Gay—and Returning to Mass
How a Funeral, a Pope, and the Passage of Time Brought Me Back to a Tender, More Forgiving Church
I set foot in a Catholic church today for the first time in decades. I am one of those lapsed Catholics you’ve heard about. There are millions of us around the world who have long felt alienated and unwelcomed by the church’s regressive policies. We became weary of a church that claimed to be loving and forgiving but was the exact opposite.
The funeral was for my friend’s mother, Alicia—a formidable Cuban matriarch who left behind a beautifully close and immensely bereaved family. Driving into the church parking lot, I recognized …
