Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions explores the narratives of LGBTQ+ employees in Catholic institutions, such as parish and schools. These employees have faced termination due to factors like sex, gender, or sexual preference. The book also highlights those who work in more welcoming Catholic institutions. The primary objective of this book is to shed light on an often-overlooked aspect: the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ employees employed by Roman Catholic institutions who are marginalized by the Catholic moral tradition, which often leads to job loss.

Cornerstones goes beyond the commonly held arguments in Catholic theology regarding LGBTQ+ issues, such as a queering of historical figures or creative musings on what the Catholic tradition could be. Instead, it centers on the challenging task of engaging with individuals and actively listening to those whose lives have been profoundly affected by a particular interpretation, application, and enforcement of the Catholic moral tradition. By adopting this approach, Ruiz and Guevarra offer these employees of Catholic institutions a platform where their stories and perspectives can be heard and become part of the public record. Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions goes beyond being another text on LGBTQ+ issues in Catholic theology. It’s a powerful work of truth and justice that provides a platform for those who have been wronged by unjust interpretations, applications, and enforcements of the Catholic moral tradition. This book allows them to be seen and heard, offering them a voice in the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.

The narrative stories of self-identifying LGBTQ+ individuals who work in more welcoming Catholic institutions are equally important in Cornerstones. These experiences offer alternative interpretations, applications, and enforcement of the Catholic moral tradition without jeopardizing the livelihood of the affected employee or creating a divisive environment within the Catholic institution. Instead, these narratives provide a hopeful alternative, not just a musing on what could be in a Catholic institution, but an actual practice of inclusion and justice. As these narratives make clear, the Christian response to a self-identifying LGBTQ+ individual employed by a Catholic institution should never be termination of their employment. Instead, Catholic Institutions who employ self-identifying LGBTQ+ individuals can follow the example of these more welcoming Catholic institutions to employ a just process that fairly and appropriately addresses this issue without wronging the employee in question or the community of that institution.

Ruiz and Guevarra present Catholic institutions with a series of narrative stories in Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions. These stories serve as a call to action, urging institutions to acknowledge and rectify the wrongs committed against self-identifying LGBTQ+ individuals, their parishes, and the institutions they served. The narratives offer a potential alternative that aligns with Christian values and appears just and fair. A more robust theological argument at the beginning would have strengthened the overall message of these narratives.

Principals at Catholic Schools, religious educators and catechists, clergy and lay leaders, alike will greatly benefit from this book and students of theology and ministry now have a resource from which praxis and theory can be constructed for a more inclusive ecclesial community.

In a time when the political and religious climate in the United States suggests a potential erosion of labor protections based on race, gender, sex, and orientation, Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions emerges as a timely contribution. This book sheds light on the real-world consequences of a deficient moral teaching that is often misunderstood within our own Catholic institutions.

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