Free to Be: Supporting Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students on Catholic Campuses

There is a long history of tension between the authority of the Vatican and the relative autonomy of Roman Catholic institutions of higher education, particularly in the United States of America. These tensions currently arise on Catholic campuses where student affairs practitioners seek to support lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students while at the same time operating within Vatican teaching that homosexuality is objectively disordered (Ratzinger, 1986). This paper will review those Catholic teachings on homosexuality and explore policies and practices of student affairs practitioners seeking to serve LGB students at Catholic higher education institutions