By Gordon Davies / July 11, 2022
Over the weekend of 24-25 June, AIM members Gordon Davies and Michael Barwick attended the Outreach Conference for LGBT+ Catholics and their allies at Fordham University, New York City. We were heartened to see so many people gathered with the same purpose, to promote the full inclusion of LGBT+ people in the Catholic community. The conference featured three plenary talks and a number of seminars. The first plenary talk was by Father Bryan Massingale on “Intersectionality and LGBT Ministry”. The second one, by Bishop John Stowe of Lexington KY, was entitled “The Church and the LGBTQ Person”. Sr Jeannine Gramick, SL spoke of the 50-year-old history of LGBTQ ministry. Seminars covered topics like mental health, ministry to transgendered people, ministry to families with LGBT+ members, and theological issues.
All the talks stressed the essentially inclusive nature of the Church, and the need for the laity and clergy to be sensitive to the damage done by the unconditionally condemning messages sometimes addressed to sexual minorities. The conference was a joyful occasion to celebrate the equality of all baptized Catholics, irrespective of their orientation. A representative of Courage spoke sensitively about his work, and Bp Stowe repeated the Church’s universal call to chastity. But it was not the centre of the discussion anymore, said the bishop, than it would be in a conference for straight people of all ages and situations.
The link to the conference’s talks is here: https://outreach.faith/conference-outreach-2022/. The event was an affirmation that AIM is aligned with broader movements in the international Church, in which we collectively grow in our reflection and pastoral action as LGBT+ people seeking a deeper relationship with God.
