Gay and Catholic

A University of Melbourne Student

I am a gay man and my religion is Roman Catholic. Although I am not the best Catholic out there (I can’t recite every line in the bible, and sometimes miss Sunday church) the religion is an inseparable part of my life. My faith helps me when life gets hard. When I first moved to Australia and faced so many challenges from living accommodation, to academic performance; the church was and still is my safe haven.

Unfortunately, my experience as a queer person of faith is not without its own challenges. I have had people from the same religion tell me that being gay is a sin and other unkind remarks. The worst part is that some of these remarks come from people who I thought would be kind and open-minded. This made me realise that being a person of faith is not about listening to others telling me what is right and what is wrong. It is about having faith in my religion and being true to myself.