Mardi Gras and Lent
For most Australians “Mardi Gras” means Sydney’s gay and lesbian parade. Some Catholics might complain about our pre-Lenten Mardi Gras feast time having being takenover by the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex) communities. I am thinking that there might be a timely message in looking at the term Mardi Gras linking the Catholic and the LGBTI communities.
The original 1978 gay rights march in Sydney was held on 24 June to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the riots that resulted from police brutality at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. By 1980, organisers decided to move the march to the summer months to increase participation and to better enable one of the elements of the movement – celebrating being our true selves in public. The Rio de Janeiro Mardi Gras is another example of a street parade with colour, music and outlandishness. Perhaps this is the reason for the name and timing of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The organisers probably also thought that using a Catholic festivity would aggravate the Catholic Church which had consistently argued against the free expression of LGBTI lifestyles.
In 2019, the situation of both the Catholic and LGBTI communities seems light years away from 1978. Australian laws have removed almost all discrimination against LGBTI people and just about every family has someone (or more) who identifies as LGBTI. The ignorance, fear, and prejudice of the past has, for the many people, been replaced with an appreciation of diversity and of lives lived with authenticity and freedom.
Australia’s Catholics have been on the same journey towards acceptance as their fellow citizens and for much the same reasons. Pope Francis has assisted this process with his 2013 remark “Who am I to judge gay people”. In 2016, Pope Francis reminded Catholics that the Catechism (#2358) says that gays and lesbians should be free of “..every sign of unjust discrimination..”. At that time, Pope Francis also said Christians owe an apology to gays who the Church has offended when they should have received respect and pastoral accompaniment[1].
One way that we can enter into Lent is to consider a service of lament and apology for the Church’s (individuals, families, parishes, and other Church ministries) failure to show God’s love to LGBTI people. An example of such a liturgy is: Order_of_Service_for_’Lament_and_Apology_Liturgy’_to_LGBTIQ
Other Lenten resources are:
Weekly video reflections on the Jesus’ subversive parables
Catholic Health Association USA – reflection for each week of Lent
Laudato si Stations of the Cross
Global Catholic Climate Movement’s Eating Simply for Lent 2019
Emmaus Productions free Lent resources
Subscribe to an emailed daily reflection for Lent
ACRATH Suggestions for Lent 2019
[1] https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/26/world/pope-apologize-gays/
