This year, over one million people from countries all across the world set off on journeys to Rome. On the weekend of Sept. 6th, over a thousand LGBTQ+ Catholics travelled to Rome, meeting others of faith and walking through the Holy Door. This group was the first ever to be accepted by the official Vatican Jubilee calendar, after similar groups were denied in the past.
The Jubilee, otherwise known as the Holy Year to many Catholics, is a time that comes every 25 years. It has become an event for Catholics to connect with each other despite cultural differences.
Joshua Zimmer, a Boston University freshman, grew up in the church. Zimmer, who identifies as bisexual, said he believes this moment could bring people together within the Catholic community.
“I think it was very exciting to hear about the pilgrimage. My initial thought was almost like pride and excitement,” said Zimmer. “It's a step forward not only for America but the world.”
Zimmer believes that change can come about if more authority figures in the church speak out. He hopes that this could lead to less hate speech, and more acceptance worldwide.
“Obviously, it's not the same world that we live in, and we need to be able to change and adapt. I think Pope Leo is really facilitating a change,” said Zimmer “… showing that it's okay to not follow every single thing that the Bible says.”
Ainsley Puc, a senior in information management and technology at Syracuse University, is president of the university's Pride Union. Through her time here at Syracuse, she has seen many LGBTQ+ students struggle with their sexuality coming between their faith. Puc notes that even though the pilgrimage is a step in the right direction for LGBTQ people, real changes should start now.
“It is great that this has happened. But, even though (the pope) blesses same sex couples, the official stance is still that marriage is between a man and a woman,” said Puc. “Even if the church is more accepting of queer people, they're still saying your marriage is not real marriage.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke has worked at DignityUSA since 2007 as the Executive Director, she also serves as a co-chair for the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics. Through her professional work and volunteer work she became very involved in the coordination of this year's LGBTQ+ pilgrimage. But this would not be Duddy-Burke’s first time travelling to Rome and experiencing the Jubilee festivities.
In 2001, Duddy-Burke was a part of a US delegation of queer catholics and christians who participated in an unofficial pilgrimage. They had tried bringing supplies to a nearby AIDS hospice center and orphanage, where the group was denied entry.
“We were told we were not welcome, when we tried to hold a little press conference in St Peter's Square, we were surrounded by Vatican security,” said Duddy-Burke. “And when we tried to go to the closing Jubilee mass, for which we had all gotten tickets through the regular process, a number of our delegation were detained.”
Despite past troubles she had faced during the last Jubilee, Duddy-Burke still worked hard to organize an opportunity for LGBTQ+ people to go on this journey of faith. Duddy-Burke described the pilgrimage as being a joyous occasion, saying that the group did not face objections along the way. Instead, the weekend had dancing, clapping, singing and tears of happiness.
“I really think of this as I call it, kind of a beautiful rest stop on a very long journey. The story of LGBTQ+ Catholics and the church, it's long, it's complex, it has many moments of pain and frustration," said Duddy-Burke.” You know, some very recent, mostly glimmering moments just give people so much hope.”