The article in the Angelite, the Official Student Publication of Holy Angel University, “Pride is not the opposite of Catholicism,” makes a claim that unsettles many, but it is precisely this discomfort that reveals why the conversation matters. Too often, the discussion is framed as a stark choice: one must either be faithful or affirming, Catholic or inclusive. Yet this framing is not only simplistic, but profoundly un-Catholic. Catholicism, at its core, is not about exclusion but about universality. “Catholic” itself means universal. Kung tunay na nauunawaan natin ang salitang ito, then there is no room for a worldview that forces people to choose between their faith and their humanity.
The strength of the article lies in its insistence that this supposed opposition is false. The idea that affirming LGBTQIA+ persons automatically undermines Catholic identity rests on a narrow reading of both doctrine and mission. The Church has always upheld the inviolable dignity of every human person. In fact, the Catechism explicitly calls for respect, compassion, and sensitivity toward persons with diverse sexual orientations, while condemning unjust discrimination in all forms. This is not a modern concession. It is part of the Church’s longstanding teaching. Kaya malinaw: anumang uri ng pagtanggi sa pagkatao ng isang tao ay hindi kailanman maituturing na tunay na Katoliko.
What the article courageously highlights is the lived contradiction within institutions that proclaim dignity yet hesitate to fully recognize people. When LGBTQIA+ students are allowed to exist but discouraged from expressing who they are, the message becomes conditional: you belong, but only partially. And that is a subtle form of exclusion. Hindi sapat ang pagtanggap kung may kasamang limitasyong nanghahamak. Inclusion that demands invisibility is not inclusion at all but containment.
At the same time, the article does not ask Catholic institutions to abandon their identity. Instead, it challenges them to live up to it. The question is not whether a Catholic university should remain Catholic. Of course, it should. The real question is whether it can embody the fullness of what Catholicism demands: a commitment to truth, yes, but also to accompaniment, dialogue, and justice. Hindi kailanman nagturo si Kristo ng pananampalatayang sarado sa pakikinig. His ministry was marked by encounter, especially with those on the margins.
Critics often focus on doctrine as if it is static and divorced from context, but Catholic tradition has always developed through engagement with human experience. While core teachings remain, the Church has historically deepened its understanding of human dignity, rights, and social justice through dialogue with the world. The call to engage LGBTQIA+ realities, therefore, is not a betrayal of Catholicism but a continuation of its intellectual and pastoral tradition. It is an invitation to wrestle with complexity, not to retreat into certainty.
Importantly, the article also reframes the meaning of Pride in a way that many fail to appreciate. Pride, in this context, is not about arrogance or self-exaltation. It is about reclaiming dignity and inclusivity in the face of marginalization. As other Catholic reflections have noted, there is a distinction between sinful pride and a rightful recognition of one’s worth as a child of God 2. When people celebrate Pride, they are not declaring superiority but are resisting invisibility and shame. At its best, Pride is a response to a history of rejection, something the Church, if it is faithful to its mission, must confront with honesty.
Dagdag pa rito, the article reminds us that silencing conversations does not preserve faith; it weakens it. When institutions shut down dialogue, they signal fear rather than conviction. Catholic education, especially, is meant to be a space for formation rather than indoctrination, one of critical engagement grounded in faith. If students cannot raise questions about identity, inclusion, and justice within a Catholic setting, where else can such conversations be had responsibly? Ang tunay na lakas ng pananampalataya ay nasusukat sa kakayahan nitong harapin ang mahihirap na tanong, hindi sa pag-iwas sa mga ito.
The article’s message is not that Pride replaces Catholicism, but that Catholicism, when fully lived, has room for the realities Pride seeks to name. It does not ask the Church to abandon its beliefs. It asks it to examine how those beliefs are embodied in real communities. Do they lead to compassion or exclusion? Dialogue or silence? Hope or fear?
The debate is not about whether Pride and Catholicism are opposites. It is about whether Catholic institutions are willing to reflect the radical inclusivity at the heart of the Gospel. Sapagkat kung ang pananampalataya ay totoo, hindi ito matatakot sa pagkakaiba. Ito ay lalapit, makikinig, at magmamahal, hindi dahil madali, kundi dahil iyon ang tama.
