ABOVE: Arleen (L) and Dr. Jean Batronie review their wedding album on Jan. 15. The couple’s marriage was blessed in the Catholic Church on Sept. 28, 1968. Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent.
Brandon, Fla. | St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church parishioner Dr. Jean Batronie, who will celebrate 50 years of marriage this year with wife Arleen Batronie, was instructed by St. Petersburg’s Catholic Diocese Feb. 5 not to attend a mass honoring the marital milestone held Feb. 11 because Jean Batronie is transgender.
The “Wedding Jubilee Mass of Thanksgiving with Bishop Gregory Parkes,” held at St. Petersburg‘s Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, honored “couples throughout the diocese who will celebrate 25, 50 or more years of marriage during 2018.” The event required a registration process, which the couple completed in mid-January.
Their registration was accepted by St. Francis’ secretary, Jean Batronie tells Watermark, adding that it’s well known that she’s transgender. Jean Batronie, 72, and Arleen Batronie, 68, attended a similar event for their 25 year anniversary in 1993, prior to Jean Batronie’s transition.
“Jean and I knew that there might be talk,” Arleen Batronie says, “because we know that people are still in the dark. But we were planning on attending. We didn’t expect any hoopla or any kind of problem.”
“We registered, there was no problem,” Jean Batronie agrees. “Then I got a call from our pastor that said that ‘the bishop does not want you to go.’ Because I’m transgender. Flat out, there was no hidden agenda. Because I had a sex change.”
Jean Batronie was contacted by Father Edison Bernavas, who she says is new to the church. “His thing was ‘I’m new here, I didn’t know you,’” she recalls, noting his objection about the optics. “He said, ‘when they call your name, two women are going to stand up.’”
Jean Batronie says she told the pastor that the couple didn’t have to stand during the mass, even offering to dress as a man. “He said ‘oh, you can’t do that. You’re a woman.’”
Watermark spoke with Theresa L. Peterson, executive director of communications for the St. Petersburg Diocese, who confirmed the Batronies were instructed not to attend.
“It was not a celebration of civil marriage,” Peterson says. “The Catholic church does not recognize same-sex marriages. Couples who are being recognized and blessed at the Diocese of St. Petersburg Marriage Jubilee Mass are observing a milestone of 25, 50 years or more of the church’s Sacrament of Marriage, as defined by the Catholic church between one man and one woman.
“While the Catholic church loves all men and women as God loves all of His creation,” she further notes, “we cannot bless a marriage between two people of the same sex because the Catholic church does not acknowledge same-sex marriages.”
According to Peterson, the Catholic church “respects others’ views,” but also asks “that the church’s teachings be respected. Central to our core religious beliefs is that marriage has been established by God between a man and a woman. This divine plan, like the gift of marriage itself, is something we receive, not something we construct or redefine to fit our purposes.”
“Their thinking is ancient,” Jean Batronie says, acknowledging that while other churches may be more progressive, she isn’t leaving hers behind. “I was raised in the Catholic church. This is my religion.”
“We’re all under the same God,” Arleen Batronie says. “If God doesn’t judge, why are all these people in the churches judging? You go to church and you go home. What difference does it make if you’re there with your husband or your wife?”
“I’m very proud of this,” Jean Batronie says. “We made a commitment in the Catholic church 50 years ago and in God’s eyes, we’re married. This has got to stop. This kind of stuff has to stop.”
