[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal’s tribute to ‘God Save the Queer’ author reflects ‘both/and’ instinct

Crux ^ | August 16, 2023 | John L Allen Jr.

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[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal’s tribute to ‘God Save the Queer’ author reflects ‘both/and’ instinct

ROME – Italy is a county that reveres artists and intellectuals, in part because since antiquity, culture has been its leading export. Thus the recent death of a 51-year-old novelist and essayist named Michela Murgia, after a long struggle with cancer, has been a national drama here, even amid the traditional mid-August doldrums.

To be sure, Michela was not everyone’s cup of tea.

Although she professed herself to be a believing Catholic, her strongly progressive positions on issues such as women’s liberation, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, euthanasia and artificial reproduction – expressed, for instance, in her 2002 manifesto God Save the Queer: A Feminist Catechism – generated both admiration and consternation in roughly equal measure.

Despite being at odds with official Catholic doctrine on many points, Murgia was laid to rest during a church funeral at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Montesanto in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, better known as the “Artists’ Church” since every Sunday for more than 70 years a special liturgy has been staged there for people from the worlds of art and culture.

The funeral was celebrated by Father Walter Insero, the rector of the basilica who’s also served as the chaplain to Italy’s national broadcaster RAI since 2004. In 2021, he was named a monsignor by Pope Francis.

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As was inevitable in a deeply partisan time, Murgia’s passing was more noted on the Italian left than right. A cluster of LGBTQ+ activists gathered outside the church, and, when the funeral was concluded, the crowd outside burst into a chorus of Bella Ciao, a 19^th century protest song associated with left-wing resistance.

In that context, not every Catholic here was pleased with Zuppi’s demonstration of affection.

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