ON JUNE 19, Couples for Christ Foundation for Family and Life (CFC-FFL) issued a statement that publicly condemned One Big Pride, Ateneo’s first university-wide LGBTQ+ Pride March. Spearheaded by the Sanggunian Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), the event took place on campus grounds on March 15. Since the release of CFC-FFL’s statement, several users took to social media to express their support or disapproval of One Big Pride.

In their post, CFC-FFL criticized Ateneo for the event and invited the institution “to return to the very nature of Catholic education, and that is to raise strong Catholic men and women who are also properly schooled.”

CGE issued a statement on June 25 in response to CFC-FFL’s strongly-worded message against One Big Pride.

CFC-FFL released a response three days later entitled Male and Female He Created Them. This affirmed their support for the Catholic teaching on the “natural” relationship between men and women and denounced “sinful acts” that are contrary to this structure. Despite these claims, they emphasized that “we, too, seek to love and care for homosexual persons as Christ would.” 

Conflicting viewpoints

One Big Pride was organized by CGE in hopes that it would promote inclusivity within the campus and call for greater attention and support for the LGBTQ+ community. 

According to CGE Chief Commissioner Von Carolino (2 AB COM), the primary goal of the event is to allow people to encounter “a more visceral experience of Pride” that would empower them amidst common incidents of violence.

He shared that members of the LGBTQ+ community have become victims of “oppression, disenfranchisement, and violence, among others,” which called for the need to give Ateneans access to a Pride event.

“It’s like a caricature of polarities, which clarifies that Pride is a protest against complex issues on rights, marginalization, and love,” Carolino said.

On the other hand, CGE Vice Commissioner Polly Baterna (2 BS ITE) added that One Big Pride served as an underlying message to the students that says there is an administration in full support of the LGBTQ+ community. It was an indication that the Sanggunian endeavored to “cultivate a safe space within the institution for [its students]” by holding events that nurture acceptance in the University.

In an interview with The GUIDON, CFC-FFL Live Life Coordinator RJ Mariones stated that a Pride March should not be tolerated within a Catholic university.

“We called out the Ateneo community because we believe that doing this event inside the campus weakens the Catholic identity of the institution,” he said. 

“All Catholic institutions must allow their students to encounter Christ[’s] love and truth inside and outside the classroom. Doing [a] Pride March leads to confusion among the students,” he added. 

Quoting Pope Benedict XVI, Mariones added that it is the duty of teachers and administrators “to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and […] leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual, or spiritual.”

Likewise, he shared that staying true to the Catholic faith entails following the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. Citing Ex Corde Ecclesiae 48, he added that this requires adherence to the teachings of the Magisterium, specifically in “bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new.”

“We are hoping that Ateneo, being a Catholic university, is doing what is expected of him as an institution,” Mariones said. 

For campus inclusivity

CGE emphasized in their statement against CFC-FFL that the Ignatian values of the University, specifically the value of cura personalis or “care for the entire person,” was exercised by way of hosting One Big Pride. 

When asked about her thoughts on CFC-FFL’s first statement, Baterna shared that the response “carried in itself a tone of arrogance and closed-mindedness.”

“It definitely boggles me why they felt compelled to post it despite hearing the stories of the community, with people hoping that they’d come to understand,” she said.

Baterna added that when people voice their disapproval of the LGBTQ+ community, the CGE has the responsibility to “take [their] stand and […] release a statement,” especially when it is “not within the nature of [CGE’s] advocacy to keep quiet.”    

In line with the CGE’s vision to promote gender equality, both Carolino and Baterna intend to improve collaboration within the Sanggunian, as well as with the Ateneo administration, in addressing gender issues in the future. Whether it entails improvements in case processings concerning gender issues or holding discussions and gender sensitivity training, they hope that the CGE can serve as a common ground for gender dialogues between the administration and the student body.

Carolino noted that although the CGE is limited in terms of policy enforcement and capital due to it being an arm of the student government, its goals still extended to represent the LGBTQ+ community as well as its respective causes.

“What I know is that within the Ateneo de Manila, we are taking [strides] forward towards progress in making this space a better place for the community. This, along with the help and support of the administration and the other groups within the Ateneo, is something we will continue to do,” Baterna added.

Pride in perspective

With various opinions surrounding One Big Pride, members of the Ateneo community were asked about their thoughts on the historic event and the CCF-FFL controversy that followed shortly after.

Dollhouse Finance-buddy Raffy Mendiola (3 BFA AM) shared his insights in light of the controversy. “It is disappointing because I have many religious friends who took part in the event and had no issues with everything the event stood for,” he said. “The disappointment stems from the fact that there are people who can’t put aside their beliefs when it comes to the celebration of a whole community’s identities.”

He added that Pride is “an important topic of discussion so that future generations of people will understand that it’s a fight for equality and not a fight against religion.”

Youth for Christ Ateneo (YFC-A), a Catholic charismatic organization oriented towards the “creative evangelization” of the youth, also chimed in with their two cents on the matter.

“YFC-A’s vision is to be and bring Christ wherever we are,” they shared. “When it comes to this, we see that Christ is someone who showed love and acceptance to everyone, especially the minorities.” 

YFC-A clarified that they serve as the youth arm of the CFC Global Missions Foundation Incorporated, which is not affiliated with CFC-FFL. They said that, “no matter who they are or what background they came from, God loved them first, and that fact stays no matter what comes after.”

“We acknowledge the University’s efforts and we pray that this would continue to improve, not only in fostering an inclusive university, but also a university that strives for equal opportunities for all of its students regardless of financial standing, race, and sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression,” they added.

ERRATUM: The print version of the article stated that the YFC-A is the youth arm of CFC-FFL. The article has been edited accordingly. We apologize for the oversight.