“Holyness, my name is Giona Dagnese, I am 22 years old, I am a transgender, homosexual and disabled boy, I felt torn between faith and transgender identity. Trans and believer, at a crossroads I chose love.” These are the words that a young boy from Lombardy addressed to Pope Francis, confiding in him how difficult it is to reconcile his faith, gender identity and sexual orientation. Three worlds that often come into conflict because of the theories and declarations that the Vatican has expressed on numerous occasions. Jonah’s words reached the Pope, who was keen to reassure him that “God is always close to us, that he walks with us and loves us just as we are”. However, with the clarification: “Even if we were sinners”.
Jonah at Open: “I’m happy with the answer, but not with the sin”
The 22-year-old tells Open that he was “happy to have received a response from Francesco and, above all, his listening, which applies not only to me but to the entire community”. But at the same time, he says he’s sorry “that sin is mentioned as if it were in some way a mistake to bring our identity out into the world with transparency.” The 22-year-old’s case was singled out by Vatican media on the eve of World Youth Day for the preparation of a new podcast featuring the Pope, Popecast by Salvatore Cernuzio. In fact, other boys and girls besides Jonah will question the pontiff. A dialogue that does not take place live, however. Their stories are recorded and shown to the Pope on a computer that is brought to Casa Santa Marta.
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