{"id":31922,"date":"2026-05-14T14:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=31922"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:30:17","slug":"lavender-lgbtq-events-at-catholic-universities-to-include-drag-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/05\/lavender-lgbtq-events-at-catholic-universities-to-include-drag-show","title":{"rendered":"‘Lavender’ LGBTQ+ Events at Catholic Universities to Include Drag Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As graduation season begins, some Catholic universities are offering so-called \u201clavender\u201d graduation events for LGBTQ+ students. According to Fox News<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>at least 20 such Catholic universities are offering LGBTQ+ affirming graduations for students, with some even featuring a drag show. Some of the colleges that either have had or plan to have such events 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. Seattle University\u2019s graduation will include a performance from “Sativa the Drag Queen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cardinal Newman Society<\/a> (CNS) criticized the decision by Catholic universities to hold such events. \u201cAlthough intended as a compassionate gesture to students, the ceremonies reinforce harmful ideologies about sexuality and gender that contradict Catholic teaching,\u201d it said in a statement. \u201cThey potentially lead students into sinful activity and undermine a Catholic college\u2019s claim to teach the truths of the\u00a0Catholic faith. The Church is clear\u00a0in its teaching\u00a0that sexual attraction to persons of the same sex is not itself a sin, but such attractions are \u2018objectively disordered,\u2019\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

CNS encouraged Catholic families to speak out against schools allowing such graduations. \u201cWhen Catholic colleges allow and endorse activities on campus that either outright reject Church teaching or could lead to confusion, these institutions are not showing concern for students\u2019 souls as part of their educational mission. Catholic families should demand that schools and colleges that profess the Catholic faith avoid scandalous practices that could endanger the eternal salvation of their students.\u201d Pope Leo XIV has continued to remain firm on the church\u2019s ban against blessing same-sex marriages while some liberal priests still hope to push for acceptance in the future.<\/p>\n

Students of Georgetown University\u2019s lavender graduation celebrated the event. \u201cIt\u2019s meaningful to come together with the people I\u2019ve been with for four years and graduate and celebrate our queer identities and everything we\u2019ve been through and everything we\u2019re going to do,\u201d said Emery Moynihan<\/a> (SFS \u201925), a keynote speaker of the event. \u00a0Others, however, criticized the event, with some wondering why LGBTQ+ students are being given their own events. \u201c\u2018-Catholic-in-name-only universities-holding separate commencement ceremonies to celebrate students[are] gay, bisexual, trans-or queer,[per]-Cardinal Newman Society-a growing trend since-\u2018Lavender Graduation\u2019-founded in 1995,\u201d wrote one user on X<\/a>. \u00a0\u201cBlasphemous graduations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As graduation season begins, some Catholic universities are offering so-called \u201clavender\u201d graduation events for LGBTQ+ students. According to Fox News, at least 20 such Catholic universities are offering LGBTQ+ affirming graduations for students, with some even featuring a drag show. Some of the colleges that either have had or plan to have such events include:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":31925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n'Lavender' LGBTQ+ Events at Catholic Universities to Include Drag Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over 20 Catholic universities host LGBTQ+ \u201clavender\u201d graduations, drawing praise from students and criticism from Catholic groups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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