“Why Stay?”: Queer Catholic Metanoia as Institutional Critique

This article examines how metanoia, or a “change of heart,” is a rhetorical strategy used by queer Catholics to move beyond individual repentance to perform an institutional critique of the Catholic Church in the goal of transforming it. Using thematic analysis, the author analyzes ten oral histories collected by the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, which reflect the lives of various queer Catholic leaders demonstrating metanoia. Across these interviews, the author identifies three types of metanoic response: integration, revision, and refusal. In all three themes, queer Catholic leaders perform institutional critiques of the Catholic Church through metanoia and model a spectrum of rhetorical choices queer Catholics might make in their own relationship with the Church.