Five years ago, Pope Francis grabbed international headlines when he responded to a reporter’s in-flight question about gay priests by saying, “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” Media outlets, LGBT activists, and Catholics around the world speculated about whether this […]
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Equally Blessed coordinator John Freml was recently featured in the “Welcoming All Families” campaign by the Center for American Progress. This includes a feature on CAP’s blog entitled, “Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination Took a Foster Child From Her Loving Foster Dads” and a mention in a new CAP report produced in partnership […]
Marianne Duddy-Burke, who heads DignityUSA, an organization that focuses on gay rights within the Catholic Church, said these groups have been emboldened by Trump, who “has legitimized attacks against entire groups of people and these people are following his example to go after gay Catholics.” And they’re not just casting […]
Six young Roman Catholics are preparing for a journey to Panama, to attend the Vatican-sponsored World Youth Day 2019, where they will bring a message that the church must treat lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people with respect and advocate for their welfare. The pilgrims, ages 23 […]
From immigration to human rights to race-motivated hate, how are religiously-affiliated people responding to issues in America? A social justice movement among Catholics asks followers to be peacekeepers and troublemakers simultaneously. Faith leaders and scholars speak on “The Source.” Zach Johnson, Executive Director of Equally Blessed member organization Call To Action, […]
A coalition of Catholic organizations that work for LGBTQI equality has launched a website to combat unjust hiring and firing practices targeted at LGBTQI individuals at Catholic institutions, including schools, hospitals, parishes and social service organizations. ChurchWorkerJustice.org is a project of the Equally Blessed coalition and was developed in collaboration […]
“Our church’s very unhealthy attitudes about sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular really need to be addressed,” says Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a Catholic LGBT advocacy group. Duddy-Burke sees the abuse crisis in the context of what she considers Catholic church homophobia. “Whenever the church is under stress, […]
“We are grateful that the Chicago Archdiocese quickly and firmly rejects the words of this pastor and his intended ‘ritual’ which are inconsistent with Catholic values and beliefs,” said DignityUSA President and Dignity/Chicago member Chris Pett. “It appears that this pastor was hijacking the parish to promote an extreme, ultra-conservative […]
The Vatican-sponsored World Youth Day will be held in Panama City, Panama January 22-27, 2019. DignityUSA and our partners in the Equally Blessed coalition have sponsored LGBTQI/Ally young people to ensure there is a visible and vocal presence of LGBTQI and supportive people at past World Youth Days and want to ensure […]
…The event also included a poignant testimony from Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, who recounted the struggles that she and her wife, Becky, had trying to adopt their two children, Emily and Finn, from a Catholic agency. One of the children was born addicted to heroin and the other […]