My journey with LGBTQ+ Catholics in China

Testimony of Eros Shaw published in the book "BLESSED Are Those Who Mourn: Chinese Tongzhi Catholics' Tales"(Blessed are those who cry: tales of Chinese Tongzhi Catholics) edited by Eros Shaw, Mark Larrimore and Michael Clifton, Editore Sird (Malaysia), 2022, pp.260-264. Freely translated by the volunteers of the Gionata project.

This introductory text was conceived at the beginning of the design of the book "BLESSED Are Those Who Mourn: Chinese Tongzhi Catholics' Tales"(Blessed are those who cry: tales of Chinese Tongzhi Catholics). We thought it was important to retrace the journey that brought us up to here, as if to remind us of the path taken that it was, as Deng Xiaoping says, as "Cross a river walking on the stones".

This story is based on my experience in the foundation of China Rainbow Witness Fellowship (CRWF) and of the China Catholic Rainbow Community (CCRC): The first is an ecumenical organization that also involves Catholics, the second a platform dedicated exclusively to Catholics. I felt the need to tell this story to anyone who wants to understand its meaning.

A path started in 2009 (A Journey That Began in 2009)

In 2009 I started getting in touch with other gay Catholics through the internet, but it was sporadic interactions. We had no regular exchanges and nobody would have ever imagined to create an organization. Fear and geographical distances were too large obstacles.

The same year I moved to Beijing (China) for work and participated in a sharing meeting held by the reverend Ngeo Boon Lin at the Beijing LGBT Center. After the event, a dozen LGBT Christians of various denominations met in a bar in the Sanlitun area. From that meeting the idea of ​​seeing us regularly to support each other was born. I was the only Catholic present and I would have stayed for a while.

From the beginning, we have cultivated an ecumenical spirit, sharing our faith and our life experiences. Every morning I sent to other members of the group the daily reading of writing. We organized recreational activities before gathering in the houses of some of us. During the meetings, in turn, we told our stories. Over time, some people left the group while others united, until we came to be three Catholics among the participants.

At that point we decided to call us China Rainbow Witness Fellowship. The name recalled the rainbow of Genesis, a sign of God's alliance with humanity, and at the same time the symbol of the LGBT pride. In our little one, we wanted to be witnesses of ecumenism and grace. When we started new groups in Shanghai and Hangzhou, we kept the same name.

The growth of the community (The Growth of the Community)

In September 2012 I moved to Shanghai (China) for work. Darren, one of the co-founders of the China Rainbow Witness Fellowship, he helped me look for a suitable place for our meetings. In the end we chose theUCB Café In Guilin Road and we inaugurated ours Rainbow Witness Fellowship of Shanghai.

From that moment we met every Sunday, addressing themes that ranged from reading the Bible to theology, from ecumenism to the history of the Church, to topics such as psychological development and HIV prevention. Over time, the number of participants increased and many took responsibility for the group.

In 2013, the seminarian brother xiao bei He created a group on the QQ platform to collect and accompany gay Catholics. Shortly thereafter, we adopted the name of China Catholic Rainbow Community.

However, I realized that some Catholics stopped participating because they did not feel comfortable with the way of praying for Protestant inspiration that characterized our meetings. To respond to this difficulty, I wrote one Proposal for a Catholic meeting within the Fellowship structure (Proposal for Catholic Gathering Under The Structure of Fellowship), which I presented to the other managers of the group. Here are some steps:

"We have always thought of China Rainbow Witness Fellowship as a reality open to many possibilities. Each activity needs adequate guide, and if this is the will of God, our perseverance will bear fruit. Who would have imagined that that meeting in a bar in Sanlunun in 2009 would have turned into the reality that we built today?

Our China Rainbow Witness Fellowship could be the first in China to organize an open Catholic meeting, an experience similar to that of other Christian LGBT realities of Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries. If this is truly the will of God, our meeting could become a small channel of ecumenical dialogue. Gay Catholics and Protestants would have the opportunity to get to know each other more deeply. "

My proposal obtained the support of my collaborators. Thus, we decided to maintain the protesting -style cult for the first three Sundays of the month, while the last Sunday would be dedicated to a Catholic meeting. This practice was maintained in the Beijing section for about six months.

An interrupted path (ANTRUPTED Journey)

The election of Pope Francis and his compassion towards LGBT+ Catholic people had filled us with enthusiasm. Many of us were baptized and passed from Protestantism to Catholicism. A priest, responding to the Pope's invitation to pastoral charity, allowed us to use a room of his parish for our meetings. We were the first group in China to meet regularly within a Catholic Church, reaching almost a hundred participants. Not only did we spread the Catholic faith, but we also testified the mercy of the Church.

Unfortunately, this positive experience was short -lived. During a Christmas celebration in Shanghai, a non -Christian participant published our photos on the site Weibo. Those images were taken up by a hostile group within the Catholic Church, which began to attack us with words full of hatred. In order not to compromise the priest who hosted us, we decided to leave our parish. After just four months, the first large -scale reception experience of LGBT+ Christians by the Catholic Church in China was over.

Looking to the future (Looking to the future)

Despite everything, the China Catholic Rainbow Community continues to exist. In addition to groups in the different cities, we have Christian training courses and a group of prayer of the Rosary, offering support to those who feel lost. There are some priests, seminarians and religious who, despite the difficulties, choose to be next to us.

In 2015, I represented the China Rainbow Witness Fellowship and the China Catholic Rainbow Community at the Foundation Conference of Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC) in Rome, being elected responsible for young people. On that occasion, we sent a letter to the Synod of the bishops to make our voices heard.

I am deeply affected by the faith of the LGBT Catholics who, despite everything, remain faithful to the Church and devoted to the Madonna. But I also feel the weight of the pain they bring.

When the day will come when our Holy Mother Church will truly and concretely welcome these people, rather than just saying that "Homosexual people are called to chastity”?

Original text: The Experience of Eros Shaw and Others