LGBTQ-Affirming ‘Lavender Graduations’ Persist at Prominent Catholic Colleges

At least 16 Catholic colleges across the United States are hosting “lavender graduations” this spring — ceremonies separate from the main commencement intended to celebrate students who “identify” as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or otherwise under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.

At a Catholic institution, such ceremonies raise serious concerns. “Lavender graduations” affirm students in an identity rooted in disordered sexual desires or confusion about the human person, rather than their deepest identity as sons and daughters of God.

“Lavender graduations” have unfortunately become annual campus traditions at many Catholic colleges that refuse to fully embrace the truth of our Catholic faith. Ceremonies have recently been announced at:

• Georgetown University, Washington, DC
• Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
• University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
• Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
• Fordham University, Bronx, NY
• Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
• Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Seattle University, Seattle, WA
• Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
• Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
• Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
• St. John’s University, Queens, NY
• College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
• Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT
• Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA
• Siena Heights University, Adrian, MI — which is closing down at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year

Although intended as a compassionate gesture to students, the ceremonies reinforce harmful ideologies about sexuality and gender that contradict Catholic teaching.

They potentially lead students into sinful activity and undermine a Catholic college’s claim to teach the truths of the Catholic faith.

The Church is clear in its teaching that sexual attraction to persons of the same sex is not itself a sin, but such attractions are “objectively disordered.” Any resulting sexual activity is sinful.

As explained by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.

The Congregation continued:

Therefore special concern and pastoral attention should be directed toward those who have this condition, lest they be led to believe that the living out of this orientation in homosexual activity is a morally acceptable option. It is not.

The U.S. bishops provided further guidance in their 2006 document, “Ministry to Persons with Homosexual Inclinations”:

All ministry to persons with a homosexual inclination must be guided by Church teaching on sexuality. The basis of this ministry, if it is to be effective, has to be a true understanding of the human person and of the place of sexuality in human life. ‘Departure from the Church’s teaching, or silence about it, in an effort to provide pastoral care is neither caring nor pastoral.’ Love and truth go together.

The bishops went on to issue an explicit warning that “those carrying out the ministry of the Church not use their position of leadership to advocate positions or behaviors not in keeping with the teachings of the Church.”

None of the event descriptions of the lavender graduation ceremonies identified by The Cardinal Newman Society reference Catholic teaching on human sexuality in any way.

Most are generic, speaking in terms of honoring and celebrating “LGBTQ+ students.” The event description at Seattle University mentions “a special performance by Sativa the Drag Queen” — underscoring how far these celebrations can depart from a Catholic understanding of the human person.

And while none of the descriptions explicitly endorse student participation in sinful behavior, the language used clearly celebrates the embrace of disordered attractions and lifestyles — sending a dangerous message to students.

In Ex corde Ecclesiae, Saint John Paul II said a Catholic college, as a “living institutional witness to Christ and his message,” is meant to play an important role and contribute to the Church’s work of evangelization.

In today’s culture, that should include making it abundantly clear what the Church teaches regarding human sexuality and sexual activity — especially if the college wants to provide genuine assistance to students who may be struggling with sexual identities or same-sex attraction.

Many of these types of events are advertised in terms of fostering “acceptance” and “inclusion.” The Catechism teaches that those experiencing same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.” But as Courage International, an apostolate for Catholics who experience same-sex attractions, explains:

To accept a person means that we love and welcome that person with all their strengths and weaknesses. … Acceptance of another human being does not necessarily mean that we will agree with all his or her decisions and choices. Sometimes love requires us to make our disagreement known.

When Catholic colleges allow and endorse activities on campus that either outright reject Church teaching or could lead to confusion, these institutions are not showing concern for students’ souls as part of their educational mission.

Catholic families should demand that schools and colleges that profess the Catholic faith avoid scandalous practices that could endanger the eternal salvation of their students.

That demand could be in the form of public advocacy, alumni withholding donations, or choosing to spend their tuition dollars at schools and colleges known for their fidelity — such as those recommended in The Newman Guide.

While colleges like Siena Heights University are closing down, citing financial pressure and declining enrollment, Newman Guide Recommended colleges are flourishing as families look for an education that goes beyond job training and helps form young people in truth, virtue, and fidelity to Christ.

Students deserve Catholic schools and colleges that welcome every student with genuine charity — while clearly teaching the truth about the human person, sexuality, chastity, marriage, and holiness. They deserve educators who understand that compassion without truth is not Christian witness.

Catholic families should not settle for anything less.