The oldest Catholic university in the U.S. is facing backlash as some of its queer faculty challenge traditional Catholic teachings. This has left certain students feeling frustrated and betrayed.
Amanda Phillips, who identifies as a “butch/transmasculine, Latinx” person using “they/he/she” pronouns, is teaching courses at Georgetown University that delve into topics such as gender, privilege, and pornography. In a notable instance, adjunct lecturer Casey Catherine Moore shared a video of her “Bipolar Lady’s Prayer,” reworking the Lord’s Prayer to say “give us this day our daily drugs.”
Georgetown is noted for being the nation’s oldest Catholic university.
For the fall 2026 semester, Phillips is slated to instruct a class on “the changing aesthetics, production, and distribution of pornography.” This course aims to explore how social and political tensions surrounding pornography have historically controlled marginalized groups like women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color. This information is available on Georgetown’s website.
Phillips also teaches courses like “Gaming & Justice,” which focuses on resistance strategies within the video game industry, and “Queer Pixelation, Trans Coding,” dealing with representations of queer and trans identities in digital media, approached from an anti-racist standpoint.
The course description poses various questions, such as whether digital media can be considered inherently queer, and how these technologies inform our understanding of gender and identity. It also explores the reciprocal influence between queer/trans communities and the history of computing.
Georgetown did not respond to requests for comment.
Shae McInnis, president of the College Republicans chapter at Georgetown, expressed disappointment that the university would offer classes at odds with its Catholic values and Jesuit heritage. “It’s troubling to see Georgetown risk its identity by allowing such content,” she remarked.
Moore, self-identified as a “bipolar, bisexual” poet, presented her “Bipolar Lady’s Prayer” to honor Saint Dymphna, the patroness of those with mental illnesses. The poem humorously reimagines the Lord’s Prayer with lines like “give us this day our daily drugs.”
“It’s disappointing to see Georgetown pandering to voices that disrespect its Catholic community,” McInnis added.
Several other courses at the university center on gender, feminism, and sexuality, even looking at the relationship between gender and religion. For example, Professor Julia Watts Belser studies how contemporary transgender Jews are redefining Jewish gender concepts.
Belser is also an advocate for disability justice and integrates disability arts with Jewish tradition in her research.
Another faculty member in healthcare specializes in areas like “Health Equity” and “Trans-Affirming Health Care.”
One Catholic student at Georgetown, who preferred to remain unnamed for fear of backlash, expressed disappointment about the university’s direction, stating, “Promoting content that mocks Church teachings feels like a betrayal.”
