News
La iglesia en Cuba donde Dios ama a los gais
Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana acepta a personas LGBTI


La Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana en Cuba apoya a miembros de la comunidad LGBTI. (Foto de Claudia Padrón/Tremenda Nota)
Esa nota salió originalmente en el sitio web de Tremenda Nota.
LA HABANA — Son las seis de la tarde del lunes dos de septiembre del año dieciocho. Al interior de un pequeño departamento del Vedado, la pastora Elaine Saralegui oficia el culto de una denominación cristiana que acepta a las personas no heteronormativas, a las poliamorosas, a las que creen en otros dioses.
La sala de la casa no es demasiado grande. Aun así caben 12 personas repartidas entre dos butacones y las sillas plásticas que se amontonan en una esquina. Frente a los asientos se levanta un espejo de casi dos metros que refleja la cruz colgada en la pared del frente. Al centro, un cirio y una Biblia, el pan y el vino de la comunión, reposan sobre una pequeña mesa cubierta con la bandera arcoíris.
Algunos fuman y esperan con calma a que comience el culto; otros conversan apasionadamente sobre las reuniones de barrio para discutir el Proyecto de Constitución. Miguel Ángel ― un mulato delgado que usa ropa deportiva ― inició el debate diciendo que “los derechos no se plebiscitan.”
Aunque el país sea tan homofóbico como presenta la cobertura de la televisión, él, un hombre unido con otro hombre, “debería tener los mismos derechos patrimoniales y reproductivos que los demás.”
Justo al frente de Miguel Ángel, una mujer lesbiana ― Niurka ― se pregunta si en Cuba serán mayoría quienes no aceptan el matrimonio igualitario. A su lado, Ana ― madre de una niña de 5 años y pareja de un hombre trans ― no tiene dudas de que “es así.”
Elaine enciende el cirio y da play a una canción cristiana que ocupa la atmósfera de la pequeña sala desde una laptop. Es la señal, el debate debe ser pausado para comenzar el culto. Todas las personas se aproximan y forman un círculo alrededor de la Biblia. Cierran los ojos y ruegan a Dios en una oración que evoca a Cristo junto a deidades yorubas.

Miembros de la Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana en Cuba oran (Foto tomada de la página de Facebook de “Somos ICM en Cuba.”)
Otros grupos de cristianos tradicionales tienen muchas “razones” para criticar a la Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana: ICM acepta a miembros con sexualidades no heteronormativas — desde lesbianas hasta personas queer ―, ordena pastores trans, promueve el activismo LGBTI+, y no condena las religiones afrocubanas.
“Dios tiene muchos nombres y se presenta de innumerables formas,” explicará más tarde Elaine.
En 2012, al interior de la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Matanzas surgió el grupo “Somos” apara apoyar a las personas gais, lesbianas y bisexuales que asistían al templo. El proyecto sobrevivía con discreción, desde el anonimato: salvo el pastor y unos pocos miembros de la congregación, la mayoría de las personas ignoraban su existencia o misión.
Poco a poco fueron sumándose otros creyentes de distintas comunidades de fe hasta que el grupo se convirtió en una especie de refugio para las personas que habían sido excluidas o marginadas por su condición de no heterosexuales.
Tres años después de la creación de “Somos” viajó a la Isla Troy Perry, el obispo fundador de ICM, y reconoció en el proyecto cubano los mismos principios que profesaba su denominación. En ese viaje, el reverendo Perry propuso que Cuba tuviera su propia Iglesia Metropolitana. Así, el 20 de agosto de 2015 nace “Somos ICM” en la ciudad de Matanzas con Elaine Saralegui, una lesbiana, como su pastora.
La primera — y hasta ahora única — pastora de ICM en Cuba tiene 41 años. Luce el cabello oscuro en un corte conocido como garzón; tiene el ichtus — la silueta de un pez usada como símbolo por los primeros cristianos — tatuado en la muñeca derecha. Una cruz de plata le pende del cuello.
Elaine nunca ha ocultado su orientación teológica liberal. Unos años atrás, con su tesis de licenciatura aseguró que las iglesias podían ser más inclusivas hacia la diversidad sexual.
Ahora, con su ejercicio de maestría, llega más lejos: aborda la Teoría Queer ―base de la Teología Queer, en la cual se sustenta ICM ―, que enfatiza que el género, las orientaciones e identidades sexuales no son una verdad biológica, sino el resultado de una construcción social.
Desde que se graduó del Seminario Evangélico de Matanzas, las actitudes desprejuiciadas de Elaine han escandalizado a los cristianos fundamentalistas. La pastora ha sido noticia por bendecir la unión entre personas homosexuales, oficializar la boda simbólica de dos jóvenes mujeres, y participar en las jornadas contra la homofobia y la transfobia junto al Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (Cenesex).
ICM ha recibido la anuencia del Cenesex para expandirse y darse a conocer en Cuba. La propia Mariela Castro ha apoyado públicamente a la congregación desde sus inicios e, incluso, ha asistido a varias ceremonias religiosas. Aunque no se conozca que la hija del expresidente Raúl Castro profese ninguna fe religiosa, en mayo pasado acompañó a Elaine en una ceremonia de bendición a familias cubanas y parejas homosexuales.

La Iglesia de la Comunidad Metropolitana en Cuba, fundada en Matanzas en 2015, ha logrado extenderse a La Habana y Santa Clara. En la imagen, Elaine Saralegui se prepara para oficiar un culto en Santa Clara. (Foto cortesía de Maykel González Vivero/Tremenda Nota)
Argelia, una transformista encargada de coordinar la Red de Mujeres Lesbianas y Bisexuales de Cuba, lee un versículo que habla del amor por encima de miedos y rechazos. Una hora antes, Argelia había llegado al apartamento número 20 junto a su novia. Es una de las primeras veces que está en el culto.
Cinco días después ambas se irán al festival de música electrónica en el Castillo del Morro como activistas por los derechos de la población LGTBI+. El grupo de ICM en La Habana es un colectivo esencialmente militante.
“En nuestras comunidades de fe trabajamos el activismo desde el respeto al otro y el debate,” explica Elaine mientras fuma un cigarro después del culto. “No respondemos con violencia, no aspiramos a imponer nuestros códigos espirituales o sexuales a los demás, pero sí defendemos nuestro derecho a vivir con dignidad.”
La comunidad metropolitana fue la única denominación religiosa que respondió públicamente a la carta firmada por cinco iglesias protestantes cubanas en contra del matrimonio igualitario, en junio de 2018.
En ese momento ICM dijo: “A nuestros hermanas, hermanos con identidades sexuales y de género no heteronormativas, gays, lesbianas, bisexuales, transgéneros, transexuales, queer, a las personas heterosexuales que defienden estas causas, a las familias diversas, a quienes han perdido la fe por causa de teologías medievales, queremos decirles: ¡Dios existe y les ama! Es poliamoroso y radicalmente inclusivo.”
A esta congregación han llegado personas que no conocían la palabra de Cristo, como Argelia o su pareja. A lado de ellas también hay protestantes de tradición que encontraron por primera vez un espacio donde no son rechazados.
Algunos de las personas que hoy asisten a ICM, antes de conocer la Iglesia Metropolitana, tuvieron que dar testimonio de su “pecado” frente a una congregación radical. En muchos casos fueron sometidos a un rito de exorcismo hasta que pudieran asegurar que Dios los había “curado,” que ya no eran homosexuales.
Si no existiera ICM, Argelia y Ana y Miguel Ángel y Niurka e incluso Elaine no serían aceptados plenamente por otra iglesia cubana. Ninguna de las cinco denominaciones cristianas opuestas al matrimonio igualitario y a la ideología de género les hubiera permitido comulgar sin aludir al “pecado.” Ni la Iglesia Católica hubiera bendecido sus uniones.
Cada lunes, el culto termina con la comunión, sobre las siete de la noche. Las 12 personas que hay en el salón se abrazan mientras escuchan a su pastora. Elaine parte la hostia para colocarla sobre la lengua de una mujer mayor que se adelanta.
Marisabel, la primera persona que recibió hoy “el cuerpo y la sangre de Cristo” es maestra de niños, presbiteriana de formación y madre de un joven rechazado por su antigua denominación. “Vengo aquí porque recibo un mensaje de amor hacia mi familia — dice —. Yo tengo un hijo gay y estoy orgullosa de cómo es.”
“Mi labor como pastora de esta denominación — explica Elaine — es sensibilizar a la comunidad en general con las problemáticas LGTBI+ y también mostrar que se puede ser inclusivo, y no por ello dejar de ser Iglesia.”
Federal Government
Attorney details the harms of waiving anti-discrimination rules for religious universities
Incentives aligned for continuation of anti-LGBTQ discrimination

Democratic lawmakers re-introduced the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act on Friday, which marked the 13th anniversary of the 18-year-old New Jersey college student’s death by suicide after he was targeted with homophobic harassment by his peers.
The bill, which establishes cyberbullying as a form of harassment, directing colleges and universities to share anti-harassment policies to current and prospective students and employees, was introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Patty Murray (Wash.), along with U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.
Advocacy groups including the Tyler Clementi Foundation, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and The Trevor Project have endorsed the legislation, which comes as issues concerning anti-LGBTQ harassment in institutions of higher education have earned renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Earlier this month, the Washington Blade connected with an expert to discuss these and other subjects: Paul Southwick, a Portland, Oregon-based litigation attorney who leads a legal advocacy group focused on religious institutions of higher education and their treatment of LGBTQ and other marginalized communities.
On Tuesday, he shared a statement responding to Friday’s reintroduction of the Tyler Clementi bill, stressing the need for equal enforcement of its provisions in light of efforts by conservative Christian schools to avoid oversight and legal liability for certain federal civil rights regulations:
“We are still evaluating the bill regarding how the bill would interact with the religious exemption in Title IX,” Southwick said. “We fully support the expansion of anti-harassment protections for students and corresponding requirements for educational institutions.”
He added, “We also believe that such protections and requirements should extend to students at taxpayer funded, religiously affiliated educational institutions, regardless of whether those institutions claim, or receive, an assurance of religious exemption from Title IX regulations” through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Baylor University’s unprecedented Title IX exemption
In response to a request from Baylor University, a conservative Baptist college located in Waco, Texas, the Education Department in July granted a first of its kind religious-based exemption from federal regulations governing harassment, a form of sex-based discrimination proscribed under Title IX.
Southwick explained that during the Obama administration, the federal government began to understand and recognize discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as forms of sex-based discrimination covered by the statute. The Biden-Harris administration issued a directive for the Education Department to formalize the LGBTQ inclusive definitions under Title IX, with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that is now underway at the agency.
Beginning with the Department’s 2010 “dear colleague” letter clarifying the administration’s view that discrimination against LGBTQ people constitutes sex-based discrimination under the law, Southwick said the pushback from religious schools was immediate. In the years since, many have successfully petitioned the Education Department for “exemptions so they can discriminate against queer, trans and non-binary people,” but these carveouts were limited “to things like admissions, housing, athletics.”
No one had argued that “federally funded educational institutions [should] have no regulation by the federal government as to whether they’re protecting their students from harassment,” he remarked – at least not until the Baylor case.
Addressing the unprecedented move in a letter to the Department on September 5, U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) urged the agency to “clarify the narrow scope of this exemption and assure students at religious institutions that they continue to have protections against sex-based harassment.”
Southwick told the Blade other members of Congress have expressed an interest in the matter, as have some progressive nonprofit groups.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Department confirmed receipt of the lawmakers’ letter and said the agency will respond to the members.
The Department’s issuance of the exemption to Baylor came despite an open investigation into the university by its Office of Civil Rights over a Title IX complaint brought in 2021 by Southwick’s organization, the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP), on behalf of a queer student who claimed she was subjected to homophobic abuse from other students while university officials to whom she reported the harassment failed to intervene.
It is not yet clear whether the agency will close its investigation as a result of its decision to exempt Baylor from Title IX’s harassment rules.
Veronica Bonifacio Penales, the student behind the complaint against Baylor, is also a plaintiff in REAP’s separate class action lawsuit challenging the Education Department’s practice of waving Title IX rules for faith-based colleges and universities – which, the plaintiffs argue, facilitates anti-LGBTQ discrimination in violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
The case, Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education, is on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Other religious schools are likely to follow Baylor’s lead
Southwick said the agency’s decision in the Baylor case “puts students at risk of harassment without a civil remedy against their school’s failures to properly address harassment,” adding, “Taxpayer funded educational institutions, whether religious or secular, should never be permitted to escape oversight from OCR in how they handle anti-harassment claims from LGBTQIA+ or other students protected by federal non-discrimination law.”
Buoyed by Baylor’s successful effort, requesting exemptions to Title IX rules for purposes of allowing the harassment of LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff is likely to become routine practice for many of America’s conservative institutions of higher education, Southwick said.
The nonprofit group Campus Pride maintains a list of America’s “absolute worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ youth,” schools that “received and/or applied for a Title IX exemption to discriminate against LGBTQ youth, and/or demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices.”
193 colleges and universities have met the criteria.
Many of the thousands of LGBTQ students enrolled in these institutions often have insufficient support, Southwick said, in part because “a lot of the larger civil rights organizations and queer rights organizations are very occupied, and rightly so, with pushing back against anti-trans legislation in the public sphere.”
Regardless, even in America’s most conservative schools like Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, Southwick noted that pro-equality students, faculty, and staff have pushed for change.
He added that while there are, no doubt, young people who harbor anti-LGBTQ views, “they often become much more progressive the longer they’re in school, because there’s just queer people coming out everywhere, you know, and it’s hard to hate people who are your friends.”
The powerful influence and role of financial incentives
Southwick said meaningful reform at the institutional level is made more difficult by the reality that “financial incentives from the government and from the market are aligned to favor the continuation of discrimination.”
“Once the money stops flowing, they will almost all instantly change their policies and start protecting queer students,” he said, but added that colleges and universities have little reason to change without the risk that discriminatory policies and practices will incur meaningful consequences, like the loss of government funding and accreditation.
Another challenge, Southwick said, is the tendency of institutions of higher education to often prioritize the wishes and interests of moneyed alumni networks, boards of trustees, and donors, groups that generally skew older and tend to be more conservative.
Southwick said when he and his colleagues at REAP discuss proposed pro-LGBTQ reforms with contacts at conservative religious universities, they are warned “over and over again,” that “donors will be angry.”
Following the establishment of nationwide prohibitions against segregation and other forms of racial discrimination with passage of the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which applied to public schools, and Runyon v. McCrary (1976), which covered private schools, Southwick noted that “A lot of Christian schools and college colleges continued to deny admission to black students.”
One by one, however, the so-called “segregation academies” would permanently close their doors or agree to racial integration, Southwick said – buckling under pressure from the U.S. government’s categorical denial of federal funding to these institutions, coupled with other factors like the decision of many professional associations to deny membership to their professors and academics.
Another important distinction, Southwick added: unlike Title IX, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “does not have a religious exemption.”
Africa
South African police arrest seven men linked to kidnapping of Grindr users
Advocacy groups welcomed arrests, urged authorities to investigate other cases

South African LGBTQ organizations have welcomed the arrest of seven suspects linked to a series of kidnappings liked to Grindr.
Several Grindr users in South Africa in recent months have been kidnapped for ransom through the dating app.
The South African Police Service said the seven suspects were arrested following an investigation into the kidnapping of an 18-year-old Wits University student on Sept. 19.
SAPS said suspects demanded $1,500 for the student’s release. Authorities set up a sting operation and a breakthrough came on Sept. 20 when they identified an ATM where one of the suspects was expected to withdraw the ransom money. Officers placed one of the suspects under arrest as soon as he arrived, and he agreed to show them where the victim was being held captive.
“The student was reported missing the same day by his roommate. It is reported that he was lured to the suspects through a dating site called Grindr,” said SAPS spokesperson Brenda Muridili. “Afterwards, the police conducted surveillance and arrested one suspect as soon as he arrived. He then led the authorities to the Denver Men’s Hostel (in Johannesburg), where they discovered the 18-year-old victim bound and unconscious. Six additional suspects were apprehended, and the victim was rushed to the hospital for medical attention.”
Muridili also said there is a high possibility that the suspects are further linked to 86 similar Grindr-related cases.
“We cannot rule out the possibility because this is not the first case of its kind,” said Muridili. “We have several cases that are being investigated.”
Access Chapter 2 Media Liaison Officer Mpho Buntse said the organization welcomed the arrest, but it still worried about why such incidents continue to take place.
“We congratulate SAPS in Johannesburg for acting swiftly in arresting seven homophobes who have been using Grindr, to terrorize and torture their victims. We believe that this arrest is a firm demonstration of the force’s commitment to confront crimes of this nature. As an organization, we have been vocal in calling for swift action, as many of these cases have been reported to the organization,” said Buntse. “However, we are deeply concerned at the sporadic nature of these syndicates. Not so long ago, we celebrated the arrest of the initial Grindr kidnapping and extortion group in the area of Johannesburg, which gave rise to this newly arrested group. It raises a sharp concern as to why these groups keep emerging.”
Gauteng Police in February arrested four men who they say used Grindr to extort and victimize LGBTQ people.
“We continue to call upon members of the community, gay men in particular to limit the use of the application where it poses threats, we further acknowledge the erotic justice due to queer persons and the freedom to associate without fear and prejudice,” said Buntse. “We also commend Grindr for listening to the call to strengthen the safety of the app.”
Out Human Rights Coordinator Sibonelo Ncanana echoed Buntse, but questioned why the police are not actively investigating similar cases in other provinces.
“We are happy that seven suspects have been arrested but we need that same swiftness that happened in Gauteng to also transpire in other provinces because there are other similar cases that have not been solved or investigated that involve Grindr,” said Ncanana. “This worries us a lot but we are grateful and appreciate the swift response of the police hopefully it will extend to other provinces.”
Ruth Maseko of the Triangle Project said LGBTQ people continue to be targeted because of their place in society, even though Grindr and other dating apps have issued warnings to their users.
“Although no dating app is necessarily safe, LGBTIQ persons can be viewed by prospective suspects as easy targets because of the stigma surrounding orientation and identity,” said Maseko. “This means that it may be the thinking of perpetrators that LGBTIQ people will not report these incidents and give in to extortion.”
Virginia
New campaign challenges Va. guidelines for transgender, nonbinary students
Students4Trans planning rallies, walkouts across the state

A group of Virginia students have launched a campaign that challenges the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.
The Pride Liberation Project on Sept. 20 announced the formation of Students4Trans.
Students4Trans held a rally outside the Virginia Department of Education in Richmond on Sept. 22. Another rally will take place during the Virginia Beach School Board meeting on Tuesday.
The Virginia Department of Education in July announced the new guidelines for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked. The regulations, among other things, require parents to be informed of a student’s name and pronoun change, with the exception of “imminent risk of suicide related to parental abuse or neglect.”
Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement the guidelines.
The Spotsylvania County School Board announced last month that students are required to use the bathroom that aligs with their assigned sex, and parents could choose the names and pronouns their children use at school. Two parents in Virginia Beach have filed a lawsuit that seeks to force the city’s school district to implement the new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.
Students4Trans has organized a student walkout on Friday to protest the Spotsylvania County School Board’s new policies.
Michael K. Lavers contributed to this story.
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