This is welcome and important news, but in the spirit of intersectionality and the knowledge that “None are free until all are free,” it is important to always point out that Jesuit priests, like all members of the Catholic hierarchy, promote vicious and toxic beliefs about LGBTQ people.
The Catholic hierarchy, as reinforced by Pope Francis (a Jesuit) on Monday, teaches that LGBTQ people are, among other things, sinful, disordered, and depraved.
These Jesuit priests, like all members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, must be held to account for vicious doctrines that oppress and persecute innocent members of human minorities.
In this article on Medium, which also ran in the Washington Blade and the Los Angeles Blade, I examine Monday’s news, spotlighting not only how Francis and the Church refuse to change their vicious teachings, but how journalists generally do a poor job holding them to account.
One way journalists can do that is by not letting them off the hook by ignoring their toxic teachings in one critical area whole praising them in another. It’s appropriate to observe that Jesuits are attempting to atone for their racism, but it’s critical to observe at the same time that they not only refuse to atone for persecuting LGBTQ people, they won’t even stop active, ongoing persecution.
