Protest Planned At Worcester Diocese HQ Over 'Harmful Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies'

WORCESTER, MA — A week after Diocese of Worcester Bishop Robert McManus released new policies about gender and sexuality in local Catholic schools, a local LGBTQ+ youth organization will lead a protest outside the diocese's Worcester headquarters this week.

The nonprofit Love Your Labels, which provides art and fashion programs for LGBTQ+ young people in the area, called McManus' new rules for Catholic school students "harmful anti-LGBTQ+ policies" in an Instagram post advertising the Wednesday protest.

"We encourage Queer folx and our allies to rally in support of our youth and their rights to live free and authentically. We know that affirming queer & trans young peoples saves lives. Let’s speak up and stand out!" the post said.

Love Your Labels cofounder Joshua Croke has said the diocese's new policies threaten the safety of queer young people who are more likely to commit suicide than their peers due to being ostracized.

Threats of violence against the LGBTQ+ community have also been increasing, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Boston Children's Hospital was targeted by bomb a series of bomb threats last year because it operates a clinic that provides medical care for transgender children. A man from Texas and a Massachusetts woman were arrested in charged in connection to those threats.

Last Tuesday, the diocese published the new policies in a press release after an inquiry from Worcester Patch. McManus notified local Catholic schools about the policies at the end of June in a letter. The policies require students to use pronouns that match their sex at birth, and prohibit students from being supportive of or engaging in same-sex relationships. The schools will also only issue documents like transcripts and diplomas under the names students used in school, which would affect students who change their names as part of a gender transition.

The policies will likely be used by 19 of the 21 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Worcester. Representatives of the independently-sponsored St. John's High School in Shrewsbury and Notre Dame Academy in Worcester notified McManus on Aug. 11 that they would not use the policies.

The policies made national news this week after the Boston Globe and Boston-area TV stations picked up the story. The New York Times covered the policies in an article over the weekend.