One of my favorite icons is the Palm Sunday icon. Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on a noble steed ready to colonize and force his will on others. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in humility.  He also came to share unconditional love with those who the religious elite rejected. Jesus only criticized the religious elite, not the woman at the well, not the tax collector, and not those who didn’t and/or were incapable of “living up to the... Read more

Right now, with the cross being used as a political weapon in the United States and other countries where the threat of fascism is growing, I just can’t wear a cross for the time being.  So I at least temporarily switched out my cross for a Chi-Ro symbol combined with Mary. Our youngest son, who is a Church history buff in some ways, reminded me of the pre-Constantinian Christianity before it jumped in bed with Emperor Constantine, like parts of... Read more

Through my journey as a practitioner primarily, a stark reality started awakening me about five years ago, not only in my professional life but in my adult parenting and Catholic spiritual life.  The Catholic Church has two options to address the spiritual and life-giving needs of those who have neurological, psychological, biological, and other variances which scientifically diverge from the broader population.  Either continue to endanger and abuse them for the sake of enforcing “all Catholic Sexual Ethics,” which only... Read more

I regularly say that I’m a “Pope Francis Catholic.”  Over his ten-year papacy, his eyes opened wider and wider to social issues, including the LGBTQIA+ life issues.  Pope Francis’s eyes were opened to the needs of the poor more than mine were in the beginning of his papacy.  He has stretched me to better-understand the needs of humanity and love all people in a more radical way as Jesus did.  Pope Francis consistently demonstrates that Jesus loves the poor, the... Read more

I sadly see others judging parents, especially Christian/Catholic parents, for accepting their LGBTQIA+ kids. I was once very conservative about this issue myself until I learned of the reality, that kids were and are dying due to rejection and political persecution, many of who are also part of the Autism community. As many of you know, I left the toxicity of trad environments to urban Catholicism because ministers were endangering peoples lives by telling them that it was a grave... Read more

Dear Catholics Who Wish to “Purify” the Church and Broader Society, (more…) Read more

In my part-time work of religious trauma recovery, listening to older LGBTQ+ Catholics, and speaking with some conservative clergy, laity, and non-religious conservatives, I have now concluded that some will never admit that human sexuality and gender are an intrinsic parts of the human identity, for heterosexual, homosexual people, gender conforming, and gender non-conforming people. I am starting to think that through the denial of reality and science denial, harm, marginalization, oppression, and even the extermination of LGBTQ+ people and... Read more

Dearest Pope Francis, On 2-16-2023, I wrote an open letter to you about Republican Catholic politicians Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis and what they are doing to transgender children and their families.  In this second letter, I will change, add, and leave some essential points from the last letter I openly wrote to you. Essentially, not only are Catholic Republicans Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis trying to eradicate transgenderism (the people) and their families from their states no matter the... Read more

Most of you know that I spent many years in traditionalist religious environments with my family.  Living in Texas all my life, for me to open my eyes to just how bad Church abuse is in collective conservative male groups, such as parts (not all) of the Church Patriarchy, I had to endure worst kind of spiritual, emotional, and psychological trauma possible for simply for not supporting Donald J. Trump. The day he mocked the disabled reporter, the theological and... Read more

Throughout my publications, I regularly speak of my political and theological shifts to the left starting the day that Trump mocked the disabled reporter in 2016.  As a disability practitioner, a mother of an Autistic son, and a person with Parkinson’s Disease, Trump mocking the disabled reporter was a life-altering turning point for me. Since 2016, the last six years prepared me for what I am doing today which is advocating for and ministering to disabled, neurodiverse, and LGBTQIA+ youth... Read more