BIG GAY BLOG WEEK: Alice Loweecey

*Alice is another dear friend. She is a former nun and as you will see, she's straight, but an ally to the GBLT community. Her soon to be released book, Veiled Threat, focuses on a gay couple whose adopted child gets kidnapped by religious extremists. Check out Alice here*

[WARNING: Highly judgmental and opinionated opinions follow.]

It's a good thing I haven't been a nun in nearly three decades. The Vatican Inquisition that's going all Torquemada on hardworking US nuns right now would have a field day with my new book.

I write ex-nun Private Eye mysteries. My main character, Giulia Falcone, is working not to be such a fish out of water. She balancing who she’s trying to be (a regular human again) with the best parts of who she was. She still volunteers at a soup kitchen, has a willing ear for anyone in trouble, and is a devout Catholic.

In my third book, Giulia’s friends who run the soup kitchen have just adopted a baby.

My point?

Giulia’s friends are gay. And Giulia helped them with the adoption by testifying on their behalf. Because she’s an ex-nun and a Catholic who also believes that a loving family is a loving family. Simple.

The gay characters in the book are—wait for it—regular people who go to work, make dinner, change diapers, and watch TV. All those things that regular people do. Because that’s exactly what they are.

Giulia doesn’t preach against them, doesn’t try to stop the adoption, doesn’t attack them with Bible verses. Doesn’t, you know, judge them.

The Vatican Inquisition—sorry, Commission—just slammed US nuns for daring to help the poor and the sick without haranguing them about following to certain verses in Leviticus. I can see them treating Giulia to a good ol’ auto-da-fé for her perceived lack of adherence to the important things. Because there are dozens of verses in the Gospels where Jesus spoke about “teh gays” and how “ebil” they are (the important stuff, right?), and none where he spoke about feeding the hungry and tending the sick and visiting prisoners.

I won’t bother to search the five translations of the Bible I own to check on that.

People ask me how much of myself I put into my fictional ex-nun detective. The answer is: She’s a good cook. I’m a good cook. That’s about it. She might or might not reflect some of my own views on what’s important in life. And what’s important to the Creator of Life.