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LGBTQ students wrestle with tensions at Christian colleges

Two people walk in front of the mid-20th century church and its bell banner on the campus of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The university, founded by Benedictine monks to educate male students, and its twin institution for women, the College of Saint Benedict, have made efforts to welcome and affirm LGBTQ students, a fraught concern for Catholic schools across the country. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) A 12th-century French statue of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus reflects candlelight in a small chapel inside the campus church of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The university, founded by Benedictine monks whose monastery stands next to the church, and its twin institution for women, the College of Saint Benedict, have made efforts to welcome and affirm LGBTQ students, a fraught concern for faith-based schools across the country. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Sean Fisher, one of the student coordinators for QPLUS, the LGBTQ student organization for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, stands in the organization's dedicated lounge on the college's campus in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The lounge contains a "gender affirmation closet," with donated clothes for students exploring their gender identities, as well as clothes and accessories for the annual drag show. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Ryan Imm, Sean Fisher and Sam Schug (from right to left) sit in the dedicated lounge of QPLUS, the LGBTQ student organization for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University for which they serve as coordinators, on the college's campus in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The three students say they are encouraged by the Catholic institutions' efforts to affirm LGBTQ students like them, such as making QPLUS an official, funded organization from the student club it previously was. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) A person walks in front of the Benedictine abbey on the campus of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The university, founded by Benedictine monks to educate male students, and its twin institution for women, the College of Saint Benedict, have made efforts to welcome and affirm LGBTQ students, a fraught concern for Catholic schools across the country. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Malik Stewart, director of multicultural student services at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, is seen in the hall of the multicultural building on the college's campus in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The building houses the two Catholic schools' LGBTQ student organization, QPLUS, which they fund as part of their effort to be more affirming of this student population. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Margaret Nuzzolese Conway, director of campus ministry at Saint John's University, stands in front of the college's mid-20th century church in Collegeville, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The campus ministry team at this Catholic college for men, and its twin institution for women, the College of Saint Benedict, has been trying to reach out to LGBTQ students, especially those striving to find ways "connecting God and sexuality," she said. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) The campus of the College of Saint Benedict is seen through the surrounding farmland in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The college, founded by Benedictine sisters for women's education, has been seeking new ways to welcome LGBTQ students, which is a fraught concern for hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities run by the Catholic Church and various conservative Protestant denominations. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Benedictine monks gather for evening prayers in the mid-20th century church next to their abbey on the campus of Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The school, and its twin institution for women, the College of Saint Benedict, have made efforts to welcome and affirm LGBTQ students, a fraught concern for Catholic colleges across the country. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto) Sean Fisher, one of the student coordinators for QPLUS, the LGBTQ student organization for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, stands in the organization's dedicated lounge on the college's campus in St. Joseph, Minn., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. To Fisher, a senior in environmental studies who identifies as non-binary, the Catholic colleges' recognition and funding of the organization represents a new era. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)