A space for LGBTQ+ Catholics

For a long time, the ideals of the church didn't welcome those in same-sex relationships, but Goa-based fashion designer Wendell Rodricks hopes to change that with an upcoming online initiative that supports members of the LGBTQ+ community. "After the verdict on Section 377, I wanted to help Catholics, who very often ran away from the church because of what happened to them," says the 58-year-old Padma Shri awardee, who recalls several unnerving incidents that people faced in the church. With the apex court delivering a landmark judgement in September that now has the law (Section 377) supporting the queer community, the LGBTQ+ Catholic Space aims to provide further impetus to unifying our society.

A rainbow stripe at the edge of a black backdrop with the group's name 'LGBTQ+ Catholic Space' written on it forms the logo of the initiative. "There are some 21 genders and new ones keep getting added. So we made sure our logo had 'LGBTQ+' to stand for all the genders that will come in the future as well," Rodricks asserts. The objective of the group is "to get the Catholic LGBTQ+ community to come together and talk about their experiences in the church, to learn how they can create a space for themselves within the church and how the church is growing sensitive to the LGBTQ+ reality".

Rodricks was approached by Ruby Almeida, chairperson of The Quest, which is a pastoral support group for LGBTQ+ people in the UK, to begin a similar initiative closer home. Almeida was also present at the blessing of this online initiative by Cardinal Oswald Gracias at the end of October. "I was in tears when His Eminence said 'may Jesus bless you for what you are doing for society'," says Rodricks, who hopes that other religious groups take up the matter, "with the same generosity and compassion as the Catholic church has done".

Yet the purpose of having an online space that caters to the Catholic community stemmed from the social conflict within the church. "Apart from the shame, scorn, torment, even at physical level, and everything else that we went through, I was made to feel like a sinner, deviant and condemned in my own church," laments Rodricks. Aside from counselling and reaching out to members of the queer community, the initiative is also open to families and friends of LGBTQ+ people who need counselling.

LGBTQ+ Catholic Space will operate pan India, with the people behind the initiative hailing from Mumbai and Goa. Hoping to address the confusion around gender identification and sexual orientation, which, very often, starts from schooling years, the platform will be on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, etc. On Facebook, its presence will be a closed group to maintain anonymity. "People posting queries or concerns may do so even under a pseudonym," Rodricks says.

With the Facebook group kicking off soon, LGBTQ+ Catholic Space hopes to be fully operating before Christmas. Permissions for a hotline number for the group are still in the pipeline, which the group aims to set up by December. "This, we're hoping is our Christmas gift to everyone," Rodricks concludes, smiling.

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

LGBTQ+ Catholic Space will operate pan India, with the people behind the initiative hailing from Mumbai and Goa. Hoping to address the confusion around gender identification and sexual orientation, which, very often, starts from schooling years, the platform will be on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc