The Roman Catholic Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan installed a three-painting collection beside a side altar, entitled “God is Trans: A Queer Spiritual Journey” by Adah Unachukwu.
Catholic Vote wrote, “The Church of Saint Paul the Apostle is highly controversial, especially for its ‘LGBTQ Ministry,’ called ‘Out at St. Paul.’ The group is known for mixing sacred seasons and symbols with the profane to advance the LGBTQ movement. Out at St. Paul once posted a traditional painting of the Three Wise Men asleep together along with the suggestive text ‘Queer Epiphany: Three Kings or Three Queens?’ The group has also posted an image of the radical ‘gay rights’ activist and politician Harvey Milk depicted with a halo, along with the headline ‘Harvey Milk, Pray for Us.’ Milk infamously had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old runaway boy, who committed suicide after their encounter.”
The “God is Trans” so-called “art”* exhibit is displayed beside next one of the side altars in the basilica-style sanctuary. The Archdiocese of New York says it is investigating the exhibit, which they only learned about after the New York Post reported on it. “We had no knowledge of it beforehand. If media reports are accurate, then we would have concerns. We are investigating and looking to speak with the pastor of the parish to get more information.” This kinda begs the question, “Where have they been all this time this church has been pandering to public sinners?”
St. Paul’s special ministry to the sexually deviant hosts events and activities aimed allegedly at enriching “the spiritual and intellectual needs of LGBTQ+ Catholics.” I saw no sign at either of their websites that they bother themselves with Catholic teaching on the sinfulness of these lifestyles. And since they have apparently taken a razor blade to all the passages in the Bible that call sinners to repentance, one has to wonder which of the Seven Deadly Sins they’ll pander to next? How about a ministry to ensure that all “minor attracted persons” feel good about molesting minors? Maybe they should start a support group for abortion providers and their patients who are proud to shout their abortions?
In June of 2019, the Congregation for Catholic Education published a Vatican document on gender called, “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a path of dialogue on the question of gender theory in education.”
Intended as a guide for Catholics in the ongoing debate about human sexuality and gender ideology, the document reinforces Catholic teaching that God created only two genders, that He doesn’t make mistakes, that He ordained sexual relations be limited to one male and one female who are joined in holy matrimony for the purposes of procreating and raising a family.
The document also stresses the primary rights and duties of parents with regard to the education of their children — rights and duties which cannot be delegated or usurped by others. It also notes that children have the right to a mother and a father, and that it is within the family that children can learn to recognize the beauty of sexual difference.
And finally, it reiterates the standard “love the sinner, hate the sin” message that Jesus preached, saying that there “is the need to educate children and young people to respect every person in their particularity and difference, so that no one should suffer bullying, violence, insults or unjust discrimination based on their specific characteristics (such as special needs, race, religion, sexual tendencies, etc.).”
Last week, Pope Francis called gender ideology “one of the most dangerous [ideologies] … because it blurs differences and the value of men and women. The question of gender is diluting the differences and making the world the same, all dull, all alike, and that is contrary to the human vocation.”
It also appears to be diluting Catholic teaching into oblivion. For example, the artist’s statement about the first painting includes, “There is no devil; just past selves.” But The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear that the Satan (aka, the devil) cannot be reduced to a mere symbol of evil. “He is a personal being, a fallen angel, who is at the same time not an evil god, but a creature who is neither infinite nor omniscient.” – Crossroads Initiative, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The second painting is equally problematic, asking as it does “What does your god look like to you?” For Christians (and Catholics are Christians!), the answer is simply, “Jesus.” Not so for the blasphemous God is Trans crowd at St. Paul’s. The imagery I found was largely Buddhist, with a possible foray into suggesting that the Blessed Mother is a god(dess), which is also blasphemy.
The Guardian King – The pose in the painting “Identity” appears to refer to one of the four Guardian Kings, which are understood to be manifestations of the Great Sun Buddha.
Abhaya with Eye – The right hand held at shoulder level with the fingers pointing upward and the palm facing forward – is a Buddhist “mudra” (symbolic gesture) of blessing or protection. Attributed to the Buddha immediately following his enlightenment, the Abhaya is usually intended as a gesture of reassurance. The single opened eye seems to refer to Dharma, something that appears to be important in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It’s got something to do with achieving a deep understanding of one’s innate divinity. Put together in a painting called “Identity”, it seems to mean the artist’s god blesses his desire to understand his own godhood. Or something.
Halo – A disk of light that surrounds a person in art has been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holiness, which fits with the Buddhist “everybody is a god” thing.
But, while I used every search term I could think of to find any meaning behind the red, orange, and yellow, 12-striped starburst behind the halo, the only thing I found was a reference to “depictions of the Immaculate Conception. This type of halo refers to the to the description of the Virgin being crowned with twelve stars (Revelation 12:1).” (I’m not even going to go there.)
A color symbolism site said that red is the color of action, strength, energy, and passion; orange is the color of emotion, youth, optimism, and enthusiasm; and yellow is the color of happiness, optimism, positivity, and intellect.
As for the third painting, yikes. I can’t even begin to wonder. I couldn’t even find a good, clear image of the painting to study. The only half thought I had was that the light bursts are some reference to the Light of Dharma.
- https://stpaultheapostle.org/
- https://stpaultheapostle.org/out/
- https://www.outatstpaul.org/
- https://nypost.com/2023/05/07/god-is-trans-exhibit-at-nyc-catholic-church-raises-eyebrows/
- https://catholicvote.org/ny-archdiocese-investigating-church-god-is-trans/
- https://washingtonstand.com/news/pelosi-praises-a-pedophile-says-samesex-marriage-reflects-divinity
- *These paintings remind me of pieces Mama Buzz painted in elementary school, the only difference being that her religious paintings expressed, rather than spit on, the truths taught by the Roman Catholic Church.
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254272/new-york-archdiocese-were-investigating-god-is-trans-exhibit-at-catholic-parish
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254320/god-is-trans-exhibit-at-nyc-catholic-church-new-york-archdiocese-expressed-concern
- https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-06/vatican-document-on-gender-yes-to-dialogue-no-to-ideology.html
- https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/10/vatican-lgbtq-genders-education/
- https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/11/pope-francis-gender-ideology-dangerous-civilization/
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253845/pope-francis-gender-ideology-is-one-of-the-most-dangerous-ideological-colonizations-today
- https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/satan-the-devil-the-fall-of-the-angels-catechism-of-the-catholic-church/
- http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/sbklein/images/RELIGION/buddhism/pages/guardians.htm
- https://tricycle.org/magazine/mudra/
- https://www.shambhala.com/seeing-with-the-eye-of-dhamma.html
- https://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Opening_Dhamma_Eye1.php
- https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/4967/dharma
- https://www.thepeachbox.com/blogs/jewelry/hamsa-hand-meaning
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)
- http://albertis-window.com/2013/09/history-of-the-halo-in-art/
- https://www.color-meanings.com/color-symbolism-chart/
polination.blog 