More than 20 colleges associated with the Catholic Church have come under fire for their support and hosting of what are called lavender graduations, exclusive events held for the specific reason of honoring the LGBT community despite already being able to participate in the school-wide ceremonies;
For context, lavender graduations find themselves at the center of an intense culture war but date back to 1995, when a lesbian woman organized the first such event at the University of Michigan. According to Wikipedia, “it acts as an inclusive complement to traditional graduations, celebrating the unique contributions and resilience of queer and trans students.” As always, irony is lost on the woke left as they designate the event ‘inclusive’ despite being closed off to mainstream society.
Additionally, an entire organization has cropped up around the work of Ronni Sanlo. At the website for the group of the same name, the Lavender Graduation Legacy Project says their are multiple pillars of purpose, tradition, and symbolism. The group purports to “envision a world where every LGBTQ+ person is visible, honored and celebrated in a Lavender Graduation ceremony and where our Lavender Graduation history is preserved.”
“Purpose: To recognize LGBTQ+ and allied students who may feel marginalized by traditional ceremonies, providing a space that validates their identities and achievements,” the website states. “Traditions: Students often receive lavender roses, certificates, and rainbow honor cords or stoles to wear with their official academic regalia.”
“Symbolism: The color lavender is significant, representing a combination of the pink triangle that gay people were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps and the lesbian symbol of the lavender menace,” it adds.
According to Fox News, some of the schools recognizing this decades-long and seemingly growing trend include: Georgetown, Gonzaga, the University of San Francisco, Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, Fordham, Fairfield University, Marquette, Xavier, Seattle University, Saint Louis University, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University, St. John’s, Albertus Magnus College, St. Mary’s College of California, Regis University, Siena Heights University, St. Thomas University and Our Lady of the Lake University.”
What’s more, in some instances these exclusive graduation events will also be hosting drag shows, sparking even more outrage among conservative Catholics. “One of the schools holding a separate LGBTQ+ graduation, Seattle University, indicates on its website that their “Lavender Celebration” will even include “a special performance” from “Sativa the Drag Queen,” who, later this month, is headlining an event called “DICK’S DELUXE DRAG EXTRAVAGANZA,” Fox reported.
In response to this perverse and contradictory approach to Catholic teachings, the Cardinal Newman society reacted with expected outrage, providing a list of logical and theological reasons why it should be opposed.
“Although intended as a compassionate gesture to students, the ceremonies reinforce harmful ideologies about sexuality and gender that contradict Catholic teaching,” a press release stated. “They potentially lead students into sinful activity and undermine a Catholic college’s claim to teach the truths of the Catholic faith.”
Going further, the statement made clear where the church stands on sexual orientation and subsequent relationships. “The Church is clear in its teaching that sexual attraction to persons of the same sex is not itself a sin, but such attractions are “objectively disordered.” Any resulting sexual activity is sinful.”