Rome’s Church of the Gesù to hold funeral for homeless transgendered man—UPDATED

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Rome’s Church of the Gesù to hold funeral for homeless transgendered man—UPDATED 2016-09-30T15:59:16-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

From the National Catholic Reporter:

If anyone wants an example of what the emphasis on mercy under Pope Francis looks like in action, they’ll find one this afternoon in Rome at the Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the pope’s Jesuit order, where a funeral will be celebrated for a Colombian transgendered and homeless person beaten to death five months ago.

The body of Andrea Quintero, who struggled with drug addiction and lived on the streets in the area around Rome’s main Termini train station, was found alongside a track in the station on July 29. An investigation concluded he died as a result of injuries from a severe beating.

Quintero, 28 at the time, had left his family in Colombia four years before. He was well known to personnel at the station and to charity workers, calling himself the “Trans of Termini.”

A week before his death, he gave a brief video interview to the Italian paper Corriere della Sera in which he described having a paralyzed arm and walking with a limp as a result of a previous beating.

In the interview, Quintero said his dream was to “meet a guy with money who’ll get me out of this ugly life,” referring to drugs and homelessness. To date, police have not arrested anyone for Quintero’s murder.

The delay in organizing a funeral, according to news reports, was due to the fact that Quintero’s family never made a request for his remains or provided any instructions about how they wanted him memorialized.

Eventually the Jesuit-run Centro Astalli, dedicated to aiding refugees, in combination with the local branch of Caritas and civic officials, stepped in to organize a funeral service…

…Jesuit Fr. Giovanni La Manna, director of the Centro Astalli, said the funeral is intended not only to mourn Quintero’s death, but to offer “a signal for the entire Roman community that’s distracted in the face so many people who face discrimination, and who live their difficulties to the indifference of our city.”

Read more.

UPDATE: I got the following e-mail this morning:

As an occasional reader of your blog, “The Deacon’s Bench,” I was pleased you posted John Allen’s story on Andrea Quintero’s funeral.

In your headline for the post, you referred to Andrea as a “transgendered man.” I’d request that you use kinder language when discussing trans individuals in the future by using the term “transgender” instead and respecting their preferred gender identity. Andrea identified as a woman and so it would be more respectful to use the term “transgender woman” in your headline. I plan to reach out to John Allen about the fact feminine pronouns should have been used in the story as well.

I work with the LGBT Catholic community in ministry and know how important language can be in creating a sense of respect and welcome. I appreciate any efforts you can make in the future to make trans people feel God’s love through your blogging by using inclusive language.

My view: Andrea may have lived as a woman, but he died as a man. I suspect his death certificate, like his birth certificate, said “male.” Referring to him as a her may have had the effect of being more respectful of his feelings, but it would have been factually incorrect.

Ripped from the headlines

Previous Post

December 27, 2013

"All of life is Christmas, an eternal gift from God..."

Next Post

December 27, 2013 Must-see video: man asks homeless what they want for Christmas—and then gives it to them

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution politics Politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized VATICAN Vatican vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city is known as the birthplace of Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Bethlehem Jerusalem Nazareth Galilee

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »