]

I honestly used to think I would have to choose between being myself or staying faithful to Christianity, but then I learned that it’s ok to be both, and I learned how to be a more loving and accepting person

[connorbrown]

I needed this desperately. I grew up in the nondenominational Evangelical world. I have recently felt the calling to become Catholic because honestly the Catholic Church has a far kinder and respectful view than the faith world I grew up in. But obviously there is still room for growth and learning in the church.
I attended mass for the first time on Sunday and it was truly a beautiful experience. I feel like God is calling me to come closer to Him.
I really needed this encouragement that I can become Catholic while still being queer.

[jor]

I know this video is 3 years old, but I’ve been struggling with a similar issue and wanted to comment. I am asexual and Catholic. I’ve supported the LGBTQ+ community and their right to love for years. I have friends that are in the LGBTQ+ community. I myself am not a homosexual, but I do believe that they should be treated with kindness and respect, just like any normal human being. I’ve always seen the church’s opinion on them very backwards and almost non-sensical. Recently, I’ve been having panic attacks about this conflict I have with these values of mine, thinking like I can’t have one without the other. I go to a church that has a priest that teaches this “all or nothing” mentality. I’ve always disagreed with it, but also a part of me was afraid that he could be right. I’ve questioned leaving the church for a while, but thought I could never do it. Mixed with my own religious trauma, I was just left feeling miserable, lost and devastated that I had to rip myself in pieces just to exist. But then I came across your channel, and I find your videos and especially this one extremely healing to me. I think I managed to reflect on myself for a bit, but hearing your story and denouncing the “all or nothing” mentality just spoke so much to me. I feel heard and I feel loved for the first time in a while! I feel like I understand my faith and my beliefs, even if just a little bit!

So, in short, thank you so so much! Your videos rock! ❤

[nicholass]

as a straight catholic, the door is open to everyone, what i mean by that is you can be a gay or lesbian to be a catholic because on matthew 7:8 to the one who knows the door will be open(meaning that who ever it is, a sinner or a pedo or anything the door will always be open because Jesus loves ya)

[marleenrosemary]

I am not Catholic all Ik is I am Christian and have struggled with my gender identity and religion so thank you for making this it has helped ease me a little especially after my father has used my faith against me and he is very homophobic and transphobic so thank you ITC 🏳️‍🌈✝️

[eugeniocorpuz]

I'm a member of Dignity USA . You can also look into New Ways Ministry and Call to Action for support from progressive Catholics.

[jackofallspades]

I'm just gonna put it out there, you have really good handwriting

[dualscreengrant]

This is going to be disappointing to everyone, but I'm not Catholic anymore. I was Catholic for over 30 years. They are strongly against the death with dignity movement, and I'm very supportive of the death with dignity movement. I still believe in God, but I'm not a member of any church or religious group. I don't understand why dogs and cats are mercifully euthanized when they have a terminal illness, but humans are forced to experience a slow and painful death. I can't practice a religion that goes against my conscience. The first thing Catholics are going to say to me is that people who die of suicide go to hell. That's what the volunteer told me when I called the suicide hotline. My options are to stop being religious or to convert to a religion that doesn't view suicide as a sin.

[jackqueslack]

I’m not gay but I am religious, but I’ve always been curious on how a Muslim can reconcile their sexuality with faith because a higher percentage of Muslims are against homosexuality than Christians.

[NotABushFan]

Thanks for the video, in the mid-80s I joined and was baptized in a Catholic Church, for many reasons I stopped going, Now I am the T in the LGBTQ and found a church, UUC that teaches the Love of God, still I see a lot of good that I had as a Catholic. Thanks.

[handicappuccino]

Who really knows how to interpret religious text at the end of the day

[dansaber]

You can be LGBT and Catholic no problem

[austro_hungarian_nostalgia]

Levitivus 18:22
Levitivus 20:13
Romans 1:26-27
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
1 Timothy 1:8-11
Homosexuality is a mortal sin, period.