Representatives from an LGBTQ+ group and the Archdiocese of Vancouver recently held a collaborative community event to discuss the intersections of faith and sexuality, demonstrating the strength of a relationship grown from a discrimination lawsuit that once put the groups at odds five years ago.
The event, titled “What is Love? An Open Conversation about Faith and Sexuality,” was held in late April as a collaboration between the White Rock Pride Society (WRPS) and church leaders from Catholic, United, and Baptist denominations. The goal was to discuss how love is “informed by faith and sexuality,” reported the CBC. Especially when many still believe that discussions around sexuality are contrary to or separate from conversations around faith, this event served as an important reminder of the way that these aspects of identity intersect and interact.
Ernie Klassen, president of WRPS, described the event as “a dream come true.” The conversation serves as a culminating point in a long-developing relationship between Vancouver archdioceses and WRPS, which began in 2019. At the the time, WRPS was barred from renting a parish center at which the group wanted to host a fundraiser for a local LGBTQ+ center. Bondings 2.0 previously reported that Fr. Glenn Dion, pastor of Star of the Sea Church in White Rock, British Columbia, denied the WRPS’s request to use the Star of the Sea Community Center on the grounds that “the WRPS charity event was not in accordance with the faith and morals of the Catholic Church.”
Three years later, and after Klassen filed a human rights complaint against the parish claiming discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Archdiocese of Vancouver formally apologized to the WRPS. Representatives from the church and the WRPS held multiple meetings to repair their relationship and work towards making the church more welcoming.
Speaking on the impact of these efforts the past five years, Klassen said:
“We had a lot of members of the Catholic Church who reached out to us and thanked us for our work, to address the fact that the LGBTQ community did not feel welcome within the Catholic Church.”
April’s “What is Love?” event demonstrates the fruits of those meetings, bringing people together for the sake of dialogue and mutual learning. “We really value the relationships, friendships that we’ve developed and we want to share that with the larger community,” said Fr. Bryan Duggan, a priest in the archdiocese, who said that this event and the dialogue preceeding it were not always easy, but they have been well worth the effort:
“‘It does take courage sometimes to step out and be open to other perspectives and other walks of life, and that’s not something we always do well in the Christian community. I certainly have been grateful for this opportunity.’”
“I never would have thought that we would be here,” said Klassen, reflecting back on the history between his organization and the Church.
Both the WRPS and the Archdiocese of Vancouver have demonstrated the humility, openness, and love that is called for in the Christian mission of true encounter with the other. The Archdiocese recognized and publicly acknowledged the harm that was done to WRPS and the wider LGBTQ+ community, and the archdiocese then committed to true listening and accompaniment. Likewise, WRPS engaged with the archdiocese with a spirit of forgiveness and willingness to be in relationship.
Consequently, the “What is Love?” event demonstrates to us all the gifts that may emerge when Catholic and LGBTQ+ groups are courageous enough to engage compassionately with one another: opportunities to collaborate, learn from one another, and find commonalities in order to build Christian communities where all are welcome.
—Phoebe Carstens (they/them), New Ways Ministry, May 13, 2024
