A young trans woman, exhausted by rejection, approached Dom Helder Camara, the Brazilian bishop who was bothering those in power. With a trembling voice, she said, “Father, I was born male, but I don’t feel that way. I am a woman, and no one calls me by my name. Are you going to reject me too?” Dom Helder didn’t preach to her. He didn’t correct her. He hugged her tightly and said, “My daughter, you are loved by God. And by me too.”
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
By: Marcelo Leites, WSCF General Secretary and Mónica Treviño, WSCF Identity, Diversity Dialogue and Gender Justice Program Coordinator
We, as WSCF, live a faith that denounces every reality that is complicit with injustice. From this political position we embrace, accompany and recognize the life of queer people. This statement isn´t minor, in a world that denies the existence of diversity, accompanying them is being prophets. Embracing queer people for loving and living the way they are, because their existence reminds us of a divers God.
Take a brief historical tour of June 28th, 1969 is key to memory and respect of queer people´s rights. Talking about the Hablar de los Stonewall Riots is to recognize that in queer activism the participation of trans racialized women has been key, without Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera June wouldn´t be the same. We would lack colors, sexualities, identities and resistance. Marsha and Sylvia are prophets that announce the rights of queer people of existance, to love and to live their identities. We embrace trans dignity because without justice, faith is impossible.
We understand that denouncing injustice is not just in June, is a constant commitment in the daily life of our federation, evidence of this is the policy adopted in the 2022 General Assembly “WSCF Statement on violence against transgender and non-binary peoples”, that invites us to condemn “violence against transgender and non-binary people, and recognizes it as a global human rights violation. As a Christian organisation committed to life-giving social justice, a Christian organisation by and from the margins, we think our voices are needed to condemn this targeted violence that prevents the sustaining and flourishing of human life”. As well as working for the security of all people in all the regions.
Without further ado, in this Pride Month let us celebrate, embrace and bear witness to a diverse, tender and loving God who is embodied en queer people.
A Faith That Remains Silent in the Face of Injustice is Complicit
Well-intentioned words are not enough. It is not enough to say “God loves everyone.” Because while that is being repeated, thousands of people around the world are being murdered—queer people being among the most affected. They continue to be killed, expelled from their homes, denied by their faith communities.
Celebrating Pride also means recognizing the violence experienced, especially by trans people. It is unforgivable to live Pride without speaking of transfemicides, without naming racism, poverty, and abandonment—it becomes an empty celebration. Pride is not just a party: it is resistance. It is taking a stand.
From a living faith, we choose to take a stand. We say clearly:
God loves all people. God loves lesbians and gay men. God loves asexual and aromantic people. God loves bisexual and pansexual people. God loves non-binary and gender-fluid people. God loves trans people . God loves everyone. And so do we. Because without queer justice, there is no Kingdom. Because without trans justice, there is no Kingdom. And without courageous tenderness, there is no community.
We believe in a Gospel that changes names, heals wounds, and lifts up oppressed bodies. We believe in communities that embrace trans children, trans youth, and trans spiritualities. We believe in a faith that chooses tenderness, accompaniment, and justice.
May this Pride find us organized, praying with our feet on the ground, building spaces where every person can say: I am, I believe, I exist… without fear. This Pride is not a decoration. It is memory. It is rage. And it is the future.
Here you can read the full WSCF message for PRIDE 2025. (It is also available in French and Spanish).
