Clash of identities: Transgender kid finds no room at Catholic school

By Kevin Riordan

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160911_clash_of_identities__transgender_kid_finds_no_room_at_catholic_school.html?mobi=true

Mason Catrambone's heart was set on Camden Catholic High School.

But after the school learned that the Madelyn Catrambone who was accepted last February for September admission had since begun to identify as male, Camden Catholic broke Mason's heart.

The family say they told school officials at two August meetings that Mason would be willing to use the restroom in the nurse's office, and change into gym clothes there as well.

They did insist that Mason - who is not yet undergoing any treatment or surgical procedures - be able to wear a boy's uniform.

"We couldn't do what they were requesting," principal Heather Crisci says. "It's about the school's Catholic identity."

Adds the Rev. Joseph Capella, director of Catholic identity at the school: "There is Catholic teaching. . . . Pope Francis has spoken to it recently, [about] our belief in natural law.

"Essentially, we believe we are not the creators, and at no point in our lives can we move toward being that," Capella continues.

"Our bodies, and every aspect of our humanity, are a gift we have been asked to steward and protect. We are not the creators. We are the created."
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So, it's not about the restrooms and privacy anymore.  They simply object to our existence as human beings.

FWIW:  The Church has no official position on transgender people.  It simply talks around the issue and looks away as we are spit on.

As far as his whole natural law argument, it reduces people to nothing more than flesh and wholly ignores the essence of a person which is the mind.  We were born with both. 

His Church's solution tells us nothing more than we must create an alternate identity at odds with the one we were born with, or created with to use his words.  How is that better?  How is that too not at odds with his base premise, that we cannot create ourselves?

Nothing coming out of the mouths of the men in collars makes sense to me any more.

"Nothing coming out of the mouths of the men in collars makes sense to me any more."

Then I have to ask why you keep dragging their spew here? It seems you might be happier if you learned to ignore them.

Hugs, Devlyn 

Because it's relevant to what's going on in the USA right now. 

Or maybe I was mistaken about what the news section is for.  If it's only to reinforce a fantasy viewpoint of utopian happiness then I'm sorry for posting real news concerning the lives of transsexual people.

I guess the relevance is where we disagree. I just see the words of a close minded group who are fading away.

Hugs, Devlyn

If it were the words and actions of one priest or some unaffiliated minister then I'd agree.

Here the school is denying entry based on the words of the Pope.  He sets the tone for more than a billion Catholics worldwide.  It's not really fading away.

I think it is fading away. The Catholic Church is selling off property left and right here in America. Modern people are finding out that sheperds fables have little to do with their lives, and they have no stomach for the intolerance coming from the church.

Hugs, Devlyn

I hope that you're right.  Down here the Catholic Church is not really powerful.  But they are replaced by the Southern Baptists and their ilk.

From a long term perspective they probably will lose relevance.  But right now they drive the agenda of one of the two major political parties here and have in process lawsuits spanning the country with the sole purpose of denying us legitimacy.

The fact that their presidential candidate is within the margin of polling data error for winning the election shows that they enjoy widespread support across the country.  I think that makes them relevant in the here and now.

I will agree with you that I'm probably too emotionally invested in this.  But just last week one of my coworkers was commenting that if the R party wins they can restore the good old days when they could physically beat us to keep us in our place because we, and all the other LGB are abnormal.  So this pricks at me like an open wound.

It's one of the things I am working on with my new therapist.  Letting go of a lot of pent up anger stemming all the way back to when I was 13 and my parents scathingly castigated me for this.  I thought I was getting past all that but apparently not.  In fact, we talked about my case specifically in my support group meeting yesterday. 

So, my name is Deborah and I'm an angerholic.

<All in unison>  "Hi, Deborah!"

Actually, I guess I have made some progress.  There was a time before HRT when I would have turned this exchange into an indignation fest and flame war.   

I went to a Catholic Church when I was young. I'd have a bath and get scrubbed behind the ears, and put on uncomfortable clothes. There were four kids in my family, and money was tight. We'd all walk down to the church, and each of us had a nickel for the collection plate.

Years later, my father passed away. My parents weren't regular attendees of the church anymore. My mom asked for a priest at the service and was refused because her donations weren't up to date. A cousin of mine who attended the church made a call and smoothed it out.

I approached the priest after he finished his work, thanked him for being there, and  calmly told him the nickel story and how I felt about the way it was handled. In the twenty years since then, I've made a habit of walking my dogs through the churchyard and letting them do their business on the neatly manicured lawn. Our donations are up to date. 

Don't get mad, get even.

Hugs, Devlyn

I've been thinking about this for the past hour. 

As much as I would like to believe that I have discarded my old attachment to the Church, I really haven't.  My emotions about it all swing wildly back and forth sometimes by the minute.  In one moment I'll be condemning it all in my mind and the next moment finding myself wishing I could go back.

I feel like an outcast, a leper.  Going back the old way by hiding myself isn't something I can do.  It would destroy my spirit.  It was destroying my spirit at the time I left.  They say Jesus loves everyone but can only love me if I pretend to be someone else.

So, every time I read stuff like this it's as if it's happening to me and I take it personally.

My mind is a soup sandwich on this topic.  I guess my therapist is going to be earning his pay unscrewing it all.

Quote from: Deborah on September 11, 2016, 06:22:55 AM
Clash of identities: Transgender kid finds no room at Catholic school

By Kevin Riordan

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160911_clash_of_identities__transgender_kid_finds_no_room_at_catholic_school.html?mobi=true

Mason Catrambone's heart was set on Camden Catholic High School.

But after the school learned that the Madelyn Catrambone who was accepted last February for September admission had since begun to identify as male, Camden Catholic broke Mason's heart.

The Church can't accept responsibility for generations of pedophilia and child abuse, but has no problem bullying a 14-year-old.

This is brutally painful for Mason.  I can only hope he understands that HE is not the problem.  The institution he loved and trusted is the problem.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on September 11, 2016, 07:50:29 AM
I guess the relevance is where we disagree. I just see the words of a close minded group who are fading away.

Oh, Devlyn, I wish that this was true.

I live in an area of the US West Coast that has been very accepting for many years.  In the last six months, though, we have had religious 'stalkers' in public places, self-appointed Bathroom Police, and lots of intolerance from the pulpit.  School teachers in private schools have been asked to sign oaths that they will adhere to Church policies in their private lives, sort of rough on married same-sex couples and couples with one partner in transition.

It was getting better.  Now the real profit in terms of political power is in making life harder for us.  We are becoming the current social 'paper dragon', the designated alien to be feared. 

Quote from: Michelle_P on September 11, 2016, 04:22:55 PM
In the last six months, though, we have had religious 'stalkers' in public places, self-appointed Bathroom Police, and lots of intolerance from the pulpit. 

Shades of Saudi Arabia.

Quote from: Michelle_P on September 11, 2016, 04:22:55 PM

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on September 11, 2016, 07:50:29 AM
I guess the relevance is where we disagree. I just see the words of a close minded group who are fading away.

Oh, Devlyn, I wish that this was true.

I live in an area of the US West Coast that has been very accepting for many years.  In the last six months, though, we have had religious 'stalkers' in public places, self-appointed Bathroom Police, and lots of intolerance from the pulpit.  School teachers in private schools have been asked to sign oaths that they will adhere to Church policies in their private lives, sort of rough on married same-sex couples and couples with one partner in transition.

It was getting better.  Now the real profit in terms of political power is in making life harder for us.  We are becoming the current social 'paper dragon', the designated alien to be feared. 

We're louder now, we have a stronger presence. They're ramping up their noise accordingly. The tide is turning to the side of acceptance and diversity, they can't resist that force.

Hugs, Devlyn

I consider myself a Christian. To some extent i consider myself a catholic, although i probably only attend Mass 3-4 times per year. I've never had an issue with anyone in the local church.

My family and I attend a liberal christian church most of the rest of the Sundays in the year. (having changed from a far less liberal church several years ago). There is a growing number of liberal Christians and churches, who do not believe in biblical literalism, who do believe in a literal hell, and approach universalism in their belief systems (with a lot of variation between them)  and are great supporters of human rights. Fundamentalism should fall by the wayside and it shows signs of doing so all over now. What is left is kinder and less judgmental church.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on September 11, 2016, 08:59:14 AMYears later, my father passed away. My parents weren't regular attendees of the church anymore. My mom asked for a priest at the service and was refused because her donations weren't up to date. A cousin of mine who attended the church made a call and smoothed it out.

Reminds me of the situation that happened when my grandad died. My mum had trouble getting him a Catholic burial because SHE was the one who hadn't attended church for a long time!

I digress. Years later, my sister (who had still been going primarily to get her kids christened) left because she disagreed with the church's stance on LGBT rights. I left Christianity in 2010 and while I still believe the religion has good, like most other religions, there are too many toxic elements I want to be disassociated from. Not to mention my theology has evolved since in a way that would not be accepted by most denominations.