Open Letter to Pope Francis

                                    Sad but true. I totally understand why some people have nothing to do with " religion". Thankfully, this IS NOT my experience as an Episcopalian { there are a few a**holes in every community }and I am proud to be in a faith community that  Loves God , so we LOVE PEOPLE. 

 Dear Pope Francis: 

First of all, I am not one of yours. I am a proud Anglican  who is a member of a wonderful Episcopal Church in Pensacola, Florida. Your  rules do not apply to me. 

Secondly, I am a woman married to a man.  

Now you might ask why your encyclical regarding LGBTQ+ Catholics who want to marry their same-gender partner in the Church affects me. 

The short answer is: I am a follower of Jesus Christ. He, time and time again, taught us the Way of Love-- a Way that includes all humanity regardless of race, creed, gender, or sexuality.  I wasn't alive when Jesus was walking around teaching  lessons on how to be a good human, I gather from the Gospel accounts of His life and teachings that He would celebrate all forms of love . I don't always" get it right" , but my roadmap for being a decent person centers on the teachings of Jesus-- and NOT St Paul. 

Love God. Love People. 

Also, I know and love many same-gender couples and they are some of the most faithful Christians I know. Many of them have been together much longer than it has been legal for people in these United States. Denying people of faith the sacrament of marriage in the Church does not stop their love from growing.  It is on behalf of all the people I know and love who have spouses of their same gender that I  speak up. 

                                         Me with my opposite-gender spouse. Even if we were Catholic, the fact that we are an opposite-gender couple would allow us to be married in The Catholic Church. the same is not true for LGBTQ Catholics who seek to marry. I am grateful that Brian and I are not Catholic. 

Pope Francis, I disagree vehemently with most of what Catholicism teaches, but I also know many faithful Catholics from many backgrounds. There is so much that is life-giving about Catholicism, but even as a small child I disagreed passionately with most of the human-created dogma that the Church  Hierarchy forces upon the faithful. 

In your Church, a person of my sex and gender { and yes these are two different things} cannot explore a call to ordained life. Additionally, your all-male clergy tell people who possess uteruses that we cannot control our own reproductive destiny.  The choice to be a parent is between a person, their partner , their medical provider, and God. 

I know you will not see this letter.  However, I feel better after writing out why I never felt called to be a Catholic. I wish you well, but cannot hide the sadness I feel at your choice to tow the fraying line of The Catholic Church regarding marriage. 

Pax Christos....

Sarah McCarren

Florida USA

15 March 2021