A Society of Exclusion?

Pope Francis kisses a disabled man
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Diego Neria was born a girl in Spain, but after a sex-change operation eight years ago, he’s now a man.

Neria was raised a devout Catholic but many people in his parish scorned him after the operation, according to CNN News. After heated discussions with a parish priest and some others in his hometown of Plasencia, he started staying away from Mass.

"I've never lost faith, ever," Neria says. "But the other thing is the rejection."

So, with the help of his bishop, he wrote to Pope Francis last year and, says Neria, Francis telephoned him twice. Then came a visit with the pope on Jan. 24 at the papal residence.

The Vatican and the bishop have declined comment.

"This man loves the whole world," Neria says of Pope Francis. "I think there's not, in his head, in his way of thinking, discrimination against anyone. I'm speaking about him, not the institution. …But if this Pope has a long life, which all of his followers hope, I think things will change."

I hope he’s right about change, but for me, what Pope Francis is doing is much more profound, and much more relevant to the message of Jesus. More about that later.

One of the most interesting stories I did as a newspaper reporter was traveling to Trinidad in southern Colorado to interview the doctor at the center of the “sex-change capital of the world.” Dr. Stanley Biber, who grew up in Iowa and as a youth wanted to be a rabbi, was in his sixties at the time of the interview. He died in 2006.

A diminutive, cowboy-boots wearing surgeon, he exuded optimism and compassion for his patients, who came from around the world. 

Besides spending time with Biber, I interviewed three of his patients, all men who wanted to be women. Each of them was different, but what they had in common was the idea that they were women trapped in a man’s body. All of them had been in years of therapy, and it was Biber’s policy to provide the operation only as a last resort.

Stanley Biber
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Perceived as “effeminate” or just plain weird, they described the scorn they encountered during their lives. They didn’t expect it to diminish after the surgery, and Dr. Biber didn’t give them hope that it would. Despite the operations, their gender was still hard to determine by appearance. The operations did, however, seem to provide some inner peace.

Now, back to the pope and the Spaniard. Francis’ befriending of the woman-turned-man impressed me particularly because it reminded me of that assignment in Colorado, and how easily we accept the exclusion of so many people. Many of us Christians, whose founder and leader befriended prostitutes and tax collectors, have nothing to do with people whom we consider to be on the margins of society.

During the prayers of the faithful at the Catholic mass, we pray for our sick and dying, our boys in the military, our political leaders, our parish organizations, our priests and bishops, and all the good people we can think of. Following Jesus’ example, shouldn’t we be praying for homosexuals, transgender people, immigrants, disabled people and others society shuns? Shouldn’t we also be praying for prostitutes, pornographers, rapists, murderers, muggers and others whom we presume to be outside God’s care?  

Reaching out to the Spanish man is one of many surprising gestures by this pope. Yearning for something more “substantive,” many people interested in church reform dismiss them as empty tokens. Others believe the pope is going too far, sowing doubt and uncertainty in the minds of the faithful and confusing people about church teaching.

I lean toward those wanting reform but am deeply moved by the lessons Pope Francis is teaching by being himself. Those of us who are believers know in our hearts that he is following Jesus’ teaching and example. Just as Jesus was rejected by those who preferred the rituals and the religious customs of his day, many today take refuge in dogma and ritual emptied of human understanding and compassion – what many of us believe to be the heart of true religion.

And those who aren’t believers – or who like many believers are still searching for God – are equal beneficiaries of Francis’ “gestures.” He’s helping heal society’s self-inflicted wounds, and if we are to find God, chances are it will be through people like him.

One of the most interesting stories in the Christian Bible is from the Acts of the Apostles, describing how the newly formed church tried to resolve an identity crisis. Peter, the leader of the apostles, encountered a Roman centurion named Cornelius, who despite being a non-Jew had apparently gained God’s favor.

After a vision that opened Peter’s eyes and heart, he exclaimed, according to The Message version of the Bible, “It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from … the door is open.”

How can we say it’s open to everyone but the likes of Diego Neria?