A group of over 6,000 Catholic nuns and other women’s religious organisations in the US published an open letter on Trans Day of Visibility, March 31, in support of trans and non-binary people and the LGBTQ+ community. 

The Sisters of Saint Joseph Federation spearheaded the letter, which wrote that trans and non-binary people are “beloved and cherished by God”. This religious support for the LGBTQ+ community comes as the US faces an influx of discriminatory and oppressive legislation.

“As members of the body of Christ, we cannot be whole without the full inclusion of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive individuals,” the letter reads. “We mark March 31, International Day of Transgender Visibility, as a time to celebrate, acknowledge and uplift folks who identify as transgender, non-binary and/or gender-expansive.”

Various communities, including the US Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-theWoods, Indiana, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth JPIC office and more organisations across 18 states and representing thousands of religious individuals helped prepare the statement. 

The letter also added that trans people across the nation are “experiencing harm and erasure” because of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, social and daily discrimination, and “harmful rhetoric from some Christian institutions and their leaders, including the Catholic Church.”

The harmful rhetoric the nuns refer to likely includes the doctrinal statement published earlier this month by a committee of the US Conferences of Catholic Bishops which calls for Catholic healthcare groups not to perform various gender-affirming medical procedures for trans patients because they claim doing so does not respect “the intrinsic unity of body and soul.”

The letter also comes after Pope Francis clarified his stance on homosexuality. The Pope said that although he doesn’t believe being gay is a “crime,” he still believes that homosexuality is a “sin” because all sexual activity outside marriage is a sin. The Catholic Church does not recognise same-sex marriage. 

The nun’s statement not only calls for LGBTQ+ acceptance and support but also other marginalised communities.

It says: “The Gospel call of unifying love compels us to actively interrupt harmful interactions in daily life and dismantle the systems that reinforce this rhetoric and violence in society, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and other folks of color. We will remain oppressors until we — as vowed Catholic religious — acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations. We seek to cultivate a faith community where all, especially our transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive siblings, experience a deep belonging.” 

The statement ends by providing a list of ways to take action, including supporting New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ outreach group, or signing a statement highlighting a “Catholic commitment to trans-affirmation” from DignityUSA.