Confident and Catholic

by Victor Lara

I grew up in a Catholic, male-driven culture, and in my family, we never questioned sexual orientation. The “normal” couple was male and female. This was mandated by the words of God, or at least that’s what they told me. For as long as I could remember, I have been attracted to men. This attraction was confusing and daunting, but I understood that I was “different” and how scary it is to not be “normal.”

However, my Catholic faith has always been an integral part of my identity and has helped me channel my spiritual energy. Although many people told me that I cannot be who I want to be nor be with someone whom I love, I did not listen. I paid them no attention because God created me in his image and my relationship is with the Him, not with the church or the people that run it. Any institution is prone to human error and misconceptions.

The Catholic Church is no exception. But I am confident that the Catholic Church is taking steps to move forward on incorporating members of the LGBTQA community, and this brings me great joy. I am happy to say that I am a devoted member of the Catholic and LGBTQA communities and I do my best to intertwine them together and make sense of the two. By creating this partnership, I can see how they overlap each other and share one common goal, which is love for the other and bringing peace and stability to the soul.